Managed Content in Jamf Pro
Managing content using Jamf Pro allows you to have more control over the distribution and removal of apps and books, as well as the backup of data and options for updating the content.
Managed Apps
The following two factors determine whether an app can be managed by Jamf Pro:
The app must be free or purchased in volume. For more information about volume purchasing, see the following Apple documentation:
Mobile devices that have an MDM profile that supports managed apps.
Devices enrolled with Jamf Pro automatically obtain an MDM profile that supports managed apps. For instructions on distributing an updated MDM profile that supports managed apps, see Self Service Web Clip.
The following table compares distribution settings for unmanaged versus managed apps:
| Unmanaged apps | Managed apps |
---|---|---|
Distribution Methods |
|
|
Make available in Jamf Self Service | ✔ | ✔ |
Prompt users to install |
| ✔ |
Removal Options |
|
|
Remove from Jamf Self Service | ✔ | ✔ |
Remove from mobile devices |
| ✔ |
Remove when MDM profile is removed |
| ✔ |
Backup of App Data |
|
|
Prevent backup of app data |
| ✔ |
App Update Options |
|
|
Schedule automatic app updates | ✔ | ✔ |
Force an app update |
| ✔ |
App Validation Options (in-house apps only) |
|
|
Schedule automatic app validation |
| ✔ |
Force app validation |
| ✔ |
Managed App Configuration
Managed app configuration is a set of key-value pairs used to configure iOS applications. You can use managed app configuration to configure and customize Jamf-managed apps for your organization.
You can use Jamf Pro to configure a managed app before distributing it to mobile devices.
For more information or to generate a managed app configuration, see the AppConfig Generator utiltiy from Jamf.
Managed App Configuration Variables
You can use $VARIABLES
to populate settings in a managed app
with attribute values stored in Jamf Pro. This allows you to customize managed app settings on a per user or mobile device basis.
When the app is installed on a mobile device, the $VARIABLE
is replaced with the value of
the corresponding attribute in Jamf Pro.
An $EXTENSIONATTRIBUTE_<#>
variable is generated each time you create a mobile
device extension attribute. For more information, see Mobile Device Extension Attributes.
Variable |
Mobile Device Information |
---|---|
|
Mobile Device Name |
|
Serial Number |
|
UDID |
|
Username |
|
Full Name |
|
Email Address |
|
Phone Number |
|
Room |
|
Position |
|
MAC Address |
|
Jamf Pro ID |
|
Jamf Pro ID of the App |
|
Site ID |
|
Site Name |
|
Building Name |
|
Building ID |
|
Department ID |
|
Department Name |
|
Jamf Pro URL |
Converting an Unmanaged App to Managed
You can convert an app from an unmanaged state to a managed state after the app has been installed on a mobile device. Management occurs silently on supervised devices.
If the device is unsupervised, users are prompted to allow management. If the user declines to manage the app on their device, they are prompted to manage the app each time the device checks in with Jamf Pro until management is accepted.
- In Jamf Pro, click Devices
at the top of the sidebar.
- Click Mobile Device Apps
in the sidebar.
- Click the app you want to convert from unmanaged to managed.
- Click Edit
.
- On the General pane, select Make App Managed when possible.
- Select Make app managed if currently installed as unmanaged.
- Click Save
.
The app immediately is managed on supervised devices and becomes managed on unsupervised devices when the user accepts the management prompt.
Managed Books
The following books can be managed:
In-house books
Books available in the Book Store that are free or purchased in volume and assigned to the user via managed distribution
For more information, see User-Assigned Managed Distribution.
When managed book requirements are met, the book is installed on iOS devices and users can view it with Apple Books. If you try to make an app managed but these requirements are not met, the app behaves as unmanaged.
The following table provides more detail about managed books:
| Unmanaged Books (iOS and macOS) | Managed Books (iOS only) |
---|---|---|
Distribution Methods | ||
Make available in Jamf Self Service | ✔ | ✔ |
Install automatically/prompt users to install |
| ✔ |
Removal Options | ||
Remove from Jamf Self Service | ✔ | ✔ |
Remove in-house books from mobile devices |
| ✔ |
Remove from computers |
|
|
Remove in-house books when MDM profile is removed |
| ✔ |