# \[FAQ\] How to Set Up Different Default Layouts Per Machine in io.Connect Desktop

**URL:** <https://community.interop.io/t/faq-how-to-set-up-different-default-layouts-per-machine-in-io-connect-desktop/615>\
**Category:** io.Connect Desktop\
**Tags:** FAQs\
**Created:** [July 1, 2026, 3:26pm UTC](https://community.interop.io/t/faq-how-to-set-up-different-default-layouts-per-machine-in-io-connect-desktop/615 "2026-07-01T15:26:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![toni.petrov](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/community.interop.io/toni.petrov/32/17_2.png) [@toni.petrov](https://community.interop.io/u/toni.petrov)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 3:26pm UTC](https://community.interop.io/t/faq-how-to-set-up-different-default-layouts-per-machine-in-io-connect-desktop/615/1 "2026-07-01T15:26:44Z")

</div>

## Problem

Users who work from multiple machines (e.g., home and office) want different default layouts to load automatically on each machine. By default, the starred (default) layout is a user-level preference and when a user stars a layout on one machine, that same layout becomes the default on all machines.

## Solution

There is no built-in feature to star a layout per machine, but you can achieve per-machine default layouts by using environments to run different environment configurations on each machine. This works by creating separate desktop shortcuts that launch io.Connect Desktop with different `env` values, allowing each machine to maintain its own default layout.

### Steps

**1. Create a separate system configuration file for each machine/environment.**

For example, create `system-office.json` and `system-home.json` in the io.Connect Desktop `config` folder, each specifying a different `env` value:

```json
{
   "region": "test",
   "env": "office"
}

```

```json
{
   "region": "test",
   "env": "home"
}

```

**2. Create desktop shortcuts for each environment.**

Create separate desktop shortcuts of the io.Connect Desktop executable (`io-connect-desktop.exe`, or `tick42-glue-desktop.exe` in older versions), renaming them to correspond to the environment.

**3. Set command line arguments on each shortcut.**

Right-click each shortcut, go to Properties, and in the Target field add `configOverrides` arguments to override the base configuration:

```auto
-- config=config/system.json configOverrides config0=config/system-office.json

```

Replace `system-office.json` with the name of the configuration file for that environment.

**4. Save layouts per environment.**

Add and save the layouts for each machine to the appropriate environment. