Drop files, links and apps onto a desk

The quickest way to put something on a desk is to drag it there. PlexiDesk looks at what you drop and makes the right widget for it, at the spot where you let go.

Dropping works on every plan. You need a desk open, because whatever you drop lands on the desk in front of you.

What you can drop

Drop files from your computer

1. Open the desk you want the files on.
2. In Finder on a Mac, or File Explorer on Windows, select one or more files.
3. Drag them onto an empty part of the desk and let go.

You get one File or link widget per file, centred on the spot where you let go and named after the file. If you drop several files at once, each one sits a little below and to the right of the one before, so none hides another.

What each widget shows depends on the file:

• A picture shows the image, and the widget takes the picture's shape the first time it loads. Click the picture to open it in your computer's default app.
• A PDF opens in a viewer inside the widget, with a toolbar and page navigation.
• Video and audio play inside the widget with the usual controls.
• Any other file shows a preview where one is available, with the file's name, size and type along the bottom. Click it to open the file in its default app.

PlexiDesk keeps its own copy of every file you drop, so the widget does not depend on the original staying where it was on your computer.

Want to edit what is inside a file rather than keep the file itself? Use Import file… to turn a text, Markdown, CSV, JSON or Excel file into a Page or Table you can work in. See Turn a file into a widget. To keep a Word, Excel or PowerPoint file editable as a document, see Open and save Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Visio files Coming soon.

Drop a link or a tab from your web browser

1. Arrange your windows so you can see both your web browser and the desk in PlexiDesk.
2. In your web browser, drag a tab, or a link on a page, onto an empty part of the desk.
3. Let go where you want the page.

A Browser widget opens at that page, centred on the spot where you let go. Only web addresses make a widget: if you drag plain text that is not a link, nothing is added.

The new Browser widget uses the same sign-ins as the rest of PlexiDesk's built-in browser, so a site you are already signed in to in PlexiDesk stays signed in here. See Browser widget and Keep a site signed in on your desks.

Drop a connected app

Connected apps are the web apps and programs you keep at hand in PlexiDesk. With a desk open, they are listed under Connected Apps in the side menu, ready to drag.

1. Open the desk.
2. In the side menu, find the app under Connected Apps. Your pinned apps and the ones you use most are listed first. If you do not see the app, click More apps to show the rest.
3. Drag the app's row onto the desk and let go.

What you get depends on the kind of app:

• A web app becomes a Browser widget at the app's address. It uses the app's own saved sign-in, so once you have signed in to the app in PlexiDesk, the widget is signed in too, on this desk and on any other.
• A local app, a program on your computer, becomes an App launcher tile. Click the tile to open the program. See App launcher widget.

To add an app to the list, click + beside Connected Apps (its tooltip says Add a connected app). See Add and use connected apps Coming soon.

Connected Apps shows in the side menu only while a desk is open. To add, pin or remove apps from anywhere, open Settings > Advanced > Connected apps.

Place a widget exactly where you want it

When you click a widget in an Add widget menu, PlexiDesk places it beside the widget you last worked on. To choose the spot yourself, drag it instead.

1. Point at the tool rail on the right edge of the desk (the strip with the construction icon) so it opens.
2. Click Add widget. The Add to this desk menu opens.
3. Find the widget you want. If you do not see it, type its name in Search widgets and objects, or open Advanced at the bottom of the list.
4. Drag its tile onto the desk and let go where you want it.

You can also right-click an empty part of the desk and choose Add object, then a group and a widget. The widget appears where you right-clicked.

For every way to add a widget, see Add a widget to a desk and The tool rail on the right of a desk.

Put a document on a desk from the open-items strip

The open-items strip near the bottom of the window has a tab for each desk and document you have open. You can drop a document onto any desk's tab without opening that desk.

1. Open the document, so its tab is in the strip.
2. Make sure the desk you want also has a tab in the strip. If it does not, open the desk once, then go back to the document.
3. Drag the document's tab onto the desk's tab. The desk's tab is highlighted while you hold the document over it.
4. Let go.

A message confirms that the document was added to the desk, with an Open button that takes you there.

This works for documents, spreadsheets, slide decks, diagrams, designs and artwork. The widget on the desk shows the document itself, not a copy, so a change you make on the desk and a change you make in Office are the same change.

There are two other ways to do the same thing:

• Right-click the document's tab in the strip. Under Send to desk, click the desk. This list includes every desk, not just the ones you have open.
• Drag a document from Office, for example from the Recent list on Office Home, onto a desk's tab in the strip.

See The open-items strip and Put a document, spreadsheet or deck on a desk Coming soon.

Common questions

I let go, but nothing appeared. What should I check?

• Is a desk open? Drops land on the desk in front of you. On Home or in Office there is no desk to drop onto.
• Did you let go over an empty part of the desk? Let go on the desk itself rather than on top of another widget.
• Was it a link? Plain text that is not a web address does not make a widget. Drag the link or the tab itself.
• Is the connected app listed? The Connected Apps section appears only while a desk is open. Check More apps if your app is not in the first rows.

Can I undo a drop?

Yes. Press ⌘ Z on a Mac or Ctrl Z on Windows straight away to remove the widget you just added. If you dropped several files, press it once for each. See Undo and redo.

Why does my Excel or CSV file show up as a file and not as a table?

Dropping keeps a file as a file. To turn its rows into a Table you can sort and edit, use Import file… instead. See Turn a file into a widget.

Related tasks

• File or link widget: everything you can do with a dropped file.
• Turn a file into a widget: import text and data as a Page or Table.
• Link widgets and set up wires: connect what you dropped to other widgets.
• See what runs on its own on a desk: the desk's automations in one list.