purplegreen MDM

purplegreen MDM is being prepared for its first pilot. These pages describe the development release.

Web kiosks and launchers

Web kiosk: a website as the kiosk app

A web kiosk profile shows a website instead of an installed app. You enter:

  • Start URL: the page the tablet opens. Use https://; a plain http:// address only works with the Minimal UI display mode.
  • Title: shown under the icon, at most 30 characters.
  • Display mode: Full screen (no browser bars, the default), Standalone (app window, status bar visible) or Minimal UI (small browser bar).
  • Icon (optional): a PNG or JPEG, converted in your browser to a 512x512 PNG of at most 1 MiB (the server refuses anything else). Without one, Google uses a default icon.

You can change the display mode later on the profile's Apps tab; the next saved version updates the web app at Google.

Google turns the URL into a "web app" with a generated app name such as com.google.enterprise.webapp.x1a2b3c4. The device page shows the web app's title and start URL instead of that name. For a web kiosk with extra URLs (launcher mode) the device page lists every web app with its title, start URL and app name.

Each organisation has one web app per start URL. Saving a new version with the same URL updates the title, display mode or icon of that web app; tablets keep the same app. A web app that no active profile version uses any more is removed after 7 days, so a profile you archive by mistake can come back within a week without a reinstall.

Extra URLs

With one or more extra URLs the tablet switches to the kiosk launcher: every URL is its own tile and people pick one, the start URL is no longer pinned full screen. Each extra URL has its own display mode in the editor.

Which sites Chrome may open

Chrome blocks every site except the start URLs' sites and the allowed URL patterns you add (for example example.com or https://pay.example.com/checkout). The Apps tab shows the resulting Chrome configuration as a read-only preview of the saved version.

When Google refuses a web app

Your organisation must be connected to Google first. On a connected organisation the web app is created or updated at Google when you create the profile, save a version or activate one. If Google refuses (for example an address it does not accept):

  • The save or activation stops and nothing changes. The message reads "Google could not create the web app: ... Check the start URL and title, then save or activate a version to retry."
  • The profile's Web apps at Google panel and the Apps > Web apps page show the web app as Failed (amber "!" label) with Google's message and "Save or activate a version to retry."

To retry: correct the start URL or title if the message points at it, then save or activate the version again. The policy check every 15 minutes also retries for profiles that tablets already use. When it works, the label changes to Created (blue check).

Other states on the Apps > Web apps page:

  • Pending (amber "..." label): the web app does not exist at Google yet, usually because the organisation is not connected yet.
  • Created (blue check): Google has the web app; the page lists the profiles that use it.

Not connected to Google yet

You can build and save web kiosk profiles before the organisation is connected. The compile preview then uses stand-in app names and says "Web apps not created yet", and the profile's Web apps at Google panel says: "No web app at Google yet: web apps are created once the tenant is bound to Google on the Settings page. Until then versions are saved with placeholder package names." The real web apps are created on the first save, activation or policy check after the connection.

Saving too often

Each person can create profiles, save versions and activate versions about 30 times in 10 minutes (shared between the three). After that the api answers "Too many requests" for a few minutes; this protects the Google quota that all organisations share.

Launcher: several apps on one tablet

A launcher profile (multi-app) shows a home screen with the apps you choose. The launcher shows only apps set to Force installed, sorted alphabetically by app name; the order cannot be changed.

A version whose launcher has no Force installed app can be saved, but not activated: "This version cannot be activated: the launcher would show no apps. Set at least one app to Force installed (Apps tab), save, and activate again." A brand-new launcher profile is the exception: its first version is active from the start (with a warning), because a new profile is not used by any tablet yet.

Who may do what

Owners and admins create and change web kiosk and launcher profiles. Read-only members and site managers see the web apps list but cannot change profiles.