Send to a URL widget

The Send to a URL widget passes your desk's updates on to another service. You give it a web address, then wire a widget into it. Each time that widget's content changes, PlexiDesk sends the new content to the address.

Use it when another service should hear about changes on your desk: an automation service that starts a workflow, an incoming-message address for a chat channel, or your own server.

For the opposite direction, where another service sends information onto your desk, use the Receive from a URL widget.

Before you start

• The Send to a URL widget is on every plan.
• You need the web address that should receive your updates. The service you are sending to gives you this. It usually calls it a webhook URL. It must start with https:// or http://.
• Sending happens from the PlexiDesk app on your computer, so PlexiDesk must be open.

Add a Send to a URL widget

1. Open the desk you want it on.
2. Click Add widget in the centre of the header.
3. In the Build & automate column, click Send to a URL.

Other ways to add one:

• From the widget whose content you want to send. Right-click its title bar and choose Create & link > Send to a URL. The new widget appears beside it, already wired to it. Skip to Set the address.
• Right-click an empty part of the desk and choose Add object > Advanced > Send to a URL.
• Press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows, type send to a url and choose Add Send to a URL.

Set the address

1. Click in the address box at the top of the widget.
2. Paste the web address you were given.
3. Press Enter, or click somewhere else. The address is saved.

Check the address with a test

Click Send test. The button shows Sending…, then the result appears beside it:

The test sends a small sample message, {"test":true,"from":"PlexiDesk","at":"…"}, with the time it was sent. Some services use the first message they receive to learn what your messages look like, so you may want to send a real update instead. See the next section.

Wire in what to send

1. Point at the widget whose content you want to send, then click the link button in its title bar. Its tooltip says Click, then click another widget to connect them.
2. Click the Send to a URL widget.
3. In How should this connect?, choose any option. A wire into Send to a URL always sends the content as it is, whichever you choose.

From now on, about a second after the content changes, it is sent to the address. A burst of quick edits sends once, not once per keystroke. See Link widgets and set up wires.

You can wire more than one widget into the same Send to a URL widget. Each one sends its own content when it changes.

What is sent

Each update is sent as a POST request with the header content-type: application/json. The body is the widget's content, as it is:

For readable updates from anything else, wire it into a Desk agent that writes the update you want, and wire the agent into Send to a URL. Picture and video widgets cannot be sent: the wire shows An image has no text to send.

See whether it worked

• On the wire. If a send fails, the badge on the wire turns red and gives the reason, such as Add a URL to this webhook before sending. or the error from the service.
• In the Automations panel. Click the lightning-bolt button in the corner of the desk (its tooltip says Automations on this desk). Each wire into a Send to a URL widget is listed, with Webhook · POSTs to a URL on change under it and its status: Hasn't sent yet, Sent and how long ago, Stale — source changed, Last send failed or Off. See See what runs on its own on a desk.

A failed send is not retried. The next change sends again.

Pause or stop sending

• To pause, open the Automations panel and turn off the switch beside the wire. Turn it on again to resume.
• To stop for good, delete the wire or the widget.

Publishing a live view

When you publish a live view of a desk, a Send to a URL widget shows as a placeholder. Its address is not published. See Publish a live view of a desk.

Common questions

I wired a widget in, but nothing was sent. Sending starts with the next change. Edit the widget, wait a second, then check the Automations panel. Also check that the wire is on, and that PlexiDesk was open when the change was made.

The test worked, but real updates are rejected. The service may expect JSON in a particular shape, while a note sends plain text. Send through a Desk agent that writes the shape the service expects. See What is sent.

Can I add my own headers to each request? No. Each request carries only the content-type header.

Does it send when my computer is off? No. Updates are sent from the PlexiDesk app, while it is open.

Related tasks

• Send desk updates to other services and receive events back
• Receive from a URL widget
• Link widgets and set up wires
• See what runs on its own on a desk
• Build & automate widgets