Overview
The Radix Device Management Platform has the Install Package command to allow installing applications on many devices simultaneously. The installation options include:
- - Downloading an installation package from a URL
- - Uploading an installation package from your computer
- - Installing a package from the Google Play Store
Installing applications directly from the Google Play store to one or many devices is done by first creating a repository “installation package”. Direct installation from the Google Play Store is possible only for free apps. There is no need to have Google Play services or even to have a Google account on the devices you wish to install the apps on.
Note! When installing from the Google Play Store, you should be aware that the updates will not occur automatically. Whenever there is an update, you will need to repeat the process and create a new software package and install it on the remote devices. This is because you are not actually installing directly from the Google Play store, but rather from the VISO server.
Retrieving a Package from the Google Play Store
There are several methods to retrieve a package from the Google Play Store in the Radix Device Management Platform. First, you have to get to the Install Package command. There are four ways to access the Install Package command:
Method One: From the Sidebar Menu
1. In the left side menu, click on Deployment>Apps.
A repository will open with a list of existing packages.
2. On the lower left side, click on Add New to add a new installation package.
The New Package window opens, with a drop-down menu of methods to upload apps.
3. Proceed from Installing a Software Package from the Google Play Store below.
Method Two: Via the Device’s Three-Dot Menu
1. In the Overview Dashboard, click on the “Devices” icon on the left side. The Devices Table opens.
2. Find the device on which you would like to install a software package. Click on the device’s three-dot menu in the far-right column>App Management>Install App.
The Install app repository will open with a list of existing packages.
4. Click on Add New. The New Package window opens.
5. Proceed from Installing a Software Package from the Google Play Store below.
Method Three: From the Device Dashboard
1. Click on the Devices icon in the sidebar menu. The Devices Table opens.
2. Find the device on which you would like to install a software package.
3. Click anywhere on the row of the listing of that device to open the Device Dashboard.
The Device Dashboard opens up.
4. Click on Repositories Actions> Install App.
The Install App repository will open with a list of existing packages.
5. Click on Add New. The New Package window opens.
6. Proceed from Installing a Software Package from the Google Play Store below.
Method Four: From the Bulk Actions Button
1. Click on the Devices icon on the left side to open the Devices Table.
2. Find the device onto which you would like to install a software package and click the checkbox on the left side.
The Bulk Actions button becomes active.
3. Click Bulk Actions>App Management>Install App.
The Install App repository will open with a list of existing packages.
4. Click on Add New. The New Package window opens.
5. Proceed from Installing a Software Package from the Google Play Store below.
Installing a Software Package from the Google Play Store
We will now illustrate using the Install App command, by uploading a package from the Google Play Store. We must first create an Install App repository item.
To create an Install Package repository item from the Google Play Store:
1. From the New Package window, click on Select Upload Method, and select Package from Play Store drop-down list.
2. You will see options to supply the URL for the desired Google Play Store app. Click on Copy app URL from Play Store to open the Google Play Store in a new browser tab. If you know the exact name of the APK bundle, there is no need to open the Google Play Store. To illustrate, we will install ChatGPT on a selected Android tablet.
Note: The system will automatically trim the link and use only the relevant package name of the APK.
3. In the Google Play Store, find the desired app, and click on Share to copy the ChatGPT URL.
4. Insert the link into the textbox Google Play store package name and select the Device type to Tablet.
5. After you supply the URL, click on Sync.
6. In the User type drop-down list, specify whether you want to install the app for
- - All users on the remote device,
- - Only the current user using the remote device, or
- - Only a particular user of the remote device, whom you specify by username.
For our example, we will install ChatGPT for all users on the tablet.
7. After the synchronization is completed with the Google Play Store, click Confirm.
The selected Google Play Store App (in our case, ChatGPT) will now appear in the repository of Packages.
Installing the Google Play Store App on a Device
After you have stored the Google Play Store App in the Repository, you can access it easily every time you wish to install it on a device.
1. In the Devices Table, find the device on which you’d like to install the Google Play Store App.
2. Click on the row of the device. The Device Dashboard opens.
3. Click on Repository Actions in the right-hand pane and select Install App.
The Install App repository opens.
4. Click on the desired app (here, ChatGPT), and click Apply.
5. If the remote device is compatible with the app, it will be installed on the remote device.
Installing the Google Play Store App on a Group of Devices
If you wish to install a software package on a group of devices, you can use the Groups window in the Devices Table to locate the group.
For this example, we chose to install ChatGPT on the Android tablet devices in the group “aep”.
To install a software package on a group of devices:
1. Click on the Devices icon in the sidebar menu to open the Devices Table.
2. Enter the name of the group in the search bar in the Groups pane to locate the group.
3. Click on the group’s three-dots menu>App Management>Install App.
4. In the Install Packages repository, find the app that you want to install on the group of devices. In our example, we selected ChatGPT.
5. Click Apply. You will receive a notification that the command was sent to the group.
6. By clicking on the notification at the bottom of the screen, you can see the progress of the installation:
In our example, we see that the installation of ChatGPT was successful for one device, unsuccessful on one device, and is in “pending” status for the third device.
Uninstalling Packages from a Group of Devices
The Radix Device Management Platform has the Uninstall Packages command to remove apps from remote devices or groups of devices.
To uninstall software packages from a group of devices:
1. Go to the Devices Table and in the Groups search bar, enter the name of the group of devices on which you wish to uninstall an app.
2. Click on the three-dots menu next to the group and select App Management>Uninstall App.
3. In the Uninstall Packages window, type in the name of the app you wish to uninstall. For best results, click the “Remove duplicates” checkbox to narrow down the options.
4. Click on the Add to List icon to copy the app over to the Selected apps column.
5. Click Uninstall. You will be prompted whether you are sure that you want to uninstall the application.
6. Click Yes. The app will be uninstalled from the devices in the group.