1 How the shop works
- The shop works on every device with a Configuration Manager client, and on Intune devices. The device and the user together decide which applications and items are offered.
- The shop has to know the device. It asks the computer the request comes from; where that fails — VPN, out-of-date DNS, devices outside your network — use the SoftwareCentral client or the shopper's primary devices.
- By default the shop is device-based: an order is installed on the device it was made for. To install for the user instead, tick Install applications for users (and Assign Intune applications to users) under Settings › SoftwareCentral › Shop.
- Without approval an order is installed straight away. With approval, the approvers are mailed and the order waits for them.
2 Mails
The shop mails order confirmations, requests to approvers, reminders and the result of each decision. Edit the texts in the Mail Template Editor. The mail server is set under Settings › SoftwareCentral › Mail.
3 Security
The shop does not use the SoftwareCentral security roles for what shoppers may order. It uses package security groups: each group is bound to Active Directory groups or user collections, and contains applications and custom shop items. A shopper sees only the items of the groups they and their device are members of.
- A package security group whose name starts with
SHOPPING -only affects the shop, not the rest of SoftwareCentral. - The Shop Setup Guide creates groups and binds them to AD groups, collections, applications and items in one go.
- An application must also have Install allowed in Software Administration.
4 Approval flows
| Type | Meaning |
|---|---|
| None | No approval. |
| Single | One of the approvers decides. |
| Multiple | All approvers must approve. |
| Sequential | All approvers must approve, in a set order. |
Set them per item in Software Administration and Custom Shop Items; see Approval Flow. The new shop adds install requests: a team you choose approves first, before the item's own flow.
5 Settings
The general shop settings — currency, logo, title, filters, views and much more — are under Settings › SoftwareCentral › Shop. What only the new shop has, and the rollout switch, are on the New Shop tab. The new shop's colours come from the Shop Designer. See New shop settings for every setting.
6 Integration with other tools
- ServiceNow tickets can be created automatically for each order — see ServiceNow tickets from the shop.
- Custom actions run your own script when an item is ordered or decided, for example to create an order in another system — see Custom Actions.
- The Web Service API can approve and decline orders.
- For Intune, see Shopping from Intune devices.