Devices, address book, groups and favorites

Organize the computers you connect to in the operator console: name them, sort them into groups and tags, add favorites or delete them from your address book.

Last updated:

The Devices page in the operator console is your address book. When you connect to a computer, it is added to your address book automatically — you don't have to do anything else. The list is personal: each operator only sees the devices they have connected to or saved.

The device card

Each device is shown as a card. On the card you'll see:

  • The device name (the name you gave it, or its computer name) and its 9-digit ID
  • Its online status (green dot) or Last seen time
  • The operating system label, plus its group and tags if it has any
  • Edit (pencil), Delete from address book (trash can) and favorite (star) buttons in the top-right corner

If the device is online, click Connect at the bottom of the card to connect right away; if it's offline, the button says Offline and can't be used. The list refreshes itself every few seconds; to refresh immediately, click Refresh in the top-right corner.

If the console has remembered the device's permanent access password, Connect opens the session without a password or approval. See Set up unattended access.

Name, group and tag a device

  1. Open Devices from the left menu.
  2. Click the pencil icon on the card you want to edit. The Edit Device window opens.
  3. In Name, type a name you'll recognize (e.g. "Accounting - Ayse"). If you leave it empty, the computer name is shown.
  4. Start typing in Group. Existing groups are suggested together with their device counts; if you type a name that isn't in the list, an Add new group option appears.
  5. In Tags, type tags separated by commas (e.g. server, priority).
  6. In Session to show, choose which session opens by default when you connect to this device: Active session or Sign-in screen.
  7. Click Save. The Device updated notification appears.
Session to show is useful when the console remembers the device's password and the session opens directly, without the Connecting to device… window. It only applies to computers with the Polpo Desk service installed; the choice in the Connecting to device… window can still override it for a single connection. See Set up unattended access.

To create an empty group first, click + (New group) next to the Groups heading in the left menu and type the group name. An empty group doesn't appear in the left menu; it is listed once you edit a device and assign it to that group.

Using groups for customers or branches and tags for device types (server, till, laptop) makes searching much easier.
  • In the Groups list on the left, choose All, a group, or Ungrouped. The number of devices is shown next to each group.
  • Click a tag under Tags to see only the devices with that tag; click the same tag again to clear the filter.
  • When you type in the Search device, ID or customer… box at the top, the console switches to the Devices page and filters the list by name, ID, group and tags.

When you type part of an ID or a device name into the Connect to Remote Device box on the home page, devices you've connected to before are suggested as well. Select one with the arrow keys and press Enter to connect right away.

Favorites

  • To add a device to your favorites, click the star (☆) on its card; the star fills in (★). Click it again to remove it from favorites.
  • If you tick Add to favorites on the home page before connecting, the device you connect to is added to your favorites as well.
  • The Favorites page in the left menu shows only your favorite devices. Use Search favorites… to search by name or ID.

Delete a device from your address book

  1. Click the trash can icon (Delete from address book) on the card.
  2. The confirmation explains that the device's name, group and tags will be removed too. Confirm.
  3. The Device removed from the address book. notification appears.

If you connect to a deleted device again later, it is added back to your address book.

Address book limit

At the top of the Devices page you'll find the Address book indicator (used / limit). It shows the total number of devices saved by your team and your plan's limit; on unlimited plans it shows ∞.

When the address book is full, a Your address book is full warning appears. You can still connect; new devices simply aren't saved to the address book. To make room, delete devices you no longer use or upgrade your plan. For plan limits, see Plans and limits.

To find a computer on the same network by IP address or computer name instead of its ID, see Connect on the same network.

Related articles