PDQ Inventory

Export software inventory from PDQ Inventory and upload it with the SIM template.

The purpose of this guide is to enable users to quickly extract standardized software inventory data from PDQ Inventory to populate the Licenseware SIM Template.

PDQ Inventory maintains detailed asset and software information across managed endpoints. The relevant data resides primarily in the following PDQ Inventory data tables or views:

• Computers, Contains hostname and device-specific attributes.
• Applications, Contains installed software details including name, version, and publisher.
• ComputerApplications, A relational table linking computers with installed software.

Before beginning the export process, ensure the following:

• You have PDQ Inventory Console access with permission to run reports or PowerShell scripts.
• PDQ Inventory is synchronized and up-to-date with all endpoint data.
• (Optional) PowerShell 5.1 or later installed if using the PowerShell method.
• Administrative rights to export report data in CSV format.

You can extract the data using one of two main methods:

1. Open PDQ Inventory.
2. Go to Reports → New Report.
3. Select Basic Report and name it Licenseware SIM Export.
4. Add the following columns:

• Computer Name
• Application Name
• Application Version
• Application Publisher

5. In the Source dropdown, select Applications.
6. Click Run Report to preview results.
7. Save the report for future use.

Once the report is created, you can export it directly as a CSV file (see next section).

If you prefer to automate the extraction, use the PDQ Inventory PowerShell interface.

# PDQ Inventory SIM Template Export Script
# Requires PDQ Inventory console installed on the system

# Load PDQ Inventory COM object
$PDQInventory = New-Object -ComObject PDQInventory.Application

# Query computers and their installed applications
$Computers = $PDQInventory.GetCollection("All Computers").Computers

$ExportData = @()

foreach ($Computer in $Computers) {
    $Apps = $Computer.Applications
    foreach ($App in $Apps) {
        $ExportData += [PSCustomObject]@{
            "Device Name"        = $Computer.Name
            "Software Name"      = $App.Name
            "Software Version"   = $App.Version
            "Software Publisher" = $App.Publisher
        }
    }
}

# Export to CSV
$ExportPath = "C:\Exports\PDQ_SIM_Export.csv"
$ExportData | Export-Csv -Path $ExportPath -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8

Write-Host "Export complete: $ExportPath"

This script collects all installed applications from every computer in PDQ Inventory and exports them in the required format for the SIM Template.

If you created a Report via the PDQ Inventory interface:

1. Run your saved report (Licenseware SIM Export).
2. Click File → Export → To CSV.
3. Choose a save location (e.g., C:\Exports\PDQ_SIM_Export.csv).
4. Ensure UTF-8 encoding is selected.

1. Open the Licenseware SIM Template. See SIM template.
2. Copy and paste the CSV content directly into the template, or use the Import from CSV function if available.
3. Verify that the columns align correctly:

• Column A → Device Name
• Column B → Software Name
• Column C → Software Version
• Column D → Software Vendor or Publisher

Ensure there are no blank header rows or extra delimiters before proceeding with upload to Licenseware.

Device Name,Software Name,Software Version,Software Publisher
PC-001,Google Chrome,129.0.6668.90,Google LLC
PC-001,Microsoft Edge,130.0.2849.68,Microsoft Corporation
PC-002,Oracle Java SE Runtime Environment,8.0.411,Oracle Corporation
PC-003,Visual Studio Code,1.95.2,Microsoft Corporation