Brief Overview

The Action Bar for Desktop brings WalkMe's Action Bar into your desktop applications. It appears as a WalkMe widget that expands into the Action Bar, giving users pre-built prompts and actions right where they work.

The Action Bar runs as an in-app experience: when a supported application is in focus, the Action Bar floats inside that application's window. When you switch to another supported app, the Action Bar moves with you.

The desktop Action Bar follows the same design and behavior as the web Action Bar, with a few differences and setup steps specific to desktop. This article covers what's unique to desktop. For everything else — features, launcher types, reading and writing tools, and settings — see the articles linked below.

How It Works

The Action Bar for Desktop runs as an in-app experience. When a supported application comes into focus, the Action Bar floats inside that application's window rather than sitting in the taskbar or dock.

Capabilities

The Action Bar for Desktop supports the same capabilities as the Action Bar for Web. It comes in two modes, depending on whether your account has AI enabled.

Both modes connect to the WalkMe Menu, giving users access to WalkMe content from inside their desktop applications.

Action Bar - Default (No AI)
Runs the Action Bar without AI abilities. Alongside the WalkMe Menu, it supports non-AI launchers that trigger WalkMe content.

Action Bar - AI-Enabled
Runs the Action Bar with AI abilities. Along with everything in the Default Action Bar, it adds AI launchers and comes with pre-built content, including reading and writing tools.

To learn more about each mode and their fearures, refer to the following articles:

Action Bar – Default (No AI)

How to Use the AI-Enabled Action Bar

Supported applications

The Action Bar appears only in supported applications. In any other application, the Action Bar doesn't appear and no text is captured.

Supported applications include:

• Communication: Slack, Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft 365: Outlook (Classic and New), Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access (Windows only)
• SAP: SAP GUI for Windows and SAP NetWeaver Business Client (Windows only)

Floating and positioning

The Action Bar floats inside the window of the application currently in focus. Users can drag it along the horizontal and vertical axes, and it snaps to the nearest edge of the window. It can't be moved outside the application window.

Context management

Each window keeps its own Action Bar, including its conversation, highlighted text, and position. When users switch to another supported app, the current Action Bar hides and its state is saved. Returning to that window restores the Action Bar as they left it. Context doesn't carry over between windows, even between two windows of the same application.

Text sources

The Action Bar for Desktop can work with:

• No text source
• Highlighted text
• All text on screen (only the content currently visible in the application window)

Setup

Before the Action Bar for Desktop can appear, make sure the following are in place:

Prerequisites

• WalkMe Menu Desktop version 4.3.3 or above is installed
• A WalkMe Menu Desktop system has been created
• At least one item is published in the Menu Organizer — without a published item, the Action Bar won't start
• On macOS, users turn on the WalkMe Menu accessibility permission in System Settings

Add launchers to your Action Bar for Desktop

Once the feature is enabled and the prerequisites are in place, you build launchers for the Desktop system the same way you do for web. For step-by-step instructions, refer to:

Building Launchers in the Action Bar Console

AI-Enabled Action Bar Building in WalkMe Editor

Technical Notes

• The Action Bar doesn't appear in windows smaller than 400px wide or 300px tall, such as splash screens, loading dialogs, and some modal windows
• The desktop menu bubble and the Action Bar can't appear at the same time
• On macOS, some applications (Outlook Classic, New Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint) don't support automatic text selection
  • This is a macOS limitation — these apps don't expose selected text through the accessibility APIs the Action Bar relies on
• On Windows, if the Action Bar doesn't appear in duplicate display mode, check your display settings for the option that hides priority notification banners while duplicating your display, and turn it off

• Appearance Conditions are currently not supported for Action Bar launchers

• Launcher visibility can only be controlled by the application name using segmentation