I have a website that works normally in my browser but does not work on the Distill Cloud Server. I was able to make it work using the Distill Desktop App, but I have a few questions about how this works:
If I close the Distill Desktop App, will the monitor continue to work, or does the Desktop App need to remain open for the monitor to run?
If I close the app and open it again later, will the monitor automatically start working again?
Since we have a team, can each team member run the Distill Desktop App separately on their own system?
If a website only works through the Desktop App, does that mean the monitor will work only when the assigned team member’s Desktop App is running?
If the team member’s computer is turned off, disconnected, or the Distill Desktop App is closed, will the monitor stop checking the website?
Is there any way to make these monitors continue running independently of the user’s computer, even though the website does not work on the Distill Cloud Server?
I want to understand how Desktop App-based monitoring works compared with Cloud Server monitoring, especially in a team setup.
@srimathi.venkatachal Desktop App/browser-extension monitoring is Local monitoring. This means the checks run from the user’s computer/browser instead of Distill’s Cloud servers.
To answer your Desktop App questions:
If you close the Distill Desktop App, the local monitor will not continue running. The Desktop App needs to remain open and running.
If you close the app and open it again later, the monitor should resume checking once the app is running.
Yes, each team member can run the Distill Desktop App or browser extension separately on their own system.
If the website only works through the Desktop App/local environment, then the monitor will work only when the assigned local device is running.
If the team member’s computer is turned off, disconnected, asleep, or the Distill Desktop App is closed, the monitor will stop checking the website.
Could you please clarify what you mean when you say the website does not work on the Distill Cloud Server? Please share the website URL, a screenshot of the section you want to monitor, and any error screenshot if available. We can then review it and suggest the best setup for your case.
For Enterprise teams, there is also an important concept called Primary Workspace for local monitoring. Local monitors created from a browser extension or local device need to belong to that device’s Primary Workspace. If the Primary Workspace is set to a personal workspace, the monitor may remain private to that user/device. If you want the monitor to be visible and manageable by the team, the device’s Primary Workspace should be set to the shared team workspace.
This helps ensure:
Other team members can see the monitor
Alerts and monitoring history are available to the team
The monitor can be managed centrally
Duplicate monitors are avoided
Primary Workspace is configured per browser/device, so each team member or device running local monitors should set it correctly.
We already have a common workspace for our team. If I set up local monitoring/Distill App for a particular website within that workspace, will the monitor be visible and accessible to everyone in the workspace?
Also, how does the local monitoring work in this case? Does the monitoring run only when the Distill Desktop App where the monitor is set has to be open and running, or will it continue to work automatically because the monitor is part of the shared workspace?
@srimathi.venkatachal Yes. If the local monitor is created in your shared team workspace, it will be visible and accessible to the members of that workspace, based on their workspace permissions.
However, being part of a shared workspace does not change where the monitor actually runs. A monitor set to be checked using the Distill Desktop App is still a local monitor irrespective of how it was created, so its checks are performed by the specific computer/Desktop App to which that monitor is assigned.
This means:
The team can view and manage the monitor through the shared workspace.
The Distill Desktop App on the assigned computer must remain open and running for the monitor to perform its scheduled checks.
That computer must also remain powered on and connected to the internet.
If the Desktop App is closed or the computer is offline/asleep, the monitor will not perform checks during that period.
Once the Desktop App is running again, the monitor can resume its scheduled checks.
