Working with Groups and Smart Groups
What
Groups and Smart Groups are core organizational tools in FileWave. They let you work with devices by purpose, department, location, platform, deployment need, or any other structure that matters in your environment instead of managing everything one device at a time.
When/Why
Use groups when membership should be deliberate and administrator-controlled. Use Smart Groups when membership can be described by criteria and should update automatically as inventory, device details, or other matching data changes.
Good group design makes deployments, reporting, and day-to-day administration easier to understand. It also reduces one-off work because FileWave can target meaningful sets of devices instead of individual endpoints.
How
Groups
A group is a static container. You can place devices, other groups, and Smart Groups into it. Think of it like a folder: it is useful when you need a simple, intentional structure.
Manual groups are a good fit when the reason for membership is not something FileWave can reliably calculate. For example, if ten unrelated users purchased a licensed application, a manual group may be cleaner than forcing an artificial Smart Group rule.
To create a group, use the new group/folder control, give the group a unique name, and place devices or child groups where they belong.
The video below shows the basic manual group creation flow.
Related content
Smart Groups
A Smart Group is criteria-based. Devices become members automatically when they match the rules you define. Smart Groups are usually the better choice when you can describe the target set clearly and want FileWave to keep that membership current.
Common examples:
- Deploy an MSI to all Windows devices in the Accounting department.
- Deploy a VPP app to all third grade iPads.
- Deploy a PKG to all macOS devices.
- Deploy Photoshop to ten unrelated people across the environment — this is probably better as a manual group unless those users share reliable criteria.
The video below shows a simple Smart Group that matches Windows devices.
Smart Groups are powerful, but the criteria should describe a stable target. Avoid rules based only on state that the associated deployment immediately changes, because that can create policy loops where a device repeatedly moves in and out of scope.
Reports and condition groups
FileWave Central and FileWave Anywhere use Reports (formerly Queries) to return result sets. Smart Groups use similar criteria logic, but with a different purpose: Reports show information, while Smart Groups target devices for action.
Condition groups let you isolate logic when you need to combine AND and OR rules. If you know SQL, condition groups serve the same basic purpose as parentheses. A simple report for Windows or macOS devices may not need a condition group; a rule such as (macOS or Windows) and Microsoft Office is installed does.
The video below shows a condition-group example.
Conditions
Conditions define which devices or other objects appear in the result. Most Smart Groups and Reports use at least one condition so the result is narrowed from “everything” to the exact set you need.
Examples include platform, operating system version, installed application name, FileWave Client version, department, location, enrollment state, or custom fields.
The video below shows criteria being added to match example conditions.
Preview fields
When you build a Smart Group or Report, use the preview to validate the result before trusting it. If you are targeting devices by FileWave Client version, add the FileWave Client Version field to the preview so you can see whether the criteria are returning the devices you expect.
That quick check is often better than assuming the rule is correct just because it saved successfully.
The video below shows removing default preview fields and adding FileWave Client Version.
Finding fields for condition statements
If you know the field name, start typing and use type-ahead. If you do not know the exact field name, browse the field list and use field descriptions to confirm the right data source.
When you need context, open the Device Details page for a representative client. Seeing the field name and real data together makes it easier to choose the right condition.
The video below shows using type-ahead and the field browser to find application fields.
Example conditions
Advanced Smart Group criteria are easier to build when you first write the requirement as a sentence, then translate that sentence into conditions.
- Upgrade Windows clients below the target FileWave Client version: OS Type is Windows, and FileWave Client Version does not begin with the target version prefix.
- Find devices with Microsoft Office installed: use condition groups to match Office application names and version patterns across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and other relevant Office applications.
- Find Windows devices missing 7-Zip: match Windows devices and use a NOT condition against the 7-Zip application name so the result returns devices where the application is absent.
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