How to Enable Public Desktop Templates

I see an option for setting a desktop template to be public, however it is disabled. Where can this setting be enabled?

Asked by Cassie Guinan on Thu 11/15/18 11:03 AM
Sign In to leave feedback or contribute an answer

Answer (1)

This answer has been marked as the accepted answer
Mark Sayers Thu 11/15/18 11:48 AM

Hello Cassie,

Since a Desktop Template is just that, a *template* which desktops can be created *from*, you can't make them public as an administrator.

A user, though, once they have been given a desktop, can edit that desktop and make it Public if they have permission to do so. It takes access to the Analysis application to make a desktop public.

Sincerely,
Mark Sayers
TD Support

1 of 1 users found this helpful.
I assumed if a template it was "public" then any users would be able to use it to create their own desktops. But I guess only admin users can create the templates and then add them to user's accounts as a second step. Is this correct? - Cassie Guinan Thu 11/15/18 12:02 PM
A user from the TDNext interface cannot create desktops from templates, they can only create desktops manually from scratch.

It takes an administrator to go into a user's account from within TDAdmin, and set them up with a desktop from a template.

The user, though, is the only person who can then go and choose to make that desktop Public, assuming (again) that they have permission to do so.
- Mark Sayers Thu 11/15/18 12:09 PM
This Q/A is a few years old, but I believe the underlying logic still applies. I came across this while trying to address an issue related to making a desktop template public. I'm encountering a situation similar to what was described in the original post.

In regards to the provided answer, which stated: "A user, though, once they have been given a desktop, can edit that desktop and make it Public if they have permission to do so. It takes access to the Analysis application to make a desktop public."

Now that we have the capability to link desktops in a way that prevents end users from editing them, as the administrator, I have full control over the content visible on those linked desktops. Given this new feature, what advice can you provide on making desktop templates, which are linked by an admin, public? None of the end users, including myself in this scenario, have the ability to edit the desktop from TDNext, so we don't have the option to make it public. Thoughts?
- Matthew Vanderkooi Mon 12/4/23 10:34 AM
Hi Matthew,
There will be no way then to make a "linked" desktop be Public, as the only way to do so is for a user to access the "Edit Desktop" option on their TDNext > Desktops app tab, and that option is not available when the desktop in question is linked to a template.
- Mark Sayers Mon 12/4/23 12:32 PM
I understand, and thank you for your prompt response. It appears that there might have been an unintentional loss of functionality that wasn't thought of when implementing the desktop linking feature. I have a current use case where I would need to be able to do this, so I will look into submitting an enhancement request. I appreciate your assistance. - Matthew Vanderkooi Mon 12/4/23 1:44 PM