PMF Application Center console

With the PMF Application Center console, you can manage the repository of the PMF Application Center and your applications.

The PMF Application Center console is a web application to manage the repository of the PMF Application Center. The PMF Application Center repository is the central location where you store the mobile applications that can be installed on mobile devices.

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Usage

Use the PMF Application Center console to:

  • Upload applications that are written for these operating systems: Android, iOS.
  • Manage several different versions of mobile applications.
  • Review the feedback of testers of mobile applications.
  • Define the users who have the rights to list and install an application on the mobile devices.
  • Track which applications are installed on which devices.

Notes:

  • Only users with the administrator role can log in to the PMF Application Center console.
  • Multicultural support: the user interface of the PMF Application Center console has not been translated.

Accessing the PMF Application Center console

  1. From your browser of choice, access the following URL.

    http://localhost:9080/appcenterconsole/console

  2. Obtain the address and port of the server where the PMF Application Center is installed.
  3. Log in to the PMF Application Center console by using the credentials provided by your system administrator.

Note: Only users with the administrator role can log in to the PMF Application Center console.

Application Management

PMF Application Center Console → Applications - Application Management

You can use Application Management to add new applications and versions and to manage those applications.

  • WebSphere Application Server full profile

    If you installed the PMF Application Center on WebSphere Application Server full profile, one user named appcenteradmin is created by default with the password indicated by the installer.

Adding a mobile application

You can add applications to the repository on the server by using the PMF Application Center console. These applications can then be installed on mobile devices by using the mobile client.

In the Applications view, you can add applications to PMF Application Center. Initially the list of applications is empty and you must upload an application file. Application files are described in this procedure.

To add an application to make it available for installation on mobile devices:

  1. Click Add Application.
  2. Click Upload.

  3. Select the application file to upload to the PMF Application Center repository.

    • Android

      The application file name extension is .apk.

    • iOS

      The application file name extension is .ipa for normal iOS applications.

Adding an application from a public app store

PMF Application Center supports adding to the catalog applications that are stored in third-party application stores, such as Google play or Apple App Store.

Applications from third-party app stores appear in the PMF Application Center catalog like any other application, but users are directed to the corresponding public app store to install the application. You add an application from a public app store in the console, in the same place where you add an application that was created within your own enterprise. See Adding a mobile application.

Note: Currently, the PMF Application Center supports only Google Play and Apple App Store.

Instead of the application executable file, you must provide a URL to the third-party application store where the application is stored. To find the correct application link more easily, the console provides direct links in the Add an application page to the supported third-party application store websites.

The Google play store address is,

https://play.google.com/store/apps

The Apple App Store store address is,

https://apps.apple.com/app/

Only selecting iOS applications provides you with compatible links to create application links.

  1. Click the URL of the public app store that you want to browse.
  2. Copy the URL of the application in the third-party app store to the Application URL text field in the Add an application page of the PMF Application Center console.
    • Google Play:
      • Select an application in the store.
      • Click the detail page of the application.
      • Copy the address bar URL.
    • Apple App Store:

      • When the list of items is returned in the search result, select the item that you want.

      • At the bottom of the selected application, click Direct Link to open the application details page.

      • Copy the address bar URL.

        Note: Do not copy the Direct Link to the PMF Application Center. Direct Link is a URL with redirection, you will need to get the URL it redirects to.

  3. When the application link is in the Application URL text field of the console, click Next to validate the creation of the application link.
    • If the validation is unsuccessful, an error message is displayed in the Add an application page. You can either try another link or cancel the attempt to create the current link.
    • If the validation is successful, this action displays the application properties. You can then modify the application description in the application properties before you move to the next step.

  4. Click Done to create the application link.

    This action makes the application available to the corresponding version of the PMF Application Center mobile client. A small link icon appears on the application icon to show that this application is stored in a public app store and is different from a binary app.

Editing application properties

You can edit the properties of an application in the list of uploaded applications.
To edit the properties of an uploaded application:

  1. Select Applications to see the list of uploaded applications: Available Applications.
  2. Click the version of the application to edit the properties: Application Details.

