Documentation

Welcome to Deskman Manager. In this guide you will find detailed information about this application; how it works and how to set it up, among others.

Deskman Manager is a tool specifically created to assist Deskman users. With Deskman Manager, users will be able to manage Deskman installations from a centralized computer on the network.

Deskman Manager is easy to install and use. Check the list of minimum requirements below.

This documentation is valid for Deskman Manager, available at anfibia.net.

The latest Deskman Manager version is always available on our website. The installation program includes everything you need. Check the system and software requirements below.

Requirements

The requirements below list the minimal configuration. Microsoft Windows 64-bit versions are required. Any better hardware or newer software may be used; latest versions of Windows and supported web browsers are recommended. If you experience problems nonetheless, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Deskman
  • Deskman 10.1, or later
  • License with maintenance plan
Operating System
  • Windows 10
  • Windows 11
Hardware
  • 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor
  • At least 2 GB of memory
  • 500MB available disk space
Web Browser
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Microsoft Edge

Installation

To install Deskman Manager, execute deskmanagersetup.exe and follow the directions that appear on screen. If an old version is found, it will be automatically updated. Old settings will be preserved when possible.

The setup program accepts optional command line parameters for fast deployment and unattended installation. Parameters can be used alone, or in conjunction.

/silent, /verysilent Instructs the setup program to be silent or very silent. When the setup program is silent the wizard and the background window are not displayed but the installation progress window is. When a setup is very silent the installation progress window is not displayed. Silent setups do not open Deskman Manager when finished.

Uninstallation

To uninstall Deskman Manager, open Windows Settings, locate the Apps section, select Deskman Manager and find the Uninstall option. All Deskman Manager data will be removed from your computer, including logs.

Setup

After the installation is over, Deskman Manager runs on your system, ready to work. Deskman Manager is web-based, which means you need to open it on your web browser. To open Deskman Manager on the same computer where it's installed, point your browser to http://localhost:3388 or http://127.0.0.1:3388.

  • Deskman Manager requires a web browser for configuration, but it is not in the cloud.
  • Deskman Manager must be manually installed.
  • Open Deskman Manager by visiting http://localhost:3388.
  • Set up permissions! Protect Deskman Manager with username and password, by visiting the settings page.
  • In case of need, remember you can open Deskman Manager from any system connected to the same network by using your local IP address or hostname, for example http://192.168.1.22:3388 or http://DESKTOP-PGDMNT:3388.

License

You are permitted to use this software on your system free of charge. Payment is not required to use Deskman Manager.

However, this software is designed to be used in conjunction with Deskman. In particular, with installations using a licensed version of Deskman with a valid maintenance plan.

Check the EULA at the bottom for more details.

Using Deskman Manager

A web browser is required to configure Deskman Manager — updated versions of Firefox, Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Safari are supported.

Installations

In this section is where you manage your Deskman installations.

Network

In general, Deskman Manager will find installations automatically after a few minutes if:

  • Installations are running on the same network as Deskman Manager.
  • Installations follow the requirements below.
  • Firewalls are properly configured.

In order to add installations manually, click on the Add installation option at the top and enter the IP address. Wildcards accepted, like 192.168.1.*

Filter

Enter text in the filter box and press return to search for specific data in your installations list.

Requirements

Deskman Manager only works with installations using Deskman version 10.1 or later. In addition, a maintenance plan is required: licenses with expired maintenance, or licensing issues, cannot not be managed — logs are not retrieved until maintenance is renewed. Check your license's status from the Licenses section.

Important! Once found, installations cannot be managed until their license number is added to the Licenses section.

Actions

The Actions button allows you to use the following options, after selecting one installation, at least:

  • Refresh: contacts selected installations requesting the latest details, useful for installations on different networks.
  • Remove: removes selected installations from the list and their corresponding logs.

Central Log

Deskman Manager automatically polls logs from your Deskman installations. Specifically from installations present in the installations section with no licensing issues.

