Managed iBooks

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 Core. You can also edit and delete managed books, and search for particular managed books.

Managing iBooks on iOS devices includes the following:

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 MobileIron Core and applying the relevant labels.

MobileIron Core 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 MobileIron Core. 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 MobileIron Core, then apply the relevant labels such that MobileIron Core sends the book to the relevant devices. You can add ePub, iBook, and PDF files to the list of managed books.

To distribute iBooks to iOS devices:

  1. In the Admin Portal, go to Apps > iBooks.

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

  3. 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, click Browse to select the file you want to upload to MobileIron Core.
    • If you selected URL for the document type, enter the URL of the file you want to upload to MobileIron Core.

    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.

  4. Click Save.

    The book is added to the managed iBooks on MobileIron Core.

  5. In the iBooks window, select the managed book you just created.
  6. Go to Actions > Apply to Label.
  7. Select the relevant labels.

  8. Click Apply.

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

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

Confirming receipt of managed books

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

To confirm distribution of managed books:

  1. In the Admin Portal, go to Apps > iBooks.
  2. Locate the managed book whose distribution you want to confirm.

  3. 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.

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

Editing managed books

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

Procedure 

  1. In the Admin Portal, go to Apps > iBooks.
  2. Select the managed book you want to edit.
  3. Go to Actions > Edit.

  4. Edit as desired.

    NOTE: 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.

  5. Click 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 

  1. In the Admin Portal, go to Apps > iBooks.

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

  3. Use the following criteria for your search:

    • book title
    • author
    • file name
    • date added to MobileIron Core (or date range)
  4. Click Search.
  5. After examining the search results, click 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 MobileIron Core. This is done by removing the books from the label or labels to which they are applied.

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

Procedure 

  1. In the Admin Portal, go to Apps > iBooks.
  2. Select the managed book you want to remove from users’ devices.
  3. Go to Actions > Remove from label.
  4. Select the labels you want to remove from the book.
  5. Click Remove.

Deleting managed books

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

NOTE: Device users cannot effectively delete managed books from their devices. If they do, MobileIron Core simply sends the deleted books back to the devices.

Procedure 

  1. In the Admin Portal, go to Apps > iBooks.
  2. Select the managed book you want to delete from the catalog of managed books on Core.
  3. Go to Actions > Delete.

  4. When a prompt displays asking if you want to delete the book, click 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 MobileIron device management profile.

Procedure 

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

  2. Tap the MobileIron device management profile.

  3. Tap Books to view the list of managed book titles.

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