Jamf School macOS App

[user-ray77]

Hi folks,

We deployed 60 MacBooks this summer with the intention of installing more next year (500+ devices). So far, I am not entirely happy with the JAMF School solution in that there is no walkthrough tutorials like JAMF Pro. Every time I look for something specific, it throws me to JAMF Pro. It was pretty painstaking setting everything up in JAMF School the way we wanted it and what looked like a simple task, ended up causing frustration and disappointment.

We want to use the JAMF School macOS App for On-Demand App installations. I reached out to a JAMF Rep, and was given a hopeful reply, but only to be thrown a website link to a single KB article which only had basic instructions on deploying the JAMF School App and not how to add Apps for Teachers and Students to install On-Demand.

Please, if anyone has been successful in using the JAMF School macOS App for On-Demand App Installs, please let me know and how you did it.

Regards
Ray

[Fluffy · Accepted solution]

For clarity's sake, the icon in the Menu Bar item @jcarr mentioned is if you use the Self Service app for Jamf School.

Apps can also be found On-Demand by using the Jamf Teacher or Jamf Student app. Either way, you must either have an owner assigned, as @jcarr said, or have a user sign in with credentials stored in Jamf School.

Specifically for making apps On-Demand. you go to the Apps page in your Jamf School instance and add a group to the scope. Once a group is added, you click on the small gear icon for that group and select "Change to On-Demand installation". Alternatively, going to Device > Device Groups and selecting a group shows a tab for apps, where an app can be added and chosen to either be Automatic or On-Demand. Once that is done, a user can find the scoped app under My Resources in either Jamf Teacher/Student or Self Service.

All of that is assuming you already have the app/package already added to your Jamf School instance. Much of what I have learned was by inferring tutorials for Jamf Pro and finding the similar functions in Jamf School, if there are any. App deployment is one of the majorly different aspects, but it is simpler in the end.

[user-ray77 · Accepted solution]

Thank you very much for that. Yes, our teachers are assigned to the devices and found the J circle on the menu. I was using a device which was not assigned to a user, once assigned I saw the apps that were set to on-demand. 

[jcarr]

Can I assume that you're using this process?

If so, I think the only caveat is that you must have an owner assigned to the device in Jamf School.  If you do that, any pkg that you have scoped to that device and set to 'on demand' install, will be listed in the Self Service menu bar item (circle with a 'J').

[user-ray77 · Accepted solution]

Thank you very much for that. Yes, our teachers are assigned to the devices and found the J circle on the menu. I was using a device which was not assigned to a user, once assigned I saw the apps that were set to on-demand. 

[Fluffy · Accepted solution]

For clarity's sake, the icon in the Menu Bar item @jcarr mentioned is if you use the Self Service app for Jamf School.

Apps can also be found On-Demand by using the Jamf Teacher or Jamf Student app. Either way, you must either have an owner assigned, as @jcarr said, or have a user sign in with credentials stored in Jamf School.

Specifically for making apps On-Demand. you go to the Apps page in your Jamf School instance and add a group to the scope. Once a group is added, you click on the small gear icon for that group and select "Change to On-Demand installation". Alternatively, going to Device > Device Groups and selecting a group shows a tab for apps, where an app can be added and chosen to either be Automatic or On-Demand. Once that is done, a user can find the scoped app under My Resources in either Jamf Teacher/Student or Self Service.

All of that is assuming you already have the app/package already added to your Jamf School instance. Much of what I have learned was by inferring tutorials for Jamf Pro and finding the similar functions in Jamf School, if there are any. App deployment is one of the majorly different aspects, but it is simpler in the end.

[user-ray77 · Accepted solution]

Thank you for that. It works now.

[user-ray77]

Now with the J App working. I have the list of Apps showing that were marked for On-Demand installation. Some apps show Install and some Remove. When I click Install or remove on one of them, nothing happens. Are there any policy setting for allowing install or remove with the J App? Regards Ray

[Fluffy]

You can monitor their status in Jamf School by going to Devices > Devices, selecting the device, and going to the Managed Apps tab. There you should see whether the app is Pending/Installing/Installed. If it is On-Demand and not installed, it will show as Pending.

Depending on the size of the app, it may take a while for the app to install, even if the status shows Installed. Microsoft Office is one that takes over half an hour for one of our machines to finish installing all of the apps. If it fails, it should update the status with some details.

Removing can be hit and miss. It is supposed to remove the app when the button is pressed, but not if the package has multiple files/apps it installs. It will show a warning in the Options sidebar of the app's page in Jamf School if this is the case. But other times I have had troubles removing apps for no apparent reason.

Restarting the device may help in either case.