  3. Following is the list of properties.

    Property Description Editable?
    Package - Android: Package name of the application; package attribute of the manifest element in the manifest file of the application.
    - iOS: Is the company identifier and the product name; CFBundleIdentifier key.    		 No
    Internal Version - Android: Is the internal version identification of the application; android:versionCode attribute of the manifest element in the manifest file of the application.
    - iOS: Is the build number of the application; CFBundleVersion key of the application.    		 No
    Commercial Version Is the published version of the application. No
    Label - Android: Is the label of the application; android:label attribute of the application element in the manifest file of the application.
    - iOS: Is the label of the application; CFBundleDisplayName key of the application.    		 No
    External URL Is a URL that you can use to have the mobile client of the PMF Application Center started automatically in the Details view of the latest version of the current application. No
    Author Displays the username attribute of the user who uploads the application. No
    Description Enter description for the application to the mobile user. Yes
    Minimal OS Version The application runs on devices with operating sytems at at least this version. No
    Recommended Select to indicate that you encourage users to install this application. Recommended applications appear as a special list in the mobile client. Yes
    Installer Select to indicate whether this application is an installer. For the Administrator only: This property indicates that the application is used to install other applications on the mobile device and send feedback on an application from the mobile device to the PMF Application Center. Usually only one application is qualified as Installer and is called the mobile client. This application is documented in PMF Application Center mobile client. Yes
    Active Select to indicate whether an active application can be installed on a device.
    If you do not select Active, the mobile user does not see the application in the list of available applications that is displayed on the device and the application is inactive. In the list of available applications in the Application Management, if Show inactive is selected, the application is disabled.
    If Show inactive is not selected, the application does not appear in the list of available applications.    		 Yes
    Ready for production Select to indicate whether an application is ready to be deployed in a production environment and is therefore suitable to be managed by Tivoli Endpoint Manager through its application store. Applications for which this property is selected are the only ones that are flagged to Tivoli Endpoint Manager. Yes
    Application File Name of the current application file No
  4. Click OK to save your changes and return to Available Applications or Apply to save and keep Application Details open.

Important: If you want to update the file, it must belong to the same package and be the same version number. If either of these properties is not the same you must go back to the application list and add the new version first.

Upgrading a mobile application

You can easily upgrade deployed mobile applications by using a combination of PMF Operations Console and the PMF Application Center.

Note: This is only supported for Android and iOS Phone and is currently not supported for Windows 10 Universal, or Windows 8 Universal.

The mobile client of the PMF Application Center must be installed on the mobile device. The HelloWorld application must be installed on the mobile device and must connect to PMF when the application is running.

You can use this procedure to update Android and iOS applications that have been deployed on PMF and also in the PMF Application Center. In this task, the application HelloWorld version 1.0 is already deployed on PMF and in the PMF Application Center.

HelloWorld version 2.0 is released and you would like users of version 1.0 to upgrade to the later version.

To deploy the new version of the application:

  1. Deploy HelloWorld 2.0 in the PMF Application Center. See Adding a mobile application.

  2. From the Application Details page, copy the setting of the external URL.

  3. When the external URL is copied to the clipboard, open the PMF Operations Console.
  4. Change the access rule of HelloWorld version 1.0 to “Access Disabled”.
  5. Paste the external URL into the URL field.

  6. Running the client: When a mobile device connects to PMF to try to run HelloWorld version 1.0, the device user is requested to upgrade the version of the application.

  7. Click Upgrade to open the PMF Application Center client. When the login details are correctly completed, you access the Details page of HelloWorld version 2.0 directly.

Downloading an application file

You can download the file of an application registered in the PMF Application Center.

  1. Select Applications to see the list of uploaded applications: Available Applications.
  2. Tap the version of the application under Application Details.
  3. Tap the file name in the “Application File” section.

Viewing application reviews

In the PMF Application Center console, you can see reviews about mobile application versions sent by users.

Users of mobile applications can write a review, which includes a rating and a comment, and submit the review through the PMF Application Center client. Reviews are available in the PMF Application Center console and the client. Individual reviews are always associated with a particular version of an application.

To view reviews from mobile users or testers about an application version:

  1. Select Applications to see the list of uploaded applications: Available Applications.
  2. Select the version of the application.

  3. In the menu, select Reviews.

    The rating is an average of the ratings in all recorded reviews. It consists of one to five stars, where one star represents the lowest level of appreciation and five stars represent the highest level of appreciation. The client cannot send a zero star rating.

    The average rating gives an indication of how the application satisfies the intended use of the application.

  4. Click the two arrow heads Double arrow-head button to expand the comment that is part of the review and to view the details of the mobile device where the review is generated.

    For example, the comment can give the reason for submitting the review, such as failure to install. If you want to delete the review, click the trash can icon to the right of the review that you want to delete.

Device Management

PMF Application Center Console → Devices → Device Management

You can see the devices that connected to the PMF Application Center from the PMF Application Center mobile client and their properties.

Under the Registered Devices section see the list of devices that have connected to the PMF Application Center at least once from the PMF Application Center mobile client.

Click a device in the list of devices to view the properties of the device or the applications installed on that device. Select Properties to view the device properties.

