What is the Intune Settings catalog?

In the dynamic realm of Modern Work Solutions, mastering device configuration is a pivotal skill. Microsoft Intune, with its versatile capabilities, empowers administrators to streamline this process efficiently. In this guide, we’ll delve into creating a device configuration profile using the Settings Catalog, focusing on Windows while acknowledging its applicability to macOS, iOS, and Android devices.

What is the settings catalog?

First of all lets discuss what the settings catalog is, how and why you should use it.

When you want to create a new configuration profile for Windows, macOS, iOS or Android the Intune portal will ask you for a profile type:

In the earlier days there only were the so called „Templates“. You can imaging a Template as a collection of settings which apply to a specific area that you can configure. At the time of me writing this post there were the following Templates:

You can use them to simply create a configuration profile (formerly called policies) to configure your devices. Now you might think „that’s exactly what I need, so why is there another option with settings catalog?“ and that’s a fair question.

To answers you this question we should look what’s inside of the settings catalog. So lets see what we get when we pick „Settings catalog“ as the profile type.

As always we need to start defining a profile name and a optionally description:

Once you clicked on Next the Intune portal will quicky describe you the settings catalog. Click on „+ Add settings“ to start defining your settings catalog configurations for this profile:

This will open the „Settings picker“ from the right side of the window. Here the magic starts. You can browse all categories similar to what you maybe know from legacy group-policy-objects or short GPOs where we had a ton of settings and Intune goes even better as you can simply search for the setting that you want to configure by using the search-bar in the top area:

Click on the category that you want to configure and wait for the configurations to load in the bottom area:

Now simply check the box of the setting or multiple settings that you want to configure. Your profile can contain multiple settings and multiple categories. So you can create your custom profiles with the settings that you want or need to define. The Settings Catalog in Microsoft Intune is a game-changer, offering a more refined approach compared to the legacy Configuration Profile Templates.

Comparing Settings Catalog and Templates

Now, let’s draw a quick comparison between the Settings Catalog and the legacy Configuration Profile Templates.

Flexibility:

• The Settings Catalog outshines by providing a modular structure, allowing for more flexible configurations.

– Templates, on the other hand, may feel rigid in comparison.

Granularity:

• Settings Catalog allows administrators to dive into the wide variation of configurations, offering unprecedented granularity.

– Templates might feel cumbersome when trying to achieve intricate adjustments.

User Experience:

• The intuitive interface of the Settings Catalog enhances the user experience, simplifying the configuration process.

– Templates might be less user-friendly, especially for those new to Intune.

VDI environments:

• The settings catalog profiles will greatly work on virtual environments like Citrix or Azure Virtual Desktop.

– Not all Templates profiles will work on VDI environments and you need to configure things differently – not native from Intune configuration profiles.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Settings Catalog emerges as the preferred choice for device configuration in Microsoft Intune. Its flexibility, granularity, and user-friendly design make it a superior option compared to the legacy Configuration Profile Templates. As you navigate the landscape of Modern Work Solutions, leverage the Settings Catalog for a seamless and efficient device configuration experience.

As the result of the great benefits that settings catalog profiles bring up you should use them or at least check them out.