Introduction

In this article, you will learn how to bulk update Chrome Device custom fields (Asset ID, User, Location and Notes) in Google Workspace efficiently with xFanatical Foresight. 

In large organizations or educational institutions with a significant number of Chrome devices, updating custom fields for each device manually is impractical. Missing or outdated custom field data can result in challenges such as misplaced devices, misallocated resources, or non-compliance with asset management policies. Bulk updating these fields ensures accuracy and saves valuable time.

Illustration of bulk update chrome device custom fields in Google Workspace with xFanatical Foresight Automation
Illustration of bulk update chrome device custom fields in Google Workspace with xFanatical Foresight Automation

Updating thousands of Chrome device custom fields from Google Admin Console is a time-consuming process. However, with the help of the xFanatical Foresight automation platform, this task can be simplified and streamlined.

Introducing xFanatical Foresight Automation

xFanatical Foresight is an enterprise-grade software platform which helps automate and streamline the Google Workspace workflows. In today’s fast paced business environment, efficiency is the key. xFanatical Foresight automation permits administrators and users to create intricate business workflows, which consumes a lot more time doing it natively. It simplifies the process of updating Google Chrome device custom fields in bulk in Google Workspace, so you can take care of more important tasks.

Automation Setup Instructions

In this section, we guide you through the automation setup in xFanatical Foresight. We have 2 ways to set up automation rules, Set up automation from a template and Set up automation from scratch. After completing the automation rule, verify whether the automation meets your requirements.

Set Up Automation From a Template

Set Up Automation From a Template

Supported plans: xFanatical Foresight Elite plan.

To set up this automation, admins need to extract the list of Chrome devices from Google Workspace, edit the device list and upload to xFanatical Foresight to update Chrome device custom fields in bulk.

The workflow has 2 rules.

  • Rule 1 lists and exports Chrome devices to a CSV file, including the device id, serial number, status, last policy sync, user, location, asset id, and notes. Using this rule, admins can keep only the rows they want to update Chrome devices’ custom fields in the CSV file, and delete the rest.
  • Rule 2 takes the extracted and edited CSV file from Rule 1 as input, and bulk update chrome devices custom fields listed in the file.

Rule 1: Export chrome devices

  1. Sign into xFanatical Foresight with your Google Admin account. 
  2. Go to the Templates page.
  3. Search the Bulk update chrome device custom fields template, and click on it.
    Bulk update chrome device custom fields template card in xFanatical Foresight
  4. In the Templates > Bulk update chrome device custom fields, click Copy rule 1.
    Bulk update chrome device custom fields copy rule 1 button
  5. For the first time use of the template rule, an dialog Action needed will display requesting necessary permissions required to copy the rule. Click Connect with Google and authorize the permissions.
  6. Upon authorization, a dialog titled Copy of export chrome devices will display. At the bottom of the dialog, click the Next button.
  7. Click Review.
  8. In the Review screen,
    1. Customize the Rule name.
      Copy of export chrome devices rule review screen
    2. Click Create.
  9. The rule is created in the Rules page.
    Copy of export chrome devices rule on xFanatical Foresight rules page
    xFanatical Foresight workflow for exporting chrome devices in Google Workspace.

Rule 2: Bulk update chrome devices custom fields

  1. Go back to the Templates page.
  2. Search Bulk update chrome device custom fields template, and click on it.
  3. In the Templates > Bulk update chrome device custom fields page, click Copy rule 2.
    Bulk update chrome device custom fields template copy rule 2 button
  4. Click Next.
  5. Click Review.
  6. In the Review screen,
    1. Customize the Rule name.
      The rule review screen of copy of bulk update chrome device custom fields
    2. Click Create.
  7. The rule is created in the Rules page.
    Copy of bulk update chrome device custom fields rule on xFanatical Foresight rules page
    xFanatical Foresight workflow for bulk updating chrome devices’ custom fields in Google Workspace.
Set Up Automation From Scratch

Set Up Automation From Scratch

Supported plans: xFanatical Foresight Elite and Professional (Legacy).

Rule 1: Export chrome devices

  1. Sign into xFanatical Foresight with your Google Admin account. 
  2. Go to the Rules page, and click the new rule button button at the bottom right to create a new rule.
  3. In the Select a trigger screen, select Manual trigger.
    Select the manual trigger to execute the rule.
  4. Click Next.
  5. In the Select an action screen, select List chrome devices.
    Selecting List chrome devices on select an action screen
  6. In Edit actions > List chrome devices screen,
    1. If you’re using this action for the first time, you will see Sign in with Google button. Click on it, and authorize xFanatical Foresight the necessary permissions to automate on behalf of your Google account.
    2. In the Columns field, select the following options, Device id, Serial number, Status, Last policy sync, User, Location, Asset id, and Notes.
      List chrome devices edit screen, configuring columns field
    3. Click Review.
  7. In the Review screen,
    1. Enter the Rule name.
      Export chrome devices rule review screen
    2. Click Create.
  8. The automation rule is created.
    Export chrome devices rule on xFanatical Foresight rules page
    xFanatical Foresight workflow for exporting chrome devices in Google Workspace.

