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Browse the web inside PlexiDesk

Look things up without leaving PlexiDesk: the Browser in Office, and the browser panel that opens web pages and searches beside your work.

All plansUpdated

PlexiDesk has a web browser built in, so you can look something up, read documentation or keep a reference open without switching to another app. There are two ways to use it:

  • The Browser in Office is a full browser that belongs to no desk. Use it for browsing that is not part of one piece of work, such as a reference you check across several projects.
  • The browser panel opens beside whatever you are doing when you open a web address or search from the command palette, or from a Browser widget. Use it for a quick look.

When a page turns out to matter for a piece of work, send it to a desk, where it becomes a Browser widget. See Browser widget.

Before you start

  • The browser is on every plan.
  • Pages need an internet connection.

Open the Browser in Office

Click the Apps heading in the side menu, then click Browser under Tools. Office Home also has a Browser tile.

The Browser fills the space beside the side menu. The first time, it opens on DuckDuckGo. After that, it opens on the last page you had in it on this computer.

The toolbar

From left to right:

  • Back and Forward: move through the pages you have visited.
  • Reload: loads the page again. While a page is loading, it becomes Stop.
  • The page's title.
  • Search or enter address: click it, type an address or some words, and press Enter. An address opens the site. Anything else is searched for with your search engine. Press Esc to leave the box without changing the page.
  • The search engine chip: shows which search engine your searches use. Click it to choose DuckDuckGo, Google, Bing, Brave Search or Perplexity. The choice applies to every browser in PlexiDesk.
  • Open in your system browser: opens the current page in your computer's own web browser.
  • Ask Plexii: asks Plexii to do something on the page for you. See Ask Plexii to work on a page.
  • Send to desk: puts the page on a desk. See below.

Links that a site opens in a new tab open in the same browser, in place of the current page. Press Back to return.

Send a page to a desk

  1. Click Send to desk in the Browser's toolbar. A list headed Put this page on… shows your desks.
  2. Click a desk.

The page goes onto that desk as a Browser widget, without you having to open the desk. A note says Sent to and the desk's name. Click Open on the note to go there.

The browser panel

Some things open a web page in a panel instead of the Browser in Office:

  • The command palette. Press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows and type a web address or some words. Choose Open and the address, or Search the web. The page opens full screen. See The command palette.
  • A Browser widget. Click Open full screen in its toolbar. See Browser widget.
  • Plexii. Pages Plexii links to, such as its sources, open in the panel. See Turn live web search on or off.

The panel has the same toolbar as the Browser, with these buttons at the right:

  • Let Plexii do something on this page: the same as Ask Plexii.
  • Send this page to your desk: shows while a desk is open. The page goes onto that desk as a Browser widget, and PlexiDesk takes you to it.
  • Full screen: makes the panel fill the space beside the side menu. In full screen, the button becomes Back to the side panel (Esc).
  • Close: closes the panel.

Press Esc to step down: from full screen back to the side panel, then again to close it.

Ask Plexii to work on a page

  1. Click Ask Plexii in the Browser, or the Plexii button in the panel.
  2. In What should Plexii do on this page?, describe the task, such as "compare the prices on this page", and press Enter. Or click one of the ready-made tasks under the box.

Plexii works on the page where you can see it, step by step, and you can stop it at any time. See Let Plexii work on a web page and Allow, limit or revoke Plexii on websites.

Signing in to sites

The browser keeps you signed in to sites between launches, for as long as the site itself does.

  • The browser panel shares its sign-ins with Browser widgets on your desks that are not pinned to a connected app.
  • The Browser in Office keeps sign-ins of its own. Sign in there separately to sites you use in it.

For a site you use every day on many desks, pin it as a connected app so every Browser widget for it shares one sign-in. See Keep a site signed in on your desks.

Common questions

How do I change the search engine? Click the search engine chip in the toolbar and choose one. Searches you start from the browser and the command palette use it. Plexii's own web answers in chat use DuckDuckGo, and the menu says so.

Can I have several tabs? No. Each browser shows one page at a time. To keep several pages to hand, send them to a desk as Browser widgets, where each one is its own widget.

A site will not work properly inside PlexiDesk. Click Open in your system browser to open the same page in your computer's own browser.

Can I add browser extensions? See Add Chrome extensions to Plexii's browser.

Where did the page I was reading go? The Browser in Office reopens on the last page you had in it. To keep a page from the panel, send it to a desk before you close the panel.

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].