Configure Applications

The Applications page in your Recast Management Server interface displays Application Manager's entire catalog. The applications available for you to deploy are determined by your Application Manager licensing. For more information, see Application Manager Catalog.

Application details include:

• Vendor
• Application name
• Date Added: Sorted by most recent release date by default
• Deployment Processes that include the application
• Version Currently Installed (This information will be available in a forthcoming release)
• Version to be Deployed
• Actions: Deploy an application immediately or remove an application from a deployment process

To deploy an application:

1. Navigate to the Applications page in your Recast Management Server.

2. Search for the application to deploy.

3. Click the Deploy button to the right of the application to deploy.

If the application is already included in an existing deployment process, the Reimport Application side panel will open.

If the application is not already included in a deployment process, clicking Deploy will open a panel where you can add a deployment process.

If a deployment process is deleted and recreated, or an application is accidentally deleted from your Configuration Manager console, you can reimport an application version without the need to wait until a new version is published in the Application Manager catalog. Reimporting an application removes it, and any deployments that include it, from Configuration Manager. The application and deployments are then recreated using the current Application Manager deployment process settings.

You can reimport applications from either the Applications page or the Deploy Process Details page in your Recast Management Server.

To reimport an application:

1. On the Applications page, click the Deploy button to the right of the application to reimport.

TIP: You can also find the Reimport Applications option on the Deployment Process Details page by clicking the vertical ellipsis.

2. In the Reimport Application side panel that opens, choose whether to redownload the application version to the Application Manager catalog.

3. Click Reimport Application(s).

You can deploy an application to only devices that have a previous version installed by creating an application-specific collection in Configuration Manager using a query. You can then specify the application-specific collection as a target collection for a deployment process in Application Manager. 

Create an Application-specific Collection

To create an application-specific collection in Configuration Manager:

1. On the Configuration Manager Membership Rules page, create a new device collection and add a query rule.

2. Specify a query name and click Edit Query Statement.

3. On the Criteria tab, add a new criterion with the following properties: 

• Criterion Type: Simple value
• Where: Installed Software - Product Name 
• Operator:  is like
• Value:  Specify the application name. You can add a wildcard character (%) at the beginning and/or at the end of the application name to find all application versions.

NOTE: You can find a list of product names in your environment by clicking the Value button in the Criterion Properties window. The list might not contain all products. The full list can be found on the Count of all instances of software registered with Add or Remove Programs report. If the application name in the Application Manager catalog does not exactly match the name in the product list, use the name from the Value list or the report.

Example collection for Google Chrome:

Create an Application-specific Deployment Process

To create an application-specific deployment process:

1. On the Application Manager Deployment Processes page, click Add Deployment Process or modify an existing process.

2. In the Select Application(s) side panel that opens, select only the application you want deploy. Click Next.

3. Name the deployment process and click Next.

4. Add the previously created collection as the target collection and configure a deployment schedule. Make sure that the deployment type is Required.

5. If desired, create an additional Available type deployment for all users/devices so that the application can be installed from the Software Center to devices without a previous version. 

6. Save the deployment process and click Run.

Example deployment process for Google Chrome:

You can manage the applications included in an Application Manager deployment process straight from the Deployment Processes page in the Recast Management Server interface. 

Click on a number in the Applications column to view, add or remove applications. The list of applications is searchable and sortable. 

Sort the Application List

By default, the application list is sorted in ascending order, first by vendor and secondly by application name. Where sorting is applied, the selected options appear next to the column header label.

To sort the application list differently:

1. Click on a column header one or more times to cycle through and select sorting options. 

2. Click Save & Close to save your changes.

Add an Application to a Deployment Process

To add an application:

1. In the Select Application(s) side panel, click the checkbox to the left of the application to add.

2. Click Save & Close.

Remove an Application from a Deployment Process

To remove an application:

1. In the Select Application(s) side panel, click the X to the right of the application to remove it.

2. Click Save & Close.

You can remove an application from an existing deployment process on the Applications page in the Recast Management Server interface. When an application is removed, the deployment process will no longer install newer versions of the application. If you remove the only application included in the deployment process, the deployment process itself will be deleted. Old versions of the application will remain in Configuration Manager.

To remove an application from a deployment process:

1. Navigate to the Applications page in the Application Manager section of your Recast Management Server.

2. Click the X to the far right of the application that you want to remove.

3. Confirm the deletion.