ChangeIntelIT change radar
Public mode

No tenant, Graph, or device access. Every item links to its source. What this means

Some sources or documents need attention: 253/255 feeds/APIs · 0/410 docs · checked 22:28 UTC Customize Public modeDiscuss ChangeIntel on Discord

Windows 11 Group Policy settings

3,621 settings · 25H2 · 1.0 · 29 Sep 2025

1 folder · 9 settingsCSV
Back to the list

Windows Components › Internet Explorer › Internet Settings › Advanced settings › Browsing

Turn off configuring underline links

UserIntune-readyUnderlineLinksPol

Supported on At least Internet Explorer 7.0

25H2 · 1.0

What it does

This policy setting specifies how you want links on webpages to be underlined. If you enable this policy setting, a user cannot choose when to underline links. You must specify when to underline links: • Always • Never • Hover (when the mouse pointer pauses on a link) If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, the user can choose when to underline links.

What it writes

Hive
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Registry key
Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

In Intune

No native CSP; import the ADMX (Intune-ready).

From Microsoft's Policy CSP DDF files (DDF v2 Files, February 2026), read 18 Oct 2026.

Options

OptionTypeRegistry valueAllowed values
Underline linksDefault: Always Drop-down list Anchor Underline
  • Alwaysyes
  • Neverno
  • Hoverhover

Configure and deploy

Choose a state and the option values; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.

State
Options used when Enabled

Enabled · User · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
"Anchor Underline"="yes"

PowerShell

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Turn off configuring underline links
# Name: UnderlineLinksPol
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: inetres.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main' -Name 'Anchor Underline' -PropertyType 'String' -Value 'yes'
  • The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
  • Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.

ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)

./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_inetres/UnderlineLinksPol

ADMX SyncML candidate

<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
  <SyncBody>
    <Replace>
      <CmdID>1</CmdID>
      <Item>
        <Meta>
          <Format>chr</Format>
          <Type>text/plain</Type>
        </Meta>
        <Target>
          <LocURI>./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_inetres/UnderlineLinksPol</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;
&lt;data id="UnderlineLinks" value="yes"/&gt;</Data>
      </Item>
    </Replace>
    <Final/>
  </SyncBody>
</SyncML>
Intune remediation scripts

Detection

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()

function Test-RegistryValueExists {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}

function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    $valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
        return $false
    }

    $actual = $valueObject.$Name
    switch ($Kind) {
        'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
        'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
        'MultiString' {
            $actualArray = @($actual)
            $expectedArray = @($Expected)
            if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
                if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        'Binary' {
            $actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
            $expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
            if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
                if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
    }
}

# Policy: Turn off configuring underline links
# Name: UnderlineLinksPol
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: inetres.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main' -Name 'Anchor Underline' -Kind 'String' -Expected 'yes'
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Anchor Underline') | Out-Null
}

if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
    Write-Output 'Compliant'
    exit 0
}

$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1

Remediation

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Turn off configuring underline links
# Name: UnderlineLinksPol
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: inetres.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main' -Name 'Anchor Underline' -PropertyType 'String' -Value 'yes'

History 5 retained releases

  1. 22H2 · 1.015 Jul 2024
    • Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

4 later releases left it unchanged.

Template

Internal name
UnderlineLinksPol
Namespace
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer
Template file
inetres.admx
Release
Windows 11 25H2 · 1.0 · file set de4e49983ebd651f…
Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="User" displayName="$(string.UnderlineLinksPol)" explainText="$(string.UnderlineLinksPol_Explain)" key="Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main" name="UnderlineLinksPol" presentation="$(presentation.UnderlineLinksPol)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:Browsing" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:SUPPORTED_IE7" />
      <elements>
        <enum id="UnderlineLinks" valueName="Anchor Underline">
          <item displayName="$(string.Always)">
            <value>
              <string>yes</string>
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.Never)">
            <value>
              <string>no</string>
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.Hover)">
            <value>
              <string>hover</string>
            </value>
          </item>
        </enum>
      </elements>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="UnderlineLinksPol" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <dropdownList defaultItem="0" noSort="true" refId="UnderlineLinks">Underline links</dropdownList>
      </presentation>

Supported platforms and category

Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:category:Advanced
<category displayName="$(string.Advanced)" name="Advanced" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:InternetSettings" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:category:Browsing
<category displayName="$(string.Browsing)" name="Browsing" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:Advanced" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:category:InternetExplorer
<category displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer)" explainText="$(string.IE_ExplainCat)" name="InternetExplorer" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:category:InternetSettings
<category displayName="$(string.InternetSettings)" name="InternetSettings" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:InternetExplorer" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:definition:SUPPORTED_IE7
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_IE7)" name="SUPPORTED_IE7" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <range minVersionIndex="7" ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer" />
        </or>
      </definition>
Microsoft.Policies.Products:product:InternetExplorer
sha256:f287ee590cbba46b7a95511866303967b9370c7c7d81185659d675ca19b05d72
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:category:Advanced
<category displayName="$(string.Advanced)" name="Advanced" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:InternetSettings" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:Advanced">Advanced settings</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:category:Browsing
<category displayName="$(string.Browsing)" name="Browsing" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:Advanced" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:Browsing">Browsing</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:category:InternetExplorer
<category displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer)" explainText="$(string.IE_ExplainCat)" name="InternetExplorer" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:IE_ExplainCat">Contains settings to configure Internet Explorer</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:InternetExplorer">Internet Explorer</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:category:InternetSettings
<category displayName="$(string.InternetSettings)" name="InternetSettings" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:InternetExplorer" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:InternetSettings">Internet Settings</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:definition:SUPPORTED_IE7
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_IE7)" name="SUPPORTED_IE7" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <range minVersionIndex="7" ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer" />
        </or>
      </definition>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:SUPPORTED_IE7">At least Internet Explorer 7.0</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Products:product:InternetExplorer
<product displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer)" name="InternetExplorer" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer30)" name="InternetExplorer30" versionIndex="3" />
        <majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer40)" name="InternetExplorer40" versionIndex="4" />
        <majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer50)" name="InternetExplorer50" versionIndex="5" />
        <majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer60)" name="InternetExplorer60" versionIndex="6" />
        <majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer70)" name="InternetExplorer70" versionIndex="7" />
        <majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer80)" name="InternetExplorer80" versionIndex="8" />
        <majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer90)" name="InternetExplorer90" versionIndex="9" />
        <majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer100)" name="InternetExplorer100" versionIndex="10" />
        <majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer110)" name="InternetExplorer110" versionIndex="11" />
      </product>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer">Internet Explorer</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer100">Internet Explorer 10</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer110">Internet Explorer 11</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer30">Internet Explorer 3</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer40">Internet Explorer 4</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer50">Internet Explorer 5</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer60">Internet Explorer 6</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer70">Internet Explorer 7</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer80">Internet Explorer 8</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer90">Internet Explorer 9</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents">Windows Components</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents_Help">Contains settings for operating system components.</string></strings>
ChangeIntel

An IT change radar: releases, security, known issues, retirements, documentation changes, and service status from public sources. Every item links to supporting evidence; dates and statuses can change after they are read.

Sources read 18 Oct 22:28 UTC · 253 of 255 readable · 252 fully read · documentation 0/410 current

No accounts or analytics; your preferences stay in your browser. Information, not advice. ChangeIntel is an independent tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft, Apple, Google, Broadcom (VMware), Jamf, Oracle, Mozilla, or any other vendor it covers. Product names are trademarks of their owners. Built by Evotec.