Collection Management

1 Open Collection Management

Open Settings › Collection Management from the top menu.

The Settings menu open at the top of the portal. Collection Management is listed between Distribution Settings and SCCM Queries, and SCCM Folders and Collections is near the bottom. — The **Settings** menu. Click **Collection Management**; it is the entry with the folder-tree icon.

The page opens with two nodes in the left tree, User Collections and Device Collections. Your organisation can limit this interface for each security role, so you may not see it.

The Collection Management page before anything is opened. The left menu has a search box, with Create Collection and Create Folder greyed out. The tree shows User Collections and Device Collections, and the grid on the right is empty. — The page on opening. **Create Collection** and **Create Folder** stay greyed out until you select a folder.

2 Browse folders and collections

Expand a node in the tree to see its folders. Click a folder to list its collections on the right.

Device Collections expanded. Two ordinary folders and two SoftwareCentral folders, Software Distribution and Software Distribution Packages, which have the SoftwareCentral icon. The grid on the right lists the collections in Device Collections, with Edit and Delete links. — Expand **Device Collections**. The folders with the SoftwareCentral icon are SoftwareCentral distribution root folders. The names in this picture are masked.

The Software Distribution folder selected in the tree, and its collections listed on the right with Name, Limiting Collection, Member Count, Edit and Delete columns and a page navigator at the bottom. — Click a folder to list its collections. The names in this picture are masked.

The search box searches folders in the node you expanded last, and collections in the folder you clicked last. Its label says where it is searching, for example Search for folders and collections in 'Device Collections'.
Drag a folder or a collection onto another folder to move it. The tip on the page says so.
Right-click a folder or a collection for more actions, such as create, edit, move, delete or update membership.

Distribution root folders Some folders have the SoftwareCentral icon. These are the SoftwareCentral distribution root folders, where collections are placed when you import applications and packages. It is not recommended to change folders or collections under them.

3 Create, rename, move and delete folders

Select the folder where the new folder should go, then click Create Folder on the left, or right-click the folder and choose Create Folder.

The right-click menu of a folder: Create Folder, Move Folder, Rename Folder, Delete Folder and Create Collection. — Right-click a folder for **Create Folder**, **Move Folder**, **Rename Folder**, **Delete Folder** and **Create Collection**.

The Create Folder window with a Folder Name box, and Save and Cancel buttons. — **Create Folder**: type a **Folder Name**, then click **Save**. The name must be unique within the parent folder.

Rename Folder: right-click the folder and choose Rename Folder.
Move Folder: right-click the folder and choose Move Folder. You are then asked for the new location. You can also drag the folder to its new place.
Delete Folder: right-click the folder and choose Delete Folder. The three SoftwareCentral folders that hold packages and applications cannot be deleted; SoftwareCentral tells you so when you try.

4 Create a collection

Select the folder where the collection should go, then click Create Collection on the left, or right-click the folder and choose Create Collection.

The Create Collection window with Collection Name and Comment boxes, a Limiting collection drop-down set to Select collection, and Create and Cancel buttons. — **Create Collection**: give a unique **Collection Name**, an optional **Comment** and a **Limiting collection**, then click **Create**.

The collection is placed in the folder you selected. You can add members and change the properties later by editing the collection.

Limiting collection A new collection can only get members that are members of its limiting collection. The Members tab says so, and the window will not create the collection until you choose one.

5 Edit a collection

Click Edit on the collection's row, or right-click the collection and choose Edit.

The Edit window of a collection on the Properties tab, with Name, Comment, Limiting collection set to All Systems and Type set to Device. Save and Close buttons are at the bottom. The tabs are Properties, Members, Deployments and Variables. — The **Properties** tab. The window has four tabs: **Properties**, **Members**, **Deployments** and **Variables**. Click **Save** to keep changes, or **Close** to leave the window. The names in this picture are masked.

6 Membership rules

On the Members tab you add the rules that decide which computers or users are in the collection.

The Members tab: a short description, the buttons Add Direct Rule, Add Query Rule and Delete Selected Rules, and an empty list with the columns Rule Name and Type. — The **Members** tab. **Add Direct Rule** and **Add Query Rule** add rules; **Delete Selected Rules** removes the rules you tick. This list is empty in the picture.

On the Members tab	What it does
Add Direct Rule	Adds specific computers or users to the collection.
Add Query Rule	Adds every computer or user returned by a query.
Delete Selected Rules	Deletes the rules you tick on the left. It is greyed out until a rule is ticked.
Search field	Finds rules by their name. The filter is on the Rule Name column.

Direct membership rule

Click Add Direct Rule. A new window opens where you select the resources to add.

The Add Direct Rule window: filters for Computers or Users, Filter by OU, Filter by AD-Group, Filter by Collection, Filter by WQL Query, Filter by CSV-file, Freehand search and Show selected resources. Below is a resource list with check boxes and a Select 0 Resources button, greyed out, and a Cancel button. — **Add Direct Rule**: use the filters to find resources, tick them, then click **Select 'x' Resources**. The resources are added at once. The names in this picture are masked.

You can apply filters to the list, for example to copy all members of another collection or of an AD group. Once you have selected the resources, click the Select 'x' Resources button, where x is the number you selected. The resources are added to the collection immediately.

Query rule

Click Add Query Rule. The query window opens.

Give your query a name and optionally use an existing SCCM query as a template. You can then edit the query. Use Test query at the bottom to see what the query will return. When the query is ready, click Save query.

