How to Configure Appearance Management

How to Configure Appearance Management

Overview:

Why a display policy needs more than just a name and a picture

Desktop appearance looks like a cosmetic concern until it isn't - a screensaver that never locks, a wallpaper that leaks internal information in a screenshot, or a "My Computer" label that doesn't match asset-naming standards all become small but recurring support tickets. Setting these by hand on each machine doesn't scale, and there's no single place to confirm they're actually consistent across the fleet.

Appearance Management turns those individual desktop settings into one policy: wallpaper behavior, screensaver file and timeout, logon-resume behavior, and a set of general settings (renaming My Computer/My Network Places, font DPI, Windows Welcome, IntelliMouse tips, the My Documents icon). Like other Device Control modules, the policy only takes effect once deployed to a scope of endpoints, and every deployment breaks down into a per-endpoint task with a full execution log.

This guide walks the full workflow end to end: opening Appearance Management, creating a display policy with a custom screensaver, deploying that policy to specific endpoints, and confirming from the task output that every individual setting was actually applied.

• One policy, several setting groups: Wallpaper Settings, Screensaver Settings, and General Settings are configured together in a single Display Policy.
• Retain Existing is the safe default: nearly every field defaults to Retain Existing, so a policy only changes what you deliberately configure.
• Custom screensaver upload: the Screensaver Settings support uploading a .scr file directly, rather than only picking from what's already on the endpoint.
• Deployment requires confirmation: publishing a deployment prompts a yes/no confirmation before it goes live, reducing the chance of an accidental rollout.
• Full per-setting execution log: the task output reports each setting group (wallpaper, screensaver, general settings) individually, not just a single pass/fail result for the whole policy.

Prerequisites

Confirm these before creating a display policy. An unconfirmed screensaver file format or a Configuration Level mismatch are common reasons a policy deploys without producing the expected visual result.

1. Administrator access: your account holds a role permitted to manage the Device Control -> Appearance Management module.
2. Agent installed and reporting: the endpoint agent is installed, registered, and reporting healthy on every target device.
3. Screensaver file ready, if used: have the .scr file available locally before starting - only one file can be uploaded per policy.
4. Endpoint scope identified: know which specific endpoints, department, location, or platform this policy should be deployed to before publishing the deployment.

Architecture: how a display policy reaches an endpoint

A display policy defines wallpaper, screensaver, and general desktop settings together. A policy deployment binds that policy to a scope of endpoints. The endpoint agent applies each setting group and reports back a per-task status and log.

Step 1: Open Appearance Management

Get oriented in Device Control before creating anything, so you know where display policies and deployments each live.

Instructions

1. From the main console, go to Endpoints -> Device Control.
2. Under Endpoint Configuration, select the Appearance Management card - "Enforces appearance policies such as themes, wallpapers, lock screens, and visual preferences across managed devices."
3. Note the sections in the left sidebar: Display Policies and Policy Deployments.

Path: Console / Endpoints / Device Control / Appearance Management

Result: You're in the Appearance Management module with visibility into any existing display policies before authoring a new one.

Step 2: Create a display policy

Define the policy identity, then configure wallpaper, screensaver, and general desktop settings.

Instructions

1. Go to Display Policies -> Create.
2. Enter a Name describing the policy's intent, e.g. Set screensaver.
3. Add an optional Description.
4. Set Configuration Level (e.g. User).
5. Optionally check Apply On User Login.
6. Under Wallpaper Settings, set Action (e.g. leave as Retain Existing to make no change).
7. Under Screensaver Settings, set Action to Retain Existing or New.
8. If New, upload a Screensaver File (.scr format, one file maximum), set Wait Time (minutes), On Resume Display Logon, and Permit User to Modify.
9. Under General Settings, optionally set Rename My Computer, Rename My Network Places, Font DPI, and the Disable Windows Welcome, Disable IntelliMouse Tips, and Disable My Documents Icon checkboxes.
10. Select Create.

Path: Console / Device Control / Appearance Management / Display Policies / Create

Console: policy definition

Result: A display policy exists in the list alongside any existing ones (e.g. a prior Display Setting policy at the User configuration level). It has no targets yet - those are set in the deployment step.

Step 3: Deploy the display policy to endpoints

Bind the policy to a scope of endpoints so it's actually applied, rather than just defined.

Instructions

1. Go to Policy Deployments -> Create.
2. Enter a Deployment Name, e.g. Set screensaver.
3. Add an optional Description.
4. Set Scope to All Endpoints, Specific Endpoints, Specific Departments, Specific Locations, or Windows.
5. If Specific Endpoints, select the target Endpoints from the list.
6. Set Select Display Management Policy to the policy created in Step 2.
7. Set Deployment Policy (e.g. OOB Instant deployment policy, type Instant).
8. Optionally set Notify to for completion alerts.
9. Select Publish, then confirm the deployment name in the prompt (or Save As Draft to finish later).

Path: Console / Device Control / Appearance Management / Policy Deployments / Create

Console: deployment definition

Result: A deployment task is created (e.g. ADR-270: Set screensaver) with stage Completed and progress 1/1, visible in the Policy Deployments list alongside prior deployments.

Step 4: Confirm the deployment with per-endpoint task status

Verify the deployment actually reached the endpoint and succeeded, rather than assuming from the deployment stage alone.

Instructions

1. Go to Policy Deployments to see every deployment with its Type (Install), Stage (Completed), Progress, and Policy.
2. Select the view icon on a deployment row to open its Tasks panel, showing Endpoint, Name, Status, and Last Updated.
3. Confirm the Status shows Success for the target endpoint.

Path: Console / Device Control / Appearance Management / Policy Deployments

Console: task status

Result: Confirmation that the deployment is not just Completed at the task level, but actually Success at the individual endpoint level.

Step 5: Review the per-setting execution output

Confirm exactly which settings were applied, retained, or skipped, rather than relying on the overall status alone.

Instructions

1. From the Tasks panel, select the task row to open its Output view.
2. Review the timestamped log lines, grouped by setting area: wallpaper configuration, screensaver configuration (including file download and path placement), and general settings.
3. Confirm the summary line reports the overall execution as Success.

Path: Console / Device Control / Appearance Management / Policy Deployments / Tasks / Output

Result: Evidence-backed confirmation of exactly what changed on the endpoint (a new screensaver, a specific wait time) and what was deliberately left alone (the existing wallpaper, existing font DPI) - not just a single pass/fail flag for the whole policy.

Best practices for appearance management

Troubleshooting: common issues and resolutions

Frequently asked questions