Custom Fields

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Custom Fields let you add organization-specific inventory data to FileWave devices. You can enter values manually, import them from CSV, or populate them with client scripts on macOS and Windows. Those values can then appear in Inventory Reports, Smart Groups, and API results.

Create a Custom Field

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

Create Custom Fields in FileWave Central by opening 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. Open FileWave Central 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 appear in Device Details and are sorted alphabetically, so choose names that will be easy to scan later.
   • 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 means a FileWave administrator provides the Custom Field value.
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 works 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

A script-based Custom Field runs a script periodically on macOS and Windows clients, then returns the script output to the Custom Field. Use this when FileWave inventory does not already collect the exact value you need, such as FileVault or BitLocker state, detected antivirus threats, registry values, or plist values.

1. Open FileWave Central 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 appear in Device Details and are sorted alphabetically, so choose names that will be easy to scan later.
   • 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 runs a script periodically and returns the script output to the Custom Field.
   • Scripts run as 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 works 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.
   • 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 Use output only when script exits with code 0. This depends on the script, but most successful scripts exit with code 0.
13. Optionally, check Replace line feed characters with space to convert multi-line output into a single-line Custom Field value.
14. Click "Save".

Manually assign Custom Fields to devices

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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 Central 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".

Manually edit Custom Field values

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If a Custom Field is not populated by CSV import or client script, you can edit the value manually. This example changes a device's Device Condition Custom Field from a restricted list of allowed values.

1. Open FileWave Central 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".

Import Custom Fields via CSV

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For bulk Custom Field updates or first-time imports, use a CSV template. One CSV file can import values for one or more Custom Fields.

1. Open FileWave Central 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 in the Import custom fields CSV window and select your 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".

Troubleshooting

If you are receiving an error such as:

Error while processing CSV data: Error transferring https://yourserver.filewave.net:20445/inv/api/v1/custom_field/upload/?mode=dry-run - server replied: Bad Request: Unknown key field 'serial_number' in CSV

It is likely that the file was saved in a Windows application like Excel or text editor and included a BOM (Byte Order Mark) at the very start of the file. You should be able to re-open your .csv in your favorite text editor and save a copy as plain UTF-8 instead of 'UTF-8 with BOM'.