How to Open the Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) in Windows 11/10/8/7?

Table of Contents

What is a Local Group Policy Editor?

Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) is a built-in feature of the Windows operating system that enables administrator accounts to control what the other users are allowed to do on their machines.

Local Group Policy Editor consists of two main sections:

User Configuration Holds settings that are applied to users (at sign-in and during periodic background refresh),

Computer Configuration Holds settings applied to computers (at startup and during periodic background refresh).

It’s enabled by third-party Applications(gpedit.msc). This article will discuss several methods for opening the Local Group Policy Editor.

In which version of Windows can we find Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) function?

You will find gpedit.msc functionality on only these Windows operating systems:-

Windows 11 Pro and Windows 11 Enterprise
Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise

Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 Enterprise
Windows 7 Pro, Windows 7 Ultimate, and Windows 7 Enterprise

Access Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)

The following are the easy and quick methods to access Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) on Windows PC:-

Using Search button
Via Taskbar Search (Windows 10 & 11 only)
From the Settings app (Windows 10 & 11 only)

Through Control Panel
Using Desktop Shortcut
By Pinning to the taskbar, Start Menu, or the Start screen

Via Run dialog box
Using Command Prompt
Via PowerShell

From Task Manager
Using Windows Explorer (Windows 7) or File Explorer (Windows 8.1 Windows 10 and Windows 11)
From System32 Folder

Launch Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) using the Search button

Step 1. Click on the Start button and type group policy.

Step 2. Click on the top entry “Edit group policy” to open the available search results.

How to Open Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) using the Taskbar Search?

Windows 10/11 comes with a Taskbar Search. If you have not removed it from the Windows 10 Taskbar, you can use this search also to access Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc).

Step 1. Click on Taskbar Search and type gpedit.msc.

Step 2. In the available search results, click on either “gpedit.msc” or” Edit group policy” to open it.

How to Access Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) via Settings app?

Step 1. Open the Setting App by pressing Windows logo + I hotkey or any other method you prefer.

Step 2. In the search box of the Settings app, type group policy and choose Edit group policy from the results.

How to Start Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) from Control Panel?

Step 1. Open the Control Panel.

Step 2. In the Control Panel search box, type group policy.

Step 3. Click the link “Edit group policy” to open it.

Start Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) using Desktop Shortcut

Step 1. Right-click on the free space on the desktop, select the New, and then the Shortcutoption.

Step 2. In location box type gpedit.msc.

Step 3. Click Next.

Step 4. Type a helpful name of the shortcut icon that you can remember.

Step 5. Click Finish.

After that, you can access the Local Group Policy Editor by double-clicking its shortcut icon.

Launch Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) by Pinning it to the taskbar, Start Menu, or the Start screen.

It would help if you created a shortcut to Pin the Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc). You can refer above steps to create a shortcut icon of Group Policy. Once you have created a shortcut for the Group Policy, right-click on it and select “Pin to Start” or “Pin to taskbar” or both options.

After that, you can access Group Policy from the Start menu or Windows 10 Taskbar.

How to Open Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) using Run?

Step 1. Press Windows logo + R keys simultaneously to open the Run box.

Step 2. In the Run dialog box, type gpedit.msc and hit Enter from the keyboard or click the ok button.

How to Access Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) from Command Prompt?

You can also open Group Policy using the Command Prompt. Perform the following steps to do so:-

Step 1. Open the Command Prompt.

Step 2. In the Command Prompt window, type the gpedit.msc and press Enterfrom the keyboard.

How to Access Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) from Windows PowerShell?

Step 1. Open Windows PowerShell.

Step 2. In the Windows PowerShell, type gpedit.msc and hit Enter from the keyboard.

How to Get Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) from Task Manager?

Step 1. Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC hotkey to open the Task Manager window.

Step 2. Click on the File menu and then select the “Run new task” option.

Step 3. On the dialog box that appears, type gpedit.msc and click ok.

How to Open Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) from File Explorer or Windows Explorer?

Step 1. Press Windows logo + E hotkeys to open File Explorer or Windows Explorer.

Step 2. Type gpedit.msc in the address bar and press ENTER on the keyboard

Launch Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) from System32 Folder.

Browse to the C:\Windows\System32 folder. Scroll down to see gpedit.msc application. Double-click on it to open the Local Group Policy Editor window.

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