Display Desktop Connector icon

00:03

In this session, we'll look at an easy way to monitor the status of our connection to the Autodesk Construction Cloud.

00:09

We'll start by talking about Desktop Connector.

00:11

Desktop Connector represents the conduit that allows our local machine to securely access cloud files,

00:17

make changes to the files if necessary, and then synchronize those changes back to the cloud environment.

00:22

It does all this automatically behind the scenes, completely transparent to the user.

00:27

That said, if you have one or more drawings open and you experience a momentary loss of Internet connectivity,

00:32

it may disrupt Desktop Connector's ability to synchronize those files.

00:36

Fortunately, Desktop Connector provides visual cues to alert you of any changes to its status.

00:42

We just need to make sure those visual cues are readily available on screen.

00:46

Let's look at how to do that.

00:48

I'm going to switch over to my Windows desktop and in the lower right corner of the screen, I'll click the arrow to display hidden icons.

00:55

When you install Desktop Connector on your system, this is where you will typically find the icon.

01:00

Now, I'd like this icon to be visible all the time so I can easily see any changes to the status.

01:05

To do that, I'll click hold and drag the icon into the status bar, and then I'll click on the desktop to close the menu.

01:12

And that's it.

01:13

From now on, I can monitor the status of Desktop Connector by simply watching for changes to the icon here in the status bar.

01:19

Possible status updates are shown on screen.

01:22

At the top is the typical icon denoting normal operation.

01:26

The gray dot displays on startup when Desktop Connector is launched and in the process of connecting to the cloud.

01:32

The blue dot identifies when files are being transferred to and from the cloud.

01:38

The yellow dot displays when Desktop Connector is offline.

01:41

This can happen if you lose Internet connectivity.

01:44

The red dot is the most important.

01:46

This means that an error has occurred that needs to be addressed before the affected file or files can be synchronized to the cloud.

01:53

Ensuring the Desktop Connector icon is always on screen is the easiest way to monitor its status

01:58

and identify potential problems with your connection to a cloud project.