5. Inventory Reporting

Please follow the steps outlined in this section to learn more about FileWave's robust Inventory Reporting capabilities.

Location Tracking

Dude, where's my device?

Ever needed to locate a device but don't even know where to start? Well that will not be a concern with anymore since FileWave offers Location Tracking for every supported platform. This section will outline the requirements and process of getting Location information from the various devices. FileWave will leverage the device's built-in Location Services to determine the most accurate Location information. This data may be based on the wireless access point, cellular, or GPS radios.

Enable Location Tracking within the FileWave Admin

  1. Open FileWave Admin and navigate to "Clients".
  2. Select one or multiple devices, right-click, and go to "Client State".
  3. Change the "Client State" to "Tracked".
  4. "Update Model" to save the changes.
  5. If Location Services are enabled at the OS level and enabled at the FileWave Client level, you should see a "Position Map" tab for each Client.

As of FileWave 15.0 you can also go to Settings in FileWave Central and set the default tracking state to Tracked if you would like that to be the default state.

Client State Tracked.png

Windows Position Map.png

Muliple Clients Location.png

Show multiple devices on one Location map

  1. Open FileWave Admin and navigate to "Clients".
  2. Select one or multiple devices, right-click, and go to "Show Location(s)".

Chromebook Location Tracking

Chromebook Location Tracking is facilitated by the FileWave Inventory Chrome extension. Please review the guide provided in this section to learn more about deploying the FileWave Inventory extension. The Location information sync interval is configured by the Chrome extension policy JSON and is set to get Location information every 15 minutes by default.

iOS Location Tracking

iOS Location Tracking is facilitated by the IPA version of the FileWave App Portal. Please review the guide provided in this section to learn how to deploy the IPA FileWave App Portal. Once the IPA FileWave App Portal is installed and opened for the first time, the end-user should see a pop-up notification to Allow the use of Location Services. Once Allowed, the FileWave App Portal will collect and report Location Information every 15 minutes. The iOS MDM API does not allow for the automated approval of Location Services and the end-user has control of the Location Services at any given time. If an iOS device is lost or stolen, please enable Missing Mode via "right-click > Client State > Missing" and "Update Model". Missing Mode will Lock the device and collect Location Information as frequently as possible and is not dependent on the Location Services setting.

macOS Location Tracking

macOS Location Tracking is facilitated by the native FileWave Client PKG. Please ensure that Location Tracking is enabled when generating your customized FileWave Client PKG. Once Location Tracking is enabled, the end-user will see a prompt to Allow the use of macOS Location Services. The macOS MDM API does not allow for the automated approval of Location Services and the end-user has control of the Location Services at any given time. By default, Location information will be collected and reported to FileWave every 15 minutes.

Windows Location Tracking

Windows Location Tracking is facilitated by the native FileWave Client MSI. Please ensure that Location Tracking is enabled when generating your customized FileWave Client MSI. The end-user will not have to Allow the use of Location Services on Windows, however the Location Services must be enabled at the OS level. By default, Location information will be collected and reported to FileWave every 15 minutes.

Related Content

Custom Fields

Extend Inventory even more? Check.

With FileWave you can even further extend your Inventory Reporting capabilities by creating Custom Fields for your devices. FileWave's Custom Fields can be manually entered per device, imported via CSV file, or scripted for the macOS and Windows clients. These Custom Fields can be leveraged in FileWave's scheduled Inventory Reports, Smart Groups, or accessed via API calls.

Create a Custom Field

This section will outline how to create the most commonly used Custom Field types in FileWave.

All Custom Fields will first be created by opening FileWave Admin and navigating to "Assistants > Custom Fields > Edit Custom Fields".

Static Custom Field

This section will cover creating a "static" Custom Field that can either be manually modified or imported via CSV. This example will create a "Building Code" Custom Field but other examples may include unique Asset Tag, Assigned Cart, or Department.

