http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732275.aspx
Folder Redirection Overview
Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2
Folder Redirection
User settings and user files are typically stored in the local user profile, under the Users folder. The files in local user profiles can be accessed only from the current computer, which makes it difficult for users who use more than one computer to work with their data and synchronize settings between multiple computers. Two technologies exist to address this problem: Roaming Profiles and Folder Redirection. Both technologies have their advantages, and they can be used separately or together to create a seamless user experience from one computer to another. They also provide additional options for administrators managing user data.
Folder Redirection lets administrators redirect the path of a folder to a new location. The location can be a folder on the local computer or a directory on a network file share. Users can work with documents on a server as if the documents were based on a local drive. The documents in the folder are available to the user from any computer on the network. Folder Redirection is located under Windows Settings in the console tree when you edit domain-based Group Policy by using the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). The path is [Group Policy Object Name]\User Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Folder Redirection.
Recent changes to Folder Redirection
Folder Redirection now includes the following features:
- The ability to redirect more folders in the user profile folders than in earlier Windows operating systems. This includes the Contacts, Downloads, Favorites, Links, Music, Saved Games,Searches, and Videos folders.
- The ability to apply settings for redirected folders to Windows® 2000, Windows 2000 Server®, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 computers. You have the option to apply the settings that you configure on Windows Server® 2008 R2, Windows® 7, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Vista® only to computers that are running those operating systems, or to apply them to computers that are running earlier Windows operating systems also. For these earlier Windows operating systems, you can apply these settings to folders that can be redirected. These are the Application Data, Desktop, My Documents, My Pictures, and Start Menu folders. This option is available in the Settings tab in the Properties for the folder, underSelect the redirection settings for [FolderName].
- The option to have the Music, Pictures, and Videos folders follow the Documents folder. In Windows operating systems earlier than Windows Vista, these folders were subfolders of theDocuments folder. By configuring this option, you resolve any issues related to naming and folder structure differences between and earlier and more recent Windows operating systems. This option is available in the Target tab in the Properties for the folder, under Settings.
- The ability to redirect the Start Menu folder to a specific path for all users. In Windows XP, the Start Menu folder could be redirected only to a shared target folder.