Using Self Service in macOS: Install Applications, Printers, and other Tools
About Self Service
Self Service is an application that allows users to easily install apps, update configurations, and resolve common issues. In this guide you’ll learn how to launch, explore, and get the most from this service.
Sections of this guide:
Navigating Self Service
After launching Self Service (Click the UWM Self Service icon in the dock or search for it using Spotlight) you’ll be presented with the Self Service Home screen.
Under the search box in the left-most column, there are four primary sections: Home, Browse, Notifications, and History.
Home
This is the Self Service Home screen, and features commonly run services like a shortcut to mount network shares and a tool to check for and install system updates.
Browse
The Browse section contains all the software and services available in Self Service. After clicking on “Browse” a list of six sub-menus will appear and the screen will default to the “All” tab.
All
Where users can scroll through and see all the apps and services available to them.
Bookmarks
Contains useful bookmarks like the ability to quickly submit an incident to the Help Desk or check the UWM IT Status page for any possible outages or service degradation.
Featured
This mirrors the “Featured” section on the Home screen and contains commonly used apps and utilities.
Applications
This is where all campus-licensed software and freeware utilities can be found. Many of these software titles are available to all users, however some software is scoped only to users with paid licenses.
Printing
This section will install UWM printers, drivers, and other printing-related utilities.
Tools and Help
The Tools and Help section contains utilities to help users and IT staff diagnose and solve common problems.
Notifications
This section often has alerts to inform users when software updates are available or have been applied to software installed through Self Service.
History
This contains a list of all the software and actions run through Self Service.
Installing Software
Clicking the Install button under the item name and icon will immediately begin the process of fetching the software and installing it. The “Install” button will change to “Installing” and displays spinning graphic to indicate that the process is working. When the software has completed installation, the button will change to say “Open”.
Software that requires that the computer to be restarted, or some other user interaction will display a message describing what will happen and next steps.
Running OS Upgrades / Updates
When needing to run an update / upgrade to the machine, you will need to click Run under Software Update.
Once this finishes, you should open up System Settings, go to General, then Software Update.
If there is an available update or upgrade that needs to run, you should see it there.
This should not require Admin permissions to run.
You will see a prompt for your password then the update / upgrade will begin.
Installing Printers/Connecting to Campus File Shares
Installing printers works just like installing software. However, printing to a campus device requires the computer to be either GlobalProtect VPN (macOS) Setup Instructions or on campus and connected to a UWM network.
Connecting to network file shares always requires the computer to be either connected to the VPN or on campus and connected to a UWM network.
Running Tools and Actions
Tools and actions work just like installing software, only the button to trigger them says “Run”. Unlike installing software, a computer does not need to be connected to the internet to run most tools and action (though many will fail because of the nature of the action, like triggering “Send Computer Inventory”). This is useful for triggering actions like Temp Admin to unlock a control panel when working offline.
Requesting New Software / Tools / Bookmarks
If you need additional software or have an idea for a feature/tool/bookmark that would help you or others, we’d love to hear from you. Most UWM licensed software is either pre-installed on campus Macs (e.g., Microsoft Office) or is already available in Self Service. Additionally, any applications available from the Mac App Store can also be added to Self Service. Contact the UWM Help Desk or complete a Purchase Request Form (even for free software) for all requests.
Tips and Notes
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- If you expect to see software, printers, or tools that are not available, connect to the campus VPN, then re-launch Self Service. This usually fixes the issue. If you still don’t see what you’re looking for, contact the UWM Help Desk.
- Clicking on an icon in Self Service will display a description of the software or tool.
- Using the “Search” feature will also search software descriptions, not just the name of the item.
- You do not need to be connected to the internet to use Self Service, but most software installs and connections to online resources will fail.
- You do not need to sign in to use Self Service. There is an option sign in in the bottom-left corner, but that functionality is reserved for CTS staff to enable additional tools when assisting users seeking help.