PDQ Inventory Data Extraction Guide (for SIM Template)

Overview

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.

The output from this process ensures compatibility with Licenseware’s analysis tools, providing consistency and accuracy when performing software license management and compliance assessments.

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.

Prerequisites

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:

Option 1: PDQ Inventory Report Builder (UI)

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).

Option 2: PowerShell Script (Advanced)

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" 

Exporting to CSV

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.

Preparing for SIM Import

1. Open the Licenseware SIM Template. 👉 Learn more here

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.

Troubleshooting

Example Output

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