Inventory Reports

Read inventory for one test device

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Inventory Reports let you choose which stored device records to match and which details to display. Start with one enrolled test device and a few built-in fields. You do not need Custom Fields, license setup, or location tracking for this check.

FileWave Central 16.3.0 and later calls this feature Reports. Older screens may say Queries or QueryBuilder. The older images below illustrate the same criteria-and-fields workflow; they are not examples of current device state.

Create a read-only baseline report

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Connect FileWave Central to the intended Server using an account that can view the test device and Reports. Have the device name and another identifier, such as its serial number or FileWave ID, ready. The exercise saves a report definition but does not assign content or request device work.

1. Select the device and fields

1. Open FileWave Central > Reports and select New Report. Give it a recognizable name, such as Evaluation — test-device baseline.
2. Drag All Devices > Client Name into Criteria. Use is and enter the exact test-device name. Criteria determine which records match, but more than one device can have the same name.
3. Open Fields. Add Client Name, a device identifier, the available OS name/version or build fields, and RAM Size. Add the FileWave Client version where applicable and the inventory Last Connected field. If a field is absent for that device's management method, leave it out rather than substituting an unrelated status.
4. Use a device-level Main Component for this baseline. It controls what each result row represents. Application-level reporting comes later.
5. Select Save, open the saved report, and inspect the results. Confirm the intended device identity and that no other device is included. If names collide, narrow the criteria with the additional identifier before using the report as your baseline.

2. Check what the result actually proves

Compare an OS version or hardware value with the test device. Record the inventory timestamp and the time of your comparison. A saved report alone is not success: the matching record must be the intended device, and its reported data must be recent enough for the question you are asking.

Event or field	Meaning
Last Connect in the desktop Clients view	Recent communication from a macOS or Windows Client. It is not the time of a full inventory submission.
Inventory Last Connected	When the device last submitted inventory information. Use it to judge how old the reported data is.
Running or reopening a report	Reads the inventory already held by the Server. It does not guarantee a new measurement from the endpoint.
Smart Group evaluation	Reevaluates membership using available data. It is separate from device communication and inventory collection.

See Last Connect vs. Last Connected. Do not use a recent connection, a Client status, or a new model number as a substitute for recent inventory.

Keep this exercise read-only on the device. Do not select Verify or Refresh Inventory (Verify) merely to view data. Verify can enforce the current manifest, including installation, removal, or self-healing work. Review assignments and get the environment owner's approval before requesting such device work. Do not run Update Model as a report refresh; it commits actual pending model changes, potentially from other administrators.

If the result is missing, duplicated, or old

• Confirm the Server, device identity, and your view permissions. Clear the upper-right search filter: report filters are sticky and can hide results when you return to a view.
• Recheck criteria and Main Component. No rows means no visible records matched, not that every device is healthy, every installation succeeded, or your fleet is fully inventoried. Application-level reports can return several rows for one device.
• If Last Connect is recent but inventory Last Connected is old, investigate collection or upload separately. Keep the device online and ask the administrator to check its reporting path. Do not shorten global intervals to make the exercise appear successful.
• See Inventory Preferences for Apple MDM polling and Smart Group timing, and Client Configuration Settings for native Client settings. These mechanisms do not share a universal refresh interval. For a local macOS or Windows diagnostic, use Client Status Check to view the Client's current work, not to refresh inventory.

3. Reuse the baseline after a deployment

If you have not deployed an item yet, continue to your first deployment. Afterward, return to this report and compare fresh inventory data for the installed application and its version with what you see on the device. For a file-only test, check the file at its intended path; do not expect an application inventory row.

Use Fileset deployment status reporting to inspect the chosen Fileset's results. Check that the results cover the intended devices rather than relying on a count of successful rows. A report restricted to successful rows can hide failures or devices without fresh data. A status of Active or a recorded script Success is FileWave evidence, not an independent check of current application health.

You can stop here once the one-device report is correct. The examples below are optional. Create and Edit Inventory Reports explains Main Component and field selection in more depth; its later command-line Custom Field examples are legacy material, not required for this exercise.

Optional: find devices with less than 8 GB of RAM

Use a separate report for this example so you keep your baseline. Zero matches is a valid result when no visible device has less than 8 GB of RAM; it does not test whether enrollment worked.

1. Drag "All Devices > Client Name" into the "Criteria" pane.
2. Set "All Devices > Client Name" qualifier to "is not null".
   • This matches records with a populated Client Name. It does not prove that unreported, unenrolled, or permission-hidden devices are covered.
3. Drag "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. Add the fields you want the Inventory Report to return.
   • Client Name 
   • RAM Size
   • IP Address
   • Device Manufacture
   • Device Product Name
   • OS Name
   • Total Disk Space
   • CPU Type / Speed / Count
7. Click "Save".
8. Open the saved report and confirm that the returned fields and matching devices answer the question.

