Adding and Editing Application Recognition Rules
Use the Rule pane to view, edit and define the recognition rules that software
inventory operations use to identify applications on Client PCs.
To add rules to an application definition:
1 In the Console, click the Manage Software Identification
operation to open the Applications Library.
2 In the Application pane, select the application you
want to edit. The application definition is displayed in the Rules is displayed.
To add a new rule Right-click the Rule pane, and choose an option from the shortcut menu:
File Rules enable you to specify the files which must installed. If you define more than one File Rule
for a application, all the specified files must be present before the application is recognized. You can
expand file identification using the following methods:
Wildcards The file identification rule supports asterisk (*) and question mark (?) wildcards.
File Size Use size values, size ranges and limits to recognize application versions and language
variants. You can test the same file with different checks to identify different versions of the application.
File Date and Time Use datestamps and timestamps to identify application versions, or to distinguish
different variants of an application.
Product Version Some manufactures use the version information fields of files to record application
versions and file versions. Use the Product version fields to specify the value you want to test for.
File Rules can be used in conjunction with the Subdirectory Rule, to specify files which are located
in lower-level directories.
Subdirectory rules test for directories at the current level of the directory hierarchy. Use them to check
for the presence of subdirectories created by an application, or to identify the locations of files installed
in subdirectories.
When you delete Subdirectory Rules or Nested Subdirectory Rules all nested Rules are deleted.
Nested Subdirectory function in the same way as subdirectory rules except that they test for a directory
below the directory level.
Normally, all file rules must be satisfied before an application is recognized. However, file rule embedded
within optional blocks do not cause a recognition failure when the test fails. Use optional blocks when
you want to test for optional files, such as tutorials, or when you want to combine alternative tests
for different versions of an application in one application definition.
To edit a rule Right-click its entry in the Rule pane, and choose Edit Rule from the shortcut
menu, or select the rule and press the Enter key.
To delete a Rule Right-click its entry in the Rule pane, and choose Delete Rule from the
shortcut menu.
Related Topics
Adding Applications to the Applications Library
Adding File Rules
Adding Subdirectory Rules
Adding Optional Rules
Choosing Rules
Setting Version Rules
Version Recognition Methods