Preferences and policies for the IBM Connections Desktop Plug-ins for Microsoft Windows

Set preferences and policies to control how users interact with the IBM® Connections Desktop plug-in for Microsoft Windows.

The following table shows preference and policy settings that control the behavior of the IBM® Connections Desktop plug-in for Microsoft Windows. These registry values are not created during installation. You must create the keys/values as needed. If a key/value does not exist, the appropriate default is assumed. Setting values to anything other than the values listed in the table produces unpredictable results.

Note: Note: For 64-bit computers, the registry settings are stored in HKLM/SOFTWARE/Wow6432Node/IBM instead of in HKLM/SOFTWARE/IBM (used for 32-bit computers).
Table 1. Registry keys for IBM® Connections Desktop plug-in for Microsoft Windows

Note: Enter registry keys with no line breaks. They are formatted for readability in the tables.

Key/SubKey:
(HKLM/SOFTWARE/IBM) or
(HKLM/SOFTWARE/Wow6432Node/IBM on 64-bit)

Name (Type = String) Values Description

Social Connectors/Settings

Hide ShellExt

0 - Display Context Menu (Default)

1 - Do not display Context Menu

Controls the default visibility preference of the Windows Explorer context menu extension.

Setting this value overrides a user preference if the policy is also set to Disable (value = 1)

Social Connectors/Settings

Hide ShellExt Policy

0 - Enable Preference (Default)

1 - Disable Preference

Controls whether users can modify the preferences value.

HKCU/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/
CurrentVersion/Explorer/
HideDesktopIcons/ClassicStartMenu

32-bit OS {A0D85EDF-50B5-4B12-9D74-0D69E6729A11}

64-bit OS {21034BDC-B57E-400b-A5D5-2B1E98502805}

Type = DWORD

0 - Show (Default)

1 - Hide

Controls hiding of the Desktop Icon when using the classic Start Menu. This must be set per user (HKCU).

HKCU/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/
Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/
HideDesktopIcons/NewStartPanel

32-bit OS {A0D85EDF-50B5-4B12-9D74-0D69E6729A11} 64-bit OS {21034BDC-B57E-400b-A5D5-2B1E98502805}

Type = DWORD

0 - Show (Default)

1 - Hide

Controls hiding of the Desktop Icon when using the default Start Menu. This must be set per user (HKCU).

Social Connectors/Settings

Hide Desktop Icon Policy

0 - Enable Preference (Default)

1 - Disable Preference

Controls whether users can modify the value via the General tab of the Preferences dialog.

Social Connectors/Settings

SendLink MailApp

mailto - Use mailto: protocol <MAPI program> - Registered name of email program

Example: IBM Notes

Sets the default email application in the General tab of the Preferences dialog.

If set to mailto the mailto: protocol is used instead of MAPI.

Social Connectors/Settings

UnpublishedPrompt

0 - Do not display prompt

1 - Display prompt (Default)

Controls the default setting of the unpublished draft warning.

Setting this value will override the user's preference if the policy is also set to Disabled.

Social Connectors/Settings

UnpublishedPrompt Policy

0 - Allow Hiding (Default)

1 - Disable Hiding

Controls whether end users can elect to hide the unpublished draft warning.

Social Connectors/Settings

ShowInfoBubbles

0 - Do not show Alerts

1 - Show Alerts (Default)

Controls the default setting for alerting that local drafts need to be saved.

Social Connectors/Settings

ShowInfoBubbles Policy

0 - Enable Preference (Default)

1 - Disable Preference

Controls whether users can change the ShowInfoBubbles preference.

Social Connectors/Settings

MonitorWarnOnClose

0 - Do not warn on close

1 - Warn on close (Default)

Controls display of warning message when drafts monitor is closed.

Social Connectors/Settings

MonitorWarnOnClose Policy

0 - Enable Preference (Default)

1 - Disable Preference

Controls whether warning dialog can be suppressed by users.

Social Connectors/Settings

EnableCacheCleanup

0 - Disable Cache Cleanup (Default)

1 - Enable Cache Cleanup

Default setting for enabling/disabling cache cleanup.

Social Connectors/Settings

EnableCacheCleanup Policy

0 - Enable Preferences (Default)

1 - Disable Preferences

Controls whether users can change any of the Cache settings.

Social Connectors/Settings

CacheAge

<days> - number of days

Min - 1 (Default)

Max - 100

Files not accessed within the specified number of days will be deleted.

Social Connectors/Settings

CacheFrequency

<minutes> - number of minutes

Min - 5

Max - 1,440

Default -120

How often to check temporary files in minutes.

