What is Group Policy? Group Policy is a feature of the Windows operating system that facilitates a wide range of advanced settings that network administrators use to control users’ working environments and computer accounts in Active Directory. It is a centralized place for administrators to manage and configure operating systems, applications, and users’ settings.
Although Local Group Policy Editor is useful for Windows users, it is not part of the Home edition. This snap-in is available in Windows 11 Professional and above and in enterprise editions only. Still, it does not mean that you cannot use tweaks that require the Local Group Policy Editor. In a nutshell, the Local Group Policy Editor is just a user-friendly user interface for managing specific registry values in Windows 11. You can download and run the script to enable Local Group Policy Editor in Windows 11 Home Edition if you need it.
Please note that Local Group Policy Editor requires elevated privileges to open and work. If you try to open it using a regular user account, Windows will prompt you for an administrator password.
There are several ways to open Local Group Policy Editor in Windows 11. In this gearupwindows article, we will see all of them.
How to Open Local Group Policy Editor using Run dialog?
Follow these steps to launch Local Group Policy Editor using Run dialog:-
Step 1. Press Windows + R keys from the keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
Step 2. Type the following and hit Enter from the keyboard when the Run box opens:-
gpedit.msc
Now Local Group Policy Editor will open.
How to Launch Local Group Policy Editor through Windows Search?
Step 1. Click on the Start button on the Taskbar or press Windows + S keys from the keyboard to open the Windows Search menu.
Step 2. When Windows Search opens, type gpedit.msc in the search box at the top.
Step 3. Click the gpedit.msc to open the Local Group Policy Editor window from the available top results.
How to Start Local Group Policy Editor from Settings app?
Although the Local Group Policy Editor is not part of Windows Settings, you can still use the Settings app to open it in Windows 11. To open Local Group Policy Editor in Windows 11 from the Settings app, perform the following steps:-
Step 1. Open the Settings app by pressing Windows + I keys simultaneously from the keyboard.
Step 2. When Windows Settings opens, type gpedit in the Settings search box.
Step 3. Windows Settings will show the Edit Group Policy in search results. Click Edit Group Policy to launch the Local Group Policy Editor.
How to Open Windows 11 Local Group Policy Editor from Control Panel?
Similar to Windows Settings app, the Control Panel search also finds Local Group Policy Editor. Here is how?
Step 1. Open Control Panel.
To do that, open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R keys simultaneously from the keyboard. In the Run box, type Control Panel and hit Enter from the keyboard or click the OK button.
Step 2. When Control Panel opens, type Group Policy in the search box in the top right corner.
Step 3. Click the Edit Group Policy to launch Local Group Policy Editor in the search results.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Group Policy is a powerful feature of Windows operating systems that allows network administrators to manage and configure operating systems, applications, and user settings from a centralized location. While the Local Group Policy Editor is not included in the Windows Home edition, there are various ways to access it, including through the Run dialog, Windows Search, Settings app, and Control Panel. With elevated privileges, users can open and use the Local Group Policy Editor to manage specific registry values and customize their Windows 11 experience.
