# Watch several desks from one control-room desk > Build one desk with a live Portal for each project you look after, then add a Desk agent that reads them all and reports what needs you. Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/layout-control-room Section: Widgets > Desk layout Plans: All plans Updated: 2026-10-15 A control room is a desk you use to watch other desks. It holds one [Portal](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-portal) for each desk you look after, so you can see them all at a glance and jump into any of them in one click. Add a [Desk agent](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-desk-agent), and it can read every desk the portals show and write you a short report on what has changed and what needs attention. Use it if you run several projects, clients or workstreams at once, each on its own desk. ## Before you start - This works on every plan. - Have the desks you want to watch already set up. - The Desk agent part needs AI to be set up: PlexiDesk credits while you are signed in, or your own Anthropic key. See [AI credits and where your AI runs](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-credits). The portals alone need no AI. ## 1. Make the control-room desk Create a new desk for the control room, and give it a name such as *Control room* or *This week*. See [Create a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-create). ## 2. Add a portal for each desk 1. On the control-room desk, click **Add widget** in the centre of the header, and in the **Desk layout** column click **Portal**. 2. The portal lists your other desks. Click the first desk you want to watch. 3. Repeat for each desk. Each portal shows a live miniature of its desk, refreshed every few seconds while you are on the control room. Click a portal to go to that desk. ## 3. Arrange them To keep the portals tidy, put them in a section: 1. Hold `Shift` and click each portal's title bar to select them. 2. Click **Group** on the bar that appears above them. 3. On the new section's name tag, click the **Grid** layout button, and double-click the name to call it, for example, *Projects*. The portals line up in even rows, up to four across. See [Section widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-section). Make each portal larger to see more of its desk. Drag its edges, or use the **−** and **+** buttons in its title bar. ## 4. Add an agent that reads them all 1. Add a **Desk agent** to the control-room desk. It is in the **Build & automate** column of **Add widget**. 2. Wire each portal into the agent: point at the portal, click the link button in its title bar, click the agent, and choose **Feed in as context**. 3. Give the agent its instruction. For example: *For each desk, list in one line what changed and anything that looks overdue or stuck. Put the desks that need me today first.* 4. Choose when it runs. **Manual** runs only when you click **Run**. **Interval** runs on a timer while the control-room desk is open. For a regular check, choose **Interval** and set the seconds beside **Active**, such as 3600 for once an hour. 5. In **Write to**, choose **Add a Note…** so each report lands in a note beside the agent. 6. Click **Run** to get the first report. When it runs, the agent reads each desk the portals show: the desk's name and a short summary of each widget on it. Widgets inside sections and pinned widgets on those desks are left out. > **Tip:** > The **Monitor** quick job sets this up in one click: it watches the wired sources, flags what is new since the last run, and runs every hour. Click **Monitor** under **Quick jobs** while the instruction box is empty, then edit the instruction to suit you. See [Desk agent widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-desk-agent). ## Wire each portal in, rather than through one You can also wire several portals into one portal with no desk chosen. It becomes a **Rollup** that combines them, and you can wire the Rollup into the agent. See [Portal widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-portal). For a report on several desks, wiring each portal straight into the agent usually works better. The agent reads up to the first 2,000 characters of each thing wired into it, so a single Rollup holding several desks is cut short, while separate portals give each desk its own share. ## Use your control room - **Start your day there.** Glance at the portals, read the agent's latest report, then click into the desk that needs you. - **Keep the agent focused.** Ask for what you need to decide, such as *what is overdue*, *what is waiting on someone else* or *what changed since yesterday*. - **Add a Task link for the one to do next.** A [Task link](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-task-link) shows a desk's due date and has a **5 min** button to make a start. ## Common questions **The agent does not run when a watched desk changes.** **On change** runs when a widget wired into the agent changes, and a portal's own settings do not change when its desk does. Use **Interval**, or click **Run**. **A portal shows Empty desk, but the desk has widgets.** Portals leave out widgets inside sections and pinned widgets, and so does the agent. Move the widgets you want watched out of their section on that desk. **Can a portal show a desk in another room?** Yes. A portal can show any of your desks except the one it is on, and archived desks. **Does the control room update when I am not on it?** The portals refresh while you are on the control-room desk, and an **Interval** agent runs while the desk is open. ## Related tasks - [Portal widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-portal) - [Desk agent widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-desk-agent) - [Section widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-section) - [Keep a running summary with a desk agent](https://plexiidesk.com/help/automate-running-summary) - [Link widgets and set up wires](https://plexiidesk.com/help/canvas-link-widgets)