Add SettingsFolderLocation policy for centralized settings path control

Source/NETworkManager.Settings/PolicyInfo.cs

@@ -10,4 +10,7 @@ public class PolicyInfo
 {
     [JsonPropertyName("Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup")]
     public bool? Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup { get; set; }
+
+    [JsonPropertyName("SettingsFolderLocation")]
+    public string? SettingsFolderLocation { get; set; }
 }

Source/NETworkManager.Settings/PolicyManager.cs

@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ public static void Load()
 
                     // Log enabled settings
                     Log.Info($"System-wide policy - Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup: {Current.Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup?.ToString() ?? "Not set"}");
+                    Log.Info($"System-wide policy - SettingsFolderLocation: {Current.SettingsFolderLocation ?? "Not set"}");
                 }
             }
             catch (Exception ex)

Source/NETworkManager.Settings/SettingsManager.cs

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 using System;
 using System.IO;
 using System.Linq;
+using System.Security;
 using System.Text.Json;
 using System.Text.Json.Serialization;
 using System.Xml.Serialization;
@@ -77,6 +78,50 @@ public static class SettingsManager
     /// <returns>Path to the settings folder.</returns>
     public static string GetSettingsFolderLocation()
     {
+        // Policy override takes precedence
+        if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(PolicyManager.Current?.SettingsFolderLocation))
+        {
+            var policyPath = PolicyManager.Current.SettingsFolderLocation;
+
+            // Validate that the policy-provided path is rooted (absolute)
+            if (!Path.IsPathRooted(policyPath))
+            {
+                Log.Error($"Policy-provided SettingsFolderLocation is not an absolute path: {policyPath}. Falling back to default location.");
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                // Validate that the path doesn't contain invalid characters
+                try
+                {
+                    // This will throw ArgumentException, NotSupportedException, or SecurityException if the path is invalid
+                    var fullPath = Path.GetFullPath(policyPath);
+
+                    // Check if the path is a directory (not a file)
+                    if (File.Exists(fullPath))
+                    {
+                        Log.Error($"Policy-provided SettingsFolderLocation is a file, not a directory: {policyPath}. Falling back to default location.");
+                    }
+                    else
+                    {
+                        return fullPath;
+                    }
+                }
+                catch (ArgumentException ex)
+                {
+                    Log.Error($"Policy-provided SettingsFolderLocation contains invalid characters: {policyPath}. Falling back to default location.", ex);
+                }
+                catch (NotSupportedException ex)
+                {
+                    Log.Error($"Policy-provided SettingsFolderLocation format is not supported: {policyPath}. Falling back to default location.", ex);
+                }
+                catch (SecurityException ex)
+                {
+                    Log.Error($"Insufficient permissions to access policy-provided SettingsFolderLocation: {policyPath}. Falling back to default location.", ex);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Fall back to existing logic
         return ConfigurationManager.Current.IsPortable
             ? Path.Combine(AssemblyManager.Current.Location, SettingsFolderName)
             : Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.MyDocuments),

Source/NETworkManager.Settings/config.json.example

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 {
-  "Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup": false
+  "Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup": false,
+  "SettingsFolderLocation": "C:\\CustomPath\\NETworkManager\\Settings"
 }

Source/NETworkManager/ViewModels/SettingsSettingsViewModel.cs

@@ -31,6 +31,11 @@ public string Location
         }
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     Gets whether the settings folder location is managed by system-wide policy.
+    /// </summary>
+    public bool IsLocationManagedByPolicy => !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(PolicyManager.Current?.SettingsFolderLocation);
+
     private bool _isDailyBackupEnabled;
 
