Using the Desktop app of Studio – Home

The Desktop application is used for setting up the communication between Studio and other applications and for controlling some of the features of the Desktop app itself.

The Content Station Desktop app

Figure: The Settings window of the Desktop application.

It can be used for the following features:

Defining which version of InDesign should be used for opening layouts
Defining if articles should be opened in Studio or in InCopy
Automatically opening all types of files in their native application
Setting up a connection to Studio Server through a proxy server
Automatically downloading a file on a user's system when it is routed (Smart Caching)

For more information about these features, see:

Requirements

Using the Desktop app and its features requires the following:

Operating systems:

See the Compatibility Matrix.

For use with Studio:

Google Chrome with the Desktop application extension installed

Installation

The Desktop application comes in 2 parts:

The Desktop application itself
An extension for Google Chrome

Installing the Desktop application

Step 1. Download the file named Studio Desktop App 1.x.x-bx from the Release announcement of Studio, unpack it and double-click the file it contains.

Step 2. Do one of the following:

On MacOS: In the installation window that appears, drag the Desktop application to the Applications folder.
On Windows: Run the installer and wait for it to complete.

Installing the Google Chrome extension

The Google Chrome extension is installed by launching the Desktop application.

Step 1. Do one of the following:

On MacOS: Run the application from the Applications folder.
On Windows: Run the application from the Desktop shortcut or the Start menu.

The following takes place:

The Desktop application is added to the system tray (Windows) or menu bar (MacOS)
Google Chrome is opened
The Web store and the extension for the Desktop application is accessed

The Chrome extension

Figure: The extension for the Desktop application in the Chrome Web store.

Step 2. Click Add to Chrome and confirm that you want to add it.

The extension is added to Chrome and appears in the toolbar.

Figure: The extension added to Chrome.

Accessing the Desktop app

Access the Desktop app by clicking the Desktop app icon in the menu bar (Mac OS X) or in the system tray (Windows).

From here, you can:

Pause Smart Caching
Open the Download Progress window
Access the Settings
Quit the application

Note: When an old version of the Desktop app is installed, the Settings window will appear immediately after clicking the icon.

Settings

To use the Desktop application, it needs to be set up. This is done through the Settings window.

The Content Station Desktop app

Figure: The Settings window of the Desktop application.

General settings

Setting

Description

InDesign version

Set the version of InDesign in which the layouts should be opened.

Article editor

Choose the article editor to use for opening articles: the Studio Print editor (default setting) or a version of InCopy.

Language

Set the language of the Desktop app.

Socket port

For use with Studio

(Optional) Set the socket port through which the communication between the Chrome extension and the Desktop app should take place.

Note: You can also set this by clicking the Chrome extension icon in Chrome.

For use with Studio for InDesign

(Optional) Set the socket port through which the communication between Studio for InDesign and the Desktop app should take place.

Cache size

Set the maximum disk space used for caching files.¹

Note: The following files are cached:

Files that are downloaded by the Desktop app when they are opened for editing and do not yet exist on the system.
Files that are downloaded by the Desktop app when they are routed to you (see Smart Caching).

Cache period

Set the maximum number of days that files are kept in the cache.

Clear cached files

Clears the files that are currently stored in the cache.¹

Start application when starting up your system

(Optional but recommended) Define that the Desktop App should be launched on system start-up (this is the default setting).

¹ Cached files are stored in the following location:

For Windows: C:\Users\USER_FOLDER\AppData\Local\Content Station\cache
For MacOS: Users\USER_FOLDER\Library\Application Support\Content Station\cache

Smart Caching connections

The list of connected Enterprise Servers

Smart Caching makes it possible to automatically download a file to a user's system when the file is routed to that user.

The Smart Caching connections window shows all instances of Studio Server to which a connection has been made for Smart Caching (by logging in when first using Smart Caching). The settings allow you to enable or disable Smart Caching, disconnect or re-connect from an instance of Studio Server, or remove the Studio Server instance completely.

For more information, see Automatically downloading a routed file in Studio.

Proxy server

(Optional, only when a proxy server is used for connecting to Studio Server) Set the proxy settings as described in Connecting the Desktop application to Studio Server through a proxy server.

Configuration files

The configuration files of the Desktop application can be found in the following locations:

Tip: Use this information for example to place a default set of configuration files on the systems of all users.

Windows: C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Content Station
MacOS: /Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/Content Station