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App launcher widget

Your favourite connected apps as one-click tiles on a dashboard, with an Add app tile for connecting another.

All plansUpdated

Connected apps are the web apps and programs you keep at hand in PlexiDesk. The App launcher widget puts your favourite ones on a dashboard as a row of tiles, each showing the app's logo. One click opens the app.

What the widget shows

  • A tile for each favourite app, showing its logo. Point at a tile to see the app's name.
  • Add app, a dashed tile at the end, for connecting another app.

The widget shows your favourite apps: the same apps the side menu's Connected Apps list shows first, above More apps. It shows up to eight:

  1. every app you have pinned, first
  2. then, if you have pinned fewer than six, the apps you open most often and most recently, until there are six

Each time you open an app, from here or anywhere else, it counts towards that order. Apps outside your favourites are not shown in the widget; pin an app to make sure it is.

It comes in two sizes, Small (one cell) and Medium (two cells wide). The tiles stay the same size; Medium has room for more of them on each row.

Before you start

  • Plans. The widget works on every plan.
  • Connected apps. The widget shows apps you have already connected, and you can connect one from the widget itself. See Add and use connected apps Coming soon.

Add the widget

You can have one App launcher on each dashboard: Home, Office Home, People Home and Brain Home.

  1. Open the dashboard you want, for example Home from the side menu.
  2. Click Customize at the top right, then click Add widget.
  3. Find App launcher. Type in Search widgets, or choose the Navigation category. If the card says Already on your home, this dashboard has one already.
  4. Click App launcher, then choose Small or Medium with the arrows beside the preview or the dots under it.
  5. Click Add widget. The widget is added at the end of the board.
  6. Drag it to where you want it, then click Done.

Open an app

Click its tile.

  • A web app opens inside PlexiDesk, filling the window, with its own back, forward and reload buttons.
  • An app on your computer (a local app) starts that program.

Connect another app

  1. Click Add app. The Add a Connected App window opens, with three tabs.
  2. Choose how to add it:
    • Standard: a list of common web apps, grouped by category. Type in Search apps… to find one, then click it. Apps you have already added are marked already added. If nothing matches, click Add as custom URL.
    • Custom URL: type the app's web address under URL, add a Name if you want one (otherwise the address is used), then click Add to sidebar.
    • Local app: click Choose app… and pick a program on your computer. On a Mac, the picker opens in your Applications folder. On Windows, choose the program or its shortcut. Change the Display name if you like, then click Add to sidebar.
  3. When you add a web app, PlexiDesk opens it straight away.

The new app joins your connected apps. It shows in the App launcher once it is one of your favourites; pin it to put it there for certain.

Choose which apps appear

Pinned apps always come first, and the widget shows up to eight. Pin the apps you want to see every time.

From the side menu, while a desk is open:

  1. Open any desk. The side menu shows Connected Apps.
  2. Point at an app and click its pin (Pin to Favourites).
  3. To unpin it, click the pin again (Unpin from Favourites).

From Settings, at any time:

  1. Click the gear in the header to open Settings, then choose the Advanced tab.
  2. Under Connected apps, click the pin beside an app (Pin to the sidebar). Click it again to unpin it.
  3. To remove an app you no longer use, click its bin (Remove and the app's name).

The + beside Connected apps opens the same Add a Connected App window.

Resize or remove the widget

  1. On the dashboard, click Customize.
  2. Then:
    • To change the size, click the size button at the widget's top right corner. It shows the current size, such as SM; click it to switch between Small and Medium.
    • To remove the widget, click × (Remove App launcher). Your connected apps are not touched.
  3. Click Done.

Good ways to use it

  • Your daily web apps on Home. Pin the handful you open every morning and they are there when you arrive.
  • Different apps on different dashboards. Each dashboard has its own App launcher, all showing your favourites. To keep a particular set of apps on one dashboard, use a Shortcuts box instead.
  • Programs on your computer, too. Add the desktop programs you use for this work as local apps, and start them from the same row.

Common questions

I added an app but it is not in the widget. Why? The widget shows your favourites only. Pin the app (Pin to Favourites) and it appears first.

How do I take an app off the widget? Unpin it. If you open it often, it may still appear among your most-used apps. To remove a web app from PlexiDesk completely, open it, click Remove this app (the bin at the top) and confirm with Remove. You can add it again any time.

Can I choose the order of the tiles? Pinned apps come first. For a set of apps in an order you choose, use a Shortcuts box. See Shortcuts widget.

What is the difference between this and the App launcher widget on a desk? This widget sits on a dashboard and shows your favourite connected apps. The desk widget is a single tile on a desk that starts one program on your computer. See App launcher widget.

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