Support Mechanisms for Improved Group Policy Management User Interface

Abstract

Provided are support mechanisms for a user interface mechanism that performs group policy management. The support mechanisms include a context menu map that provides a consistent and efficient way to generate interactive context menus for nodes using only straightforward declarations. The declarations are processed to invoke code with corresponding parameters that in turn generates a data structure corresponding to a context menu that is to be displayed. The data structure is processed into another data structure, from which data is extracted to meet the requirements of a hosting management application. An intermediary communications object is provided to separate the user interface into multiple components which each exchange data. A progress dialog is also provided to update the user as to the progress of lengthy operations performed on various managed objects, and to drive those operations. Refresh logic replicates changes made at one location in the user interface to other nodes.

1 - 2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . A method comprising:
 receiving, via a user interface of a management console implementing a policy, instructions to change information describing an object according to the policy, wherein the instructions specify the policy according to which the information is to be changed; and   traversing a tree of hierarchically organized containers, at least one container including a user interface element associated with the object for which the instructions to change information describing the object have been received;   filtering each of the containers through a set of predicate statements, wherein the set of predicate statements control application of the policy to the respective container; and   replicating the change to information describing the object by setting a flag to indicate whether the change applies to the object in accordance with the respective container completing the set of predicate statements.   
     
     
         4 . A method as  claim 3  recites, wherein each container represents one of a site, a domain, or an organizational unit. 
     
     
         5 . A method as  claim 3  recites, wherein each container is associated with at least one policy recipient and the at least one policy recipient includes at least one of a computer or a user account. 
     
     
         6 . A method as  claim 3  recites, wherein the instructions to change the information are received from an administrator. 
     
     
         7 . A method as  claim 3  recites, wherein the policy corresponds to policy settings in group policy objects, including at least one of registry-based settings, scripts, redirection of folders that contain user documents and settings, application deployment, software installation, security settings, public key policy settings, software restriction policies, IP security, remote installation services, or browser maintenance settings. 
     
     
         8 . A method as  claim 7  recites, wherein the scripts include at least one of a computer startup script, a computer shutdown script, a user logon script, or a user logoff script. 
     
     
         9 . A method as  claim 3  recites, wherein the object is associated with a first user interface element of a plurality of user interface elements for display in the user interface of the management console, wherein the first user interface element is displayed in the user interface of the management console according to the policy. 
     
     
         10 . A method as  claim 9  recites, wherein the other objects include a second user interface element of the plurality of user interface elements. 
     
     
         11 . A method as  claim 9  recites, wherein:
 the first user interface element includes a context menu in which a representation of the object is presented; and 
 the representation of the object has at least one property including an active property, an inactive property, a show property, or a do not show property, wherein the instructions include instructions to change at least one of the context menu or the at least one property. 
 
     
     
         12 . A method as  claim 9  recites, wherein replicating the change comprises:
 when the flag indicates the policy applies to the respective container, replicating the change to information describing an object associated with a second user interface element of the plurality of user interface elements, the change to information describing the object associated with the second user interface being performed according to the policy and being consistent with the change to information describing the object associated with the first user interface element; and 
 when the flag indicates the policy does not apply to the respective container, refraining from replicating the change to information describing the object associated with the second user interface element. 
 
     
     
         13 . A system comprising:
 at least one processor;   a memory storing group policy management programming for execution by the at least one processor;   a set of program interfaces associated with the group policy management programming, the set of program interfaces being hierarchically organized and comprising:   a group policy management interface for managing objects corresponding to group policy related data; and   a selected program interface of the set of program interfaces called to perform a requested operation on group policy related data.   
     
     
         14 . A system as  claim 13  recites, the group policy management programming comprising a management console having a user interface, wherein the management console incorporates the set of program interfaces in the management console. 
     
     
         15 . A system as  claim 13  recites, the objects corresponding to group policy related data comprising at least one of a file or an attribute. 
     
     
         16 . A system as  claim 13  recites, wherein at least part of the group policy related data pertains to network accessible objects. 
     
     
         17 . A system as  claim 16  recites, wherein the objects include at least one of a site, a domain, or an organizational unit 
     
     
         18 . A management console comprising:
 a user interface including:   a treeview area including hierarchically organized objects, wherein the objects represent at least one of a site, a domain, or an organizational unit;   a result pane area including data associated with an object selected from the treeview area;   a communications object configured to, upon selection of the object from the treeview area, call a cookie to identify the selected object and obtain the data associated with the selected object for display in the result pane area;   a context menu map generated from at least one of declarations, parameter values, or flag values included in the data associated with the selected object.   
     
     
         19 . A management console as  claim 18  recites, further comprising refresh logic configured to propagate a change to data in one user interface area to other user interface areas. 
     
     
         20 . A management console as  claim 19  recites, the refresh logic further configured to propagate the change to the data in the one user interface area to the other user interface areas by passing the data changed in the one user interface area to the hierarchically organized objects. 
     
     
         21 . A management console as  claim 19  recites, the data changed in the one user interface area including a user interface element or a property of the user interface element, the property of the user interface element comprising at least one of active, inactive, shown, or not shown. 
     
     
         22 . A management console as  claim 18  recites, the context menu map comprising:
 commands provided by the management console; and 
 commands provided by a snap-in tool, wherein the commands provided by the snap-in tool provide functionality based on a context in which the snap-in tool is operating when a context menu is invoked.