Prebuilt Apps are the easiest and most efficient way to manage macOS application lifecycles through Addigy, with an easy-to-search catalog of the most popular applications and a set-it-and-forget-it style of deployment. You can deploy exact versions of an application or configure auto-updates. This article explains what end users will see and experience when Prebuilt App updates are available or enforced on their device.
How Updates Work
Addigy checks whether Prebuilt Apps are up to date with each regular policy deployment (approximately every 30 minutes). The update experience depends on whether the app is open or closed at the time of the check:
- App is closed: The update installs silently in the background. The end user is never interrupted.
- App is open: The end user is prompted to update or defer. The frequency of this prompt is configurable in policy settings — the default is every 8 hours (about once per workday).
Note: If a Prebuilt Apps deployment schedule is set, update prompts will not appear outside of the configured schedule.
Update Prompts
When Addigy detects that an open app has a pending update during a policy run, a single prompt appears giving the end user the option to Defer or Update. The prompt displays the enforcement date so the user knows their deadline.
- The prompt remains on screen for 60 seconds. If the user takes no action, it counts as a deferral. Deferrals are logged in the Policy Status.
- After the user accepts or defers the prompt, they will not be prompted again until the configured prompt frequency period has passed (default: 8 hours).
- For example: An end-user has 3 apps that need to be updated, and they are all open. After the user accepts or defers the prompt for the first app, they won't see prompts to update the other apps until the configured frequency period has passed (4 or 8 hours).
- The prompt utilizes our Self Service application. If there is a custom icon (.icns file) set for the device's Self Service configuration, that is the icon that will appear in the prompt. Learn more about Self Service here..
Enforcement
On the enforcement date, a prompt appears for each app that needs to be updated, notifying the user that the app will be closed to complete the update. Each prompt remains on screen for 60 seconds before the app is forcibly quit, updated, and automatically reopened.
Note: End users cannot defer past the enforcement date. The app will be closed and updated automatically if no action is taken when the enforcement prompt appears.