Custom app configurations for Mac: A deep dive
Custom app configurations for Mac are made by editing a property list file. This file holds the info that the system uses which determines how the app
Labeling stuff is important, whether it be your kitchen condiments or the IT assets of your organization. They allow us easy access to the necessary items/devices when needed. Device attributes, which are important for dynamic parameters, typically contain the device info. These help both in labeling the said device as well as grouping. Moreover, they make policy associations simpler either individually or in bulk.
Some of the common device attributes are:
- Device name
- Asset tag
- Department
- Ownership type
- Device notes
- Description
UEMs like Hexnode takes things even further with dynamic parameters, making policy associations even easier.
So, what are dynamic parameters?
Dynamic parameters store custom information about the device. Based on the attribute you choose, the respective info about the device will be used. This lets you take actions or associate policies in bulk without needing to enter the device info for each manually.
An elaborate list of Hexnode’s dynamic parameters
Hexnode supports various attributes like:
| Wildcard | Function |
| %devicename% | Name of the device as shown in the portal |
| %model% | Name of the device’s model or product |
| %serialnumber% | The serial number of the device |
| %imei% | The International Mobile Equipment Identity assigned to the device. This number uniquely identifies the mobile device |
| %osname% | Name of the operating system running on the device |
| %osversion% | The version number of the device’s OS |
| %deviceid% | A number assigned to each device in the order in which they had been enrolled |
| %iccid% | The ICCID from the device’s SIM card, if present |
| %udid% | The unique identifier assigned to the device by the manufacturer |
| %phonenumber% | The phone number associated with the mobile device |
| %wifimacaddress% | The Media Access Control address that uniquely identifies the network interface on the device |
| %name% | Name of the device user as displayed in the portal |
| %email% | The email address associated with a particular user |
| %username% | Name of the user or the email address associated with the user |
| %domain% | AD (Azure AD) domain name associated with the user |
| %netbiosname% | NetBIOS name of the Active Directory domain |
| %ssid% | Service Set Identifier (SSID) or simply the name for a Wi-Fi network |
| %assettag% | Asset tag information (provided by admin as a custom attribute in the device summary page) to identify the device |
| %department% | Department name as provided by the admin in the device summary page |
| %devicenotes% | Device notes provided by the admin in the device summary page |
| %userprincipalname% | Provide to use the enrollment information to populate the user’s principal name (UPN) |
| %alternateemail% | An email other that the users email ID |
| %newline% | Use this wildcard to insert a line break |
| %null% | Use this wildcard to return no value |
Hexnode’s portal allows the admin to edit the device info when needed, and these wildcards are equipped to adapt to these changes instantly.
Now, how to use them?
To begin with, let’s say you are the IT admin, and you want to send a custom message to all your devices like,
Hi [user], this device is currently being managed by your organization.
Customizing each message can be tedious. Instead, you can simply use the “%name%” attribute. These dynamic device attributes are also called the ‘wildcards’. The new message will be
Hi %name%, this device is currently being managed by your organization.
The message the users will receive will be customized even when the exact same text in quotes above is sent to all of them.
Steve will see the message as,
Hi Steve, this device is currently being managed by your organization.
But on Laura’s device it will be,
Hi Laura, this device is currently being managed by your organization.
Hence, they are “dynamic” parameters.
We realize that your modern problems require an equally modern solution. Hexnode UEM helps you cover every possible aspect of comprehensive device management. Refer to the brochure to know more about UEM features.
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Why Hexnode UEM
Different use cases
They are useful in many different ways:
Broadcasting messages
Like I had mentioned before, you could broadcast messages to a bulk of devices at once and each of them will receive a customized version of the sent message.
They are also helpful in configuring the lock screen messages. For example, having the asset details or contact info visible without unlocking makes the device retrieval and identification fruitful.
Network configurations
Connecting devices to secure networks is essential for any organization, but it will be a tedious job for the IT department to connect each device to the network. They can’t make employees connect their devices themselves because that raises security concerns. So, wi-fi policies are configured and pushed to the devices which helps devices connect to the required wi-fi network automatically. Although this is great, for more security, some protocols require user authentication and using wildcard variables, you can fill in the appropriate user information mapped to the device.
Not just for wi-fi, you can also provide user details for authentication while setting up the VPN and also the APN for your device.
Account creation and configurations
In general, configuring an email account is straightforward with a capable UEM solution like Hexnode. While doing so, you need to give the user details like user email and username. If similar configurations apply for multiple email accounts, instead of providing info separately for every user, you could use %email% and %username% to populate the respective areas. Apart from that, you could also create new user accounts
App configurations and Custom scripts
In Android, while configuring apps, as usual, you can fill the required information using the dynamic parameters. However, in iOS and macOS, remote app configurations are made using an XML script file. You can still use the wildcards in the script file to give the necessary info required for configuring the app. For example, you could use the username, email, and other info to create a new user account in supported managed apps.
Further, similar to app configurations, device configurations in iOS and macOS are made using XML files. Therefore, wildcards can be used in configuring the device as well.
Hexnode has a feature to gain even more out of these wildcards by using the operator ‘OR’ you can perform an “OR” function. For example, you could give %email%OR%alternateemail% so, in case the primary email is deleted or removed from the attributes, it could use the alternative email to perform the said function.
Summary
In conclusion, dynamic parameters help customize the policies and actions you want to implement on required devices. They make tasks like broadcasting texts, configuring accounts and networks, and custom scripts less tedious for the IT staff. Moreover, Hexnode’s good support for wildcards is a value add for any organization.
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