We’ve been talking about device management in this guide, but how does that happen in the console?
There are two ways:
- One-off control through a command, such as resetting a device.
- A blueprint, that applies settings to one or more devices.
What are Blueprints?
Blueprints are your first step when it comes to device management at scale. Blueprints control the device’s settings, such as what apps they can display, whether or not they’ll be used as kiosks, and more.
This video provides a deep dive into the blueprints experience.
Depending on the operating system, there are different blueprint sections that control how a device looks and behaves. This guide covers the basics. You’re free to follow along or choose your own settings. The point is to create a blueprint that can be applied to your device to test things out.
You can also choose when to apply each of these settings:
- Always Apply: Always apply the setting when the device converges (more on that later).
- Provisioning Only: Apply the setting when the device is first added to Esper. This mimics the behavior of our legacy Templates experience.
- Ignore: Ignore the setting. In some instances, this gives the user control over the setting.
How Blueprints Work
We talked about applying a blueprint to a device, which is provisioning. But what happens after? What if you need to change the blueprint? Can you do that?
Yes, you can change a blueprint! Whenever you change a blueprint, you have the option to Converge it, which means to apply the changes to the device immediately or, if supported, schedule a change.
Basically, you:
- Create or edit a blueprint
- Publish the changes
- Converge the changes
Blueprints also track your changes over time, so you can check every published version and even revert changes if needed.
It’s like version control for your entire device fleet.
Creating a Blueprint
Now it’s time to create a blueprint to fully manage your devices. Go to the Blueprints Manager section and Create a Blueprint.
Then select Create Blueprint.
You’ll be asked to name the blueprint.
Once you’re done, press Continue. You’re now in your first blueprint!
Choose your device experience:
Android
To begin, make sure you are on the Android tab of the blueprint.
Apps & Configuration
The Apps & Configuration section controls the device’s apps, as well as its launchers and runtime permissions.
Device Mode: Choose Kiosk if the device should only display one app, or Multi-app if you want the device to show more than one app.
When you choose Kiosk, you’ll be asked to choose an app or upload one.
Need to get apps? See our App guide.
Launcher (Android Only): Choose the Esper launcher for a locked-down experience, or the Android launcher for total device access.
Connectivity
Allow Wi-Fi: Esper communicates with your device via Wi-Fi (or, if supported, Ethernet). Allow Wi-Fi so your device can communicate with Esper.
Device Security
Factory Reset: While testing out Esper for the first time, enable factory reset to quickly reset your devices. Just remember to change these settings before the device is given to customers or clients.
Platform Services (for GMS devices using Google Play apps)
Google Play Enrollment: If you want to use Google Play apps, and you set up your EMM account from step 2, you'll also enable Enroll Device in EMM during Onboarding.
Once you’ve applied the settings (yours or the recommended ones), press Save.
There’s much more that blueprints can do. We’ve covered four of the 60+ settings. Try exploring the blueprint sections and identifying which options are needed for your use case.
See our Creating a Blueprint article for an overview of all settings.
iOS
Click on the iOS tab in each section to access the iOS Blueprint settings.
Getting started with iOS settings
If you have a clear use case in mind, you’ll find various ways to configure your iOS device via a blueprint. In this guide, we’ll highlight some of the common settings used to test iOS settings and apps.
Apps & Configurations
Kiosk and Multi-app Mode
One of the first things users determine is whether or not their device will function as a kiosk or as a device with multiple applications available. Kiosks lock down the device experience to one app, while multi-app mode lets users choose that experience for themselves. Choose the experience you’d like for your device.
If you select kiosk mode, you’ll be prompted to select the kiosk app for your experience.
Upload an app, or choose an enterprise, Web Clip, or VPP app.
Another thing you might want to consider is if you want preloaded apps on the device. Preloaded apps are the applications that come on the device (think weather apps, map apps, etc). If you choose Kiosk mode, the user’s experience will be locked down, but you can also restrict that experience in multi-app mode by forcing the user to only choose from the apps they see on screen. Use Hide Preloaded Apps to achieve this result.
Device Security
From a device security perspective, you probably want to disable factory resets when a device is in a user’s hands. However, for testing purposes, you may want to keep this enabled. Be sure to disable it, however, once the device is production ready.
Updates
How do OS updates affect your apps and device experience? With Defer Software Updates, you can hold the update for up to 90 days. In that time, you’ll be able to test and resolve any problems before releasing the update to your production devices. Be ready for the update when it comes with the blueprint software update setting.
Keep Exploring
We’ve only touched on a few settings to make your testing experience successful. But there’s much more. If you have time, explore property lists and web content filtering. These features are only available for iOS devices.
Linux
Getting started with Linux settings
Linux settings are primarily controlled by scripts. Use a blueprint to control the device's initial setup during provisioning.
Click on the Linux tab in each section to access the Linux Blueprint settings.
Files
Click on Add File to add files to your device.
Select a file from Content Management or upload one from your device.
Max file size: 2 GB
Scripts
Click on Add Script to add a script. Learn more about adding scripts to a blueprint.
Once you've set up a blueprint for all of your OS types, it's time provision the device. In the next section, we’ll be provisioning, which means applying this blueprint to a device.