Rule 2: Bulk update chrome devices custom fields

  1. Download the Sample CSV file for the automation rule creation process.
    Sample CSV file for bulk enable chrome device automation rule creation process
  2. Go to the Rules page.
  3. Click the New Rule new rule button button.
  4. In the Select a trigger screen, select the Data Uploaded trigger.
    The data uploaded trigger to trigger a rule by uploading a CSV file in xFanatical Foresight
  5. In the Edit trigger > Data uploaded screen,
    1. Click Choose a CSV file or drop it here to get started.
    2. Select the CSV file downloaded in Step 1, and wait for the CSV file to be analyzed.
    3. Click Next.
  6. In the Select an action screen, select Update Chrome device.
    Selecting update chrome device action from select an action screen
  7. In the Edit actions > Update Chrome device screen,
    1. If you’re using this action for the first time, you will see Sign in with Google button. Click on it, and authorize xFanatical Foresight the necessary permissions to automate on behalf of your Google account.
      Sign in with google button on update chrome device edit action screen
    2. In the Device ID field, select the Device ID variable from the Data uploaded trigger.
    3. In the Asset id field, click variable button 1, and select the Asset id variable from the Data uploaded trigger.
    4. In the User field, click variable button 1, and select the User variable from the Data uploaded trigger.
    5. In the Location field, click variable button 1, and select the Location variable from the Data uploaded trigger.
    6. In the Notes field, click variable button 1, and select the Notes variable from the Data uploaded trigger.
    7. Click Review.
      Customizing fields on update chrome device edit action screen
  8. In the Review screen,
    1. Enter the Rule name.
      Bulk update chrome device fields rule review screen
    2. Click Create.
  9. The automation rule is created.
    Bulk update chrome device custom fields rule on xFanatical Foresight rules page
    xFanatical Foresight workflow for bulk updating chrome devices’ custom fields in Google Workspace.
Verify Automation

Verify Automation

To ensure that your rule setup automates as expected, it’s essential to conduct a simple test. The following instructions demonstrate how the xFanatical Foresight automates the bulk update Chrome device custom fields in Google Workspace.

Before moving to verification, let’s check the chrome devices fields in Google Admin Console chrome devices page. Let’s update the Asset id, Location, Notes and User fields.
Chrome list page on Google Admin Console, shows different fields of devices.
Google Admin Console chrome list page, shows different fields of devices.

  1. Go to the Rules page.
  2. Find the Copy of Export chrome devices rule, and click the play button button.
    Copy of export chrome device rule with play icon on xFanatical Foresight rules page
  3. Wait momentarily, and you will get a notification at the top right of xFanatical Foresight. In the notification message, click View log.
    Notification of copy of export chrome devices rule
  4. In the Logs > Log details screen, download the Chrome devices CSV file from here button.
    Log of export chrome devices rule
  5. Edit the CSV file, keep the Chrome device details where you want to update fields, and delete the rest rows. Update the User, Location, Asset Id, and Notes fields as per organizations updated data. Learn more about Edit CSV File in Google Sheets.
    Edited CSV file for update chrome device fields
  6. Go to the Rules page.
  7. Find the Copy of Bulk update chrome device custom fields rule.
  8. Click upload-button. and select the CSV which you edited in Step 5.
    Copy of bulk update chrome device custom fields rule with upload icon
  9. Wait momentarily, and you will get a notification at the top right of xFanatical Foresight. In the notification message, click View log.
    Alt: Notification of copy of bulk update chrome device custom fields rule execution
  10. In the Logs > Log details screen, confirm that chrome devices fields have been updated.
    The rule log details page of bulk update chrome device custom fields automation rule in xFanatical Foresight
  1. Go back to the chrome devices list page, and confirm that the chrome device fields have been updated.
    Chrome devices fields updated on Google admin console

Notes

  • To update Chrome devices in a specific organizational unit, in the Rule 1: Export chrome devices, List Chrome devices action's Organizational unit field, select the organizational unit. Then xFanatical Foresight will only list and export the Chrome devices within the specified organizational unit.
  • When a custom field is blank in the CSV file, the custom field remains unchanged after automation. To explicitly clear a custom field, configure the Update Chrome device action's custom fields to (empty), and upload a CSV file of Chrome devices for which you want to clear that particular field.
  • You can enter multiple lines for a custom field such as Notes in the CSV file.

Conclusion

Bulk updating Chrome devices custom fields in Google Workspace using xFanatical Foresight is a game changer for your chrome devices management. By leveraging its intuitive interface and powerful automation capabilities, you can streamline your automation process and ensure effective management of your devices. With xFanatical Foresight, you can effortlessly deprovision, disable, re-enable, and manage your chrome devices, and invest valuable time for more important tasks.

Try a 14-day free trial with xFanatical Foresight and manage your tasks.

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