Getting Started with DeskDirector
Admin Console
Admin Console : Getting Started
Portal
Settings
Profile
Features
Tickets
Permissions
Portal Permissions in DeskDirector
FastTrack in DeskDirector
Setting Up and Using the VIP Priority
How to setup the Flag feature (ConnectWise)
Quotes (ConnectWise)
Invoices (ConnectWise)
Service Catalogue
Forms
Getting started with DeskDirector Forms
DeskDirector Forms - Question Types in Detail
DeskDirector Forms - Dynamic Fields
DeskDirector Forms - Dynamic Fields Implementation Example
DeskDirector Forms - Sections and Conditionals
DeskDirector Forms - Embed content
DeskDirector Forms - Replace Summary Field with Title Automation
DeskDirector Forms - Dynamic content
DeskDirector Forms - Field value format for automation
Service Catalogue
Service Types
Service Groups
Enable or Disable the 'Something Else' Option
Companies
Contacts
Managing Contacts in DeskDirector
Exporting Contacts as CSV
Ticket Group Permissions
Contact Impersonation
Menu Items
Learning Center
Notebooks
Portal Access
Feature Preview
DeskDirector Desktop Portal V5
Tech
System
Feature Configuration
Default Board and Source
Adding a VIP Priority via the Admin Console
Automatic Contact Creation
Updating, Closing, and Reopening Tickets
Branding your DeskDirector Portal
Hosts Configuration
Office Hours
Advanced
Analytics
Account
Task Lists
Contact Authentication Audit Log
Tech Portal
Tech Portal : Getting Started
Tickets
Managing Tickets from the Tech Portal
Tech Portal Ticket Details
Creating a Ticket from the Tech Portal
Request more information (forms request) with Task Forms
Enable/Disable Time Entry Timer Autostart
Chat
Getting Started with DeskDirector Chat
Handling Chat Requests
Viewing Chat History from the Tech Portal
Creating a Chat Session from the Tech Portal
Changing your Presence
"Pre-Ticket Chat" Feature
"Call me Back" Feature
Macros
Client Portal
Client Portal : Getting Started
Contact Support
Creating a Ticket from the Client Portal
Submitting a Generic Ticket
Creating a Chat Session from the Client Portal
Viewing Chat History from the Client Portal
Tickets
Quotes & Invoices
Deskdirector - Sign up walk through
Logging in to DeskDirector
Tickets & Chats
DeskDirector Roles and Permissions
A walk through all the fields available in DeskDirector forms
Getting Started with Custom Email Templates
Getting Started with Surveys
Notifications & Broadcasts
BiggerBrains & Learning Center
Features
Login & Authentication
Custom Branding
Approvals
Notifications
Email Notifications
Email Template Engine
Surveys
Broadcasts
Custom Menus
Easy Integrations
Analytics
Other DeskDirector Features
Ticket Dynamic Contents
The Learning Center
Menus
Menu Items
User Groups
Integrations
ConnectBooster
Wise-Pay
QuoteWerks
ConnectWise Sell (previously Quosal)
How to configure ConnectWise Sell (previously Quosal) Order Porter integration
Adding ConnectWise Sell (previously Quosal) Order Porter Link to Opportunity
Microsoft Flow (Power Automate)
Get started with the DeskDirector Power Automate Connector
Power Automate Administration
Power Automate Template Gallery
Featured Solution: Teams Ticket Discussion
Featured Solution: Ticket Briefing
DeskDirector Connector Triggers
Action: Create an email from template
Power Automate Connector - Setting up your first flow
Getting Support for the DeskDirector Connector for Power Automate
AutoTask
ConnectWise
BiggerBrains
Logging the ConnectWise API
Microsoft Teams App
Introducing the DeskDirector for Microsoft Team App
Setting up Content Security Policy (CSP)
Installing the Microsoft Teams App (Tech)
Setting up Tags for Teams Discussions (Tech)
Setting up DeskDirector for Microsoft Teams for your clients (Client mode)
Branding the DeskDirector Teams App
DeskDirector Teams App Notifications
User Groups Integration with Microsoft Teams
Troubleshooting
Advanced topic: Setting up Tech & Client Mode in the same tenancy
Integrating Microsoft Teams with DeskDirector Tech Portal
Smart Alerts for Tech Users
Release Notes - DeskDirector Teams App
Contact Support
Troubleshooting
APIs and Integration
ConnectWise 2019.5+
Autotask integration major update 2022
ConnectWise Member Impersonation
Autotask Resource Impersonation
Autotask 2020.3 integration (API) resource migration
Third-party integration with DeskDirector
Authentication
Desktop Portal
Diagnosing DeskDirector Desktop Portal Issues
DD Portal for Mac: Labtech Deployment Guide
DDPortal removal tool - uninstalling Windows portals
Deploying DD Desktop Portal v5 via PowerShell
Desktop Portal v5 Installation & Common Issues
Instance & Account Queries
Setting up your custom domain
Contact Limits FAQs
Finding out what server your DeskDirector instance is on.
How search works in DeskDirector products
Portal and User Issues
User can't log in
DeskDirector Portal Browser Support
Contact can't login portal, the contact is missing in admin console but it is in ConnectWise
DeskDirector Tech Portal - How to take advantage of browser tabs
Add DeskDirector Tech Portal as a Custom Menu item inside ConnectWise Manage
Sign in with Microsoft Issue in Tech or Admin Console - "Need Admin Approval"
How do I add Tech Members/Contacts/Companies to my DeskDirector instance?
Time Stamps in DeskDirector Portal
Missing contacts or companies in DeskDirector but they are in my PSA
User Group FAQs
Chat permission granted but "Chat" option is missing on "Contact Support" page
How do we set a landing page for the client portal?
