How to configure the extension for managed browsers

If you're using managed browsers, you can install and configure the Atlan browser extension for all users in your organization. To do so, you will need to bulk install the extension and deploy a configuration script.

Atlan supports managing the Atlan browser extension for the following:

• Operating systems: macOS and Microsoft Windows
• Browsers: Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge

The deployment scripts — .mobileconfig file for macOS and PowerShell script for Microsoft Windows — are designed to make only the most necessary modifications required for the Atlan browser extension to function properly. Both deployment methods adhere to the principle of least privilege:

• The .mobileconfig file for macOS only includes the configuration settings required to install and operate the Atlan browser extension.
• The PowerShell script creates essential registry keys required for the Atlan browser extension to operate on Microsoft Windows systems.

To configure the Atlan browser extension for a managed browser, you must complete these steps in the following order:

1. Configure the browser extension
2. Bulk install the browser extension
3. Deploy the configuration script
4. (Optional) Verify and monitor the installation

Configure the browser extension

You can configure the browser extension and then download a configuration script to bulk install and deploy it for everyone in your organization.

To configure the browser extension, from within Atlan:

1. From the left menu on any screen, click Admin.
2. Under Workspace, click Integrations.
3. Under Apps, expand the Browser extension tile.
4. In the Browser extension tile, for Bulk install the browser extension, click the Set up now button.
5. In the Set up browser extension form, enter the following details:
   1. For Choose browser, the browser and operating system values will be prefilled based on what you're currently using — you can modify the fields, if required.
   2. For Your Atlan domain, enter the URL of your Atlan instance — for example, https://(instance_name).atlan.com.
      💪 Did you know? If you enable multiple Atlan domains, your users will be able to select the most relevant Atlan domain from a dropdown menu while using the browser extension. The default value in the dropdown will be the Atlan instance entered as Your Atlan domain. If your organization does not have multiple Atlan domains, only the default selection will be displayed.
   3. (Optional) For Advanced settings, you can configure the following:
      • If you have multiple Atlan instances, toggle on Multiple Atlan domains and then enter the URLs of your additional Atlan instances. Click + Add to add more Atlan domains.
      • If your data tools are hosted on custom domains rather than the standard SaaS domain of each tool, toggle on Custom data source domain. Click + Add to add more custom domains for data sources.
        1. For Connector, select a supported tool for the browser extension.
        2. In the adjacent field, enter the URL of your custom data source domain.
        💪 Did you know? For any supported tools configured while setting up the managed browser extension, your users will not be able to update or remove these selections. They can, however, add additional custom domains for data sources.
   4. Click the Download Script button to download the corresponding configuration script. The IT administrator(s) in your organization will need to install this configuration file in your organization's devices using a mobile device management (MDM) software. Administrative permissions to the MDM platform are required to complete the setup. Based on your operating system, the downloaded file can be one of the following two types:
      • .mobileconfig — use this file to configure profiles with specific settings in macOS devices.
      • .ps1 — use this PowerShell script to create registry keys in Microsoft Windows devices.

Bulk install the browser extension

You will need to configure the ExtensionInstallForcelist browser policy for either Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge to force-install the extension for everyone in your organization.

The ExtensionInstallForcelist browser policy:

• Governs extensions that can be silently installed and automatically enabled for all users.
• Provides extension IDs that the browser will automatically install and enable when a user logs in.

Google Chrome

To bulk install the Atlan browser extension in Google Chrome, follow the steps in Google documentation: Force install apps and extensions.

Microsoft Edge

To bulk install the Atlan browser extension in Microsoft Edge, follow the steps in Microsoft documentation: Force-install an extension.

For the Extension/App IDs and update URLs to be silently installed (Device) field, copy and paste the following value:

fipjfjlalpnbejlmmpfnmlkadjgaaheg;https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx

• fipjfjlalpnbejlmmpfnmlkadjgaaheg is the extension-id for the Atlan browser extension.
• https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx indicates that it needs to be installed from the Chrome Web Store.

Deploy the configuration script

The browser extension relies on managed storage for configuring domains in the Atlan extension. The values for managed storage can be configured through:

• A configuration profile in macOS
• Registry keys in Microsoft Windows

Although Atlan's solution is platform-agnostic, the following examples pertain to Microsoft Intune and VMware Workspace ONE.

macOS

You will need to create a custom managed profile to configure the domains for the Atlan browser extension.

To deploy the .mobileconfig file for your organization, you can use any MDM platform.

For example:

• Microsoft Intune — follow the steps in Custom configuration profile settings.
• VMware Workspace ONE — follow the steps in Upload a profile.

Microsoft Windows

You will need to create registry keys to deploy the extension. You can create the required registry keys with a PowerShell script, which can then be deployed to your users’ devices using an MDM software.

To deploy the PowerShell configuration script for your organization, you can use any MDM platform.

For example:

• Microsoft Intune — follow the steps in Create a script policy and assign it. For Script settings, enter the following details:
  • Script location — upload the .ps1 configuration script downloaded from Atlan.
  • Run this script using the logged on credentials — change to No.
  • Enforce script signature check — change to No.
  • Run script in 64 bit PowerShell Host — change to Yes.
• VMware Workspace ONE — follow the steps in Create a Script for Windows Desktop Devices. Configure the script settings as follows:
  • App Catalog Customization — leave blank.
  • Language — select PowerShell.
  • Execution Context — set to system context.
  • Execution Architecture — run the script on 64-bit devices.
  • Code — upload the .ps1 configuration script downloaded from Atlan.

Verify and monitor the installation

To ensure that the Atlan browser extension has been successfully deployed across all selected devices in your organization, you can:

• Verify the installation — after you have deployed the policies, check a few target devices to ensure that the extension was installed and configured correctly.
• Monitor compliance — monitor the compliance status of the policy and troubleshoot any issues.

Your users will now be able to use the Atlan browser extension in a managed browser! 🎉

Once the managed browser has synced with the latest configuration changes for your organization, the Atlan browser extension will be automatically installed and a new tab will open to indicate that the Atlan browser extension is now active.