Property Description
Name The name of the device. You can edit this property.
On iOS, the user can define this name in the settings of the device in the Settings > General > Information > Name. The same name is displayed on App Store.
User Name The name of the first user who logged into the device.
Manufacturer The manufacturer of the device.
Model The model identifier.
Operating System The operating system of the mobile device.
Unique identifier The unique identifier of the mobile device.
Applications installed on device Select to list all the applications installed on the device.

If you edit the device name, click OK to save the name and return to Registered Devices or Apply to save and keep Edit Device Properties open.

User and group management

PMF Application Center Console → Users / Groups → User and Group Management

You can use users and groups to define who has access to some features of the PMF Application Center, such as installing applications on mobile devices.
Use users and groups in the definition of Access Control Lists (ACL).

Managing local groups

User and Group Management → User group

  • To create a local group, click Create group. Enter the name of the new group and click OK.

  • If the PMF Application Center is connected to an LDAP repository, the search includes local groups as well as the groups defined in the LDAP repository. If the repository is not LDAP, only local groups are available to the search.

  • To add or remove members of a group, click the Edit members link of the group.

  • To delete a group, click the trash icon next to the group name. The group is also removed from the access control lists.

  • To add a new member, search for the user by entering the user display name, select the user, and click Add.

  • If the PMF Application Center is connected to an LDAP repository, the search for the user is performed in the LDAP repository. If the repository is not LDAP, the search is performed in the list of registered users.

  • To remove a member from a group, click the cross icon to the right of the user name.

Managing registered users

User and Group Management → Registered users

Displays a list of registered users of the PMF Application Center that includes:

  • Mobile client users
  • Console users
  • Local group members
  • Members of an access control list

  • To register new users, click Register User, enter the login name and the display name, and click OK.
    To unregister a user, click the trash icon next to the user name.

  • Removing feedback given by the user
  • Removing the user from the access control lists
  • Removing the user from local groups

Note: When you unregister a user, the user is not removed from the application server or the LDAP repository.

  • If the PMF Application Center is connected to an LDAP repository, you cannot edit the user display names. If the repository is not LDAP, you can change a user display name by selecting it and editing it.

Access control

You can decide whether installation of an application on mobile devices is open to any users or whether you want to restrict the ability to install an application. Installation of applications on a mobile device can be limited to specific users or available to any users.

Access control is defined at the application level and not at the version level. By default, after an application is uploaded, any user has the right to install the application on a mobile device.

The current access control for an application is displayed in Available Applications for each application. The unrestricted or restricted access status for installation is shown as a link to the page for editing access control.

Installation rights are only about the installation of the application on the mobile device. If access control is not enabled, everybody has access to the application.

Managing access control

Application Management → Available Applications

You can add or remove access for users or groups to install an application on mobile devices.
You can edit access control:

  1. Click Access control: unrestricted/restricted (State of Installation of an application).
  2. In the Installation Access Control page, select Access control enabled to enable access control.
  3. Add users or groups to the access list.

  • To add a single user or group, enter a name, select the entry in the matching entries found, and click Add.

  • If the PMF Application Center is connected to an LDAP repository, you can search for users and groups in the repository as well as locally defined groups. If the repository is not LDAP, you can search only local groups and registered users. Local groups are exclusively defined in the Users / Groups tab. When you use the Liberty profile federated registry, you can only search for users by using the login name; the result is limited to a maximum of 15 users and 15 groups (instead of 50 users and 50 groups).

  • To register a user at the same time as you add the user to the access list, enter the name and click Add. Then you must specify the login name and the display name of the user.

  • To add all the users of an application, click Add users from application and select the appropriate application.
  • To remove access from a user or group, click the cross icon on the right of the name.

Settings

Application Management → Top left corner →

Managing application enrollment tokens

In the PMF Application Center Settings page, select Enrollment Tokens to display the list of registered tokens.

  • To enroll a device, the device user must upload and install the token file before installing the Application Center mobile client. The mobile client is also a company application. Therefore, the device must be enrolled before the mobile client can be installed.

  • The registered tokens are available through the bootstrap page at the following URL:

    http://hostname:portnumber/applicationcenter/installers.html

    Where hostname is the host name of the server hosting the PMF Application Center and portnumber is the corresponding port number.

  • To register a token in the PMF Application Center console, click Upload Token and select a token file. The token file extension is aetx.
  • To update the certificate subject of a token, select the token name in the list, change the value, and click OK.
  • To delete a token, click the trash can icon on the right side of the token in the list.

For security purposes, you must sign out of the console when you have finished your administrative tasks. To log out of the secure sign-on to the PMF Application Center console.
To sign out of the PMF Application Center console, click Sign out on the Top left corner.

Troubleshooting login issues

For more information, see Troubleshooting PMF Application Center login page.

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