Configure environment connections for Desktop

SS&C | Blue Prism® Desktop environment connections enable the Desktop application to connect to specific Blue Prism environments using a Desktop license.

You can add a new connection to SS&C | Blue Prism® Desktop, or multiple connections, by importing a connection configuration file. You can configure connections on the Welcome screen before logging in, or on the Settings tab after logging in.

Alternatively, you can create a new connection in the Desktop application. You can also edit and delete connections (you cannot edit or delete the connection you are currently using), if you require assistance, please contact your system administrator.

Although the functionality is available to do so, it is not expected that Desktop users will create, edit, or delete their own connections. When rolling out SS&C | Blue PrismDesktop to end users, it is recommended that system administrators create and distribute a centrally-controlled Desktop.User.config file to be imported by Desktop users.

To configure a connection in the SS&C | Blue Prism® Desktop application, click Saved connections. The Saved connections screen displays.

Desktop Settings > Saved connections screen

The following options are available:

  1. Import Connection – Add one or more new connections by importing a connection configuration file, see Import a connection.
  2. Add connection – Add a completely new connection, see Create a new connection.
  3. Edit connection – Edit the configuration details of this connection, see Edit a connection.
  4. Delete connection – Delete this connection, see Delete a connection.

Create a new connection

  1. On the Welcome screen, click Configure connection.

    The Saved connections screen displays.

    Saved connections screen

  2. Click Add connection.

    The Create new connection screen displays.

    Create new connection screen

  3. Enter the connection details, as prompted. All the fields are mandatory.

    Field name Information required
    Connection name

    Enter a name for this connection. Connection names must be unique, and are case sensitive.

    If you try to create a new connection with the same name as an existing one, a warning message displays and you cannot save the connection.
    URL for Authentication Server

    Enter the Authentication Server URL, but do not include https:// in the URL.

    To ensure a secure connection is used, all Authentication Server URLs must include https://. This has therefore been hard-coded into the field and does not need to be entered.
    URL for Digital Worker API Enter the URL of the Digital Worker API to which you want to connect.
    URL for Blue Prism API

    Enter the URL of the Blue Prism API to which you want to connect.

    New connection added

  4. Click Create to add the new connection.

    The connection is created and displays on the Saved connections screen.

    Saved connections screen

The configuration is updated in the Desktop.User.config file, which is located in C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\Blue Prism Limited\Desktop. The configuration file can then be imported by clicking Import connection on the Saved connections screen on each Desktop user’s computer. See Import a connection for details.

Edit a connection

  1. On the Saved connections screen, click the Edit connection icon Edit icon.

    2. The Edit connection screen displays.

    Edit connection screen

  2. Edit the connection details as required.
  3. Click Save changes.

    4. The connection is updated and the Saved connections screen displays.

You cannot edit the currently used connection from the Settings screen once logged into Desktop. If you need to do this, you will first need to log out of the Desktop application. You can then edit the original connection. The Edit connection icon does not display for the current connection.

Import a connection

Although the functionality is available to do so, it is not expected that Desktop users will create, edit, or delete their own connections. It is expected that this information will be provided to them by system administrators. However, because the connection configuration information is stored in their user settings, they will need to import the configuration file themselves. When rolling out Desktop to end users, it is recommended that system administrators create and distribute a centrally-controlled Desktop.User.config file to be imported by Desktop users.

Connection names must be unique, and are case‑sensitive. If you import a connection with the same name as an existing one, it will overwrite the existing connection. You will not be asked to confirm the import.

  1. On the Saved connections screen, click Import connection and navigate to the connection configuration import file.

  2. Click Open.

    The connection configuration file is uploaded. The connections configured in the file (there can be more than one per file) are added to the current user’s list of saved connections. They can now select the required connection from the Welcome screen and log in.

Edit the Desktop.User.config file

The following example shows a typical Desktop.User.config file:

A typical Desktop.User.config file

The connection name used in a Desktop connection configuration file must match the “ConfigurationName”, as highlighted in the above example. If you create the connection using the Desktop application, these values will automatically match, however, this must be considered if editing the Desktop.User.config file directly.

To import a Desktop.User.config file that has been saved with a .txt extension, you will need to change the file type from Custom Files to All Files in order make the text file available for import.

Delete a connection

This action deletes the connection from the user's account and cannot be undone.

  1. On the Saved connections screen, click the Delete connection icon Delete icon.

    2. A message displays asking you to confirm the delete.

  2. Click Yes, delete.

    The connection is deleted from the configuration and the Saved connections screen displays.

You cannot delete the currently used connection from the Settings screen once logged into Desktop. If you need to do this, you will first need to log out and log back in using a different connection. You can then delete the original connection. The Delete connection icon does not display for the current connection.