Troubleshoot the Tidyflow desktop app

Start with the status line under the Clients column in the desktop app. It lists problems, uploads in progress and open files, and clicking an entry takes you to its folder. Failed uploads and saves also show a system notification.

Desktop app sign-in does not work

If signing in fails, the desktop app shows the reason on the sign-in screen.

• Check you clicked Connect desktop in the browser window that opened, then go back to the app.
• Make sure that browser is signed in to your firm’s Tidyflow account. The app connects whichever account the browser is using.
• If your firm uses a workspace address other than https://app.tidyflow.com, click Use a different workspace and enter it.
• If your firm connects through a proxy, the app uses the certificates your computer trusts, so ask your IT team to confirm your computer can reach https://app.tidyflow.com.

The app writes the full cause of a sign-in failure to tidyflow.log. Include that file when you contact support. It is in:

• Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\com.tidyflow.desktop\logs
• Mac: ~/Library/Logs/com.tidyflow.desktop

A file shows Upload failed in the desktop app

An Upload failed tag means the file did not reach Tidyflow, usually because the connection dropped. The app keeps the file ready to try again. Click Retry on the file’s row, or Cancel to remove it from the queue. Your original file on your computer is never changed.

The desktop app says the files could not be added

The desktop app uploads PDFs, images and Office files. It shows “These files could not be added” when you drop a folder, an empty file or an unsupported file type. Drop the individual files instead, or upload other file types from the client’s Files tab in the firm app. See Uploading and downloading files.

Excel or Word opens the file in Protected View

Files you open from the desktop app are marked as downloaded, like a file from your browser, so Office opens them in Protected View and blocks macros from the internet. Click Enable Editing in Office, then edit and save as usual. Your saves still go back to Tidyflow.

A file shows Not saved in the desktop app

Not saved means someone saved a newer version of the file in Tidyflow after you opened it, so your save did not replace theirs. Your changes are still on your computer. Click the tag and choose Save my changes as a copy to add your version next to the original, or Discard my changes to delete your copy. Tidyflow keeps its current version either way.

A file shows Save failed in the desktop app

Save failed means your latest save did not upload. Click the tag and choose Retry saving. Keep the file open until the tag shows Open again.

The desktop app asks you to close the file first

On Windows, Excel and Word lock a file while it is open. Stop editing, Save my changes as a copy and Discard my changes cannot finish until you close the file in Office. Close it, then choose the action again. Nothing is changed until then.

A file opens in Tidyflow instead of on your computer

The desktop app opens some files in the firm app instead of in Excel, Word or Acrobat:

• Documents in a signature request, which show a Signature tag.
• Documents in an approval, which show an Approval tag.
• File types the desktop app cannot edit, such as ZIP files.

Signature and approval documents stay fixed so their content cannot change while a client signs or approves them.

A PDF does not appear in To file

Print to Tidyflow only offers some files in a watched folder. Check that:

• The folder is listed under Watched folders in Settings.
• The file is a PDF saved directly in the watched folder, not in a subfolder. Subfolders, including Filed, are not watched.
• Your tax software still saves to the watched folder. Some programs start a new folder each tax year, so watch the new one with Choose folder in Settings.
• The PDF was saved after you started watching the folder. Files already there are left alone. Save or print the PDF again to have it offered.
• The program has finished writing the file. A PDF appears a few seconds after it stops changing.
• The desktop app is running and signed in. Closing the window keeps it running in the system tray or menu bar, but quitting stops it.

If you dismissed the PDF, it is offered again only after it is saved again. See Print or save PDFs to Tidyflow from any program.

Update the desktop app

The desktop app downloads updates in the background and installs them when you quit. To update now, open Settings by clicking your name at the bottom of the window, then click Check for updates, and Restart to update when a new version is ready.