Fileset Creation and Deployment

Your first deployment: publish a change and verify the result

A Fileset is the content you prepare. A Deployment connects that content to the devices that should receive it, along with installation options. Update Model commits pending model changes; it does not prove that the device has completed them. If those terms are new, read How FileWave turns your changes into device work before continuing.

This walkthrough uses FileWave Central 16.4's Deployment editor. If you use Anywhere, see Create Deployment for its controls. Older Associations-screen instructions are retained at the end as a legacy reference, not as the current 16.4 workflow.

Before you start

• Use one enrolled, approved test device that is online and communicating through the management method needed for the content. Windows/macOS Client delivery and Apple/Android management have different prerequisites and status evidence.
• Choose a harmless test item with a known installation and cleanup method. Avoid security/network restrictions, scripts that change unknown state, OS upgrades, and imaging as your first test.
• Check whether another administrator has unfinished changes. A Model Update can commit their pending work too, even if your Deployment targets only one device.

1. Prepare one item for your platform

Use the matching lesson to create one Fileset, then return here. Do not complete every packaging method on the page.

Platform	Start with	Verify before targeting
Windows	Windows software: one approved MSI installer or a harmless file-level item	Correct content, architecture and installer behavior; no unexpected restart or user prompt.
macOS	macOS software and profiles: one approved native package or harmless file-level item	Correct destination/installer behavior and a supported removal method.
iOS/iPadOS	Software and profiles: one approved Apps and Books app	Required integration and assignable license are ready for the test device. Avoid a network-changing profile as the first exercise.
Android	Android apps and policies: one approved managed app or benign policy	The device's Android Enterprise mode and the content's requirements match.

ChromeOS uses a different management/integration path. Continue with the outcomes supported by Chromebook setup; do not follow a desktop installer exercise on a Chromebook.

Give the Fileset a recognizable evaluation name. If Central reports an upload-validation problem, stop before deploying: correct the incomplete upload and inspect the contents using Advanced Fileset Editing.

2. Create a Deployment for one test device

1. Open Deployments in FileWave Central and create a Deployment.
2. Give it a clear name, such as Evaluation: one test device.
3. Use the + beside Clients to include the intended device. Start with the individual device, not an entire platform group. Review the resulting target count and identity.
4. Use the + beside Filesets to include the one test Fileset. Review the included content as carefully as the device target.
5. Expand Options. Choose Direct Installation for this first delivery exercise. Leave optional scheduling unset unless timing is the specific feature you are evaluating. For Apps and Books content, confirm the appropriate license-distribution choice and available licenses.
6. Select OK to save.

In the 16.4 editor, included targets and Filesets appear side by side. The complete control reference and current editor images are in Deployments in FileWave Central. That reference also explains exclusions, Kiosk Self-Service, and optional download/activation timing.

3. Review and update the model

Before choosing Update Model, review what you are about to publish: the intended content, the exact target device, the installation option, and any other pending administrator changes. Coordinate with the other administrators if anything is unfinished or unexpected.

Click Update Model in the toolbar. In the Update Server Model confirmation dialog, choose Update Model to commit, or Cancel if you are not ready. The dialog does not list pending changes, so complete your review before opening it. After confirming the update, observe the server model number change in Central.

Central asks you to confirm the Model Update. This dialog does not display a list of pending changes.

Checkpoint: the new model number means the server committed a new model. It does not mean your test device has downloaded or installed the item. An offline device must reconnect before it can receive work.

4. Verify the result on the device

Open the intended device's Client Info > Filesets Status and inspect the test Fileset. Use Fileset Status Meanings when the status needs explanation.

The screenshot shows Microsoft Defender Installer (macOS) as Active. The displayed requirement, preflight, and activation script entries report Success.

Read the evidence: Active is the selected Fileset’s reported state, and Success records the displayed script results. Check their timestamps when testing a new change; the entries can come from earlier runs. Other rows marked Available in Kiosk are offered for self-service, not proof that the user installed them. For an installer workflow, also confirm the application on the device; this view is not a separate application-health check.

Then check the actual endpoint result:

• Application: the intended version is installed and opens as expected.
• File-level item: the intended file exists at the documented destination with the expected contents.
• Profile or policy: it is present and the intended benign setting is effective. For Apple MDM, inspect the underlying command/status when necessary; do not substitute desktop Client evidence for MDM delivery.
• Kiosk, in a later self-service test: availability in Kiosk is not the same as the user installing the item.

Do not treat every “Completed” reporting category as successful installation. A result can be skipped or have unmet requirements. Read the specific status and confirm the device outcome.

