English
The Desk
The Desk is Novodat's visual workspace: the place where people browse and edit data, manage files and users, design the data model and build dashboards, without writing code. It is served by the API at <PUBLIC_URL>/desk, and <PUBLIC_URL> itself redirects there.
It is available in English and Spanish, with a light and a dark theme, and works with the keyboard and screen readers.
Signing in
Sign in with your email and password. When the server has single sign-on providers, a Continue with … button appears for each of them; for a company directory (LDAP), choose it under Sign in with and type your directory user name.
- Forgot your password? sends a recovery link by email, when the server can send email.
- If your account has two-factor authentication, the Desk asks for the One-time code of your authenticator app.
- If a policy requires two-factor authentication and you have not set it up, the Desk walks you through it first: scan the QR code with an authenticator app and type a code.
- Only users whose policies allow it can use the Desk. Others get "Your account can't use the Desk".
Finding your way
The main bar on the left holds the modules. It starts folded, showing only icons, and opens when you point at it or reach it with the keyboard.
| Module | What it is for | Who sees it |
|---|---|---|
| Content | Your collections and their items | Everyone |
| Users | People, roles and policies | Who may read users |
| Files | Folders and files | Everyone |
| Dashboards | Charts and figures from your data | Who may read dashboards |
| Assistant | A conversation with an AI that works on your data | When the server has a language model |
| Settings | Data model, activity, flows and server settings | Administrators |
Extensions can add more modules. Administrators choose the order of the modules for everyone in Settings → Appearance; the first module you can open is your home page, unless you have a home dashboard.
Most modules have a secondary bar next to the main one, with their sections (the collections in Content, the folders in Files…). On a desktop, the button in its top corner folds it to give the page more room; the Desk remembers your choice.
The account menu at the bottom of the main bar leads to your profile and logs you out.
Your profile
Profile lets every user change:
- Their first name, last name and picture (an image from Files, or a new one, which goes to their own folder).
- Their language (English or Spanish) and theme: light, dark, or Same as the system.
- Their email and password, typing the current password. Users who sign in through a single sign-on provider change them at the provider.
- Two-factor authentication: turn it on with an authenticator app, or off with a code from it, unless a policy requires it.
- Their Home page: a dashboard to open after signing in, or As my policies say.
The theme and language follow you to other browsers.
What you see depends on your permissions
The Desk only offers what your policies allow: collections you cannot read are not listed, fields you cannot edit are read-only, and buttons for actions you cannot take do not appear. The API checks everything again, so nothing is lost if the Desk shows something by mistake.
Likewise, options that need a feature the database lacks (such as vector search outside PostgreSQL) are not shown.