  1. Building Code Custom Fields.pngOpen FileWave Admin and navigate to "Assistants > Custom Fields > Edit Custom Fields".
  2. Click the "[+]" button in the lower left-hand corner.
  3. Name the Custom Field accordingly and take note of the automatically generated "Internal Name".
    • Custom Fields will be shown in the "Device Details" and are alphabetically sorted, name accordingly.
    • The "Internal Name" will be used as the variable name throughout FileWave. (ex: %building_code%).
  4. Optionally, enter a "Description" for the Custom Field so other team members know what the field is designed for.
  5. Change the "Provided By" drop-down menu to "Administrator".
    • "Administrator" mean you, the FileWave Administrator will provide the Custom Field input.
  6. Optionally, check the "Assigned to all devices" box.
    • This is the recommended option for Custom Fields that can apply to all devices, even if not utilized immediately.
    • If not "Assigned to all devices", please review the section below to learn how to manually assign Custom Fields to devices.
  7. Change the "Data Type" to "String".
    • "String" is the default and recommended for most situations.
  8. Optionally, check the "Restrict allowed values" box.
    • With the "Restrict allowed values" box checked, it will require you to input allowed values for the Custom Field.
    • This will change the input method from a "free type" field to a drop-down menu of allowed values.
  9. Check the "Use default value" box and enter in a placeholder value.
    • This is recommended to prevent blank Custom Fields, especially those used for Device Naming or other variable substitution.
  10. Click "Save".

Script-based Custom Field

This section will cover creating a script-based Custom Field. A script-based Custom Field will run a script periodically on macOS and Windows clients and return the output of the script to the Custom Field. These can be used to supplement FileWave's native Inventory even more dynamically than a static Custom Fields. Examples may include device Encryption Status from FileVault or BitLocker, Antivirus threats detected, or Registry keys / .plist values.

  1. Encryption Status macOS.pngOpen FileWave Admin and navigate to "Assistants > Custom Fields > Edit Custom Fields".
  2. Click the "[+]" button in the lower left-hand corner.
  3. Name the Custom Field accordingly and take note of the automatically generated "Internal Name".
    • Custom Fields will be shown in the "Device Details" and are alphabetically sorted, name accordingly.
    • The "Internal Name" will be used as the variable name throughout FileWave. (ex: %encryption_status%).
  4. Optionally, enter a "Description" for the Custom Field so other team members know what the field is designed for.
  5. Change the "Provided By" drop-down menu to "Client Script".
    • "Client Script" will run a script periodically and return the script's output to the Custom Field.
    • All scripts will be executedas either the "root" user on macOS or as the "SYSTEM" account on Windows.
  6. Optionally, check the "Assigned to all devices" box.
    • This is the recommended option for Custom Fields that can apply to all devices, even if not utilized immediately.
    • If not "Assigned to all devices", please review the section below to learn how to manually assign Custom Fields to devices.
  7. Change the "Data Type" to "String".
    • "String" is the default and recommended for most situations.
  8. Encryption Status Windows.pngOptionally, check the "Restrict allowed values" box.
    • With the "Restrict allowed values" box checked, it will require you to input allowed values for the Custom Field.
    • This will change the input method from a "free type" field to a drop-down menu of allowed values.
    • This is not recommended for script-based Custom Fields unless you can guarantee the output of the script will be consistent.
  9. Check the "Use default value" box and enter in a placeholder value.
    • This is recommended to prevent blank Custom Fields, especially those used for Device Naming or other variable substitution.
  10. Verify the correct scripting language and enter script for "macOS".
  11. Verify the correct scripting language and enter script for "Windows".
  12. Optionally, check the "Use output only when scripts exits with code 0" box. * This will depend on the script you are running, however most scripts "exit 0" after a successful execution. * You may be able to force "exit 0" by including it in your script.
  13. Optionally, check the "Replace line feed characters with space" box. * This is recommended as it will automatically convert multi-line output to single-line output.
  14. Click "Save".

Manually assign Custom Fields to devices

If you did not check the box "Assigned to all devices" when creating your Custom Field, you will need to manually assign the Custom Field to devices or device groups. In this example, we will assign the "Manufacture Date" Custom Field to the "iOS" Smart Group. Please note that new devices added to the "iOS" Smart Group will not automatically be assigned to the Custom Field and you may have to repeat this process to include new devices.

  1. Open FileWave Admin and navigate to "Clients".
  2. Right-click on an individual device, multiple devices, or device group.
  3. Select "Edit Custom Field(s) Associations" from the right-click menu.
  4. Check the boxes for any Custom Fields you'd like to assign to the devices.
  5. Click "Save".
  6. You should now see the Custom Field listed in the device's "Device Details".

Edit Custom Fields Associations.png

Custom Field Associations.png

Manually edit Custom Field values

If your Custom Fields is not being populated dynamically via CSV or script, you may have to manually edit the Custom Field value. This example will demonstrate changing a device's "Device Condition" Custom Field from a list of "Restricted" values.

  1. Open FileWave Admin and navigate to "Clients".
  2. Right-click on an individual device, multiple devices, or device group.
  3. Select "Edit Custom Field(s) Values" from the right-click menu.
  4. Slow double-click the "Field Value" column or select option from drop-down menu for any Custom Fields you'd like to modify.
  5. Click "Save".
  6. You should now see the Custom Field modification in the device's "Device Details".

