Guide status: Source-confirmed
Get started with Brightdesk Suite
Brightdesk Suite is the starting point for the ten approved Brightdesk desktop products. Use it to choose the products you want in your Suite and open each product in its own window.
Brightdesk is free forever. Brightdesk Suite, all ten approved products and this customer help centre are free for every customer. There are no subscriptions, paid tiers, trials, licence fees or charges to read the Wiki. Customers do not need an account, sign-in or password. Your work is kept on your device.
Before you start
- Use the official Brightdesk installer for your computer when a verified release is available.
- Open the installer and follow the instructions shown by your operating system.
- You do not need to install Node.js or use Terminal or Command Prompt to run Brightdesk.
- Read the Brightdesk Terms and Conditions when they appear.
Choose Accept or Agree to continue. Choosing Decline or Disagree, or closing the required agreement without accepting, prevents the product workspace from opening.
Only use release installers that have passed the checks for your operating system. A configured installer format does not by itself mean that a verified download is available.
Use Home
When Brightdesk Suite opens, Home shows the product screen. The top bar reads Your apps, and the product grid is headed Your products.
Each card shows whether that product is already In your Suite or Available to add. The ten products are:
| Product | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Pages | Letters, reports and formatted documents |
| Sheets | Spreadsheet data, tables and calculations |
| Decks | Slide presentations |
| Notes | Quick notes and ideas |
| Database | Local tables, fields and records |
| Forms | Forms and responses stored on this device |
| Lists | Structured lists and records |
| Planner | Plans, buckets and tasks |
| To Do | Personal tasks and due dates |
| Workspace | Project pages, notes and checklists |
Choose a product guide above for help with that product’s features.
Add or remove products
- Select Apps in the left navigation.
- Find the product you want.
- Choose Add to Suite to make an available product part of your Suite.
- Choose Remove from Suite to remove a product workspace from the Suite.
Adding a product makes its workspace available inside Brightdesk Suite. It does not install a separate desktop product package.
Removing a product from the Suite also does not uninstall a separately installed product and does not delete your local documents or project data.
Open a product
- Return to Home.
- Find a product marked as being in your Suite.
- Choose Open on its card.
The product opens in its own window. Brightdesk Suite stays open.
Each product has its own window. Choosing Open again brings that product’s existing window to the front. Closing one product window leaves the Suite and your other product windows open.
When you are working inside a product window, use Switch product to move to another product that is included and visible in your Suite.
Use Files
Choose Files in the left navigation to access the Suite’s local file actions.
The Files page provides Open file and Save project actions. It is not a full file browser or a list of recent files. Each product also has its own file controls where supported.
Use only file types offered by the current product. Keep a Brightdesk project copy when you plan to continue editing your work.
Notifications, Settings and languages
- Select the Notifications bell to view notification history. Choose Clear all only when you intend to clear that history.
- Select the Settings cogwheel to open Brightdesk Settings.
- In Settings, choose Languages & dictionaries to open the language controls.
- Choose Display language to change Brightdesk menus and labels.
- Choose Proofing language to choose the language used for spelling checks. These are separate settings.
- Use the installed or available language and spelling resources shown on that screen. Return with Back to apps.
The notification area can show official Brightdesk update notices when they are available. However, the current Suite does not yet have a configured update-publishing provider, so live update delivery is not active or verified. Do not expect an update download to be available until an approved Brightdesk release is actually published. Downloading and installing, when available, require a deliberate action.
Keep your work local
Brightdesk products are designed to work on your device. They do not require a customer account or cloud storage to open and use local work.
Use the language controls to choose a display language or proofing language where supported. Language resources are supplied through official Brightdesk language updates. Do not install dictionary files from unapproved sources.
Understand the help guide labels
| Label | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Verified | The steps were run in the named product version and operating system. |
| Source-confirmed | The current implementation or tests support the feature, but the complete user workflow has not been tested. |
| Needs review | The page has not yet been checked against a complete workflow in a current desktop build. |
| Under test | Work exists, but testing is not complete. |
| Planned | The feature is intended for later and is not available guidance. |
| Not available | The current product scope does not include it. |
These guides must not describe a feature as verified until it has been tested in the running desktop product. Interface design artwork is not a genuine product screenshot.