Getting started

Welcome to Anthrena Desk — a desktop analytics workbook for exploring data, building charts, and composing multi-page reports. Everything stays on your machine unless you connect to a database you choose.

Screenshot: splash screen with Anthrena Desk branding

Install and launch

1. Install the Desk package for your platform (macOS .dmg, Windows installer, or Linux package from your IT team).
2. Open Anthrena Desk. A brief splash screen appears while the app loads.
3. On first launch, a compact Welcome window appears (same size family as the splash). Choose Start with a sample workbook, Create, or Open — no account required.
4. The main Studio window then shows the report canvas (or your sample / opened workbook).

Returning launches skip Welcome and go splash → main when you have already completed Welcome or recently opened a workbook.

Sign in from Welcome (Sync row) or the title-bar Free/Pro chip opens a compact Account window for identity and plans — not a full-screen login wall.

The workspace at a glance

Area	What it does
Header / Menu bar / Ribbon	Workbook actions, menus, Home–View commands, Ask
View rail	Switch Report vs Data; enter Presentation
Data panel	Sheets and fields from the active dataset — dtype icons use the same Filters accent colors
Canvas / Stage	Report page with tiles; stage is the area around the page
Inspector	Setup and styling for the selected tile
Pages / Status bar	Page tabs; zoom and counts

Full name list: Workspace names.

Open, save, and close workbooks

Desk workbooks use the .asbx format (layout + embedded data).

Action	Shortcut (macOS)	Notes
New worksheet	⌘N	Blank in-memory sheet; opens Data view
Open	⌘O	File picker for .asbx
Open Recent	—	Last 10 workbooks
Save	⌘S	Overwrites current path, or Save As on first save
Save As	⇧⌘S	Choose folder and name
Close	⌘W	Unsaved guard, then blank sheet

You can also double-click an .asbx file in Finder (or your OS file manager) to open it.

Screenshot: Save workbook modal

Autosave and recovery

If Desk quits unexpectedly, it keeps a crash autosave under your application support folder. On next launch you may see a recovery prompt — restore the autosaved workbook or discard it and continue. Desk may also offer an optional crash report (Settings → Privacy); nothing is sent unless you choose Send.

Autosave does not replace intentional Save (⌘S). Save regularly when collaborating or shipping a file.

Free vs Pro

Desk runs on a Free plan by default:

• Import files and build reports
• Save .asbx workbooks
• Up to 50,000 rows per dataset

Pro unlocks database connectors, PDF export, plugin install, and unlimited rows. See Licensing.

Next steps

1. Import data — CSV, Excel, or a database (Pro)
2. Datasheet & formulas — clean and calculate
3. Charts — drop fields onto visuals