Edit Custom Field Values.png

Edit Custom Fields Values Device Condition.png

Import Custom Fields via CSV

If you need to make updates or the initial import of a Custom Field en masse, you may consider using a CSV template to speed things up. You can import an individual or multiple Custom Field(s) from one CSV file.

  1. Download CSV Template.pngOpen FileWave Admin and navigate to "Assistants > Custom Fields > Import CSV".
  2. Click "Download Template".
  3. Select all of the Custom Fields you'd like to import via CSV.
  4. Select the unique identifier from the drop-down menu.
    • "Serial Number" is recommended for iOS, macOS, and Chromebooks.
    • "Client Name" is recommended for Windows as it will reflect the Windows hostname.
  5. Click "Save" to download the CSV template.
  6. Open the CSV template in your editor of choice (ex: Excel).
  7. Leave the "header" line intact, remove the comments, and add your values.
    • The CSV template will default to using semicolons ";" as the delimiter.
    • You can change to a comma "," delimiter by replacing all ";" with ",".
    • If using Excel, split each value into a column with no delimiter and "Save as > CSV".
  8.  Click "Browse" from the "Import custom fields CSV" window and select you CSV template.
  9. Verify the changes and that all entries are visible.
  10. Click "Import".
  11. You should now see the Custom Field modification in the device's "Device Details".

CSV Excel.png

Import custom fields CSV.png

License Management

Compliance, Usage, and Tracking

When it comes to all of these software packages it can be a headache to know exactly how many licenses you own, how many are being used, and who the and being used by. This is where FileWave steps in to make this tracking process much more streamlined. This section will cover the two types of license types that can be tracked in FileWave leveraging our native Inventory or Apple's Volume Purchase Program.

VPP License Tracking

FileWave syncs with VPP every 5 minutes to bring in your latest purchases from Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager and will display the licenses that you own, licenses that are in use, licenses compliance, and which VPP Token the licenses are derived from.

Setting a Compliance Warning

FileWave can automatically notify you via email when a VPP license quantity is running low via Scheduled Reports. This section will cover how to determine the License Warning threshold.

  1. Open FileWave Admin and navigate to "License Management".
  2. Select a VPP License.
  3. Click "Edit License" from the black menubar.
  4. Change the "Warning when:" field to set your License Warning threshold.
  5. Click "Save".
  6. If the amount of licenses available go below your threshold, you will see a new License Compliance status "Warning License Watermark".

License Specification.png

Viewing where licenses are consumed

Viewing where the VPP licenses are being consumed is very easy. Licenses are consumed when a VPP Fileset is deployed to a device, whether it be a Kiosk or Standard association. VPP "Managed Distribution" licenses can be revoked and redistributed. In this view, you will see the device's Serial Number if using VPP "Device Assignment" or the end-user's VPP User account if using VPP "User Assignment".

  1. Open FileWave Admin and navigate to "License Management".
  2. Double-click a VPP License.

VPP View Assignment.png

Non-VPP License Tracking

FileWave can also track the Licensing information for any other type of Application or Font deployed to Windows, macOS, Android, and Chrome by defining a new license definition or tracking the deployment of an existing Fileset. These licenses can also be automated emailed to set list of user via Scheduled Reports.

Creating a new License definition

This method is useful for tracking applications or fonts that were not deployed via FileWave.

  1. Open FileWave Admin and navigate to "License Management".
  2. Click "New License" from the black menubar.
  3. Name the License, select Application or Font, determine your Warning threshold, and which platforms you'd like to track.
  4. Click the "[+]" to add new criteria to define the license.
    1. This is in the context of either Application or Font.
  5. Enter in the "Qualifier" (ex: Firefox).
  6. Click the "Purchase Orders" button.
  7. Click the "[+]" to add a new Purchase Order entry.
  8. Enter a "PO Number" and "License Count".
  9. Optionally, fill out the rest of the Purchase Order fields.
  10. Click "Save".
  11. You should now see your new License definition.

Firefox License.png

Firefox License PO.png

Track Fileset Usage

This method is very similar to the one above but will leverage FileWave's "Fileset Status" to even better track deployments made via FileWave.

  1. Open FileWave Admin and navigate to "License Management".
  2. Click "New License from Fileset" from the black menubar.
  3. Name the License, determine your Warning threshold, and select the Fileset you want to track.
  4. Click the "[+]" to add a new Purchase Order entry.
  5. Enter a "PO Number" and "License Count".
  6. Optionally, fill out the rest of the Purchase Order fields.
  7. Click "Save".
  8. You should now see your new License definition.