Social Connectors/Settings

ScanIgnoreExtensions

<Comma separated extensions>

List of extensions to ignore changes on. This list will be merged with any user preferences unless the policy is set to Disable.

Example: gif, jpeg, mpg

Note: Changing this setting requires that you restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Social Connectors/Settings

ScanIgnoreExtensions Policy

0 - Enable Preference (Default)

1 - Disable Preference

Setting the policy to disable will prevent users from adding file extensions to the ignore list.

Social Connectors/Settings

Password Save Policy

0 - Allow Saving (Default)

1 - Do not Allow Saving

Controls whether users can persist passwords locally. Passwords are stored in the Windows Credential Store.

Social Connectors/Settings

Default Auth Type

0 - Basic Authentication (Default)

1 - Custom

Controls the default authentication type in the Add Site dialog.

Social Connectors/Settings

Default Auth Type Policy

0 - Enable Authentication dropdown (default)

1 - Disable Authentication dropdown

Setting the policy to disable will prevent users from selecting and changing the authentication type in the Add Site dialog.

Social Connectors/Settings

Default Auth Ext

When 'Default Auth Type' is set to custom, this setting controls which custom extension is used designated by GUID

{864B3A20-AC5D-4109-A55F-A1BD2FA6BDE9} - IBM Connections Cloud

{EA483EAD-9E64-4ECC-BDDD-BF8B1D72A1C6} - Siteminder

{4B9448AB-DF3D-4859-A3CA-365389096497} - SPNEGO

{B5BAD66C-CF6F-4FA5-9BC7-EF36C76D331A} - TAM

{FB5CF435-95ED-4FE6-BB7D-95F82DB65C5C} - TAM+SPNEGO

{CCD9158D-BCD9-4DCD-81B2-48E21D670F5C} - SiteMinder+SPNEGO

Controls which custom authentication module will display by default. For example, to use Tivoli Access Manger authentication, set this to {B5BAD66C-CF6F-4FA5-9BC7-EF36C76D331A} and then set Default Auth Type to Custom.

If this preference is not configured there is no default.

Social Connectors

BasicAuthEncoding (Type is DWORD)

28591 - (ISO8895-1) (Default)

65001 - (UTF8)

Select encoding type for credentials when using basic authentication.

Social Connectors

LFFilesRoot

<path to existing directory>

%HOMEPATH%\ LFFiles (Default)

Default root directory for downloaded files. This must be set to a non-shared local directory on the client system. Once set, it only affects newly added servers, communities, or people. Make sure you designate a valid URL. For example, do not specify a path to a removable device. Test the path to make sure it is accessible for your users.

Note: Changing this setting requires that you restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Social Connectors/Settings

Enable Metrics

String

Default - null (not in registry)

0 - Disable Metrics Support (Default)

1 - Enable Metrics Support

When support is enabled for metrics, usage data about certain operations is gathered from the client. Operations such as displaying a View, for example, the "My Files" view, provides metrics that display in the IBM Connections server metrics reports.

Note: Metrics are not available for Connections Cloud.

Social Connectors/Settings

Disable Activities

String

Default - null (not in registry)

0 - Enable Activities (Default)

1 - Disable Activities

Setting this value to 1 hides all of the user interface options related to the Activities feature, such as Add to Activities.

This setting affects the Explorer, Office, and Outlook plug-ins.

You might use this setting if you have no sites available that support Activities.

Social Connectors/Settings

Disable Blogs

String

Default - null (not in registry)

0 - Enable Blogs (Default)

1 - Disable Blogs

Setting this value to 1 hides all of the user interface options related to the Blogs feature, such as Add to Blogs.

Menu items and ribbon controls will be hidden.

This setting affects the Explorer, Office, and Outlook plug-ins

You might use this setting if you have no Sites available that support Blogs.

Social Connectors/Settings

Disable Bookmarks

String

Default - null (not in registry)

0 - Enable Bookmarks (Default)

1 - Disable Bookmarks

Setting this value to 1 hides all of the user interface options related to the Bookmarks feature, such as Insert Bookmark.

Menu items and ribbon controls are hidden.

This setting affects the Explorer, Office, and Outlook plug-ins

You might use this setting if you have no Sites available that support Bookmarks.

Social Connectors/Settings

Disable Profiles

String

Default - null (not in registry)

0 - Enable Profiles (Default)

1 - Disable Profiles

Setting this value to 1 disables all of the user interface options related to the Profiles feature, such as Invite to my network.

Menu items and ribbon controls are visible but disabled.

