SoftwareCentral · Settings guide

Configuration

Configuration is the settings page of SoftwareCentral. The settings are grouped on several pages, listed beside the settings. Find a setting searches every page at once. Save Settings saves the changes on all pages. Nothing is saved until you press Save Settings.

16 pages Find a setting Save Settings Troubleshooting

1 What the page is for

Configuration holds the settings that control how SoftwareCentral works: its licence and version, the server and Intune connections, the interface, security, the SCCM folders, collections and packages, Active Directory, and the Robopack integration.

The page opens on SoftwareCentral Update, the first settings page. Use the list beside the settings to go to another page.

2 The page at a glance

The header holds the page name, Find a setting and Save Settings. Under the header is the list of settings pages, and next to it the settings of the page you are on.

The Configuration page on SoftwareCentral Update with the Find a setting box, the list of settings pages and Save Settings
The Configuration page: Find a setting and Save Settings in the header, the settings pages in the list on the left with the number of pages in each group, and the settings of the open page.

3 The settings pages

An administrator of the Application Manager Only edition sees these 16 pages. The number after each group is the number of pages in it.

PageWhat it holds
General Settings (4)
SoftwareCentral UpdateThe version, the temporary licence access link, the licence expiry date, the licence warning mail and the diagnostic data switch.
Server ConfigurationThe SCCM server and database connection, the proxy server and the Administrator group. The SCCM database settings can only be changed by the installer.
Intune ConfigurationIntune integration, Delta Sync, Windows 365 support, the Intune tenants and the certificate for them.
MaintenanceClear cached items, restart the website, test connections, how long log entries are kept, and how long Phased Deployments are kept.
SoftwareCentral (3)
Interface SettingsThe colour themes, language, notifications, the Deployment Monitor, the default application template and the Phased Deployments options.
SecurityWhether applications must be in a package security group to be visible, whether security roles can uninstall unassigned applications, and whether they only see deployed software.
Custom ActionsScripts that run after a job, with their path, the account they run as and the variables they receive.
Intune (2)
ApplicationsWhether unassigned applications from the global catalogue are shown, scope tags, and which applications security roles can see.
GroupsThe prefix and the install and uninstall suffixes for the groups that deployments create.
SCCM (4)
SharesThe package share path used when you create a package or application.
ClientsClient notifications and the maximum number of clients that use them, and the accounts SoftwareCentral uses to connect to clients.
PackagesHow package names are built, and whether the username is added to the description.
CollectionsThe limiting collections, whether collection memberships are created on the computer site, whether folders are created for collections, and the membership rules.
Domain (2)
Active DirectoryWhether AD deployment is used, pre-Windows 2000 domain names, and validation of sign-in with the user principal name.
DomainsThe Active Directory domains SoftwareCentral connects to. Refresh adds the trusted domains that are not in the list yet.
Robopack (1)
RobopackThe default deployment template, the Robopack API URL and key, application detection, the Robopack package share and how many Patch Flow versions to keep. See Robopack settings.
Passwords and keys Some pages hold passwords, keys and accounts. Do not copy their values into tickets, e-mails or screenshots.

4 Find a setting

Type a word in Find a setting to search the settings of every page at once. The results show the setting and the page it is on.

  1. Click Find a setting and type a word, for example colour.
  2. Click a result. The settings page opens and the setting is marked.
  3. Press Esc or clear the box to close the results.
Find a setting with the word colour and one result: Colour themes (Beta), SoftwareCentral, Interface Settings
Find a setting with the word colour. The result shows the setting and its path: SoftwareCentral › Interface Settings.

5 Moving between pages

  • The list beside the settings shows the pages in groups. Click a group to open or close it, and click a page to open it. Only one group is open at a time.
  • The breadcrumb at the top (for example Configuration › General Settings › SoftwareCentral Update) opens a menu. Use it to jump to another group or page. Press Esc to close it.
The breadcrumb menu listing the settings groups and pages
The breadcrumb menu. It lists the settings groups and their pages.
The General Settings group open with its four pages
The list beside the settings with the General Settings group open. The number on the right of each group is its number of pages.
The SoftwareCentral group open with its three pages
The SoftwareCentral group open. The other groups (Intune, SCCM, Domain and Robopack) open in the same way.

6 Changing settings

  • On/off settings are switches. Click a switch to turn it on or off. A switch that is on is shown in teal.
  • Colours are chosen with a colour swatch. Click the swatch to open the browser's colour picker.
  • Text and numbers are typed in the box, and lists are chosen from a drop-down.
  • Colour themes (Interface Settings) are reset with Reset the colour themes. This puts back the colour themes SoftwareCentral ships with (Forest, Amber and Indigo). It replaces every theme and change made since, and the warning says that unsaved changes on the page are lost.
Interface Settings with the colour themes setting, the reset button and the switches below
Interface Settings: the Colour themes (Beta) setting with Reset the colour themes, and the switches below it.

7 Saving and unsaved changes

  • Changes are kept on the page until you press Save Settings.
  • The counter next to Save Settings shows how many changes are not saved, for example 2 unsaved changes. Each page in the list also shows a dot when it has unsaved changes.
  • Save Settings saves the changes on all pages in one go, not only the page you are on.
  • Some pages show a message when a value is wrong. For example, if the application pool password is wrong, the page opens Server Configuration and shows the message.

8 Fields and buttons

Name on screenWhat it does
Find a settingSearches every settings page and opens the setting you pick.
BreadcrumbOpens a menu to jump to another settings group or page.
Settings pages listLists the groups and pages. Each group shows its number of pages.
Unsaved changes counterShows how many changes are not saved, next to Save Settings.
Save SettingsSaves the changes on all pages.
SwitchTurns an on/off setting on or off.
Colour swatchOpens the colour picker for a colour setting.
Reset the colour themesPuts back the shipped colour themes. Asks for confirmation.

9 Best practices

TopicRecommendation
Find before you browseUse Find a setting to get to a setting quickly, and check the page it is on.
Change one area at a timeMake a group of related changes, check the unsaved counter, then press Save Settings.
Save before a resetSave your changes before Reset the colour themes, because the reset loses unsaved changes on the page.
Know what a setting affectsSettings for SCCM, Intune and Active Directory change how deployments work. Read the page's labels before you change them.
Keep secrets out of ticketsDo not paste passwords, keys or account names from these pages into tickets, e-mails or screenshots.
Use the dedicated page for RobopackRobopack values are described in Robopack settings.

10 Troubleshooting

SymptomCauseWhat to do
No settings found when you searchThe setting is on a page that is not shown to Application Manager Only administrators, or the word is not in its name.Try a shorter or different word. Use the settings pages list to look through the groups.
The unsaved changes counter shows changes you did not makeThe page flags changes it detects when it loads, so a value can show as changed before anyone edits it. This needs checking.Check the page before you press Save Settings. If you did not change the value, do not save; ask an administrator.
The page opens on SoftwareCentral UpdateThat is the first settings page. The page opened there in every test.Use the list or the breadcrumb to go to the page you need.
Save Settings shows a wrong password message and the page changes to Server ConfigurationThe application pool password entered on Server Configuration is wrong.Enter the correct password, then press Save Settings.
A setting is greyed outIt depends on another setting, on the edition, or it is only for the on-premises or the cloud version.Check the page's other settings. Ask an administrator if you need the setting changed.
A colour change does not showThe change is not saved yet.Press Save Settings, then reload the page.
The Robopack values are not where the page list saysThe Robopack page is named Robopack in the list for this edition.Open the Robopack page, or read Robopack settings.