LibreOffice GPO ADMX Templates for Windows Domains

Centralized management of LibreOffice across enterprise Windows Active Directory environments is achieved through Group Policy using Administrative Template (ADMX and ADML) files. This guide details the available ADMX/ADML templates for LibreOffice, how to deploy them to the Group Policy Central Store, and the key policy controls available to system administrators.

Available ADMX and ADML Templates

LibreOffice provides dedicated administrative templates to allow domain administrators to configure user and computer settings across network endpoints:

1. Official LibreOffice Templates (libreoffice.admx and libreoffice.adml):
   The Document Foundation provides native ADMX/ADML files that map directly to the internal LibreOffice configuration tree (org.openoffice.Office.*). These templates are maintained in the official LibreOffice source repository and are periodically updated alongside major releases.

2. Enterprise Edition Templates (Collabora Office / allotropia):
   Commercial distributions of LibreOffice, such as Collabora Office, offer their own tailored ADMX/ADML templates (collaboraoffice.admx / collaboraoffice.adml). These versions often include additional pre-configured policy nodes specifically designed for long-term support (LTS) corporate environments.

Where to Obtain the Files

• LibreOffice Official Git Repository: The primary .admx and corresponding localized .adml files can be downloaded directly from the official LibreOffice core repository under the sysui/desktop/share directory.
• Collabora Productivity Repository: Collabora provides downloadable .admx packages tailored for enterprise GPO deployment via their documentation and resource portals.

Deploying the Templates to Active Directory

To make LibreOffice settings accessible in the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC):

1. Central Store Deployment (Recommended):
   • Copy libreoffice.admx to your domain’s PolicyDefinitions folder:
     \\<your-domain>\SYSVOL\<your-domain>\Policies\PolicyDefinitions\
   • Copy the language file libreoffice.adml to the appropriate language subfolder (for example, PolicyDefinitions\en-US\).
2. Local Machine Deployment:
   • Copy libreoffice.admx to C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\
   • Copy libreoffice.adml to C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\en-US\ (or your system’s language code).

Key Policy Configurations Available

Once imported into the GPMC, policies appear under Computer Configuration and User Configuration under Administrative Templates > LibreOffice. Key manageable policies include:

• Security and Macro Management: Enforce macro execution rules (e.g., restrict macros to trusted locations or disable execution entirely).
• Default File Formats: Set the default saving formats for Writer, Calc, and Impress to either OpenDocument Formats (ODF) or Microsoft Office formats (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX).
• Update and Telemetry Control: Disable automatic update checks, extension update notifications, and user feedback/crash reporting.
• Paths and Shared Resources: Define centralized network paths for document templates, auto-recovery directories, and shared gallery items.
• UI and Feature Restrictions: Lock down configuration options to prevent users from altering corporate settings or disabling required extensions.