SoftwareCentral · Interfaces

Interface Overview

This chapter describes the main interface, the role selector and the menus in SoftwareCentral. The same parts are on every page: the top menu, the footer buttons in the lower left corner, and the popups they open.

Role selector Top menu Footer buttons Settings popup

1 Role selector

If you are a member of more than one security role, you will be presented with the role selector each time you launch SoftwareCentral.

The role selector gives you a list of all the roles you are a member of. Click on the role you wish to use to log into SoftwareCentral.

You may also use the search box, Quick-Find Security Role, to find a role. The search box is highlighted when you come to the role selector page, so you can start typing immediately to find the correct role. Click on enter to load the selected role in the search box.

The role selector page titled Choose Role. It says that you are a member of more than one security role and asks you to select one below. Above the role buttons is the Quick-Find Security Role search box. The buttons are SoftwareCentral Administrators, Application Manager and test.
The role selector. Start typing in the Quick-Find Security Role box, or click the role you want.

2 Main interface

The main interface has the menu at the top. The available buttons in the menu may vary depending on your security role and the modules available in your company subscription.

When you click on a menu button, a sub menu will appear for all buttons except the log. The log button goes directly to the log.

The interface will adapt to your window and screen size.

The SoftwareCentral main interface. The top menu has the buttons Devices, Users, Applications, Dashboard, Patches, Licenses, Settings, Log, Status, Reinstall, Clone, Software, AD, Tools, Reports and Shopping. The page below shows the Deployment Manager.
The top menu. The buttons you see depend on your role. Here the Software button is selected and the Deployment Manager is open.

The shopping menu is described in Menu Overview.

4 Deployment Monitor

In the lower left corner, you have the Show Deployment Monitor button. This button opens a small window that shows a list of your last deployments and their deployment status. The deployment monitor is only visible for users with access to the deployment manager.

The deployments are sorted after the time they were deployed. The three columns to the right display the number of succeeded, pending / unknown and failed deployments.

You can click on each number to get an overview of the clients with status messages. The overview opens in a new window.

In the top of the deployment monitor, you can choose between deployments made Today, Yesterday and Last Week.

The View All button will redirect to the deployment manager where you can see all deployments.

The Refresh button will reload the status for the deployments.

An earlier version of the Deployment Monitor window in a browser: a list of deployments with three coloured status columns and the Today, Yesterday and Last Week choices, View All and Refresh.
Earlier version: the Deployment Monitor in an older browser window and layout. The choices Today, Yesterday and Last Week, View All and Refresh are the same. It is still to be recaptured from a role that can see the Deployment Monitor.
Auto show is a setting now The Deployment Monitor used to have an Auto Show button next to it. The option is now the checkbox Automatically show the Deployment Monitor. in the Settings popup (section 6).
An earlier version of the Deployment Monitor button bar with the buttons Show Deployment Monitor and Auto Show.
Earlier version: the old Show Deployment Monitor and Auto Show buttons. Now the button is the footer icon and the auto-show option is the checkbox in the Settings popup. Still to be recaptured.

5 Notifications

In the lower left corner, you have the notification popup. You can use the notification popup to view if an action goes good or bad.

You can view all notifications from the Log.

The Notifications popup above the footer, with the title Notifications, a close cross and a list of recent messages with their times. The messages are errors from the test system.
The Notifications popup, opened with the bell. The messages are from the test system. When there are none, the list says No new notifications.

6 Settings

Click on the gears icon to open the Settings popup.

The Settings popup above the footer. It shows the username and security role, the notification choices, the notification popup width and height, a Background list, and a Language and time zone selector with a Close button. The username in the picture is an example.
The Settings popup. The username in this picture is an example. Under Language the flag opens the language and time zone choice.

The popup shows your username and your security role. Select the notification types you want.

ChoiceWhat it does
All NotificationsShows all notifications.
Successes, Warnings and ErrorsRemoves general information, start and end tags.
Warnings and ErrorsOnly shows warnings and errors.
Errors onlyOnly shows error messages.
DisabledNo notifications will show.

Notification popup dimensions sets the width and height of the popup in pixels (100 to 1000). The size is saved in a cookie in your browser, so it applies to that browser only. The default size is set by an administrator under Settings, SoftwareCentral, Interface Settings.

Choose to auto-show the Deployment Monitor: tick Automatically show the Deployment Monitor. When it is ticked, the Deployment Monitor opens when a new deployment is initiated. The checkbox is shown only when the Deployment Monitor is available to you.

Select your language and time zone under Language. It is important to select your correct time zone when you make scheduled deployments and jobs on devices in other time zones.

Click Close to close the popup.

7 Help

The Help button will open this guide in a web based form.

8 Best practice

  • Set your time zone before you schedule anything. Scheduled times are read in the time zone of your user, and the phased deployment window shows that zone.
  • Set the auto-show and the notification size in each browser. Both are kept in a cookie in that browser, so they do not follow you to another browser or computer.

9 Troubleshooting

SymptomCauseWhat to do
There is no Show Deployment Monitor button and no auto-show checkbox. Your role has no Deployment Manager button, or the Deployment Monitor is turned off in Settings, or this is an Intune-only installation. Ask your SoftwareCentral administrator.
There is no bell in the footer, and no notification popup. Disable notifications is ticked in Settings. Clear the Disable notifications checkbox in Settings.
The notification popup has the default size in another browser. The width and height are kept in a cookie for each browser. Set the width and height again in that browser.