Exporting and importing custom signatures

You can export custom signatures to an XML file and import them to a different instance of BigFix Inventory to augment you software catalog. It is useful if you maintain separate instances of BigFix Inventory for test and production sites. In such case, you can reuse the custom catalog content instead of creating the new one. You can also import signatures that are published on the signature community or export your custom signatures and contribute them to the community.

Before you begin

An icon representing a user. You must have the Manage Catalogs permission to perform this task.

About this task

The signature community is a place where you can find custom signatures that are created by members of the community. You can download such signatures and import them to BigFix Inventory. You can also export your custom signatures and contribute them to the community for other members to download.

Procedure

  1. Export custom signatures to an XML format.
    1. In the top navigation bar, click Management > Catalog Customizations.
    2. Click Export Mode.
    • To export only a selection of signatures, check the appropriate check boxes and click Export Selected. You can select individual signatures, or all signatures for a publisher. Each signature is exported to a separate XML file, and compressed. When you select multiple signatures, all XML files are compressed into one ZIP file.
    • To export the entire custom catalog, click Export All. You export all signatures, regardless of your selection, or filters, in a form of one ZIP file that contains individual XML files.
  2. Import custom signatures in an XML format to the other instance of BigFix Inventory.
    1. In the top navigation bar, click Management > Catalog Customizations.
    2. Click Import to open the Import Signatures window.
    3. Browse to the location of the file that you want to import.
    4. Select the file and click Import. You can either import a single XML file or a ZIP package that contains one or more XML files.
    5. Click Done.

Results

The imported signatures are available on the Catalog Customizations panel. They are now used by software scans to discover software in your environment.