This setting affects the Explorer, Office, and Outlook plug-ins.

You might use this setting if you have no Sites available that support Profiles.

Social Connectors/Settings

Disable Wikis

String

Default - null (not in registry)

0 - Enable Wikis (Default)

1 - Disable Wikis

Setting this value to 1 hides all of the user interface options related to the Wikis feature, such as Add to Wikis.

Menu items and ribbon controls are hidden.

This setting affects the Explorer, Office, and Outlook plug-ins.

You might use this setting if you have no Sites available that support Wikis.

Social Connectors/Settings

Disable Search

String

Default - null (not in registry)

0 - Enable Search (Default)

1 - Disable Search

Setting this value to 1 hides all of the user interface options related to the Search feature.

Menu items and ribbon controls are hidden.

This setting affects the Explorer, Office, and Outlook plug-ins

You might use this setting if you have no Search service available.

Social Connectors/Settings

Disable Community Bookmarks

String

Default - null (not in registry)

0 = community bookmarks enabled, allows adding bookmarks to community bookmarks (Default)

1 = community bookmarks disabled, prohibits adding bookmarks to community bookmarks.

Setting this value to 1 hides all of the user interface options related to the Community bookmarks feature.

Menu items and ribbon controls are hidden.

This setting affects the Office plug-ins.

You might use this setting if you have no Communities support or no Community Bookmarks support.

Social Connectors/Settings

Disable Groups

String

Default - null (not in registry)

0 = groups enabled, allows sharing with Groups where appropriate in sharing dialogs (Default)

1 = groups disabled, will disable sharing with groups where appropriate in sharing dialogs

This setting disables the ability for users to share with groups. This corresponds to the server policy.

There is no "Disable Groups Policy" setting.

Social Connectors/Settings

Disable Public Sharing

String

Default - null (not in registry)

Default behavior is enabled for public sharing

0 = public sharing enabled, will allow sharing with Everyone (Public) or Everyone in Organization (for Connections Cloud) where appropriate in sharing dialogs (Default)

1 = public sharing disabled, disables sharing with Everyone (Public) or Everyone in Organization (for Connections Cloud) where appropriate in sharing dialogs

This setting disables the ability for users to share with Everyone (Public) for Connections, or with Everyone in Organization for Connection Cloud.

There is no "Disable Public Sharing Policy."

Social Connectors/Settings

Sharing Intent

String Default - null (not in registry)

Default behavior is Sharing Intent enabled

0 = Do not normally allow outside access for new content, but ask me about new content added to a folder permitting outside access

1 = Allow all new content to be shared with people outside this organization, except for folders added to a folder that denies outside access.

2 = Only allow outside access to new content if created in a folder permitting outside access.

This setting sets the default value for the sharing intent setting on new file and new folder dialogs, as well as the default sharing intent for new content added to the local My Drive folder. The sharing intent values correspond to the External Sharing Preferences listed under <site name> -> My Files in the preferences panel.

Files and folders added to the local My Drive folder will be created as external or internal based on this value.

For new file and new folder dialogs, the sharing intent checkbox will be checked by default only when this value equals null or 1.

Social Connectors/Settings

Sharing Intent Policy

String

Default - null (not in registry)

0 = user can change the sharing intent setting

1 = user cannot change the sharing intent setting

This setting controls whether the user can change the default value for the sharing intent setting on new file and new folder dialogs and files and folders add to the local My Drive folder. If the policy is set, the user cannot change the setting.

Social Connectors/Settings

Enforce File Sharing

String

Default - null (not in registry) Share now option is not checked by default

0 = share now setting is not checked (Default)

1 = share now setting is checked

This setting sets the default value for the I want to share the file(s) now option when a user adds new file to a cloud server.

Social Connectors/Settings

Enforce File Sharing Policy

String

Default - null (not in registry)

0 = user can change the share now setting (Default)

1 = user cannot change the share now setting

This setting controls whether the user can change the default value for the I want to share the file(s) now setting on new file and new folder and sharing dialogs. If the policy is set, the user cannot change the setting.

Social Connectors/Settings

Sharing Propagation

String

Default - null (not in registry)

0 = sharing propagation setting is not checked

1 = sharing propagation setting is checked (Default)

This setting sets the default value for the sharing propagation setting on new file and new folder and sharing dialogs.

Social Connectors/Settings

Sharing Propagation Policy

String

Default - null (not in registry)

0 = user can change the sharing propagation setting (Default)

1 = user cannot change the sharing propagation setting

This setting controls whether the user can change the default value for the sharing propagation setting on new file and new folder and sharing dialogs. If the policy is set, the user cannot change the setting.

