Configuring End User Notifications for App Installers with Configuration Profiles

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Changes to notifications

Beginning 01 June 2023, all new versions of App Installer packages will begin to use the notification identifier com.jamfsoftware.selfservice.mac. This change enables the use of the Self Service icon for all end user notifications. This change will happen automatically if the Jamf management framework and Self Service checkbox is selected in Settings > Computer management > Security.

Most App Installer packages include the ability to configure end user notifications when an update is available for a given software title. You can create a computer configuration profile to generate the end user notification and configure the notification interval, deadline, and more. The default behavior is to notify the end user daily and to never force quit an app to perform the update.

Note:

The following workflow uses the Google Chrome app for example purposes, but the configuration is similar for other App Installer packages that support end user notifications.

For a list of applicable software titles, see the Bundle IDs and Preference Domains for App Installers table.

For information about deploying software titles and updates with App Installers, see App Installers in the Jamf Pro Documentation.

  1. In Jamf Pro, navigate to Settings > Computer management > Security and ensure the Jamf management framework and Self Service checkbox is selected.
  2. In Jamf Pro, click Computers in the sidebar.
  3. Click Configuration Profiles in the sidebar.
  4. Click New.
  5. Use the General payload to configure the following basic settings for the profile:
    1. Enter a name for the profile.
    2. (Optional) Enter a description for the profile.
    3. (Optional) Choose a site from the Site pop-up menu.
    4. (Optional) Choose a category from the Category pop-up menu.
    5. Choose "Computer" from the Computer Level pop-up menu.
    6. Choose "Install Automatically" from the Distribution pop-up menu.
  6. (Optional) Use the Notifications payload to configure settings for the application as follows:
    Note:

    This step is only needed if you want to configure the notification to use the app's own bundle ID.

    1. Click Add.
    2. In the Bundle ID field, enter the following: com.google.Chrome
    3. Click Enable to allow notifications.
    4. Choose a notification type from the Banner alert type pop-up menu.
      Best Practice:

      Jamf recommends choosing "Persistent" from the Banner alert type pop-up menu. You may choose "Temporary"; however, end users may not see a temporary notification.

    5. (Optional) If you chose "Temporary" from the Banner alert type pop-up menu, click Display to enable Notifications in Notification Center.
    6. Configure other notification settings as needed.
  7. Use the Application & Custom Settings payload to configure settings for the preference domain as follows:
    1. Click Upload.
    2. Click Add.
    3. Enter the following in the Preference Domain field: com.google.Chrome.AppInstaller
    4. Enter the following in the Property List field: 
      <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>notify</key>
    <integer>86400</integer>
    <key>deadline</key>
    <integer>604800</integer>
</dict>
</plist>
      Example:

      For a list of available preference keys, see Preference Keys for App Installers.

      • notify —Number of seconds between notifications displayed to the end user. In the example above, the integer 86400 results in one daily notification.
      • deadline —Number of seconds until the application is forced to quit to perform the update. In the example above, the integer 604800 allows the end user to defer the update for one week until the update is forced.
  8. Click the Scope tab.
  9. On the Selected Deployment Targets pane, click Add.
  10. Click Computer Groups.
  11. Find the smart computer group used for your App Installer deployment, and then click Add.
  12. Click Save .
The configuration profile is applied to the target computers in the selected smart computer group.

Repeat steps 1-11 and modify the Bundle ID and Preference Domain as required for the software titles in your environment deployed with App Installers.