Optional: combine Building Code with an OR group

Complete the static Custom Field exercise before using this example. The older images use Building Code = TCE; substitute your field name and test value. Keep the outer group set to require all expressions (AND) and the OS subgroup set to OR. This matches devices with the specified Building Code whose OS is either iOS or Chrome. The test device may not match those platforms, so an empty result can be correct. These historical labels are query examples, not a platform-support list.

1. Drag "All Devices > Client Name" into the "Criteria" pane.
2. Set "All Devices > Client Name" qualifier to "is not null".
   • This matches records with a populated Client Name. It does not prove that unreported, unenrolled, or permission-hidden devices are covered.
3. Drag "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 "Operating System > OS Type" into the new sub-group.
7. Set "Operating System > OS Type" qualifier to "is" : "iOS".
8. Drag "Operating System > OS Type" into 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". A device can be iOS or Chrome, but not both at the same time.
11. Click the "Fields" tab.
12. Add the fields you want the Inventory Report to return, such as Device Name, OS Type, and Building Code.
13. Click "Save".
14. Open the saved report and confirm that the returned fields and matching devices answer the question.

Optional: application architecture reporting in FileWave 16.4

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FileWave 16.4 adds application architecture to macOS and Windows inventory records. Use it to find software that needs compatibility review before an operating-system or hardware transition.

Platform	Reported architecture values	Typical use
macOS	Intel, Apple Silicon, Universal, iOS app	Find Intel-only applications, confirm native Apple silicon coverage, and separate iOS apps installed on Macs.
Windows	32-bit (x86), 64-bit (x86-64)	Inventory remaining 32-bit applications and plan compatibility testing or modernization.

Create an application architecture report

1. Open FileWave Central > Reports and create a new Inventory Report.
2. Use the application inventory component as the report’s main component so each installed application instance can appear as a result.
3. Add application fields such as name, version, path, and architecture.
4. Add device context such as Client Name, OS Name or OS Type, and CPU Type so each application result can be tied to the correct endpoint.
5. Add architecture criteria when you need a focused list. For example, filter macOS applications for Intel or Windows applications for 32-bit (x86).
6. Save the report and inspect the results. Each application instance can produce a row, so count distinct device identifiers when you need a device total. Before using these criteria for a Smart Group, review the resulting membership and any work that group would assign.

Recommended report patterns

Goal	Criteria	Useful returned fields
Find Intel-only Mac applications	Platform is macOS; application architecture is Intel	Client Name, Application Name, Version, Path, Architecture, OS Version, CPU Type
Confirm native Apple silicon availability	Platform is macOS; architecture is Apple Silicon or Universal	Application Name, Version, Architecture, Client Name
Find iOS apps installed on Macs	Platform is macOS; application architecture is iOS app	Application Name, Version, Client Name, OS Version
Find 32-bit Windows applications	Platform is Windows; application architecture is 32-bit (x86)	Application Name, Version, Path, Client Name, OS Version

For Apple transition planning, see Apple EOL Advisory: Intel-Based Apps and Rosetta Dependencies on Apple Silicon.

Optional: email a scheduled report

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Schedule delivery only if you need an emailed copy. Ask the environment's mail administrator to confirm Preferences > Mail is configured; do not change shared mail settings for a report test. Use one authorized recipient, only the data they may receive, and a test schedule you will remove afterward. Generating scheduled reports documents the current dialog and permissions. The older images below may differ in wording.

Inventory Report Scheduled Reporting

1. Open FileWave Central and go to "Assistants > Scheduled Reports".
2. Click the "[+]" button to add a scheduled report.
3. Change the "Report type" to "Query".
4. Enter the authorized test recipient. For an approved multi-recipient report, the current reference specifies semicolon-separated addresses.
5. Fill out the Mail Subject and Body.
6. Only the Superuser can select a different Owner. The report runs with that owner's permissions, which can exclude devices; this is not merely a logging label.
7. Choose the intended daily, weekly, or monthly schedule; avoid leaving an evaluation schedule running indefinitely.
8. Select the report using the "select a query" link. Older dialogs may still use the word Query here.
9. Click "OK" to save the changes.

License Scheduled Reporting

FileWave can also use Scheduled Reports to email a list of all licenses shown in "License Management".

1. Open FileWave Central and go to "Assistants > Scheduled Reports".
2. Click the "[+]" button to add a scheduled report.
3. Choose the license report type (Licenses in the current reference; License in the older example).
4. Enter the authorized test recipient. For an approved multi-recipient report, the current reference specifies semicolon-separated addresses.
5. Fill out the Mail Subject and Body.
6. Only the Superuser can select a different Owner. The report runs with that owner's permissions, which can exclude devices; this is not merely a logging label.
7. Choose the intended daily, weekly, or monthly schedule; avoid leaving an evaluation schedule running indefinitely.
8. Click "OK" to save the changes.

After saving, send the test report from the Scheduled Reports list and confirm receipt and attachment contents. Results are tab-delimited text files. A Licenses report includes the License Management list, not just this test device, so confirm its scope before sending it. Remove the test schedule after verification and check that it no longer appears in the list. Do not remove a shared report or schedule.