     public bool IsDailyBackupEnabled

Source/NETworkManager/Views/SettingsSettingsView.xaml

@@ -7,30 +7,56 @@
              xmlns:iconPacks="http://metro.mahapps.com/winfx/xaml/iconpacks"
              xmlns:viewModels="clr-namespace:NETworkManager.ViewModels"
              xmlns:localization="clr-namespace:NETworkManager.Localization.Resources;assembly=NETworkManager.Localization"
+             xmlns:converters="clr-namespace:NETworkManager.Converters;assembly=NETworkManager.Converters"
              mc:Ignorable="d" Loaded="UserControl_Loaded"
              d:DataContext="{d:DesignInstance viewModels:SettingsSettingsViewModel}">
+    <UserControl.Resources>
+        <converters:BooleanToVisibilityCollapsedConverter x:Key="BooleanToVisibilityCollapsedConverter" />
+    </UserControl.Resources>
     <StackPanel>
         <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource HeaderTextBlock}" Text="{x:Static localization:Strings.Location}" />
         <TextBox x:Name="TextBoxLocation" Text="{Binding Location}" Style="{StaticResource ReadOnlyTextBox}"
                  IsEnabled="False" Margin="0,0,0,10" />
-        <Button Command="{Binding OpenLocationCommand}" Style="{StaticResource ImageWithTextButton}"
-                HorizontalAlignment="Right" Margin="0,0,0,20">
-            <Button.Content>
-                <Grid>
-                    <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
-                        <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
-                        <ColumnDefinition Width="*" />
-                    </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
-                    <Rectangle Style="{StaticResource ButtonWithImageRectangle}">
-                        <Rectangle.OpacityMask>
-                            <VisualBrush Stretch="Uniform" Visual="{iconPacks:Material Kind=FolderOpen}" />
-                        </Rectangle.OpacityMask>
-                    </Rectangle>
-                    <TextBlock Grid.Column="1" Text="{x:Static localization:Strings.OpenLocation}"
+        <Grid>
+            <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
+                <ColumnDefinition Width="*" />
+                <ColumnDefinition Width="10" />
+                <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
+            </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
+            <StackPanel Grid.Column="0" Grid.Row="0"
+                        Orientation="Horizontal"
+                        Visibility="{Binding IsLocationManagedByPolicy, Converter={StaticResource BooleanToVisibilityCollapsedConverter}}"
+                        Margin="0,0,0,10">
+                <Rectangle Width="24" Height="24" Fill="{DynamicResource MahApps.Brushes.Accent}" VerticalAlignment="Center" Margin="0,0,5,0">
+                    <Rectangle.OpacityMask>
+                        <VisualBrush Stretch="Uniform" Visual="{iconPacks:Material Kind=ShieldLock}" />
+                    </Rectangle.OpacityMask>
+                </Rectangle>
+                <TextBlock Text="{x:Static localization:Strings.SettingManagedByAdministrator}"                       
+                       Style="{StaticResource AccentTextBlock}"
+                       VerticalAlignment="Center" />
+            </StackPanel>
+            <Button Grid.Column="2" Grid.Row="0"
+                    Command="{Binding OpenLocationCommand}"
+                    Style="{StaticResource ImageWithTextButton}"
+                    Margin="0,0,0,20">
+                <Button.Content>
+                    <Grid>
+                        <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
+                            <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
+                            <ColumnDefinition Width="*" />
+                        </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
+                        <Rectangle Style="{StaticResource ButtonWithImageRectangle}">
+                            <Rectangle.OpacityMask>
+                                <VisualBrush Stretch="Uniform" Visual="{iconPacks:Material Kind=FolderOpen}" />
+                            </Rectangle.OpacityMask>
+                        </Rectangle>
+                        <TextBlock Grid.Column="1" Text="{x:Static localization:Strings.OpenLocation}"
                                Style="{StaticResource ButtonWithImageTextBlock}" />
-                </Grid>
-            </Button.Content>
-        </Button>
+                    </Grid>
+                </Button.Content>
+            </Button>
+        </Grid>
         <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource HeaderTextBlock}" Text="{x:Static localization:Strings.Backup}" />
         <mah:ToggleSwitch Header="{x:Static localization:Strings.CreateDailyBackup}"
                   IsOn="{Binding IsDailyBackupEnabled}" Margin="0,0,0,10" />

Website/docs/settings/settings.md

@@ -17,6 +17,26 @@ Folder where the application settings are stored.
 | Setup / Archiv | `%UserProfile%\Documents\NETworkManager\Settings` |
 | Portable       | `<APP_FOLDER>\Settings`                           |
 
+:::info System-Wide Policy
+
+This setting can be controlled by administrators using a system-wide policy. See [System-Wide Policies](../system-wide-policies.md) for more information.
+
+**Policy Property:** `SettingsFolderLocation`
+
+**Values:**
+- Absolute path (e.g., `C:\\CustomPath\\NETworkManager\\Settings`) - Force a custom settings folder location for all users
+- Omit the property - Allow the default location logic to apply (portable vs. non-portable)
+
+**Example:**
+
+```json
+{
+  "SettingsFolderLocation": "C:\\CustomPath\\NETworkManager\\Settings"
+}
+```
+
+:::
+
 :::note
 
 **Recommendation**  

Website/docs/system-wide-policies.md

@@ -36,7 +36,8 @@ The `config.json` file uses a simple JSON structure to define policy values. An
 
 ```json
 {
-  "Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup": false
+  "Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup": false,
+  "SettingsFolderLocation": "C:\\CustomPath\\NETworkManager\\Settings"
 }
 ```