Add links to Windows 11 Taskbar with NTLite

[clarensio]

Hello, here I am with yet another apparently "end in itself" question.

With NTLITE, I imagine from Post-Setup, it is possible to natively add applications to the Taskbar instead of doing it in post-installation


PS: The applications that I would like to add are clearly already installed natively, via NTLITE, for all Users.

Maybe there are additional options to put in the install options (which I ignore) or are there other ways to do this?

Thanks to anyone who can provide me with information on this.

 

[garlin]

Apps can be pinned to the W10/11 Taskbar using a XML file.

Before creating the XML, all the AUMID's (app names registered to Windows) or *.lnks paths must be known. Normally you finish installation on another system, and create the layout there. There are no tools provided to automate the process of writing the XML.

 

[clarensio]

Apps can be pinned to the W10/11 Taskbar using a XML file.

Before creating the XML, all the AUMID's (app names registered to Windows) or *.lnks paths must be known. Normally you finish installation on another system, and create the layout there. There are no tools provided to automate the process of writing the XML.

I will study what you suggested!
One question: can I add applications for "All Users" with the .xml file?

 

[garlin]

DefaultLayout.xml is always a headache, because MS limits your options.

The file can contain:
- only Start Menu apps
- only Taskbar apps
- both Start Menu & Taskbar apps

When you create the DefaultLayout, there are different rules that control if the user is allowed to change the Taskbar or not. This is because MS intended it to manage corporate desktops, so users don't change the layout.

To deploy, you need to add a reg file GPO listing the DefaultLayout XML file. If you want to update the Taskbar later, you need to wait until after the layout is applied to the desktop and then remove the GPO. This is a big problem if you want other users to get a default taskbar.

Long time ago, you could use VBScript to pin apps, but that doesn't work now. So the XML is a very imperfect solution.

 

[clarensio]

DefaultLayout.xml is always a headache, because MS limits your options.

The file can contain:
- only Start Menu apps
- only Taskbar apps
- both Start Menu & Taskbar apps

When you create the DefaultLayout, there are different rules that control if the user is allowed to change the Taskbar or not. This is because MS intended it to manage corporate desktops, so users don't change the layout.

To deploy, you need to add a reg file GPO listing the DefaultLayout XML file. If you want to update the Taskbar later, you need to wait until after the layout is applied to the desktop and then remove the GPO. This is a big problem if you want other users to get a default taskbar.

Long time ago, you could use VBScript to pin apps, but that doesn't work now. So the XML is a very imperfect solution.

Thank you.
I'll see what I can do (also by documenting myself further).

I thought it was enough to add the .xml object via GPO (which I already knew in this part) but in the end I'll see above all if "the game is worth the candle".