Query rules and uninstalls Software deployed with query rules cannot be uninstalled through SoftwareCentral interfaces such as Manage Software.

7 Deployments

The Deployments tab shows what is currently deployed to the collection.

The Deployments tab of a collection, listing one software deployment with the columns Software, Program, Type, Purpose and Action. The action is Install. — The **Deployments** tab lists the software, program, type, purpose and action for each deployment. The names in this picture are masked.

8 Collection variables

The Variables tab holds the task sequence variables that computers in this collection use.

The Variables tab with the button Add Collection Variable above an empty list with Name and Value columns. — The **Variables** tab. Click **Add Collection Variable** to add one. The list is empty in this picture.

Click Add Collection Variable to add a new variable.

The Collection Variable window with a Name box, a check box 'Do not display this value in SoftwareCentral and in the Configuration Manager console', Value and Confirm value boxes, and Save and Cancel buttons. — **Collection Variable**: enter a **Name** and a **Value**, type the value again in **Confirm value**, and tick the check box to hide the value.

The name must be between 1 and 256 characters long. It can only contain letters, numbers and underscores (_), and it cannot start with an underscore.
Tick Do not display this value in SoftwareCentral and in the Configuration Manager console to hide the value from both interfaces.
Once ready, click Save.
To edit a variable, click Edit on its row. To delete a variable, click Delete on its row.

Earlier version: the Variables list with one variable, MyValue, and Edit and Delete links on its row. — Earlier version of the variable list, with an **Edit** and a **Delete** link on each row. The current window shows the same links on each row; this picture is still to be recaptured with a variable in the list.

9 Move and delete a collection

To move a collection, drag it to the folder where you want it, or right-click it and choose Move.

Right-click the collection and choose Move. You are then prompted for a location for the collection. You must select a target folder.

To delete a collection, right-click it and choose Delete, or click Delete on its row. The confirmation asks Are you sure you want to delete the collection.

Referenced collections You cannot delete collections that are referenced by other collections. SoftwareCentral will inform you of this before you try to delete it.

The right-click menu of a collection in the grid: Edit, Move, Delete and Update Membership. — Right-click a collection for **Edit**, **Move**, **Delete** and **Update Membership**.

10 Update membership

After you add membership rules, the member count can take a while to change.

Configuration Manager re-evaluates the membership rules when you choose Update Membership from the collection's right-click menu. This can take a while. Use the Refresh button at the top right of the page to see the new member count once it has been re-evaluated.

11 Best practice

Leave the SoftwareCentral folders and collections alone. The folders with the SoftwareCentral icon, and the collections in them, are the ones packages and applications use. SoftwareCentral refuses to delete its package and application distribution folders, and the rest should not be moved or renamed by hand.
Choose the limiting collection with care. Membership rules can only add members of the limiting collection, so a narrow limiting collection hides the resources you want to add.
Hide secret values. Tick the check box in the Collection Variable window for any value that must not be seen in SoftwareCentral or the Configuration Manager console.
Prefer direct rules for a few computers. Use a query rule when the group must follow a rule, and remember that software deployed through a query rule cannot be uninstalled from SoftwareCentral.
Give a collection an accurate name and comment. The name is what you search for in the tree and the search box, and the comment tells the next administrator what the collection is for.

12 Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	What to do
"Create Collection" or "Create Folder" is greyed out	No folder is selected in the tree.	Click the folder where the new item should go. The tooltip says You must select a folder before you can create a collection.
"A name is required."	The Collection Name box is empty.	Type a name.
"This name is already in use."	A collection with that name already exists on the site.	Choose another name.
"You must select a limiting collection."	No limiting collection was chosen in Create Collection.	Choose a limiting collection and click Create again.
"You must enter a name for the folder." or "A folder with this name already exists."	The folder name is empty, or the parent folder already has a folder with that name.	Type a unique name in the folder window.
"Cannot delete root collections."	The collection is a root collection, such as All Systems or All Users.	Root collections are kept. Delete the collections under them instead.
"This folder is the SoftwareCentral package root folder and cannot be deleted.", or the matching message for the application distribution folders	The folder is one of the SoftwareCentral folders.	Leave the folder in place. Delete only other folders.
"Cannot delete this collection. This collection is limiting collection to: ..."	The named collections use this collection as their limiting collection.	Change the limiting collection of those collections first, then delete this one.
"Name cannot start with an underscore '_'.", "Name can only contain alphanumeric characters and underscores." or "This name has already been used." (variables)	The variable name breaks a naming rule, or the collection already has a variable with that name.	Change the name. Names are 1 to 256 characters of letters, numbers and underscores.
"Values do not match." (variables)	The Value and Confirm value boxes are different.	Type the same value in both boxes.
"You must select a target folder."	A move was started without choosing a folder.	Select the target folder, then click Save.
"Failed to save collection. See the log for details.", "Failed to create collection. See the log for details.", "Failed to delete collection. See the log for details." and the matching folder and move messages	The change did not reach Configuration Manager.	Open the Log page, find the error for the same time, and check the Configuration Manager connection in Settings.
The member count stays at 0 after you add rules	Configuration Manager has not re-evaluated the membership yet.	Right-click the collection, choose Update Membership, wait, then click Refresh.

See also SCCM Folders and Collections for the folders SoftwareCentral needs, and Default Collection Structure for how collections are laid out.