Additions and Changes
xAssets tracks additions and changes to your asset estate, so you can see at a glance what has appeared, what has been installed, and what has moved over the last week. This is useful for audit compliance, change control, and keeping on top of what discovery and manual edits are bringing into the system.
Why Track Changes
- Audit compliance -- demonstrate what changed, when, and by whom
- Security monitoring -- spot unexpected changes (new software installations, unrecognised new hardware)
- Verification -- confirm a planned rollout (new PCs, a software deployment) actually landed in the inventory
- Troubleshooting -- correlate a new install or hardware change with an incident that followed it
Accessing the Additions and Changes Tab
Navigate to Asset > Asset Inventory Dashboard and click the Additions and Changes tab:
This tab has three panels:
- Additions - 7 days -- a chart of assets created in the last 7 days, broken down by category
- Software Installations - 7 days -- a chart of software installs detected in the last 7 days (empty if none were detected)
- Installs, Moves, Additions and Changes -- a grid listing each change record: Date, Type (e.g. "PC Install"), Asset, Computer, What Changed, From, To, Custodian, and Location
Asset History Tab
The Asset History tab (also on the Asset Inventory Dashboard) gives a more detailed, user-centric view of recent activity:
It includes:
- Recent Assets For This User -- assets you have personally viewed or edited in the last 30 days
- Recently Created Assets -- assets created system-wide in the last 30 days, including those loaded by discovery and integrations
- Recently Edited Assets -- assets modified in the last 30 days
- A right-hand panel of quick links to related history queries: Asset History, Computers with Name Changes, Previous Custodians for a Specified Asset, Previous Assets for a Specified Custodian, and Previous Locations for a Specified Asset
Category-Specific Reports
The same Additions and Changes tab also appears on the category dashboards, filtered to that asset type:
- Desktop > Desktop Dashboard > Additions and Changes -- changes to desktops and laptops
- Server > Server Dashboard > Additions and Changes -- changes to server infrastructure
Use these when you only need to see activity for one asset category rather than the whole estate.
Types of Changes Tracked
The grid picks up changes detected by discovery scans, manual edits, and import operations, including:
| Change Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| New assets | A new computer appears on the network for the first time |
| Hardware changes | Memory upgrade, disk replacement, CPU change |
| Software changes | New software installed, software removed, version upgrade |
| Location changes | Asset moved to a different site or building |
| Status changes | Asset deployed, stored, disposed |
| Ownership changes | Asset assigned to a different custodian or department |
Tips
- Review the Additions and Changes tab weekly to stay aware of what discovery and manual edits have added
- Use the grid to confirm that a planned change (e.g. a batch of new laptops, a software rollout) actually landed in the inventory
- Combine change reporting with email notifications (see Email Notifications) for proactive alerting
- For a more structured view of infrastructure changes, see IMAC Reporting
Related Articles
- Asset History -- viewing the complete editing history of a specific asset
- IMAC Reporting -- structured installations, moves, additions, and changes report
- Email Notifications -- automated change alerts