PluggedDesk
Documentation Start Updated

Getting started

From a license key to a first remote session, in about ten minutes.

What you need

  • A computer with Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit. PluggedDesk does not run on macOS or Linux yet.
  • A license key (it looks like PD-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX), or an Exprezoe account if you work at Exprezoe.
  • A computer to connect to, with Remote Desktop switched on, and an account that may log on to it.

No administrator rights are needed: PluggedDesk installs for your Windows account only.

1. Download

  1. Open Downloads and sign in with your license key.
  2. Choose Download installer.
  3. Before you run the file, verify it. The installer is not yet signed with a publisher certificate, so the checksum is how you know the file is the one we released.

2. Install

Run the installer. Windows SmartScreen will say the publisher is unknown: choose More info, then Run anyway. That warning is expected until the installer carries a publisher certificate. It is the reason step 1.3 matters.

PluggedDesk installs under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PluggedDesk and adds a PluggedDesk entry to the Start menu. To remove it, use Settings › Apps. Your workspace and settings are kept in %APPDATA%\PluggedDesk and are not removed with the application.

3. Activate

  1. Start PluggedDesk and choose Help › License.
  2. Enter your license key and choose Activate.

The installation takes one seat of your license. You can see your installations, and give a seat back, on your account page. More about seats is in Licenses and seats.

PluggedDesk works without being activated. What activation gives an installation is updates.

4. Add a computer

  1. In the Explorer, point at WORKSPACE and choose New folder. Give it a name.
  2. Point at the folder and choose +. Give the computer a name and its host name or address.
  3. Point at the computer and choose + to add a connection. Keep RDP, and change the port if it is not 3389.

Every change is written to your workspace file at once. If you already have .rdp files, right-click a folder and choose Import .rdp… instead.

5. Connect

Double-click the connection, or select it and press Enter. PluggedDesk asks for a user name and a password. By default the password is used for this one attempt and kept nowhere. Tick Remember to keep it in Windows Credential Manager.

The tab shows each step as it happens: resolving the credential, connecting, authenticating, connected. If the attempt fails, the tab says why, in words.

If the server's certificate is self-signed, the attempt ends with certificate rejected. That is the strict default doing its work. See Certificates for what to do, and what each choice means.

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