A Windows Update Collection is a compilation of various updates consisting of selected products and classifications. The updates are stored dynamically and can be distributed via the containers, used to prepare new clients (via rollout) and used during job execution (collection is pushed). This allows you to perform regularly scheduled installations of Windows updates in a targeted manner. The log entry for the respective Windows Update Collection can be used to check the result.

You can create as many Windows Update Collections as you like, allowing you to control the distribution of updates individually. Different reboot options can be assigned to each collection, and it is also possible to manually link individual updates to an update collection.

Managing Windows Update Collections

The ribbon bar allows you to add (), edit () or delete () Windows Update Collections. You can also duplicate existing collections () to store already compiled update collections in another folder or to customize them if necessary.

You can also easily move existing Windows Update Collections to other folders using the drag-and-drop function. If you use multiple collections, we recommend storing the collections you have created in folders and naming them according to the relevant areas (e.g. Update Collection – Windows 11 Upgrades). Folder management is identical here to all other areas of the ACMP Console; a clear structure in the organisation and naming of folders will support you in your daily work with Windows Update Collections.

The Windows Update Collections workspace is divided into two parts: on the left-hand side, you will find a list of already created collections as well as a search bar where you can search for specific items. The collections are sorted alphabetically in the folder structure. On the right-hand side is the detailed view of the respective open entry. Here you can choose between the areas General fnformation, Filters, and Updates to read the information you need.

Add Windows Update Collection

To create a new Windows Update Collection, click Add  in the ribbon bar. EA multi-page wizard will open to guide you through the individual steps. On the first page (General), enter a name for the collection and an optional description. Check that the output directory is correct or customize it () and select the correct one. Set the reboot options in the lower section. Here you can choose between the following options:

• Do not restart, but inform the logged-in user that a restart is required.
• Do not restart and do not notify the logged-in user that a restart is required.
• Restart the computer if necessary.

On the next page, define a filter that includes the products and classifications that should apply to this update collection. You can choose between two filter modes: Standard filter or Advanced filter.

Standard filter: Only the products and classifications that you previously selected via the First Steps Wizard or subsequently in the settings are displayed here. In other words, you can only assign the products and classification to a collection that you have subscribed to. Click on them to include them in the collection.

Advanced filter: The advanced filter allows you to individually specify which updates you want to add to the Windows Update Collection. All fields related to an update are available for this purpose. The versatile constellations allow you to create specific collections that exactly meet your requirements, enabling the smooth deployment of various updates. This makes it possible, for example, to create a collection that contains all updates from Dell, but without distributing the BIOS updates. Conversely, it is also possible to add only Dell BIOS updates to a collection.

Continuing examples:

The following examples illustrate some filter configurations that are designed to automatically deny these updates. Please note that the level at which you are located or set the filter option is crucial. This can significantly determine whether an update should be explicitly declined if one or more conditions apply.

Examples:

• ‘Decline all updates that contain the string %ARM64% in their name’

• ‘All updates that have been revoked by Microsoft (expiry status IN Revoked)’

• ‘All updates that have not been used for more than 180 days.’

In this configuration, updates are automatically declined

Example: ‘Decline Microsoft Defender Antivirus updates that have not been needed for more than X days’

Since Defender updates tend to be short-lived, you may want to deny them a little faster so that they do not take up unnecessary hard drive space. This can be achieved as follows, for example: Updates with the update product name ‘Microsoft Defender Antivirus’ (filter: In) and the field ‘Last used on’ (filter value: not in the last) in 14 days are automatically rejected.

Example: ‘Decline Microsoft Edge updates that are in the Beta or Dev channel’

In this configuration, two filter options are combined: Only updates that have the product name ‘Microsoft Edge’ (filter: In) AND the designation %Microsoft Edge Beta Channel% (filter: similar) OR %Microsoft Edge Dev Channel% are automatically declined. This combination therefore declines all updates that are assigned to the beta or dev channel. The wildcards allow any number of characters to be taken into account.

Example: ‘Reject Windows 11 22H2 updates’

Updates with the update product name ‘Windows 11’ (filter: In) and a designation (filter: similar) of ‘22H2%’ are automatically rejected. The percent signs represent a wildcard. This means that similar-sounding version updates of Windows 11 are also denied with this filter configuration.

Combination of all filter options

You can also create a more complex filter combination within the filter by establishing a connection between the individual filter operators. However, please note that the top operator also applies to the conditions below and that there is an AND/OR correlation between the individual filters. The following illustration shows how to use the above.

The advanced filter allows you to focus on specific environments and provide exactly the updates that meet your criteria.

In this example, we want to create a collection for a Windows 11 upgrade, so we select only the product Windows 11 in the upper section and only Upgrades under Classifications. The filter mode selected here is ‘Standard filter’. 

Continue and click Next >.

Under Update Links, you can statically link selected updates to this collection. To do this, click on  Add and the Windows Updates element selection will open. In this view, the available updates are displayed in the same way as in the Updates tab (including detailed view). To store an update statically, select the desired number and mark the entries. To remove all entries, you can select the deselect all button below the detailed view. Otherwise, click OK once you have checked all the required updates.

You will now be brought back to the wizard page where the selected update was stored.

If you wish to remove a static link, select the relevant update and click on  Remove. To exit the wizard, click on Finish. The newly created Windows Update Collection will now be displayed in the overview.

Edit, delete or duplicate Windows Update Collections

In addition to creating a new Windows Update Collection, you can also work with existing collections. All actions can be started either via the context menu or from the ribbon bar. To do this, click on the corresponding button for the action and follow the continuing instructions.

To edit a Windows Update Collection, open it with a double-click or select the entry in the list and navigate to the Edit button (). Change or add the desired information or customize the product selector or classification retrospectively, for example, by adding or deselecting items. You can also use this option to select a different restart option if the conditions for the selected update collection have changed. Confirm your changes with the Save button.

If you want to delete a collection, select the corresponding entry, click Delete () and confirm the process.

To duplicate an existing collection, select the desired entry from the list and click on Duplicate () via the ribbon bar or the context menu. Change all relevant information and assign a new name to the copied Windows Update Collection. Confirm your changes here as well with the Save button.