Unified Application Management: Manage Shell Apps

Nerdio Manager allows you to manage Unified Application Management shell apps, which are complex applications via PowerShell scripts. This includes the ability to specify custom detection, installation, and uninstall scripts.

See Unified Application Management: Shell Apps Overview and Usage for more information.

Link a Shell Apps Repository

Nerdio Manager allows you to link a Shell Apps repository.

To link a Shell Apps repository:

1. Navigate to Settings > Nerdio environment.

2. In the Unified Application Management tile, select Link.

3. Enter the following information:

   • Repository type: From the drop-down list, select Shell Apps.

   • Friendly Name: Type the repository's friendly name.

   • Create a Storage Account for Binary Files: Toggle this option On.

     • Resource Group: From the drop-down list, select the resource group.

     • Storage Account Name: Type the storage account name.

   • Apply tags: Optionally, type the Name and Value of the Azure tag to apply the resource.

     Note: You may specify multiple tags. See this Microsoft article for details about using tags to organize your Azure resources.

4. Once you have entered all the desired information, select OK.

   The application repository is linked to Nerdio Manager.

Add a New Shell App

Nerdio Manager allows you to add shell apps.

To add a new shell app:

1. Navigate to Applications > Shell Apps.

2. Select Add.

   Tip: In the File, Detect, Install, and Uninstall tabs shown below, you can expand Usage guidance to see more information about how to use the scripts.

3. Enter the following information in the General tab:

   • Name: Type the app's name.

   • Description: Type the app's description.

   • Publisher: Type the app's publisher's name.

   • Public: Toggle this option On to make this app visible on the Unified Catalog page.

     Note: See Shell Apps Deployment Status below for more information.

4. Enter the following information in the Detect tab:

   • Detect: Configure the custom script to detect whether the application is installed on the host or not.

5. Enter the following information in the Install tab:

   • Install: Configure the custom script to install the application.

6. Enter the following information in the Uninstall tab:

   • Uninstall: Configure the custom script to uninstall the application.

7. Enter the following information in the Versions tab:

   • Select Version: From the drop-down list, select the desired version.

     • Optionally, select Add new to add a new version.

     • Optionally, select Delete current to delete the current version.

   • General:

     • Version: Type the version name expected by scripts.

     • Preview:Select this option to designate this version as a preview version.

       Note: A Preview version is not seen as "latest" by any UAM policies, and are not automatically applied to in-scope pools unless the version is specifically selected. Use this option for testing a new version without disrupting your existing policies.

     • Unzip: If selected, your zip file is extracted into a temporary folder and the context is set to that folder. Therefore, you are able to use files from the archive directly.

       Note: This option is available only for shell apps with a single version.

   • File: Toggle On this option to upload a file that is later available in the scripts.

     • Source -Choose file: Optionally, select a local file to upload.

   • Override Install: Toggle On this option to create a script be executed to install this shell app version.

     Note: The globally configured install script is still be executed for other versions unless their script is overridden as well.

     • Script: Enter the override installation script.

8. Once you have entered all the desired information, select Create.

   The new app is created.

Manage Shell Apps

Nerdio Manager allows you to manage shell apps. This includes editing and deleting the apps.

To manage shell apps:

1. Navigate to Applications > Shell Apps.

2. Locate the shell app you wish to work with.

3. Optionally, perform any of the following:

   • Select Edit to change the app.

   • Select Copy to create a copy of the app, which you can modify.

   • From the action menu, select Delete to delete the app.

Shell Apps Deployment Status

When creating and managing a Shell Apps package, the application can be in one of the following states:

• Draft: A draft application is still in the process of creation. It could be that the application files are still uploading, or a section of the script is not complete, and the package has not been saved to the Nerdio Manager database. Draft applications move to the Hidden state once these tasks are complete.

• Hidden: Hidden applications have all sections complete and have been saved to the Nerdio Manager database. Hidden applications must be made public by setting the Public switch to On in the package properties before deployment, which makes the application available in the Unified Catalog.

• Public: Public applications are available in the Unified Catalog for deployment. Applications in this state cannot be moved back to Hidden if a policy assignment exists. Please remove any policy assignments before hiding the application package. It is recommended that all packages be fully tested before assignment to production desktops.