Prefer Local Names Allowed
Verified with Windows 11 25H2 — updated on July 30, 2026
Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
Path in the GPO console
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Network\DirectAccess Client Experience Settings Description
Specifies whether the user has Connect and Disconnect options for the DirectAccess entry when the user clicks the Networking notification area icon. If the user clicks the Disconnect option, NCA removes the DirectAccess rules from the Name Resolution Policy Table (NRPT) and the DirectAccess client computer uses whatever normal name resolution is available to the client computer in its current network configuration, including sending all DNS queries to the local intranet or Internet DNS servers. Note that NCA does not remove the existing IPsec tunnels and users can still access intranet resources across the DirectAccess server by specifying IPv6 addresses rather than names. The ability to disconnect allows users to specify single-label, unqualified names (such as “PRINTSVR”) for local resources when connected to a different intranet and for temporary access to intranet resources when network location detection has not correctly determined that the DirectAccess client computer is connected to its own intranet. To restore the DirectAccess rules to the NRPT and resume normal DirectAccess functionality, the user clicks Connect. Note If the DirectAccess client computer is on the intranet and has correctly determined its network location, the Disconnect option has no effect because the rules for DirectAccess are already removed from the NRPT. If this setting is not configured, users do not have Connect or Disconnect options.
Registry
SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\NetworkConnectivityAssistant Value name: NamePreferenceAllowed
Enabled: NamePreferenceAllowed = 1
Disabled: NamePreferenceAllowed = 0
MDM / Intune (CSP)
./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_nca/LocalNamesOn Microsoft Learn documentation Mapping data: Microsoft Learn (CC BY 4.0)
Export Builder
BETAConfigure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.
These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO. ⓘ
.reg file
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Prefer Local Names Allowed
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\NetworkConnectivityAssistant]
"NamePreferenceAllowed"=dword:00000001More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)
PowerShell
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Prefer Local Names Allowed
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
$path = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\NetworkConnectivityAssistant'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'NamePreferenceAllowed' -Value 1 -Type DWordIntune XML
OMA-URI: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_nca/LocalNamesOn
Data type: String
Value:
<enabled/>Intune Remediation
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Prefer Local Names Allowed
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\NetworkConnectivityAssistant' -Name 'NamePreferenceAllowed' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Prefer Local Names Allowed
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
$path = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\NetworkConnectivityAssistant'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'NamePreferenceAllowed' -Value 1 -Type DWordSCCM scripts
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Prefer Local Names Allowed
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
# SCCM Configuration Item guidance:
# Create a Configuration Item of type "Setting: Script".
# Discovery script: use the Detection script below.
# Remediation script: use the Remediation script below.
# Compliance rule: the Discovery script output equals 'Compliant'.
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Prefer Local Names Allowed
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\NetworkConnectivityAssistant' -Name 'NamePreferenceAllowed' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Prefer Local Names Allowed
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
$path = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\NetworkConnectivityAssistant'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'NamePreferenceAllowed' -Value 1 -Type DWordBuilding a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.