Desktop app: install and connect

The desktop app is a small window that sits on top of everything else on your screen. Type a note, drop a file, take a screenshot or record audio without switching to your browser. It also shows reminders for tasks that are due. This page covers installing it, connecting it to your account and finding your way around its window and tray menu.

For what you can capture with it, see Capturing with the desktop app.

What you need

• An Ultrathink account with a verified email address.
• Windows 10 or later, or a Mac with Apple silicon or an Intel processor.
• A device key for this computer. See Connect an app with a device key.

Download it

In the web app, go to Settings > Downloads. The desktop app is in the Desktop widget group, with one row for each computer:

The page lists the row for your own computer first. If you are not sure which Mac you have, open the Apple menu and choose About This Mac: it shows Chip for Apple silicon or Processor for Intel.

Install on Windows

1. Run ultrathink-setup.exe.
2. Windows may warn that the publisher is unknown: choose More info, then Run anyway.
3. Follow the installer. It installs for your own Windows account, so you do not need administrator rights, and you can choose the folder.
4. The app starts when the installer finishes. Its icon appears in the system tray at the bottom right of the screen. If you cannot see it, click the arrow that shows hidden icons.

Install on a Mac

1. Open the .dmg file.
2. Drag Ultrathink into your Applications folder.
3. Open it from Applications or Spotlight.
4. Its icon appears in the menu bar at the top of the screen.

The first time you take a screenshot or record audio, macOS asks for permission:

Allow them in System Settings > Privacy & Security. After switching on Screen Recording, quit the app from its menu bar icon and open it again.

Connect it to your account

The desktop app uses a device key instead of a username and password. The key goes in through the tray menu, not the window.

1. In the web app, go to Settings > Device keys. Type a name such as “Home desktop” in Device name and click Create key.
2. Click the copy button next to the new key. The key is shown only once.
3. Right-click the Ultrathink icon in the system tray (on a Mac, click the icon in the menu bar).
4. Choose Set Device Key from Clipboard.
5. A system notification confirms the key has been saved.

Until a key is set, the window shows “No device key - saves will fail” in red above the note box.

If the clipboard is empty, a notification asks you to copy your device key first. To change the key later, copy a new one and choose Set Device Key from Clipboard again.

Check it works

1. Click in the note box and type “Test note”.
2. Stop typing. The top of the window says “Auto-saving in 3s…” and counts down.
3. When it saves, the box clears for your next note.
4. Open the web app. “Test note” is at the top of All items.

The window

The app opens at the bottom right of your main screen every time it starts. Drag its title bar to move it anywhere, including onto another screen. Drag any edge to make it bigger or smaller.

It stays on top of other windows so it is always to hand. When it moves to a screen with a different scaling, it adjusts its size to match.

The title bar

Three sizes

Capturing with the desktop app explains what each mode is for.

The tray menu

Right-click the tray icon on Windows, or click the menu bar icon on a Mac.

On Windows, a single click on the tray icon shows or hides the window.

The app has no settings window of its own. Everything it needs is in the tray menu, and reminder settings are in the web app under Settings > Notifications.

Updates

The app checks for a new version when it starts and every six hours after that. It downloads the update by itself and tells you with a system notification. The update installs the next time you quit the app.

Common problems

More help is in Troubleshooting.

Related pages

• Capturing with the desktop app
• Task reminders
• Connect an app with a device key