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.

When installing the Desktop client, users can choose to connect to a shared Desktop.User.config file, a locally stored config file, or both.

Configure a shared connection

If the Allow local connections to be configured option is selected when installing the Desktop client, a Desktop.User.config connection file is created locally. You can then copy and edit this to create a connection file that can then be made available to Desktop users from a shared location. See Edit the Desktop.User.config file for details of how to edit a Desktop.User.config connection file.

Once created and accessible, the shared connection file can be made available to Desktop users in the following ways:

Desktop.User.config backup file

When a Desktop user has successfully connected to a Desktop environment using a shared connection file, a .desktop.shared.config.bak file is automatically generated and stored locally in C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\Blue Prism Limited\Desktop. This connection file is then used to establish a connection with the Desktop environment, removing the need to connect to the shared file each time the user accesses Desktop.

Configure a local connection

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 using Desktop.
  2. Add connection – Add a completely new connection, see Create a new local connection using Desktop.
  3. Edit connection – Edit the configuration details of this connection, see Edit a local connection using Desktop.
  4. Delete connection – Delete this connection, see Delete a connection using Desktop.

Create a new local connection using Desktop

  1. Open the Desktop application.

    The Welcome to Desktop screen displays.

    Desktop Welcome > Connection screen

  2. Click Configure connection.

    The Saved connections screen displays.

    Saved connections screen

    The available connections and options on this screen are dependent on each user's installation of the Desktop client.

  3. Click Add connection.

    The Create new connection screen displays:

    Create new connection screen

  4. 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.

    To ensure a secure connection is used, all Authentication Server URLs must include https://. If you do not include https:// in the URL, it will be added automatically.
    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.

  5. 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 using Desktop for details.

Edit a local connection using Desktop

  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 using Desktop

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

In addition to being automatically generated and accessible through the Desktop client, you can create and modify the Desktop.User.config.file using a text editor, whether it is stored locally, or in a shared location.

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.

Edit connection settings for a user's machine

When the Desktop client is installed on a user’s machine, a configuration file called Desktop.Machine.Config is created, which contains the connection settings chosen during installation.

To change the connection settings for a user's machine without having to re-install or update the installation:

  1. Using a text editor, open the Desktop.Machine.Config file. The default location is C:\ProgramData\Blue Prism Limited\Blue Prism.

  2. Modify the following settings, as required:

    • RemoteConfigurationPath – Edit the file name and path of the shared connection file.
    • EnableConnectionConfiguration – Type true to add access, or type false to remove a user’s access to the configure connections options in the Desktop client.

Delete a connection using Desktop

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.