SoftwareCentral · Application Manager

Security Roles

A Security Role decides who may use SoftwareCentral and what they may see and do. The people in a role are members of an Entra ID group. The role's functions decide which pages appear in the menu, and its package security groups, templates and Intune tenants decide which software and settings it can reach.

Menu: Security Tabs, save from any tab Best practice Troubleshooting

1 What it is for

Use Security Roles to decide what each group of people can do in Application Manager Only.

  • Members: the Entra ID group whose members use the role.
  • Menu and functions: which pages and buttons the role can use. A page appears in a user's menu only when the role has it ticked.
  • Software: which package security groups the role can see and manage, and which application templates it may choose.
  • Intune tenants: which Intune tenants the role can work in.

2 The page at a glance

The list shows one row per role. The columns show who the role is for and how much it can do.

The Security Roles list with the columns Name, Members from, Site, Functions, Package security groups and Intune tenants
The Security Roles list. Each row shows the role name, the Entra ID group it is Members from, the Site, the number of Functions, the Package security groups and the Intune tenants. The Members button is on the right of each row.

3 Find a role

Type a name in the search box to narrow the list. Click Filters to narrow it further by site, Intune tenant or package security group. The number on the button shows how many filters are in use.

The Filters panel with Site, Intune tenant and Package security group
The Filters panel: Site, Intune tenant and Package security group. Each is set to Any until you choose one.

4 Edit a role

  1. Click Edit on the row, or click the role name.
  2. The window opens with the Name at the top. Use the tabs to move between the parts of the role. Change any tab and click Save; you do not have to go back to the first tab.
  3. Use the General tab to set the Entra ID group under Members and the sites. The group shown in the list under Members from is the one that is saved there.
  4. Click Cancel to close without keeping your changes, or Save to keep them.
Users see the change only after they choose the role again A user keeps the menu they had until they choose the role again or sign in again. Tell the people in the role after you change it.
The Edit security role window on the Functions tab, with the menus on the left and the functions of the selected menu on the right
The edit window on the Functions tab. The tabs show how many items are ticked on each: General, Functions, Software, Configuration Manager and Intune. The footer says Your changes are saved when you click Save.
TabWhat you set there
GeneralMembers: the Entra ID group whose members use the role. Sites: the sites the role may use, and the default site.
FunctionsThe menus and functions the role may use. See the next section.
SoftwareThe package security groups, the application templates, the Intune application templates, the computer templates and the operating system task sequences the role may use, and the dashboards it may open. Each package security group brings its applications, packages and Intune apps.
Configuration ManagerThe collections the role may use, the limit on devices in one operation, and the SCCM queries it may run.
IntuneWhether the role may use the Intune tenants (a switch for access to the tenant).

The tabs shown depend on the installation. Reports and Active Directory are not shown in Application Manager Only.

5 Functions and menus

The Functions tab has two lists. The left list is the menu, with how many of its functions are allowed (for example 1 / 5). The right list is the functions of the menu you selected.

  • Tick a menu on the left to allow all of its functions. A menu with some functions allowed shows a dash.
  • In Application Manager Only the menus follow the sidebar: Apps, Robopack, Flows, Radar, Dashboards, Phased Deployments, Security, Templates, Settings and Log.
  • Security and Templates are groups in the sidebar. Ticking a page under them allows that page only. Ticking a page under Security or Templates also gives the role the Settings menu, because those pages sit under it.
  • New functions under an allowed menu are allowed too adds every function the menu gets later. Use it only when the role should always have the whole menu.
  • Search all functions finds a function across all menus.
Tick the page, not the whole menu A role that only needs to read phased deployments should have just that page ticked. A role with a whole menu ticked can use every page in it.

6 Fields and buttons

ElementWhat it does
Add security roleCreates a new role in the edit window.
Export rolesExports the roles.
FiltersNarrows the list by site, Intune tenant and package security group.
MembersOpens the members of the role's Entra ID group.
EditOpens the role in the edit window.
DeleteDeletes the role. The confirmation says whose sign-in is lost, so read it before you confirm.
Start from roleFills a new role with the settings of another role. Use it to copy a role and change only what differs.
SaveKeeps the changes made on every tab.
CancelCloses the window without keeping the changes.

Edit several roles is not shown in Application Manager Only.

7 Best practices

TopicRecommendation
One role per jobCreate a role for each kind of work, for example a packager and a reader. Give each only the pages it needs.
Copy with Start from roleWhen a new role is like an existing one, choose it under Start from role and change only the differences.
Give software through groupsAllow package security groups rather than single applications. A group brings all its applications, packages and Intune apps.
Tick only what is neededPrefer ticking single pages. Use New functions under an allowed menu are allowed too only for roles that should get future functions automatically.
Test the roleAfter you change a role, sign in with a test account in it, or ask a member to choose the role again, and check the menu.
Keep an administrator roleKeep at least one role that can still open Security Roles, so that no one locks themselves out.
Review with filtersFilter by package security group to see every role that can reach a group. Export the list for an access review.

8 Troubleshooting

SymptomCause and what to do
A page you ticked does not appear in a user's menuThe user keeps the old menu until they choose the role again or sign in again. Ask them to do so.
A page is missing from your own menuYour role does not have that page ticked. Administrators see only the ticked pages too.
A page under Security or Templates shows, but Settings does notSettings is added to the role automatically when a page under it is ticked. Save the role and let the user choose it again.
The role's members do not changeThe members come from the Entra ID group in Members from. Change the people in that group, then choose the role again.
A role cannot see a package security groupCheck that the group is ticked on the Software tab and that the role is in the group's Security roles tab in Package Security Groups.
The list shows No items match your criteriaA filter or the search is hiding every role. Clear the filters and the search box.
Buttons at the top right of the page are cut offMake the browser window wider.