New License from Fileset.png

Viewing where licenses are consumed

  1. Open FileWave Admin and navigate to "License Management".
  2. Double-click on a License.

Firefox View Licenses.png

Inventory Reports

Your information. Your way.

FileWave allows you to get as much or as little information that you need to report by leveraging Inventory Queries and if you have other people outside of FileWave wanting the same reports, we've got you covered with Schedule Reporting to automatically send emails on your behalf.

Create an Inventory Query

Creating an Inventory Query is the first step to tracking all your device information, scheduling reports, or leveraging the Query to create a Smart Group. This section will include an example of how to create an Inventory Query to find all devices with less than 8GB of RAM, regardless of their OS platform, and show some other helpful information that could be used in the context of a end-of-year device refresh. This section will also cover a more simple Inventory Query showing all iOS and Chrome devices with a specific Building Code (Custom Field).

New Query

  1. Open FileWave Admin and navigate to "Inventory Queries".
  2. Click "New Query" from the black menubar.
  3. Name the Query and begin dragging Inventory data points to "Criteria" pane.

Less than 8GB of RAM

  1. Drag-n-drop "All Devices > Client Name" into the "Criteria" pane.
  2. Set "All Devices > Client Name" qualifier to "is not null".
    • This is to ensure we get all devices into the Query by starting broad and getting more restrictive.
  3. Drag-n-drop "All Devices > RAM Size" into the "Criteria" pane.
  4. Set "All Devices > RAM Size" qualifier to "is less than" : "8.00 gigabytes".
  5. Click the "Fields" tab.
  6. Begin dragging-n-dropping all Fields you'd like to return in the Inventory Report.
    • Client Name 
    • RAM Size
    • IP Address
    • Device Manufacture
    • Device Product Name
    • OS Name
    • Total Disk Space
    • CPU Type / Speed / Count
  7. Click "Save".
  8. You should now see your new Inventory Report.

Less than 8GB RAM Criteria.png

Less than 8GB RAM Fields.png

Building Code

  1. Drag-n-drop "All Devices > Client Name" into the "Criteria" pane.
  2. Set "All Devices > Client Name" qualifier to "is not null".
    • This is to ensure we get all devices into the Query by starting broad and getting more restrictive.
  3. Drag-n-drop "All Devices > Custom Fields > Building Code" into the "Criteria" pane.
  4. Set "All Devices > Custom Fields > Building Code" qualifier to "is" : "TCE".
  5. Add a new inventory sub-group via the "Add Group" button.
  6. Drag-n-drop "Operating System > OS Type" into the the new sub-group.
  7. Set "Operating System > OS Type" qualifier to "is" : "iOS".
  8. Drag-n-drop "Operating System > OS Type" into the the new sub-group.
  9. Set "Operating System > OS Type" qualifier to "is" : "Chrome".
  10. Change the sub-group's logic to "One or more of these expressions must be true". * Devices must be either iOS or Chrome since no device can be both at one give time.
  11. Click the "Fields" tab.
  12. Begin dragging-n-dropping all Fields you'd like to return in the Inventory Report. * Device Name * OS Type * Building Code
  13. Click "Save".
  14. You should now see your new Inventory Report.

Building Code Criteria.png

Building Code Fields.png

Scheduled Reporting

Now that you have several Inventory Queries created, let's schedule the automatic email of those Inventory Reports. Before being able to schedule reports, you must first configure the "Email" FileWave Admin Preferences.

Inventory Query Scheduled Reporting

  1. Open FileWave Admin and navigate to "Assistants > Scheduled Reports".
  2. Click the "[+]" button to add a new schedule report.
  3. Change the "Report type" to "Query".
  4. Enter the target email addresses with each new address on a new line.
  5. Fill out the Mail Subject and Body.
  6. Optionally, select a different "Owner" of the report for logging purposes.
  7. Schedule your automated report.
  8. Select the Query using the "select a query" link.
  9. Click "OK" to save the changes.

Scheduled Query Report.png

License Scheduled Reporting

 FileWave can also send a report containing a list of all licenses that display within "License Management" via Scheduled Reports.

  1. Open FileWave Admin and navigate to "Assistants > Scheduled Reports".
  2. Click the "[+]" button to add a new schedule report.
  3. Verify the "Report type" is set to "License".
  4. Enter the target email addresses with each new address on a new line.
  5. Fill out the Mail Subject and Body.
  6. Optionally, select a different "Owner" of the report for logging purposes.
  7. Schedule your automated report.
  8. Click "OK" to save the changes.

Scheduled License Report.png