Social Connectors/Settings

Encrypt

String

Default - null (not in registry)

0 = Encrypt option is not checked (Default)

1 = Encrypt option is checked

This setting sets the default value for the Encryption setting on New File dialogs and the dialog for creating a My Drive folder.

Social Connectors/Settings

Encrypt Policy

String

Default - null (not in registry)

0 = user can change the Encryption setting (Default)

1 = user cannot change the Encryption setting

This setting controls whether the user can change the default value for the Encryption setting on New File dialogs and the dialog for creating a My Drive folder. If the policy is set, the user cannot change the setting.

Social Connectors/Settings

DefaultConnectURL

<server url>

Enter the URL to use as the default site URL in the Connect to a Site dialog.

Social Connectors/Settings

DefaultConnectName

<server display name>

This display name is the default server display name in the Connect to a Site dialog.

Social Connectors/Settings

HelpURL

https://apps.na.collabserv.com/help/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.imb.msplugin.doc/c_files_window_install_ovr.html (Default)
Note: "http://" or "https://" is required as part of the url

The url for help for the entire product.

Social Connectors/Settings

HelpConnectURL

https://apps.na.collabserv.com/help/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.imb.msplugin.doc/c_files_window_install_ovr.html (Default)
Note: "http://" or "https://" is required as part of the url

The URL for help on the Connect to Site dialog. This setting overrides the setting for HelpURL

Social Connectors\Settings

DefaultConnectURL

String

Default - null

The URL that shows by default in the Connect to Site dialog for a new server.

Social Connectors\Settings

DefaultConnectName

String

Default - null

The name that will show by default in the Connect to Site dialog for a new server

Social Connectors\Settings

DarkDeployment

0 - Disables Features (default)

1 - Enable Features

Dark Deployment are features that are beta ready. When this preference is enabled, users can check the Enable Beta Features option on the Preferences panel to access preview features.

Social Connectors\Settings

DarkDeployment Policy

Default - null (not in registry)

0 = user can change the DarkDeployment setting

1 = user cannot change the DarkDeployment setting

Controls whether users can change the Enable Beta Features setting in General Preferences.

Social Connectors\Settings

Hide AddTo Group

String

Default - null

0 = Add To group displays in Office ribbon

1 = Add To group does not display in Office ribbon

If set to 1, the Add To group in the Office ribbon is hidden. The default behavior is to show the Add To group.

Social Connectors\Settings

Disable Connect Cloud

String

0 – allow untrusted certificates (default)

1 – block untrusted certificates

Controls whether users see the Connect to Cloud option in the Connections menu.

Social Connectors\Settings

Block Sync

String

Default - null

0 – Sync Enabled for servers

1 – Sync Disabled for servers

Controls whether user is able to use sync. When sync is disabled, users will not get a local My Drive folder in Windows Explorer.

Note: Setting the registry value does not disable sync for sites which were already syncing when the registry value was set. Sync will be disabled for these sites once they either stop using sync or disconnect from the site.

Social Connectors\Settings

FailInvalidCerts

String

0 – allow untrusted certificates (default)

1 – block untrusted certificates

When FailInvalidCert is set to 0, the user is warned that the certificate is invalid or incorrect but user can choose to accept the certificate. When FailInvalidCert is set to 1, it will block untrusted certificates. An error message informs users that the certificate is invalid or incorrect.

Social Connectors\Settings

EndpointFiles

String

Default – null (not in registry)\

Endpoint override. For example, /files

Allows override of Connections endpoint. Plug-ins have hardcoded values for 3 endpoints, which can be overridden using these settings. Overrides must take this form:

EndpointFile=/files

where the destination is indicated with a leading slash (/) but no trailing slash.

Social Connectors\Settings

EndpointProfiles

String

Default – null (not in registry)\

Endpoint override. For example, /profiles

Allows override of Connections endpoint. Plug-ins have hardcoded values for 3 endpoints, which can be overridden using these settings. Overrides must take this form:

EndpointProfiles=/profiles

where the destination is indicated with a leading slash (/) but no trailing slash.

Social Connectors\Settings

EndpointPush

String

Default – null (not in registry)\

Endpoint override. For example, /push

Allows override of Connections endpoint. Plug-ins have hardcoded values for 3 endpoints, which can be overridden using these settings. Overrides must take this form:

EndpointPush=/push

where the destination is indicated with a leading slash (/) but no trailing slash.

