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Web & apps widgets

Map, App launcher, SpeedDeck and Browser bring places, apps on your computer, one-click buttons and websites onto a desk.

All plansUpdated

The Web & apps widgets connect a desk to things outside it: a place on a map, an app on your computer, a panel of buttons that open apps and websites or press keys for you, and a live website. Each one sits on the desk beside the work it belongs to, so you are not hunting for it when you need it.

The four widgets

They appear in this order in the Add widget menu.

Map

A real map of a real address or place. Search for it and the map puts a pin on it. Drag to look around, zoom in and out, and open the spot in OpenStreetMap in your web browser. Use it for a venue, a client's office, a property or a site visit. See Map widget.

App launcher

A tile that opens an app on your computer with one click, or brings it to the front when it is already open. You make one by dragging an app from Connected Apps in the side menu onto the desk. See App launcher widget.

SpeedDeck

A panel of 30 buttons, ten across and three down. A button can open an app or a website, press a keyboard shortcut, type text, control music and volume, or run several steps in a row. Folders hold further pages of 30 buttons. See SpeedDeck widget.

Browser

A website on your desk. Type an address, click Load, and work in the site without leaving the desk. See Browser widget.

Add one to a desk

  1. Open the desk.
  2. Click Add widget in the middle of the header.
  3. Choose Map, App launcher, SpeedDeck or Browser.

The Add widget menu groups widgets into columns by what you want to do, and these four sit together in the Web & apps column. To find one quickly, type part of its name in the search box at the top of the menu, then press Enter to add the first match.

There are quicker ways too:

  • Press B for a Browser. With a desk open and nothing being typed, B adds a Browser straight away, unless you have changed the key. Browser is the only widget in this group with a key of its own. See Add widgets with a single key.
  • Use the command palette. Press ⌘ K on a Mac (Ctrl K on Windows), type the widget's name, and choose Add Map, Add App launcher, Add SpeedDeck or Add Browser. See Search and commands.
  • Drag a connected app onto the desk. An app on your computer becomes an App launcher tile, and a web app becomes a Browser widget showing that app. See Connected apps and browser extensions, below.

Before you start

  • Plans. All four widgets are on every plan.
  • An internet connection for Map and Browser. The map and its place search come from OpenStreetMap, and a Browser loads the site you open.
  • Mac or Windows. SpeedDeck buttons that open apps and websites work on both. Buttons that press keyboard shortcuts, type text, control media or set the volume work on a Mac only. On a Mac, the first three need Accessibility permission, and PlexiDesk asks for it the first time one is pressed. See Allow keyboard control on a Mac.
  • App launcher on Windows. A tile opens the program you chose. The app's own icon and the green running dot show on a Mac only.

Connected apps and browser extensions

Connected apps are websites and apps on your computer that you keep at hand in PlexiDesk. While a desk is open, they are listed under Connected Apps in the side menu, ready to drag onto the desk:

To add one, open a desk and click the + beside the Connected Apps heading. See Add and use connected apps Coming soon.

You can also add, pin and remove connected apps with no desk open. Click the gear at the right of the header to open Settings, then choose the Advanced tab. The same tab has Browser extensions, where you add extensions that run in PlexiDesk's browser, including the Browser widget. See Add Chrome extensions to Plexii's browser Coming soon.

AI in these widgets

SpeedDeck has an AI button of its own in the deck's top row. Describe the button you want and it builds one, or it suggests buttons from the apps you use. See Build SpeedDeck buttons with AI.

These widgets also have an AI button in their title bar: the sparkle at the start of the buttons on the right.

  • On a Browser, it works out which site you mean from a description. Rest the pointer on it to see Find with AI, or Change with AI once the Browser shows a page.
  • On a Map, it opens the Plexii panel with the map attached, so you can ask Plexii about the place.
  • On an App launcher or a SpeedDeck, it opens the Plexii panel, where you can ask Plexii a question.

See Use a widget's AI button.

Which one to use

  • To keep a place in view, use a Map.
  • To open the apps a piece of work needs, put an App launcher for each one on its desk.
  • To have many shortcuts in one place, or to do several steps with one click, use a SpeedDeck. Set it to Universal and the same buttons appear in every SpeedDeck set to Universal on your computer.
  • To work in a website, use a Browser. If you use the site often, add it as a connected app and drag it onto each desk that needs it.

Everything in this section

Common questions

I cannot see Connected Apps in the side menu. They are listed there while a desk is open, because they are there to be dragged onto it. Open a desk first.

I added App launcher from the Add widget menu and the tile says Linked app was removed. A tile made that way has no app linked to it. Remove it, then drag the app from Connected Apps onto the desk instead. See App launcher widget.

Do SpeedDeck buttons work on Windows? Buttons that open an app or a website do. Keyboard shortcut, Type text, Media control and Set volume buttons work on a Mac only. See SpeedDeck actions and multi-step macros.

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