Application templates

1 What it is for

The template is the answer sheet for Configuration Manager applications. Its settings are used when an application is made, and when a package is mended with Mend Packages and the template is chosen there.

Robopack has its own templates: Robopack Templates is the third page under Templates, described in Deployment templates.

Programs: the MSI and script/EXE arguments, and the install, uninstall and repair programs.
Deployments: whether devices and users get the application as Required or Available, how the deployment is timed, and the user notifications.
Content: the distribution points and distribution point groups the content goes to, and the package security groups.
Return codes: what each exit code of the installer means.
Who can use it: the security roles that may use the template.

2 The page at a glance

Open Templates › Application Templates in the menu. The page lists the templates you are allowed to see.

The Application Templates page with the list of templates — The Application Templates page: the **Add new template** button and the search box, the **Filters** button and **Export CSV** above the list, and one row per template with its device and user deployment, distribution and roles.

Column	What it shows
Name	The template name. Click it, or Edit, to open the template window.
Description	The description, or a dash when there is none.
Devices	Required or Available: how devices get the application.
Users	Required, Available or No user collections: how users get the application.
Distribution	The number of distribution points and distribution point groups, for example 2 points, 1 group. The tooltip lists the groups and the servers.
Visible to	The security roles that may use the template, up to three names, or the count. A role marked (all templates) in the role filter sees every template. A dash means no role is given the template.

The count above the list follows the search and the filters. Use List and Tiles to change how the templates are shown.

3 Search, filters and export

Search: type a part of the name in the box on the left and press Enter. Each search value becomes a token; a template is listed when its name contains every token.
Filters: click Filters to open the panel. The number on the button shows how many filters are in use. Clear all filters resets them.

The Filters panel of the Application Templates page — The Filters panel: **Device deployment**, **User deployment** and **Visible to role**. Every filter is set to *Any* until you choose a value.

Filter	Shows the templates that
Device deployment	deploy to devices as Required or as Available.
User deployment	deploy to users as Required, as Available, or make No user collections.
Visible to role	the chosen role may use. A role that sees all templates matches every template.

The filters and the search work together: a template must match all of them to be listed.

Export CSV Export CSV saves every template that matches the search and the filters, on all pages, with the full distribution and role lists. The file has the Template ID column, which is hidden in the grid. Keep it: the API and other tools find a template by its ID.

4 The template window

Click Add new template to make a template, or Edit on a row to change one. The window has seven tabs. Cancel closes it without saving. Save stores the template and closes the window.

Tab	What it holds
General	The template name (required, must be unique) and the description.
Install commands	The MSI additional commands and repair program, and the install, uninstall and repair arguments for scripts and EXE files.
Run and content	How the installation runs on the client: installation behaviour, logon requirement, program visibility, what happens after the install, the maximum and estimated run time, and the deployment options for the content.
Return codes	The exit codes of the installer with their name and class. The codes are saved with the template.
Distribution	The distribution points and distribution point groups, the package security groups, the Configuration Manager application folder, the distribution settings and the security scopes.
Deployment	The deployments to devices and users, the time base, the user notifications, and the collections (with the option to make no device uninstall collections). Domain and organisational unit are asked only when AD deployment is on.
Security roles	The roles that may use the template. Roles that see every template are shown as locked. Your own role is always added.

The General tab of the application template window — The template window, **General** tab, opened with **Edit**. The note on the tab says that every new application made with the template gets the settings on these tabs, and that changing the template does not change applications made before.

5 Fields and buttons

Control	What it does
Add new template	Opens an empty template window.
Search	Finds templates by name. Press Enter to add the search value as a token.
Filters	Opens the filter panel. Clear all filters resets it.
Export CSV	Downloads every matching template with the Template ID and the full lists.
List / Tiles	Changes the view. Tiles show each template as a card.
Edit	Opens the template window for the row.
Delete	Opens the Delete window for the template.
Cancel / Save	In the template window: leave without changes, or store the template and close the window.

6 Best practices

Topic	Recommendation
Match the template to the install	Use one template for MSI installers and another for EXE or script installers, so the command lines are right from the start.
Choose the deployment once	Decide whether devices and users get the application as Required or Available in the template, and use No user collections for device-only software.
Keep distribution close to the devices	Add the distribution point groups the devices use, and check the list in the tooltip of Distribution.
Limit who can use it	Give the template only to the roles that need it. Use Visible to role to review it.
Set return codes once	Add only the exit codes your installer uses, with the class that matches what the code means.
Keep a template ID list	Use Export CSV to keep a copy of the templates and their IDs.

7 Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause and what to do
No templates match your criteria	The search or a filter hides every template. Click Clear all filters and clear the search tokens.
A template is not in the list	The list shows only the templates your role may use. Ask an administrator to check the Security roles tab of the template, or your role on the Security roles page.
Template name cannot be empty	Type a name in Template name on the General tab.
Visible to shows a dash	No role has been given the template. Add the roles on the Security roles tab.
The CSV file has fewer templates than the page	The export follows the search and filters. Clear them, then export again.