Managed iBooks

11 min

This feature is not supported on macOS devices.

The iBooks feature allows you to distribute iBooks, Kindle books (ePub), and PDF files to iOS devices managed by Ivanti EPMM. You can also edit and delete managed books, and search for particular managed books.

Benefits

The iBooks feature allows administrators to distribute useful material to device users, such as end-user guides for apps or marketing collateral. Administrators can also edit and delete managed books.

Impacts

Distributing iBooks to iOS devices involves adding the book file to Ivanti EPMM and applying the relevant labels.

Ivanti EPMM distributes managed books to the iOS devices with the relevant labels applied. Managed iBooks are displayed in the iBooks app on iOS devices. The managed device profile includes a list of managed iBooks associated with that profile.

Note the following:

Removing a device from management also removes the managed books from that device.

After a book has been opened on a device, the book title reflects the title in the book’s metadata, regardless of the title entered for the book in Ivanti EPMM. To avoid confusion, be sure to use the title shown in the metadata of a given book when entering the title in the Admin Portal. This behavior is due to Apple’s implementation of iBooks.

Distributing managed books to iOS devices

Distributing managed books to iOS devices is a two step process: add the book to Ivanti EPMM, then apply the relevant labels such that Ivanti EPMM sends the book to the relevant devices. You can add ePub, iBook, and PDF files to the list of managed books.

Procedure

In the Admin Portal, go to Apps > iBooks.

In the Add Content window, enter the URL of the iBook, PDF, or ePub file you want to distribute to iOS devices. Alternatively, select Browse to select the file from the file system.

Add Content dialog box for distributing to the iOS iBooks app

Use the following table as a guide for filling in the form.

Fields	Description
Document Type	Select URL to obtain the file from the web. Or: Select File to browse for and upload a file.
File/URL	Required. The file extension must match the selected file format. For example, if you are uploading an ePub file, you must select ePub as the file format. If you selected File for the document type, select Browse to select the file you want to upload to Ivanti EPMM. If you selected URL for the document type, enter the URL of the file you want to upload to Ivanti EPMM.
Title	Enter the title of the iBook, ePub, or PDF. Required.
Author	Enter the name of the author in the space provided. Optional.
File Format	Select ePub, iBooks, or PDF for the file format. Required. The file extension is automatically selected to match the format of the file. For example, if you are uploading an ePub file, then ePub is automatically selected as the file format.

Select Save.

The book is added to the managed iBooks on Ivanti EPMM.

In the iBooks window, select the managed book you just created.

Go to Actions > Apply to Label.

Select the relevant labels.

Select Apply.

Ivanti EPMM distributes the books to the relevant devices during the next sync, as defined by your sync policy.

To confirm receipt of the managed book, see Confirming receipt of managed books.

Confirming receipt of managed books

You can confirm that Ivanti EPMM has sent a given book to the relevant iOS devices, as described in Distributing managed books to iOS devices.

Procedure

In the Admin Portal, go to Apps > iBooks.

Locate the managed book whose distribution you want to confirm.

Examine the Devices Installed column for the book. A number greater than zero indicates that the book has been distributed, assuming the label you applied includes one or more devices.

Select the number in the Devices Installed column to see a list of devices to which the book has been sent.

Editing managed books

If you edit the name of a managed book, device users may still see the old book name.

Procedure

In the Admin Portal, go to Apps > iBooks.

Select the managed book you want to edit.

Go to Actions > Edit.

Edit as desired.

If you clear the existing file and browse for a different file, make sure the new file is of the same type as the old file. For example, you can only replace an ePub file with another ePub file. You cannot change the file type of the managed book.

Select Save. The edited book is updated on devices at the next sync.

Searching for managed books

You can search for a particular book in the list of managed books.

Procedure

In the Admin Portal, go to Apps > iBooks.

In the Filters pane on the left, enter the search criteria you want to use.

Filters dialog box for searching iBooks

Use the following criteria for your search:

book title

author

file name

date added to Ivanti EPMM (or date range)

Select Search.

After examining the search results, select Reset to remove the search filters and show all managed books.

Removing managed books from a subset of devices

You can remove managed books from particular devices while still keeping the books in the catalog of managed books on Ivanti EPMM. This is done by removing the books from the label or labels to which they are applied.

If you remove a label from a device, all managed books associated with that label are removed from the device.

Procedure

In the Admin Portal, go to Apps > iBooks.

Select the managed book you want to remove from users’ devices.

Go to Actions > Remove from label.

Select the labels you want to remove from the book.

Select Remove.

Deleting managed books

You can delete a managed book from the catalog of managed books on Ivanti EPMM. Doing so deletes the managed book from the relevant devices.

Device users cannot effectively delete managed books from their devices. If they do, Ivanti EPMM simply sends the deleted books back to the devices.

Procedure

In the Admin Portal, go to Apps > iBooks.

Select the managed book you want to delete from the catalog of managed books on Ivanti EPMM.

Go to Actions > Delete.

When a prompt displays asking if you want to delete the book, select Yes. The book is deleted from both the catalog of managed books and relevant user devices.

Viewing the list of managed books on the device

For troubleshooting purposes, administrators and technical support can direct users to view the complete list of managed books on the device. This list is separate from the book list in iBooks, as it includes only those managed books associated with the Ivanti EPMM device management profile.

Procedure

On the device, go to Settings > General > Device Management.

Tap the Ivanti device management profile.

Tap Books to view the list of managed book titles.

List of managed book titles on device

Tap a managed book to view the restrictions applied to it.

Viewing the restrictions applied to a book