Managed Media

The Managed Media policy configuration distributes PDF or ePUB files directly to iOS devices, where they are displayed in the Books app. The configuration is also available for devices with User Enrollment →.

Books purchased through Apps and Books (VPP in the portal) can only be assigned to users (VPP users in the portal), not devices, and are not available for selection in the Managed Media configuration. Their assignment is described in Assign purchased books to users →. Uploaded PDF and ePUB files, in contrast, are installed directly on the device and do not require a user assignment.

Preparing and uploading media #

In order to be able to distribute PDF and ePUB files, they must first be uploaded to Relution. At least one VPP token stored in Relution is required (see Configure VPP →); the file is associated with this token.

Uploading is done in the Apps → Media section.

In the Upload file step, the file is selected and uploaded. Only PDF and ePUB files are accepted.

The file is now visible in the Apps → Media list.

Update media content in the context menu replaces the file of a media item with a new version later on. Relution automatically distributes the new version to all devices on which the media item is installed.

Policy configuration #

In the Managed Media configuration, the previously uploaded files are linked and brought to the device via the policy. Add opens the Add managed media dialog, in which one or more media items are selected after choosing the VPP token. Without a VPP token, Add is locked. To remove media from the configuration, they are selected in the list and removed via Delete in the context menu.

In the General section, the Remove all managed media when this policy gets removed from the device toggle controls whether the linked files are removed from the device when the policy is removed (default: disabled, the files remain on the device). Media still contained in another Managed Media configuration assigned to the device remain installed.

Each policy can contain one Managed Media configuration. If several policies with this configuration apply to a device, the media are merged; a media item contained in several configurations is installed only once.

Execute as action #

In addition to the policy configuration, previously uploaded media can also be installed on or removed from a device directly via an action. The corresponding actions are called Install Media and Remove Media.

In the device details, the Managed media tab lists the media installed on the device with Version and State (e.g. Installed, Managed, Managed but uninstalled, Failed). Add and Remove install or remove media there directly.

On the device #

On the device, the linked PDF is then available in the Books app under the corresponding category.