Revise and supersede applications in Configuration Manager
Applies to: Configuration Manager (current branch)
Learn how to work with Configuration Manager application versions and how to supersede applications with a new version.
Revisions
When you make revisions to an application or a deployment type, Configuration Manager creates a new revision of the application. You can display the history of each application revision. You can also view its properties, restore a previous revision of an application, or delete an old revision.
Display the history of application revisions
In the Configuration Manager console, go to the Software Library workspace, expand Application Management, and select the Applications node. Then choose the application that you want.
On the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Application group, select Revision History. This action opens the Application Revision History window.
View an application revision
In the Application Revision History window, select an application revision, and then select View.
In the Properties dialog box, examine the properties of the selected application.
Note
This view of application properties is read-only.
Restore an application revision
In the Application Revision History window, select an application revision, and then select Restore.
Select Yes to restore the selected application revision.
Delete an application revision
In the Application Revision History window, select an application revision, and then select Delete.
Select Yes to confirm.
Important
You can only delete the current application revision after you retire the application and it has no references.
Supersedence
Application management in Configuration Manager lets you upgrade or replace existing applications by using a supersedence relationship. When you supersede an application, you specify a new deployment type to replace the deployment type of the superseded application. You can also decide whether to upgrade or uninstall the superseded application before the client installs the superseding application. It's best to limit supersedence chains to five levels deep at a maximum.
Important
When you choose the option to uninstall the superseded deployment type, a deployment type can't be superseded by a deployment type that was deployed to a different type of collection. For example, a deployment type that was deployed to a device collection can't be superseded by a deployment type that was deployed to a user collection.
Decide whether to upgrade or replace an application
The type of supersedence depends on whether you select the Uninstall option:
If you want to update to a newer version of the same application with the same application ID, don't select Uninstall.
If you want to change to a different application with a different application ID, select Uninstall. You need to remove the superseded version of the application.
Supersede dependent applications
In this example, main application refers to the app that you're deploying that has the dependencies.
You can create a supersedence relationship that updates the dependent application to a new version.
Make sure that the new dependent application and the original dependent application are in the same dependency group of the main application.
Create a supersedence relationship that supersedes the original dependent application with the new dependent application.
During new installations of the main application, the client installs the new dependent application. Configuration Manager updates existing installations of the main application with the new dependent application.
The end result is that all deployments of the main application use the new dependent application.
Further considerations
You can specify multiple supersedence relationships for dependent applications. Configuration Manager installs the highest dependent application in the supersedence chain.
Deploy dependent applications to the device where the main application is installed. Otherwise Configuration Manager won't install the dependent application.
For new installations of the main application, when you have multiple dependencies, the dependency order determines which version of the dependent application gets installed.
Specify a supersedence relationship
In the Configuration Manager console, go to the Software Library workspace, expand Application Management, and select the Applications node. Then choose the application that supersedes another application.
On the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Properties group, select Properties.
Switch to the Supersedence tab, and select Add.
For the Superseded Application, select Browse.
Choose the application that you want to supersede, and then select OK.
In the Specify Supersedence Relationship window, select the deployment type that replaces the deployment type of the superseded application.
Note
By default, the new deployment type doesn't uninstall the deployment type of the superseded application. This scenario is commonly used when you want to deploy an upgrade to an existing application. To remove the existing deployment type before the new deployment type is installed, select Uninstall. If you decide to upgrade an application, make sure that you test this in a lab environment first.
If you want users to still see in Software Center deployments for both applications, select the option to Allow users to see deployments for this application and all applications that it supersedes in Software Center.. With this option, you give users the choice to still install an older version of the app if needed. By default, this option isn't selected, so only the superseding application displays in Software Center. This option is only for available deployments to user collections.
Select OK to save your changes and close the windows.
Display applications that supersede the current application
In the Configuration Manager console, go to the Software Library workspace, expand Application Management, and select the Applications node. Then choose the application that you want.
On the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Properties group, select Properties.
Switch to the References tab.
For the Relationship type, choose Applications that supersede this application.
View supersedence relationships
In the Configuration Manager console, go to the Software Library workspace, expand Application Management, and select the Applications node. Then choose the application that you want.
On the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Relationships group, select View relationships, and then select Supersedence.
This action shows a graphical diagram of the relationships of the selected application to other applications. For the supersedence relationships, it shows applications that the selected application supersedes, and applications that the selected application is superseded by.
Manage supersedence with PowerShell
You can add, view, and remove supersedence relationships using the following PowerShell cmdlets: