Apply full Windows 10 v1703 Start layout GPO only once

Question

Is there any way to apply a full Windows 10 Start layout but still letting the user pin or unpin apps from Start?

When a full Start layout is applied with this method, the users cannot pin, unpin, or uninstall apps from Start. Users can view and open all apps in the All Apps view, but they cannot pin any apps to Start. When a partial Start layout is applied, the contents of the specified tile groups cannot be changed, but users can move those groups, and can also create and customize their own groups.

There was a workaround in v1607 by applying the layout and then disabling it again, this layout would remain active and customizable by the user.

But in v1703 (Creators Update) once you disable the layout it just resets/reverts back to the default layout. The reason I prefer to not use a partial Start layout is it won't also remove all the other tiles from the default layout when applying it.

http://imgur.com/a/hyFVP

Answer 1

Someone suggested to apply the layout via PowerShell before any user profiles are created

@Ketho I've been able to do this by applying the layout via PowerShell prior to having any user log in, instead of applying it via Group Policy. The only difference is that you need to change the file extension from .xml to .bin when you import it using the Import-StartLayout cmdlet - for example Import-StartLayout -LayoutPath "C:\Install\StartMenu.bin" -MountPath $env:SystemDrive\. When done this way, the user gets the start layout you applied, but they can modify it unlike with a partial start layout.

The only downside to this approach is that it's difficult to change the start layout on a system that's already in use - you'd have to delete the existing user profiles, apply the layout using PowerShell, then have the users log back in.

On another note, if you just want to apply a partial layout while still removing the default tiles, you can do so by first applying a full layout and then the partial layout in order