# 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. Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/browser-overview Section: Office > Files and the browser Plans: All plans Updated: 2026-10-15 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-browser). ## 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](#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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/command-palette). - **A Browser widget.** Click **Open full screen** in its toolbar. See [Browser widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-browser). - **Plexii.** Pages Plexii links to, such as its sources, open in the panel. See [Turn live web search on or off](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-web-search). 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-browse) and [Allow, limit or revoke Plexii on websites](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-browsing-consent). ## 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/browser-stay-signed-in). ## 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/browser-extensions). **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. ## Related tasks - [Browser widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-browser) - [Keep a site signed in on your desks](https://plexiidesk.com/help/browser-stay-signed-in) - [Add Chrome extensions to Plexii's browser](https://plexiidesk.com/help/browser-extensions) - [Let Plexii work on a web page](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-browse) - [The command palette](https://plexiidesk.com/help/command-palette) - [PlexiiOffice: your office suite](https://plexiidesk.com/help/office-overview)