# Desktop Client Overview

The Cloud Voice App desktop client puts your phone system on your computer. Installed on Windows or macOS, it gives you full access to your organization's telephony features straight from the desktop, so you can call, message, and manage your extension without a physical handset.

## Interface layout

The desktop client is split into three main regions:

- **Navigation bar** on the left, where you switch between features.
- **Toolbar** across the top, which holds common one-click actions.
- **Workspace** filling the center, where the feature you selected is displayed.

![Cloud Voice, desktop client interface with the navigation bar down the left side, the toolbar along the top, and the workspace in the center](/images/pbx/desktop-layout.png)

:::note
This overview covers only the layout and what each area is for. Each feature listed below has its own detailed guide elsewhere in this documentation.
:::

## Navigation bar

The navigation bar is your jumping-off point for the app's main features. Click an entry here and its screen opens in the workspace.

| Feature | What you can do |
| --- | --- |
| Extensions | See colleague details, place audio or video calls to them, leave them voicemails, and add the people you contact most to your Favorites list. |
| Contacts | View, add, and manage both your private personal contacts and your organization's shared company contacts. |
| Chat | Start a one-on-one or group conversation with colleagues, and receive and reply to messages coming in from other channels such as SMS (Short Message Service text messages) and social media. |
| Video Conferencing | Hold face-to-face online meetings for instant collaboration with teammates and customers. |
| Operator Panel | Oversee and handle the calls of a specific group of members. |
| Call Center Console | Work queue calls with real-time call monitoring, management, and reporting. |
| Fax Management | Send and receive faxes in the app, build custom cover pages, and keep a record of every fax. |
| Call Logs | Review and manage your call history. |
| Voicemails | Review and manage your voicemail messages. |
| Recordings | Review and manage your call recording files. |
| Preferences | Adjust your personal settings, including your extension profile, presence, voicemail, audio and video devices, email notifications, call-handling rules, call quality monitoring, function keys, AI (automatic speech-to-text) transcription, and Outlook and TAPI (Telephony Application Programming Interface) integration. |

:::tip
Add the colleagues you call most often to your **Favorites** list under Extensions so you can reach them quickly without searching each time.
:::

:::note
The desktop client shows only a menu entry for Video Conferencing. When you open it, the app takes you to the feature in the Cloud Voice App web client automatically, with no need to sign in again.
:::

## Toolbar

The toolbar gathers actions you reach for often into a single row at the top of the window.

| Button | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| ![QR code icon](/images/pbx/qr-code.png) | Show quick download links for the Cloud Voice App mobile client and Cloud Voice App for Google. |
| ![Function keys icon](/images/pbx/function-key.png) | Use function keys to monitor the status of specific objects or to trigger specific actions in one click. |
| ![CTI mode icon](/images/pbx/cti.png) | Switch between desktop client mode and CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) mode. |
| Agent Status | Change your status in a queue. |
| ![Presence icon](/images/pbx/presence-available.png) | Change your extension presence. |
| ![Dial pad icon](/images/pbx/dialpad.png) ![Call icon](/images/pbx/call.png) | Place an audio or video call. |
| Account | Change your password, set up two-factor authentication (2FA), review the Privacy Policy Agreement, open the Help Center or the Support Portal, and log out of the app. |

:::note
CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) mode lets the app act as a control panel for calls that are handled on another device, such as a desk phone, instead of sending and receiving the call audio on your computer. Desktop client mode handles the calls on the computer itself.
:::

:::caution
Logging out from the **Account** menu ends your session. The desktop client stops receiving calls and messages until you sign back in, so make sure calls are covered before you log out.
:::

## Workspace

The workspace is the central area of the window. Whatever feature you pick from the navigation bar opens here, giving you room to view its content and manage it.