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How AppSets and Settings are Delivered and Reverted

PolicyPak Application Settings Manager evaluates AppSets and settings on the User side when

  • the user logs on,
  • the Group Policy background refresh occurs (between 90 and 120 minutes),
  • Microsoft GPupdate is run,
  • The command PPUpdate.exe is run, and
  • an application under PolicyPak Application Settings Manager control is launched.

PolicyPak Application Settings Manager evaluates AppSets and settings on the Computer side when

  • the computer starts up,
  • the Group Policy background refresh occurs for the computer (between 90 and 120 minutes),
  • Microsoft GPupdate is run,

PolicyPak Application Settings Manager PPupdate is run, and

an application is launched that is under PolicyPak Application Settings Manager control.

During the evaluation, the PolicyPak client-side extension (CSE) checks the following conditions, as well as other conditions:

  • Is the GPO deleted?
  • Is the AppSet entry deleted?
  • Is the AppSet valid, and is PolicyPak Application Settings Manager licensed?
  • Is the application set to "Always re-apply settings when application runs" or is "Do not re-apply settings with Reinforcement Timer" unchecked? (These items are checked only when the CSE is running in one of these modes.)
  • Is Item-Level Targeting set on the AppSet?
  • Was the AppSet never applied?
  • Was the AppSet already deleted?

After these checks, the PolicyPak Application Settings Manager engine returns one of three verdicts:

Pak item is DELETED.
Pak item is APPLIED.
Pak item is SKIPPED.

Then, at processing time, AppSets are processed in the following order: deleting, applying, and skipping.

Deletion Phase​

The deletion phase is managed in the following order:

Step 1 – Deleted AppSets are processed.

Step 2 – Deleted or unlinked GPO AppSets are removed (in reverse order).

Step 3 – Any GPOs that apply (but have deleted AppSet items within them) are processed.

Step 4 – Deleted AppSets in changed GPOs are set in reverse order.(AppSets deleted in MMC go here.)

Application Phase​

The application phase proceeds in the following order:

Step 1 – Paks are applied within GPOs that are not updated or changed.

Step 2 – Paks are applied in precedence order within GPOs that are changed.

Skipping Phase​

Any GPOs that are unchanged and any Paks within GPOs that are unchanged are simply skipped.