Social Connectors\Settings

ReadAllAlways

String

Default – null (not in registry)

0 = User must select "Get All" from folder context menu to view more than 500 items in the folder.

1 = All items within a folder are displayed, even if the amount of child files and/or folders exceed 500.

When a server folder is selected, the Explorer window only displays up to 500 items in the folder view. If the folder contains more than 500 items and the user would like to see all of them, they must right-click in the folder view, and select "Get All" from the context menu.

This setting specifies that all of the folder’s contents should always be retrieved for any folder selected regardless of whether or not the amount of immediate children files/folders is greater than 500.

Social Connectors\Settings

DownloadUnscannedFiles

String

Default – null (not in registry)

0 = unscanned files are not downloaded by default. User is prompted via message or sync issue.

1 = unscanned files are downloaded by default.
Warning: This behavior is not recommended as the files may not be safe

Allows override of the download behavior for files that have not yet been scanned for viruses on the server.

Warning: Downloading unscanned files can allow unsafe files to be downloaded.

Social Connectors\Settings

DownloadLargeUnscannedFiles

String

Default – null (not in registry)

0 = files too large to be scanned are not downloaded by default. User is prompted via message or sync issue.

1 = files too large to be scanned are downloaded by default.
Warning: This behavior is not recommended as the files may not be safe

Allows override of the download behavior for files that are too large to be scanned for viruses on the server.

Warning: Downloading unscanned files can allow unsafe files to be downloaded.

Social Connectors\Settings

EnableSmartLinks

String

Default – null (not in registry)

0 = does not display the Copy Application Link menu option on the app menu.

1 = displays the Copy Application Link menu option on the app menu.

When this feature is enabled, the "Copy application link" menu item appears in the right-click context menu of a file. Clicking an application link on a Windows desktop downloads and opens the file (the same action as double-clicking on this file in Windows Explorer), using the ibmcsp:// protocol.

Use application links when you want the recipient of the link to open the file locally. Standard links open the details view for the file in the browser.

The following table shows preference and policy settings that control the behavior of community libraries. These registry values are not created during installation. You must create the keys/values as needed. If a key/value does not exist, the appropriate default is assumed. Setting values to anything other than the values listed in the table produces unpredictable results.

Restriction: CCM libraries are not supported on IBM Connections Cloud.
Note: Note: For 64-bit computers, the registry settings are stored in HKLM/SOFTWARE/Wow6432Node/IBM instead of in HKLM/SOFTWARE/IBM (used for 32-bit computers).
Table 2. Registry keys for community libraries

Registry keys for community libraries

Note: Enter registry keys with no line breaks. They are formatted for readability in the tables.
Key/SubKey (HKLM/SOFTWARE/IBM) or (HKLM/SOFTWARE/Wow6432Node/IBM on 64-bit) Name (Type = String) Values Description

Social Connectors\Settings\Libraries

AddDocument

Default - null (not in registry)

0 = Always check in documents

1 = Always add as private drafts

2 = Prompt me (Default)

This setting defines the default behavior of the plug-in when the user adds a document to a Library. The default behavior is to prompt the user to choose the action.

Overrides user preference if policy is also set.

Social Connectors\Settings\Libraries

AddDocument Policy

Default - null (not in registry)

0 = user can change the AddDocument setting (Default)

1 = user cannot change the AddDocument setting

Controls whether users can modify the AddDocument setting.

Social Connectors\Settings\Libraries

DoubleClick

Default - null (not in registry)

0 = Always check out

1 = Always open without check out

2 = Prompt me (Default)

This setting defines the default behavior of the plug-in when the user double-clicks a document in a library.

Overrides user preference if policy is also set.

Social Connectors\Settings\Libraries

DoubleClick Policy

Default - null (not in registry)

0 = user can change the DoubleClick setting (Default)

1 = user cannot change the DoubleClick setting

Controls whether users can change the DoubleClick setting.

Social Document Management\Desktop Integration

CCMLibrariesRoot

<path to existing directory>

Default root directory for downloaded library files. This must be set to a non-shared local directory on the client system. Once set, it only affects newly added servers, communities, or people. Make sure you designate a valid URL. For example, do not specify a path to a removable device. Test the path to make sure it is accessible for your users.

Note: Changing this setting requires that you restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Social Connectors\Settings

Enable CCM Library Trash

default - null (not in registry)

Default behavior is CCM Library Trash View not shown

0 - CCM Library Trash View not shown

1 - CCM Library Trash View is shown

Setting this value to 1 enables the CCM Library Trash View. The CCM Library Trash folder will appear within the specific library's folder.