ADMX files or Group Policy Administrative Templates are XML-based files that were introduced with Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and used instead of ADM files. The ADMX files basically defines the Group Policy Settings. ADMX files Support multilingual display of Policy settings. This means the ADMX file can easily be used with any language assuming an ADML file for the language exists. Administrative Templates are a feature of Group Policy introduced by Microsoft to manage machines and users in an Active Directory environment. Every new version of Windows comes with its own set of administrative templates. Recently Microsoft released a stable build of Windows 11, and Windows 11 comes with its own set of administrative templates. If you already upgraded to Windows 11 stable build, then you can download and install the administrative templates. This article will guide you to Install Administrative Templates for Windows 11 21H2.
Windows 11 21H2 administrative templates are compatible with the following operating systems.
- Windows 11,10, 8, 8.1, and 7.
- Windows Server 2022, 2019, 2016, 2012, 2012 R2, 2008 R2.
If you upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11, then you no need to uninstall any previous version of ADMX templates, simply download the updated ADMX file and install it on your system. These templates will overwrite the old admx templates.
Download the Administrative Templates for Windows 11 v21H2 from the given link, now you will get one MSI package.
Right-click on the MSI package and choose install.
Once the installation wizard opens click on Next.
On the next screen, check I accept the terms and click on Next.
Now choose the installation location and click on Next.
Under the confirmation screen, click on Install and start the installation process.
Once the installation completes, click on the Finish button. That’s it you have successfully installed the ADMX templates for Windows 11.
Once you installed the ADMX templates, restart the system once and open the Group Policy Editor.
Open Run command by pressing Windows + R and type gpedit.msc and hit enter. This command will open the Group Policy Editor.
Now you can see the new Group Policies under the Administrative Templates for both Computer Configuration and User Configuration.
This MSI file will automatically copy the admx files in the right folders, no manual configurations are required.
Download the complete Group Policy Reference from here. You may also download theMicrosoft Security Compliance Toolkit that allows security administrators to apply Group Policy Objects via a Domain Controller throughout an enterprise network.
Related: How to Install ADMX Templates for Microsoft Edge?
This post contains links to download Windows 10 administrative templates for free. The Windows 10 ADMX Templates (.admx) are released for every major version and are available for different operating systems. The ADMX templates are also available for the Windows Server 2022 operating system. You can also download ADMX templates for Microsoft Edge browser. Windows 10 ADMX Templates are provided by Microsoft for all Windows versions. In addition, you can also create your own custom
ADMX files. Group Policy tools use administrative template files to populate policy settings in the user interface. This allows administrators to manage registry-based policy settings.
Location of Administrative Templates in Windows 10
When you install Windows 10, you get 210+ administrative templates preinstalled. In Windows 10, you can find the default administrative templates in the C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions folder as shown in the below screenshot.
What are Administrative Templates (ADMX Files)?
Windows 10 Administrative Templates contain the new Group Policy settings details of the device and user configurations. Windows 10 ADMX Templates are released separately for every new version.
In general, Group Policy administrators use.admx files and language-specific.adml files from the Administrative Templates files. The language-specific.adml files and the language-neutral.admx files are used by administrators to configure policies.
When Microsoft releases a new version of Windows 10, it also provides administrative templates containing new GPO’s that you can install in Active Directory. Group Policy tools use administrative template files to populate policy settings in the user interface. This allows administrators to manage registry-based policy settings.
The below table lists all the Windows 10 administrative templates and download links. You can download the administrative template for a specific Windows 10 version.
Administrative Templates for Windows 10 Version | Download Windows 10 Administrative Template |
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 10 November 2021 Update (21H2) | Download |
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 10 May 2021 Update (21H1) | Download |
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 10 October 2020 Update (20H2) | Download |
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 10 May 2020 Update (2004) | Download |
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 10 November 2019 Update (1909) | Download |
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 10 May 2019 Update (1903) | Download |
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 10 October 2018 Update (1809) | Download |
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 10, version 1803 (April 2018 Update) | Download |
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 10, version 1709 (Fall Creators Update) | Download |
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 10, version 1703 (Creators Update) | Download |
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 10, version 1607 | Download |
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 10 and Windows 10, version 1511 | Download |
Windows 10 ADMX Templates Language Options
When you download Windows 10 administrative templates, each download includes the Administrative Templates (.admx) in the following languages:
- cs-CZ Czech – Czech Republic
- da-DK Danish – Denmark
- de-DE German – Germany
- el-GR Greek – Greece
- en-US English – United States
- es-ES Spanish – Spain
- fi-FL Finnish – Finland
- fr-FR French – France
- hu-HU Hungarian – Hungary
- it-IT Italian – Italy
- ja-JP Japanese – Japan
- ko-KR Korean – Korea
- nb-NO Norwegian (Bokmål) – Norway
- nl-NL Dutch – The Netherlands
- pl-PL Polish – Poland
- pt-BR Portuguese – Brazil
- pt-PT Portuguese – Portugal
- ru-RU Russian – Russia
- sv-SE Swedish – Sweden
- tr-TR Turkish – Turkey
- zh-CN Chinese – China
- zh-TW Chinese – Taiwan
How to Download Windows 10 Administrative Templates
Use the following steps to download Windows 10 Administrative Templates:
- Launch the browser and go to Windows 10 Administrative Templates download link.
- Click the download button. In the File Download dialog box, click Save.
- In the Save As dialog box, browse to the directory on your computer to which you want to save the ADMX templates .msi file.
- To start downloading the .msi file, click Save.
Steps to Use Windows 10 ADMX Templates
Once you download Windows 10 administrative templates, you can use these new ADMX templates (.admx files) with following steps:
- Step 1: Download the new ADMX templates.
- Step 2: Extract the .admx and .adml files.
- Step 3: Copy them to the Group Policy Central Store.
- Step 4: Create new GPO’s.
- Step 4: Review the changes.
Prajwal Desai
Prajwal Desai is a 8 time Microsoft MVP in Enterprise Mobility. With more than 12 years of content writing experience behind him, it's one of his favorite activities. His goal is to write comprehensive posts and guides, always aiming to help people with essential information.