Logs are fetched from each installation, leaving original logs intact. However, Deskman Manager keeps logs forever, in contrast with Deskman that removes them after 30 days. You can find the total number of log lines and used disk space at the right side of the Central Log screen.

Search

By default, Deskman Manager looks for values that match your entered text in the following fields: origin and description. You can use filters to refine your searches as seen below:

  • text: searches for text in origin and description
  • host:text: searches for text in the host field
  • type:text: searches for text in the type field, where text must be info, warn or error
  • origin:text: searches for text in the origin field
  • description:text: searches for text in the description field
  • time:today: searches for today's events
  • time:2021-08-30: searches for events created on a specific date
  • time:">2021-08-02 13:44": searches for events created on a specific time and date
  • time:">last week": searches for last week's events
  • time:">10 days ago": searches for events in the last 10 days
  • time:">2021-08-02" time:"<2021-08-05": searches for events between 2 dates, not included

Multiple filters are allowed, for example: time:today description:"suspended restrictions" or type:warn type:error host:DESKTOP-CP892AB suspended.

Note also that if your text is a phrase you'll need quotation marks, like time:">last week".

Export

Click the Export button to export the current log view to a CSV file.

Options

Access the Central Log options section by clicking Options at the top.

  • Polling interval: indicates the period of time that Deskman Manager waits to fetch logs from Deskman installations; select never to disable log polling.
  • Lines per page: select the maximum number of log lines per page.

Licenses

In this section you can manage your licenses, keeping track of used copies and license status.

Management

Add licenses by clicking on the Add license option at the top. You will need to add licenses in order to manage registered installations found on your network. Without adding the proper license, registered installations cannot be managed.

Copies

This section shows you the number of registered installations, found on your network.

Note the following:

  • Make sure there is no disparity between registered copies and permitted copies, per license, to avoid licensing issues.
  • Click on a license to check its status: a red-colored license would indicate that there are critical issues.
Actions

Select one, or more, licenses and click on the Actions button to use one of the following options:

  • Validate: checks license status online.
  • Remove: removes selected licenses from the list.

Settings

In this section you can create user and password, which is highly recommended, among other options. Remember to click on Save when finished, located at the top right side.

Account
Username Name of the login account.
Password Password for the login account.
Options
Session timeout Enter the session timeout, in minutes. By default, sessions expire after 30 minutes of inactivity. Inactive users are automatically logged out after the limit is reached and need to enter their credentials again.
Diagnostics Click the button to generate a diagnostics file, in case our tech support team requests it.
Light theme Check this option to apply a light theme to the interface.

How to...

Manage offline installations

Isolated installations cannot be found by Deskman Manager, for obvious reasons. In that case, the licensee is required to take them into account when interpreting license data. That is, if you have copies that are unaccounted for, make sure the total number of registered copies is not higher than the total number of copies allowed by your license to avoid licensing issues.

Move registered copies to different computers

In order to migrate registered copies to a different computer, follow these steps:

  • Uninstall Deskman
  • Remove your Deskman installation from Deskman Manager, from the Installations page
  • Install Deskman and register your new Deskman installation
Stop log polling

Go to the Central Log page, then click on Options at the top, and select Never in the Polling interval option.

Validate licenses

Go to the Licenses page, select one, or multiple, licenses, click on Actions, select Validate and confirm.

Remove logs

Logs are deleted when the corresponding installation is removed. See below.

Remove installations

Go to the Installations page, select one, or multiple, installations, click on Actions, select Remove and confirm.

Privacy

This privacy statement refers to the product Deskman Manager. Please, check our online privacy statement for complementary information.

What information does Anfibia Software collect regarding Deskman Manager?

