Key Takeaways
- Manage the Widgets Board Experience using Microsoft Intune
- Users can open Widgets from the taskbar icon.
- Widgets Settings can be managed from the Widgets Board.
- Enabled policy: Widgets Board and taskbar icon are removed.
Hey, let’s discuss about How to Manage the Widgets Board Experience using Microsoft Intune. If this policy is disabled or left unconfigured, users can access the Widgets Board and see its icon on the taskbar. The Widgets Board experience can also be customized through Widgets Settings, which can be accessed directly from the Widgets Board interface.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
How to Manage the Widgets Board Experience using Microsoft Intune
If this policy is enabled, the Widgets Board will be completely disabled. Users will no longer be able to open the Widgets Board, and its taskbar entry point will be removed from view
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How to Create a Policy
To create a policy, go to Microsoft Intune Admin center. Click on the Devices, then Configuration and choose New Policy from down arrow of the Create option. To create the policy profile you need to choose the platform and profile type. Select the platform as Windows 10 and later and profile type as settings catalog and then click on the create.
Basics Tab for Name and Description
On this tab, you have to give a name(Disable Widgets Board) for the policy that you want to create. The name field is mandatory. Without giving a name, you can’t create a policy on the basic tab. You can also describe the policy, which description is not mandatory. Click on the next button.
Configuration Settings
The configuration tab allows you to select specific policy settings to manage your organisation’s devices. On this page, we click on the + Add Settings hyperlink. Then you will get a settings picker that will show different types of categories to select specific settings. Here, I choose to News And Internet the category and select the Disable Widgets Board.
Enable Widgets Board
Once you have selected this policy, and closed the Settings picker. You will see it on the Configuration page. Here we have only two settings: Enable or Disable. By default, Widgets Board policy will be set to Enable.
Disable Widgets Board
If we disable or not configure this policy, you can disable the widgets board by toggling the switch from left to right. Then, you can click the Next button to continue.
What is Scope Tag
In Intune, Scope Tags are used to control who can view and modify a policy. The scope tag is not mandatory, so you can skip this section. It functions as a tool for organisation and access management, but assigning it is optional. Click Next if they’re not required for your setup.
How to Manage the Widgets Board Experience using Microsoft Intune – Fig.6
Assignments Tab
In the Assignments tab, you choose the users or devices that will receive the policy by clicking Add Group under Include Group, select the group that you want to target (HTMD – Test Policy) and then click Next to continue.
Last step for Policy Creation
At the final Review + Create step, we see a summary of all configured settings for the new profile; after reviewing the details and making any necessary changes by clicking Previous. We click Create to finish, and a notification confirms that the “Disable Widgets Board created successfully”.
Device and User Check-in Status
To view a policy’s status, go to Devices > Configuration in the Intune portal, select the policy(Disable Widgets Board) and check that the status shows Succeeded. Use manual sync in the Company Portal to speed up the process.
Client Side Verification
To confirm if a policy has been applied, use the Event Viewer on the client device. Go to Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > Device Management > Enterprise Diagnostic Provider > Admin. From the list of policies, use the Filter Current Log option and search for Intune event 813.
MDM PolicyManager: Set policy int, Policy: DisableWidgetsBoard) Area: (NewsAndInterests),
EnrollmentID requesting merge: (EB427D85-802F-46D9-A3E2-D5B414587F63), Current User:
(Device), Int: (0x1), Enrollment Type: (0x6), Scope: (0x0).
How to Remove Assigned Group from Widgets Board Policy
Sometimes, we need to remove a group from a policy assignment for security updates. Open the policy from the Configuration tab and click on the Edit button on the Assignment tab. Click on the Remove button on this section to remove the policy. Click Review + Save after making the change.
For detailed information, you can refer to our previous post – Learn How to Delete or Remove App Assignment from Intune using by Step-by-Step Guide.
How to Delete Widgets Board Policy from Intune
To delete an Intune policy for security or operational reasons. It is simple to do. I will demonstrate how to delete an Intune policy through the Disable Widgets Board Policy. Click the three dots, then click the Delete option.
For detailed information, you can refer to our previous post – Learn How to Delete or Remove App Assignment from Intune using by Step-by-Step Guide.
Windows Configuration Service Provider (CSP)
The Policy Configuration Service Provider (CSP) is a feature used by organisations to manage and control settings on Windows 10 and 11 devices. It explains what each policy does, what settings or values can be used, and how it connects to older Group Policy settings (Group Policy Mapping details).
Description framework properties
- Format – Int
- Access type – Add, Delete, Get, Replace
- Default value – 0
Allowed Values
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| 0(Default) | Enable |
| 1 | Disable |
Group Policy Mapping
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | DisableWidgetsBoard |
| Friendly Name | Disable Widgets Board |
| Location | Computer Configuration |
| Path | Windows Components > Widgets |
| Registry Key Name | SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Dsh |
| Registry Value Name | DisableWidgetsBoard |
| ADMX File Name | NewsAndInterests.admx |
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Author
Anoop C Nair has been Microsoft MVP from 2015 onwards for 10 consecutive years! He is a Workplace Solution Architect with more than 22+ years of experience in Workplace technologies. He is also a Blogger, Speaker, and Local User Group Community leader. His primary focus is on Device Management technologies like SCCM and Intune. He writes about technologies like Intune, SCCM, Windows, Cloud PC, Windows, Entra, Microsoft Security, Career, etc