Include and exclude items
Note:
This article focuses on inclusion and exclusion policies for the file-based profile solution. For more information about the equivalent policies for the container-based profile solution, see Set up profile containers.
As a prerequisite, ensure that you understand how inclusions and exclusions work. For more information, see Include and exclude items. For information on the default included and excluded items, see Default inclusions and exclusions.
The priority orders for the Folders to mirror policy and the exclusion policies vary based on the Citrix Profile Management version. Properly configuring these policies ensures accurate synchronization of transactional folders and prevents unnecessary data transfer. For more information, see Configure the Folders to mirror and Exclusion policies.
Note:
Starting with Profile Management version 2407, Registry exclusion and inclusion policies apply both to file-based and to container-based profile solutions.
Exclude items
To exclude files, folders, or registry items from profile synchronization, follow these steps:
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Under Profile Management > Registry, click the Exclusion list policy.
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Select Enabled.
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Click Show and add any registry keys in the
HKCUhive that you do not want Profile Management to synchronize during logoff. Example:Software\Policies. -
Under Profile Management > File system, double-click the Exclusion list - directories policy.
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Select Enabled.
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Click Show and add any folders that you don’t want Profile Management to synchronize. Use Enter to separate multiple entries when you exclude items.
Be aware of the following:
- Specify the folders using paths relative to the user profile (%USERPROFILE%) and omit initial backslashes from paths.
- Use the variable
%USERPROFILE%to locate the profile but do not enter the variable itself in this policy. -
As of Profile Management 2112, wildcards in folder names are supported but are not applied recursively.
Examples:
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Desktop. Does not synchronize theDesktopfolder. -
MyApp\tmp. Does not synchronize the%USERPROFILE%\MyApp\tmpfolder.
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Under Profile Management > File system, double-click the Exclusion list - files policy.
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Select Enabled.
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Click Show and add any files that you do not want Profile Management to synchronize. Use Enter to separate multiple entries when you exclude items.
Be aware of the following:
- Specify the file names with paths relative to the user profile (%USERPROFILE%). Do not enter the variable (%USERPROFILE%) in this policy.
- Wildcards in file names are supported and applied recursively. As of Profile Management 7.15, you can use the vertical bar (
|) to restrict the policy only to the current folder. -
As of Profile Management 2112, wildcards in folder names are supported but are not applied recursively.
Examples:
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Desktop\Desktop.ini. IgnoresDesktop.iniin theDesktopfolder. -
AppData\*.tmp. Ignores all files with the.tmpextension in theAppDatafolder and its subfolders. -
AppData\*.tmp|. Ignores all files with the.tmpextension only in theAppDatafolder. -
Downloads\*\a.txt. Ignoresa.txtin any immediate subfolder of theDownloadsfolder.
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If Exclusion list is disabled, no registry keys are excluded. If this setting is not configured here, the value from the .ini file is used. If this setting is not configured here or in the .ini file, no registry keys are excluded.
If Exclusion list - directories is disabled, no folders are excluded. If this setting is not configured here, the value from the .ini file is used. If this setting is not configured here or in the .ini file, no folders are excluded.
If Exclusion list - files is disabled, no files are excluded. If this setting is not configured here, the value from the .ini file is used. If this setting is not configured here or in the .ini file, no files are excluded.
For your changes to take effect, run the gpupdate /force command from the command prompt as documented at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/gpupdate.
Include items
To include subfolders of the excluded files, folders, or registry items in profile synchronization, follow these steps:
Tip:
You can include specific top-level folders. In a collaborative environment, this step has the advantage of flagging critical folders to other administrators.
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Under Profile Management > Registry, double-click the Inclusion list policy.
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Select Enabled.
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Click Show and add any profile-related registry keys in the
HKEY\_CURRENT\_USERhive that you want Profile Management to process during logoff. Example:Software\Adobe. Use Enter to separate multiple entries when you include items. -
Under Profile Management > File system > Synchronization, double-click the Directories to synchronize policy.
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Select Enabled.
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Click Show and add folders that are inside excluded folders but that you want Profile Management to synchronize. Example:
Desktop\exclude\includeensures that theincludesubfolder is synchronized even if the folderDesktop\excludeis not. Use Enter to separate multiple entries when you include items.Be aware of the following:
- Specify the folders using paths relative to the user profile.
- As of Profile Management 2112, wildcards in folder names are supported but are not applied recursively.
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Under Profile Management > File system > Synchronization, double-click the Files to synchronize policy.
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Select Enabled.
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Click Show and add files that are inside excluded folders but that you want Profile Management to synchronize. Use Enter to separate multiple entries when you include items.
Be aware of the following:
- Specify the files with paths relative to the user profile.
- Wildcards in file names are supported and applied recursively. But wildcards cannot be nested. As of Profile Management 7.15, you can use the vertical bar (
|) to restrict the policy only to the current folder so that the policy does not apply to the subfolders. -
As of Profile Management 2112, wildcards in folder names are supported but are not applied recursively.
Examples:
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AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\Access.qat. Specifies a file inside a folder that is excluded in the default configuration. -
AppData\Local\MyApp\*.cfg. Specifies all files with the.cfgextension in theAppData\Local\MyAppfolder and its subfolders. -
Downloads\*\a.txt. Specifiesa.txtin any immediate subfolder of theDownloadsfolder.
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- Profile Management synchronizes each user’s entire profile between the system that it is installed on and the user store. It is not necessary to include files in the user profile by adding them to this list.
If Inclusion list is not configured here, the value from the .ini file is used. If this setting is not configured here or in the .ini file, the entire HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive is processed.
If Directories to synchronize is not configured here, the value from the .ini file is used. If this setting is not configured here or in the .ini file, only non-excluded folders in the user profile are synchronized. Disabling this setting has the same effect as enabling it and configuring an empty list.
If Files to synchronize is not configured here, the value from the .ini file is used. If this setting is not configured here or in the .ini file, only non-excluded files in the user profile are synchronized. Disabling this setting has the same effect as enabling it and configuring an empty list.
For your changes to take effect, run the gpupdate /force command from the command prompt as documented at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/gpupdate.