Deskman Manager is not an online service. Deskman Manager is self-hosted software. The software is installed on your computer, and only you have access to it. As such, we do not remotely collect private data: emails, passwords, credit card numbers, phone numbers, usernames, configurations, logs, IP addresses, etc. We only collect anonymous information the first time the software is installed. Upon installation, we store anonymous usage data in our server which exclusively includes: date, country, operating system and product version.

When you purchase a Deskman license, we store name, organization, address, and email, as provided by you, the buyer -directly- or through our e-commerce partners Stripe and Lemon Squeezy. Check their Privacy Policy here and here, respectively.

When you register your Deskman copy, we store (and validate) your registration key in our server.

What is done with the information?

We may contact you using your email address to inform you of new versions or for customer support; if you wish for us to not do that, please reply and let us know.

How is my information protected?

The Deskman websites and servers use industry standard protocols to protect all information obtained including SSL encryption (secure socket layers), and hardware firewalls.

Why and how does Deskman Manager use cookies?

A cookie is a small piece of data sent to your web browser by a server and stored on your hard drive. Many websites leave a cookie on your machine in order to identify you should you return. Cookies can not read any data from your hard drive other than what is already included in the cookie. Deskman Manager stores a cookie on your computer to keep track of your browser session.

How is Deskman Manager protected from remote intrusions?

The user is able to activate a login screen which asks for user and password in order to access Deskman Manager. Passwords are not stored—hashes are, which means that the original passwords cannot be retrieved.

What if I have a question or problem related to my privacy?

Please contact us at anfibia.net or privacy@anfibia.net.

Consent

You must consent to this privacy policy to use Deskman Manager.

EULA

End-user Software License Agreement

Notice to users: Carefully read the following legal agreement. Use of the software provided with this agreement (the "software") constitutes your acceptance of these terms. If you do not agree to the terms of this agreement, do not install and/or use this software. User's use of this software is conditioned upon compliance by user with the terms of this agreement.

1. License grant. Anfibia Software grants you a license to use a copy of Deskman Manager free of charge. "You" means a company, entity or individual. "Use" means storing, loading, installing, executing or displaying the software. You may not modify the software or disable any licensing or control features of the software except as an intended part of the software's programming features.

1.1 Software misuse. This software should never be installed, or used, without the PC administrator's consent. This software is designed for use when any required consents have been obtained, and is not intended for the surreptitious interception of private data. Anfibia Software declines all responsibility concerning any illicit usage.

2. Ownership. The software is owned and copyrighted by Anfibia Software. Your license confers no title or ownership in the software and should not be construed as a sale of any right in the software.

3. Copyright. The software is protected by European copyright laws and international treaty provisions. You acknowledge that no title to the intellectual property in the software is transferred to you. You further acknowledge that title and full ownership rights to the software will remain the exclusive property of Anfibia Software and you will not acquire any rights to the software except as expressly set forth in this license. You agree that any copies of the software will contain the same proprietary notices which appear on and in the software.

4. Reverse engineering. You agree that you will not attempt to reverse compile, modify, translate, or disassemble the software in whole or in part.

5. No other warranties. Anfibia Software does not warrant that the software is error free. Anfibia Software disclaims all other warranties with respect to the software, either express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and noninfringement of third party rights. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties or limitations on how long an implied warranty may last, or the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

6. Severability. In the event of invalidity of any provision of this license, the parties agree that such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this license.

7. No liability for consequential damages. In no event shall Anfibia Software be liable to you for any consequential, special, incidental or indirect damages of any kind arising out of the delivery, performance or use of the software, even if Anfibia Software has been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event will Anfibia Software's liability for any claim, whether in contract, tort or any other theory of liability, exceed the license fee paid by you, if any.

8. Governing law. This license will be governed by the European law. The united nations convention on contracts for the international sale of goods is specifically disclaimed.

9. Entire agreement. This is the entire agreement between you and Anfibia Software which supersedes any prior agreement or understanding, whether written or oral, relating to the subject matter of this license.

Deskman Manager Copyright © 2021-2023 by Anfibia Software.