Signing in on desktop

Signing in is never required to use the app — every tool works without an account. Signing in only adds account sync for your offline work, and lets you reach your online file library.

To sign in: select Sign in and continue through your organisation's login page, exactly as on the web (see Getting started). The desktop app opens your organisation's login page and brings you straight back into the app once you've signed in there — you never have to copy anything between a browser and the app yourself.

Choosing to work without an account

You can use the desktop app entirely without ever signing in. Everything runs and is stored on this device; you simply won't have an online file library, sharing, or syncing to fall back on, and tools that need the online engine (see Working offline) stay unavailable until you do sign in and connect. If you later decide to sign in, whatever you've already done stays right where it is on this device, and starts syncing to your account from that point on — you don't lose anything by starting out signed out.

This is exactly the reverse of the web app, where signing in is required before you can do anything at all. On desktop, an account is something you add when you want it, not a condition for getting started.

What signing out forgets

Signing out on desktop does more than end your session: it also forgets the app's offline workspace for that account. Once you sign out, the app can no longer work offline under that account until you sign in again as the same person — so make sure any pending sync has finished (no number showing next to Desktop sync, and no failed or conflicted items) before you sign out.

Your files themselves are not deleted by signing out — they're still on your account once you're synced. What's forgotten is the app's local access to work you hadn't synced yet, so the safest order is always: sync, confirm nothing is pending, then sign out.