Deploying SimpleDiagrams for Mac

For administrators who install SimpleDiagrams with a device-management tool such as Jamf, Intune or Munki. This page gives the installer package, the identifiers your tools ask for, and the way to deploy one licence key to every Mac in a configuration profile.

Requirements

Download the installer package

Latest version
https://simplediagrams.com/desktop/download/SimpleDiagrams.pkg
This address never changes. It redirects to the newest package, so a tool that fetches on a schedule can use it.
Version 5.1.1
https://storage.googleapis.com/simplediagrams-desktop-downloads/desktop/5.1.1/SimpleDiagrams-universal-5.1.1.pkg
Any version
https://storage.googleapis.com/simplediagrams-desktop-downloads/desktop/<version>/SimpleDiagrams-universal-<version>.pkg
Each version's package stays at its own address when a newer version is released.
SHA-256
b80cb52da623481f9f88cbe7ce6f2ab10cde492a704819fe616d6a78187d6f90
Checksum file
https://storage.googleapis.com/simplediagrams-desktop-downloads/desktop/5.1.1/SimpleDiagrams-universal-5.1.1.pkg.sha256

Download SimpleDiagrams-universal-5.1.1.pkg

Check it before you deploy it

shasum -a 256 SimpleDiagrams-universal-5.1.1.pkg
pkgutil --check-signature SimpleDiagrams-universal-5.1.1.pkg
spctl -a -vv -t install SimpleDiagrams-universal-5.1.1.pkg
  • shasum prints the SHA-256 shown here.
  • pkgutil names the signer, Developer ID Installer: McQuillen Interactive Pty. Ltd. (HVL2W63C27), and reports that Apple's notary service trusts the package.
  • spctl answers accepted, with the source Notarized Developer ID.

The package is signed, notarized by Apple and has the notarization ticket stapled to it. The signature and notarization are what prove it is ours; the checksum is a convenience. The files are served from storage.googleapis.com.

Identifiers

App bundle identifier com.simplediagrams.desktop
Package identifier com.simplediagrams.pkg.desktop
Team ID HVL2W63C27
Package signed by Developer ID Installer: McQuillen Interactive Pty. Ltd. (HVL2W63C27)
App signed by Developer ID Application: McQuillen Interactive Pty. Ltd. (HVL2W63C27)
Installed at /Applications/SimpleDiagrams.app
Version The package's version is the app's version, its CFBundleShortVersionString. The build number is the app's CFBundleVersion.

Install

sudo installer -pkg SimpleDiagrams-universal-5.1.1.pkg -target /

Most device-management tools run this for you when you give them the package.

  • The package contains no scripts. It copies the app into place and does nothing else.
  • It asks nothing, shows no licence screen and does not open the app.
  • It installs for every user of the Mac, in the Applications folder on the startup disk, owned by root. It cannot install into one person's home folder.
  • It needs nobody to be logged in, so it can install at the login window.
  • It always installs to the same place, and replaces a copy that is already there.

Deploy the licence key in a configuration profile

SimpleDiagrams reads two managed settings from the preference domain com.simplediagrams.desktop. Each is optional and works without the other.

Name Type What it does
LicenseKey String Your organisation's licence key. It unlocks the app on a Mac that receives the profile.
HideCheckForUpdates Boolean When true, the Check for Updates… command is left out of the SimpleDiagrams menu.

How the app treats the key

  • Only a value delivered by a configuration profile is honoured. A value written with defaults write is ignored.
  • The key is checked on the Mac, offline. Nothing is activated and nothing is sent to us.
  • The key is read from the profile each time and is never stored in the Keychain. Removing the profile removes your organisation's key from the Mac. A key the person entered themselves, or a trial already running, stays. The app checks again when it starts and each time it becomes the active app.
  • The Mac App Store edition has the same bundle identifier, so a profile reaches it too. It ignores both settings: it has no licence key, and Apple delivers its updates.

What your people see

  • With a valid organisation key, the app opens ready to use. There is no licence agreement window, no trial and no prompt to buy or enter a key. Your organisation accepted the agreement when it bought the licence.
  • Help › Licence Information names your organisation, the number of seats, the licence ID and its dates, and says the licence is managed by your organisation.
  • If the key has expired or is not accepted, it does not unlock the app. The app tells the person which of the two it is and to contact their organisation's IT team. Unless the person has a key of their own or a trial still running, the app is view-only: diagrams can be viewed and exported, not edited. A person who has not accepted the licence agreement on that Mac is asked to accept it first.
  • While a profile supplies a key, valid or not, the app offers no trial, no purchase and no key entry. A trial already running continues until it ends, and a key the person entered earlier still unlocks the app.

A sample profile

The sample sets both values for the preference domain. Replace PASTE-YOUR-ORGANISATION-KEY-HERE with your key before you use it. A Mac that receives the sample unchanged treats the placeholder as a key that is not accepted.

Download SimpleDiagrams-sample.mobileconfig

The settings alone

For a tool that takes a preference domain and a property list, such as Application & Custom Settings in Jamf Pro, use the domain com.simplediagrams.desktop and this property list: 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
	<key>LicenseKey</key>
	<string>PASTE-YOUR-ORGANISATION-KEY-HERE</string>
	<key>HideCheckForUpdates</key>
	<true/>
</dict>
</plist>

Licensing, updates and removal

Licensing

  • An organisation has one key. It covers the number of people stated in the key, which the app shows as seats.
  • The app does not count seats or enforce them. There is no activation and no licence server, and the app has no permission to use the network.
  • Someone without device management can paste the same key into the app by hand, from version 5.0.6.

Ask about an organisation licence

Tell us how many people the licence should cover and that you need one organisation key. We will confirm availability, licence terms and payment arrangements before you order.

Updates

  • Copies from this website never update themselves. To update, deploy the new package.
  • Every public release has its own version number, and a published file is never replaced. A tool that compares versions therefore sees every update.
  • Check for Updates… opens our website in the person's browser and installs nothing. Set HideCheckForUpdates to true to leave the command out.

Release notes

Permissions and network

  • The app runs in Apple's App Sandbox and has no permission to connect to the internet.
  • It asks for no privacy permissions, so it needs no Privacy Preferences Policy Control profile.
  • It installs no system extension, helper or login item.
  • There is nothing to allow on your firewall for the app. Downloading the package needs simplediagrams.com and storage.googleapis.com.

IT and security statement

Removing it

  • Delete /Applications/SimpleDiagrams.app.
  • Run sudo pkgutil --forget com.simplediagrams.pkg.desktop to clear the install receipt.
  • Remove the configuration profile. That removes your organisation's key from the Mac.
  • Each person's settings are in ~/Library/Containers/com.simplediagrams.desktop. Diagrams are ordinary documents wherever the person saved them, and are not removed.
  • A key that a person entered by hand, and the record of a trial, are in that person's Keychain.

If you buy apps through Apple

An organisation that uses Apple Business Manager or Apple School Manager can buy the Mac App Store edition in volume there and assign it through device management. That edition has no licence key and needs no configuration profile, and Apple delivers its updates.

Questions

If something here does not match what you see, or your tool needs a detail that is missing, please tell us.

Contact us IT and security statement