Custom dock setup...

[kwoodard]

I am hoping someone has a good idea on what to do here. I have been using Docutil for a very long time but with Ventura, it hasn't been as consistent as I would like. For example, in one of my labs, the dock will work on one of two admin accounts, and its a crap shoot as to which student will get the modified dock upon login. (the computers are setup to clear student accounts upon reboot as the students often work with assets larger then a gig...and many at a time). What I am looking for is a way to get the dock cleared using the Jamf GUI, then create the dock I want. Making the dock with Jamf has been very consistent for me, but I usually end up with a bunch of apps on the dock I don't want or need.

[curran]

You could add all the dock icons you will be working with (whether you want them added or removed) to Jamf > Settings > Computer Management > Dock items. Then create a policy configured with Dock Icons and set each individual icon to either be removed or added to the dock. Have the policy run at login.

[kwoodard]

I have been doing that…it’s a lot of work honestly. I currently have 11 different docks and every semester (we have 4 semesters) I have to update them. I wish I could get Docutil to work like it should and did, but I’m getting complaints from the folks who teach in those labs, and a few staff. Docks not working or constantly resetting…I don’t want to use it again. 

[merlin]

In your docutil script check the current logged in user and create a custom plist file on the local machine or save a custom pkg into Jamf Receipts folder (/Library/Application Support/JAMF/Receipts).
Then you can run your custom dock script based on those parameters, "if this user then do that", "if the pkg file exits then the dock is already configured", and so on.
The custom pkgs solution is nice since you can use them in Jamf smart groups with the rule "Packages Installed by Casper" and add extra logic this way.
Good luck

[kwoodard]

I actually already do that. What is the most frustrating is that the dock will work for some users, but not all, on the same computer.

[sudoErase]

Not sure if you were able to resolve this: 
Just a suggestion, what if you add it in Self-Service and make it so that users will need to click on it as their "first thing to do" item? While I know this would mean relying on students to do them, it may help lessen the  % of missed.

[kwoodard]

Tried that on a test machine and what I had to do was click on the Dock install button in SS which would load the dock, but even with a killall Dock, it wouldn’t display the new dock. Even logging out and in wouldn’t trigger it. Then the next time I would restart the computer, maybe it works…

[tdenton]

Did you ever find a solution @kwoodard having similar issues with reliability.

[kwoodard]

I have been using the Build a Dock script from GitHub with better results. I still get some users who get either the default macOS dock or a completely empty dock, but those are more rare. I had to split the policy into two different policies to be a bit more reliable. One policy installs everything and a second triggers the dock creation upon login.