Other Device Actions

The Other Device Actions dropdown on the Device Details page gives you additional ways to interact with a device without leaving the BigFix UI. Use it to start a remote control session or to send a notification message to the user of the device.

The Other Device Actions dropdown is in the top-right corner of the Device Details page, next to the Settings icon. Select Other Device Actions to display the available actions.

Table 1. Other Device Actions
Action	Description
Open Remote Control	Starts a web-based remote control session with the device. See Open Remote Control.
Send Message	Sends a notification message that appears to the user of the device. See Send Message.

Note: Each action appears in the dropdown only when the device is eligible for it and you have the required permissions. If a device isn't eligible for an action, or you don't have permission to run it, the action doesn't appear.

Open Remote Control

Use Open Remote Control to start a remote control session with the device directly from the Device Details page. This action opens the BigFix Remote Control Lite Web Portal in a new browser tab, where you can control the device without installing a standalone controller application.

Open Remote Control appears in the Other Device Actions dropdown only when the device is eligible for a remote control session. Eligibility depends on your BigFix environment being configured for Remote Control and on the device being a valid remote control target.

Important: Your Remote Control components (server, broker, and target) must be at version 10.1 FP6 or later. The BigFix Remote Control Lite Web Portal supports Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. Unless your BigFix UI and Remote Control server use single sign-on (SSO) with the same identity provider, you're prompted to sign in to Remote Control with your Remote Control credentials before the session starts.

To start a remote control session

Open the Device Details page for the device that you want to control.
In the top-right corner, select Other Device Actions.
Select Open Remote Control. The BigFix Remote Control Lite Web Portal opens in a new browser tab.
If you're prompted, sign in to Remote Control with your credentials. The remote control session starts for the selected device. For more information about the BigFix Remote Control Lite Web Portal, see Remote Control Lite user guide.

Send Message

Use Send Message to send a real-time notification that appears as a pop-up to the user of the device. Send a message to notify users about upcoming maintenance, or to communicate with them during support and troubleshooting, without switching to another tool.

Note: To send a message, you must have the create custom content and create action permissions in your BigFix environment. Send Message appears in the dropdown only when the device supports messaging.

When you select Send Message, the Send Message dialog opens. The dialog notes that all fields are required and contains the following elements:

Table 2. Send Message dialog fields
Field	Description
Subject	The title of the notification. Required. Enter up to 240 characters; the dialog shows the number of characters remaining.
Message	The text that appears to the user of the device. Required. Use the formatting toolbar to style the text, including alignment, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, bulleted and numbered lists, indentation, font size, and undo or redo.
Send	Sends the message to the device. This button is enabled only after you complete both the Subject and Message fields.
Cancel	Closes the dialog without sending a message.

To send a message to a device

Open the Device Details page for the device that you want to send a message to.
In the top-right corner, select Other Device Actions, and then select Send Message.
The Send Message dialog opens.
In Subject, enter a title of up to 240 characters.
In Message, enter the text to display to the user. Use the formatting toolbar to style the text as needed.
Select Send. BigFix delivers the message as a pop-up notification on the device, and a confirmation indicates that the message was sent successfully.

Note: If the message can't be sent, BigFix reports the reason. For example, you might not have permission to run actions on the device, or the device might no longer be available. Confirm that you have the required permissions and that the device is still managed, and then try again.