If the result is not there

Check in this order before recreating the Fileset or repeatedly updating the model:

1. Target: is this exact device included, and is it excluded by any applicable rule?
2. Commit: was the Deployment saved and the pending model change committed?
3. Connection: is the device online and communicating through the required management connection?
4. Conditions: are timing, platform requirements, installer conditions, and licenses satisfied?
5. Evidence: what do Fileset Status and the platform-specific command/install results actually say?

For Windows/macOS Client troubleshooting, FileWave Client Status Check can help. For reporting across several test devices later, use Report on Fileset Deployment Status.

Finish the test safely

Record the Fileset, Deployment, test device, server model number, observed result, and anything that needed troubleshooting. Use the chosen content's validated cleanup procedure and verify the endpoint again.

Removing a Deployment or deleting a Fileset is not a universal undo for third-party installers, scripts, profiles, or every change made by an application. Read Uninstalling Filesets Safely and confirm the removal behavior before testing cleanup.

The test is complete when you can explain what you prepared, what you published, and how you verified the result on the device. Next, use Inventory Reports to examine your test-device data, or repeat the exercise with another approved item.

Optional next evaluations

• Self-service and scheduling: use the current Deployment options and Kiosk documentation.
• Windows imaging: prepare IVS, capture an image, then deploy it. This is a separate test that can destroy data. Use only approved, expendable devices.
• OS updates: follow Manage OS Software Updates with its own pilot, restart, and verification plan.

Legacy reference: the older Associations screen

Use this section only if your installed version still uses the older Associations interface. The screenshots and controls below do not describe the Central 16.4 Deployment editor. Their Kiosk and scheduling limitations belong to that older workflow; use the current walkthrough above for Deployments.

Section Details

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Use the platform sections below to create the Filesets or profiles you need. After you have at least one Fileset, use this page to associate it with devices or groups.

• Windows Software
• iOS Software and Profiles
• macOS Software and Profiles
• Android Software and Policies
• Windows Imaging Setup
  • Capture Master Image
  • Deploy Image
• OS Software Updates

FileWave 16.4 and later: If Central reports an upload-validation problem while creating or editing a Fileset, do not associate or deploy it yet. Review Advanced Fileset Editing, correct the incomplete upload, and verify the Fileset contents first.

Associate Filesets to Clients

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After a Fileset exists, associate it with client devices or groups. A standard association installs in the background, a Kiosk association makes the item available on demand, and scheduled association options let you control download, activation, inactivation, deletion, and reboot timing. This section covers the common association workflow in FileWave Central. You can also create associations from the Clients or Filesets views when that is faster for your workflow.

Associate Fileset using drag-and-drop

1. Open FileWave Central and navigate to Associations.
2. Find and select an individual device or client group from the left pane.
   • This example uses the macOS device named "Avery Thomas".
3. Find and select an individual Fileset or Fileset group from the right pane.
   • This example uses the macOS Fileset named "macOS - Google Chrome".
4. Drag the "macOS - Google Chrome" Fileset from the right pane onto the "Avery Thomas" macOS device.
   • You can associate Filesets one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-one.
5. A new Standard association appears in the bottom pane.
   • Standard associations are the default and install in the background without user interaction.

Deploy Fileset in the Kiosk

A Standard association installs in the background. To make the Fileset optional for the end user, change the association type to Kiosk. FileWave Kiosk is available on macOS, Windows, and iOS (App Portal), and can be customized to match your organization's look and feel.

1. Open FileWave Central and navigate to Associations.
2. Double-click an existing association from the bottom pane.
3. Check Kiosk Association.
4. Click OK to save the change.
5. Run Update Model to commit the association change to devices.

Schedule Fileset deployment

Use association scheduling when a Fileset or group of Filesets needs a specific deployment window. Kiosk associations cannot be scheduled except for the Reboot deadline at option.

1. Open FileWave Central and navigate to Associations.
2. Double-click an existing association from the bottom pane.
3. Specify a date and time for any needed scheduled events.
   • Start Downloading at: Downloads Fileset files, including installers, to a temporary location.
   • Activate files at: Moves Fileset files to their final location and runs installers or activation scripts.
   • Make files inactive at: Moves Fileset files from their final location back to a temporary location.
   • Delete files at: Deletes the Fileset files from the device.
   • Reboot deadline at: Forces a reboot of the client device. The Fileset must have Requires Reboot enabled in Fileset Properties.
4. Click OK to save the changes.
5. Run Update Model to commit the association changes to devices.