View Updates

Applies To: Windows Server 2003 with SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1, Windows Server Update Services, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard

On the Updates page of the WSUS administration console, you can manage your computer updates asfollows:

• View updates
  The update overview displays updates that have been synchronized from the update source to your WSUS server and are available for approval.

• Filter updates
  In the default view you can filter updates by approval status and installation status. The default setting is for unapproved updates and installation failures on client computers. You can change this view by changing the Approval status and Installation status filters, and then clicking Refresh.

• Create new update views
  In the Actions pane, click New Update View. You can filter updates by classification, product, the group for which they have been approved, and synchronization date. You can sort the list by clicking the appropriate column heading in the title bar.

• Search for updates
  You can search for an individual update or a set of updates by title, description, Knowledge Base article, or the Microsoft Security Response Center numbere.

• View details, status, and revision history for each update.

• Approve updates.

• Decline updates.

To view updates

1. In the WSUS administration console, expand the Updates node, and then click All Updates.

2. By default, updates are displayed with their title, classification, installed percentage, and approval status. If you want to display more or different update properties, right-click the column heading, and select the appropriate columns.

3. To sort by different criteria, such as download status, title, classification, release date, or approval status, click the appropriate column heading.

To filter the list of updates

1. In the WSUS administration console, expand the Updates node, and then click All Updates.

2. In the center pane next to Approval, select the desired approval status, and next to Status select the desired installation status. Click Refresh.

To create a new update view

1. In the WSUS administration console, expand the Updates node, and then click All Updates.

2. In the Actions pane, click New Update View.

3. In the Add Update View window, under Step 1: Select properties, select the following properties as appropriate to filter the update view:

   • Select Updates are in a specific classification to filter for updates that belong to one or more update classifications.

   • Select Updates are for a specific product to filter for updates for one or more products or product families.

   • Select Updates are approved for a specific group to filter for updates that are approved for one or more computer groups.

   • Select Updates were synchronized within a specific time period to filter for updates that synchronized at a specific time.

   • Select Updates are WSUS updates to filter for WSUS updates.

4. Under Step 2: Edit the properties, click the underlined words to pick the values that you want.

5. Under Step 3: Specify a name, give your new view a name.

6. Click OK.

7. Your new view will appear in the tree view pane under Updates. It will be displayed in the center pane (like standard views) when you select it.

To search for an update

1. Select the Updates node (or any node under it).

2. In the Actions pane, click Search.

3. In the Search window, on the Updates tab, enter your search criteria. You can use text from the Title, Description, and Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article number fields. Each of these properties is listed on the Details tab of the update properties.

To view the properties for an update

1. In the WSUS administration console, expand the Updates node, and then click All Updates.

2. In the list of updates, click the update that you want to view.

3. In the lower pane, you will see the following property sections:

   • Title bar
     Displays the title of the update; for example, Security Update for Windows Media Player 9 (KB911565).

   • Status
     Displays the installation status of the update (the computers on which it needs to be installed, computers on which it was installed with errors, computers on which it has been installed or is not applicable, and computers that have not reported status for the update), in addition to general information (such as KB and MSRC numbers, and release date).

   • Description
     Displays a brief description of the update.

   • Additional Details
     Displays the following information:

     • The installation behavior of the update (whether it is removable, requests a restart, requires user input, or must be installed exclusively)

     • Whether the update has Microsoft Software License Terms

     • The products to which the update applies

     • The updates that supersede this update

     • The updates that are superseded by this update

     • The languages supported by the update

     • The update ID

Note

You can perform this procedure on only one update at a time. If you select multiple updates, the first update in the list will be displayed in the Properties pane.