Other Articles
Login & Authentication - Common Issues
DeskDirector Desktop App - Installation Issues
Tickets & Chats - Common Issues
ConnectWise Integration - Common Issues
Approvals - Common Issues
Troubleshooting via Web Developer Tools
Switching PSA or merging with another CW/AT instance
How to Allow Time Entries for StreamlineIT Members
Email & Email Delivery - Common Issues
Essential and Dynamic Plan Breakdown
Advanced Use
Generative AI
DeskDirector with Generative AI
Setting up AI Service Providers
AI Assistants in DeskDirector
Custom Tools for AI Assistants
Knowledge Bases for AI Assistants
Ticket Summary for Tech Portal
DeskDirector API
Subscribing to Chat Webhooks
Portal Deep Linking
Webhook Example with Zapier
Chat Session Payload
Get started with portal extension page demo
Dynamic content based on logged in user
Clean Tickets
Exporting Portal Usage
TimeZest integration with DeskDirector
Troubleshooting Connectwise/Autotask-related integration issues
Security
Glossary
Release Notes
Client Portal
Server
Tech Portal
Portal Release Notes - Windows/macOS
Differences Between different Desktop Portal version
Portal Release Notes - Web Client
Release Notes in the Admin Portal
Archived
- All Categories
- Troubleshooting
- Desktop Portal
- Desktop Portal v5 Installation & Common Issues
Desktop Portal v5 Installation & Common Issues
Procedure to Install Desktop App - Version 5
Installation using the installer package
- Download evergreen standalone WebView2
- Download package from admin portal (Do not download MSI, MSI is only for people who are familiar with advanced installer concepts).
- Install WebView2 for given machine. Try install for everyone of that machine.
- Unzip whole package zip file under a folder
- Navigate inside the folder, you will see 4 files.
- MSI installer
- favicon.png which is your portal's default favicon.
- logo.png same as favicon, it is your portal's default.
- appsettings.json for individual customization of installation.
- Run the MSI file. It will install the desktop app.
Custom Installation using the MSI Installer
With version 5, you can modify the portal name, favicon and logo as you wish. The package installer is to provide a shortcut and simplifies the installation process. You can change favicon and logo files, as long as they are proper PNG format. (do not change JPEG image's extension to PNG. This is actually a common issue that repeatedly occur.)
{
"Homepage": "https://your-domain.deskdirector.com",
"PortalName": "Support portal",
"CompanyName": "DeskDirector",
"TechPortalMode": false
}
- Homepage: We recommend using your DeskDirector subdomain, since it will remain with the server as long as you are with us. If you use a custom domain, the desktop application will need to be redeployed every time the domain changes.
- PortalName: The shortcut name or application name that appears in the installed apps section.
- CompanyName: The start menu folder name.
- TechPortalMode: This should always be false. The flag allows the tab system in the application and also includes TECH-specific features, such as which menu item will be added to the system tray.
You can change the above settings or images before or after installation. If you customized any of them after installation, you can hit MSI again for repair.
How to disable app auto-start?
- To disable app auto-start, set the ENABLEAUTOSTART parameter to 0(zero). Usage example:
msiexec /i "ddtech.msi" /L*V "install.log" ENABLEAUTOSTART=0
You can verify that this setting has applied under the following directory in the users registry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

Or in the local machine registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
How to roll out version 5?
You can split the installation into 3 separate roll out tasks:
- Roll out WebView2 evergreen browser under machine wide installation. Different to Electron, where you are required to install electron for each application installation. WebView2 can serve any application that depends on it. Thus, our installer is not bundled with WebView2.
- Roll out desktop portal version 5. You can have script to dispatch and unzip package for given machine, then install by execute MSI. We will not provide download link for package, you can host your package under AWS S3 or Azure Blob storage.
If you want to automate installing the Desktop Portal v5, follow this guide.
Desktop v5 common installation issues
Missing appsettings.json error
This app settings file appsettings.json specifies the important settings of the desktop portal that is being installed, e.g. the portal branding name and the server endpoint of your DeskDirector instance. Please make sure the file exists in the same folder as the installer.
Note that when the installer package is downloaded from the Admin portal, the appsettings.json file is automatically created in the package. Please unzip the package first. Go inside the directory where the files are extracted, then attempt the installation of the app from there.
The error normally triggers if the installer is clicked from inside the zip file, thus, it does not see where the physical location is of the appsettings.json file.
Missing favicon.png or logo.png error
The branding icon files favicon.png and logo.png are required when installing the Client portal, please make sure they are in the same folder as the installer. When installing the Tech portal, these files are optional.
If installing the desktop app using the package, please unzip the package first. Go inside the directory where the files are extracted, then attempt the installation of the app from there.
The error normally triggers if the installer is clicked from inside the zip file, thus, it does not see where the physical location is of the favicon file.
Is there a way for .NET and/or WebView2 to be packaged with the installer so we can easily deploy it?
As of the moment, there is no plan to bundle them with our installer. They must first be installed to the machine before the DD installer can be installed successfully.
Other installation issues
Please check the logs in the following folders in the machine that is having issues, if you contact us for support please also attach the log files.
For Client portal
%localappdata%\DeskDirector Portal\logs
For Tech portal
%localappdata%\DeskDirector Tech\logs
No installation logs
If the installation of the desktop app is failing, and there are no logs in the directory mentioned above, you can create Windows installation logs.
Please follow this guide on how to create installation logs.
When are you fully deprecating v3 and v4 of the desktop portal?
Both V3 and V4 are fully deprecated and no longer supported.