Dealing with Citrix ADMX files can be confusing. But there is hope on the horizon. It looks like Citrix finally got it under control.

The issue

The implementation of Citrix ADMX files has been a bit chaotic so far. Remember this view? A tad bit messy I would say.

Your central ADMX repository contained the following five Citrix ADMX files:

• ctxprofile5.x.0.admx
• ica-file-signing.admx
• HdxFlash-Client.admx
• receiver.admx
• receiver_usb.admx

These files were not in sync with one another.

The solution

It seems that Citrix also realized that the above structure was not the way to go, so they implemented something new.

You now only need three ADMX files (+ corresponding language files of course):

• ctxprofile5.6.0.admx
• CitrixBase.admx*
• receiver.admx**

*This file is new. It only has one purpose, which is to define the shared “Citrix Components” folder in the Group Policy editor.
**This file belongs to Citrix Receiver 4.6

The following ADMX files have now been merged in the new “receiver.admx” file:

• HdxFlash-Client.admx
• ica-file-signing.admx
• receiver_usb.admx

There is more than one way to get these new ADMX files:

• Citrix Receiver – CitrixBase.admx and receiver.admx:
  • Download the ADMX files as a stand-alone package in the section Download for Admins (Deployment Tools): Receiver 4.6 for Windows
  • Download and install Receiver and then copy the files from the Citrix Receiver installation directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\ICA Client\Configuration
• Citrix User Profile Manager – CitrixBase.admx and ctxprofile5.6.0.admx:
  • Download the software User Profile Manager 5.6 in the section Components that are on the product ISO but also packaged separately.
    Extract the ZIP file:
    • The ADMX file for the User Profile Manager is located in the directory:
      Group Policy Templates\en
    • The ADMX file CitrixBase is located in the following directory:
      Group Policy Templates\CitrixBase
  • Download the XenDesktop 7.12 ISO file in the section Product ISO.
    Extract the ISO file:
    • The ADMX file for the User Profile Manager is located in the directory:
      x64\ProfileManagement\ADM_Templates
    • The ADMX file CitrixBase is located in the following directory:
      x64\ProfileManagement\ADM_Templates\CitrixBase

The remainder of this paragraph explains how to update the central ADMX repository in your domain.

• Central ADMX repository:
  \\%LogonServer%\sysvol\#DomainName#\Policies\PolicyDefinitions
• Central ADMX repository for the language files:
  \\%LogonServer%\sysvol\#DomainName#\Policies\PolicyDefinitions\#language-country#

1. Delete the old Citrix ADMX language files (= *.ADML) from the repository:
   • ctxprofile5.x.0.adml (replace the “x” with the correct version)
   • ica-file-signing.adml
   • HdxFlash-Client.adml
   • receiver.adml
   • receiver_usb.adml
2. Delete the old Citrix ADMX files from the repository:
   • ctxprofile5.x.0.admx (replace the “x” with the correct version)
   • ica-file-signing.admx
   • HdxFlash-Client.admx
   • receiver.admx
   • receiver_usb.admx
3. Copy the new Citrix ADMX language files (= *.ADML) to the repository:
   • ctxprofile5.6.0.adml
   • CitrixBase.adml
   • receiver.adml
4. Copy the new Citrix ADMX files to the repository:
   • ctxprofile5.6.0.admx
   • CitrixBase.admx
   • receiver.admx

And now you are done. If you would like to test the ADMX files before updating the central ADMX repository you can use the local ADMX repository on a server:

• Copy the ADML and ADMX files to the local ADMX repository (C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions)
• Open the local group policy console go to Start, Run, and enter the command gpedit.msc. You will now see the new ADMX files.

Note: your group policy settings are NOT affected when you update ADMX files. Your settings are stored in different files within the group policy:

• Registry.pol -> contains group policy settings
• *.xml (e.g. Files.xml) contains your group policy preference settings
• Policies.gpf -> contains the settings of your Citrix policy (NOT the ones based on an ADMX file)

The path to your group policy is as follows:
\\%LogonServer%\sysvol\#DomainName#\Policies\#PolicyGUID#

The result

The group policy console now looks like this:

Most items are now stored under Citrix Components, except for the Workspace Environment Management and ShareFile policies. Still, it is quite an improvement I would say.

I am happy with the progress Citrix made. But since I am a bit of a stickler, I still see room for improvement. For example, the name of the ADMX file should always start with “Citrix” in my opinion. This makes it a lot easier to identify all Citrix-related ADMX files in the central repository. Also, the first letter of the ADMX file should start with a capital letter, but now I am nitpicking.

Dennis Span

Dennis Span works as a Lead Account Technology Strategist at Cloud Software Group in Vienna, Austria. He holds multiple Citrix certifications (CCE-V). Dennis has been a Citrix Technology Advocate (CTA) since 2017 (+ one year as Citrix Technology Professional, CTP). Besides his interest in virtualization technologies and blogging, he loves spending time with his family as well as snowboarding, playing basketball and rowing. He is fluent in Dutch, English, German and Slovak and speaks some Spanish.