How to Disable Folder Options Using Intune Group Policy

Start by signing into the Microsoft Intune admin center. Open your browser and navigate to the official portal.

https://endpoint.microsoft.com

Sign in with your Global Administrator or Intune Administrator credentials. Once logged in, you'll see the main dashboard with various management options.

From the main dashboard, navigate to the device configuration section where you'll create the new policy.

Click on Devices in the left navigation menu, then select Manage devices > Configuration. You'll see a list of existing configuration profiles if any are already created.

Click the Create button at the top of the page, then select New policy from the dropdown menu. This opens the policy creation wizard.

Select the appropriate platform and profile type for your Windows devices. This step is crucial for ensuring the policy applies correctly.

In the platform dropdown, select Windows 10 and later. For the profile type, choose Settings catalog. The Settings catalog provides access to all available Administrative Templates policies.

Platform: Windows 10 and later
Profile type: Settings catalog

Click Next to proceed to the basic information page.

Provide a clear, descriptive name and detailed description for your policy. This helps with management and troubleshooting later.

Enter the following information:

Name: Disable Folder Options - File Explorer
Description: Prevents users from accessing Folder Options via the View tab ribbon in Windows File Explorer. Restricts modification of file system view settings while maintaining administrative control.

The description should clearly explain what the policy does and why it's being applied. This is especially important in enterprise environments where multiple administrators manage policies.

Click Next to proceed to the configuration settings.

Now you'll locate and configure the specific Administrative Template setting that controls Folder Options access.

Click the Add settings button. In the search box that appears, type:

Folder Options

From the search results, expand Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer. Look for the setting named:

Do not allow Folder Options to be opened from the Options button on the View tab of the ribbon (User)

Select this setting by clicking the checkbox next to it. This policy specifically targets the ribbon button access point in File Explorer.

Configure the policy setting to actively disable Folder Options access for users.

Click on the policy setting you just added. You'll see configuration options appear. Set the policy to Enabled. This is the key step that actually implements the restriction.

Policy State: Enabled
Effect: Disables the Options button on the View tab ribbon in File Explorer

When enabled, users will no longer be able to click the Options button in the File Explorer ribbon to access Folder Options. The button may still be visible but will be non-functional.

Click Next to proceed to scope tags configuration.

Scope tags help organize and control access to policies in large organizations. This step is optional but recommended for enterprise environments.

If your organization uses scope tags for role-based access control, add the appropriate tags here. For most implementations, you can skip this step by clicking Next without adding any tags.

Example scope tags:
- IT-Managed-Devices
- Corporate-Workstations
- Security-Restricted

Scope tags are particularly useful when different IT teams manage different device groups or when you need to delegate policy management responsibilities.

Select which users or devices will receive this policy. Start with a pilot group for testing before rolling out organization-wide.

In the Assignments section, click Add groups under "Included groups". Select your target groups from the list. For initial testing, choose a small pilot group:

Recommended approach:
1. Create pilot group: "Folder Options Policy - Pilot"
2. Add 5-10 test devices/users
3. Monitor for 24-48 hours
4. Expand to full organization

You can assign the policy to user groups (applies when users sign in) or device groups (applies to all users of those devices). For this policy, user groups are typically more appropriate.

Click Next to review your configuration.

Review all your policy settings before creating the final configuration. This is your last chance to make changes before deployment.

The review page shows a summary of your configuration:

Policy Summary:
- Name: Disable Folder Options - File Explorer
- Platform: Windows 10 and later
- Profile type: Settings catalog
- Setting: Do not allow Folder Options... (Enabled)
- Assigned groups: [Your selected groups]

Carefully review each section. Pay special attention to the assigned groups and the policy state (should be Enabled). If everything looks correct, click Create.

The policy will be created and begin deploying to assigned devices. Initial deployment can take 1-8 hours depending on device check-in schedules.

Speed up policy deployment by forcing device synchronization and verify the policy is working correctly.

To force immediate sync on test devices, navigate to Devices > Windows, select a target device, and click Sync. This triggers an immediate check-in.

On the target device, you can also force sync using Command Prompt as administrator:

dsregcmd /status

This command shows the device's Azure AD and Intune status. Look for recent sync timestamps.

To verify the policy is applied, open File Explorer on the target device and navigate to the View tab. The Options button should be disabled or non-functional.

You can also generate a policy report on the device:

gpresult /h C:\temp\intune-policy-report.html