Q: How can I manage Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) clients using Group Policy?

A: Microsoft offers an ADM file that can be imported into a Group Policy Object to manage App-V clients. Expand the ADM file then open the GPO you want to define the App-V client settings. Navigate to Administrative Templates and select Add/Remove Templates... Add the AppVirt.adm or AppVirt64.adm (for 64-bit clients) template. There are versions for 32-bit and 64-bit because the settings for App-V are written to different locations in the registry based on the architecture of the client. If you have a mix of 32-bit and 64-bit App-V clients you need to use both templates and define the settings for each.

Navigate to Classic Administrative Templates (ADM) - Microsoft Application Virtualization Client and there are now 3 areas of configuration possible, Communication, Permissions and Client Interface. If you do not see these settings turn off your filtering since these settings do not write to the normal policy areas and this are considered not-managed and may not be visible by default.

Note that the Microsoft-provided file is an old-style ADM. An ADMX version is available from this site in the Downloads, Tools section as App-V ADMX v1.0. You need to register to access the download, but once you've registered the download is free. Once you've downloaded it, run the install, which automatically adds the policy files to the right location on your local machine and will automatically be available when you edit a GPO, as shown here.

The PolicyPak tools are another option for App-V client management. They allow full management of the App-V client along with other application settings. More information about PolicyPak is available here.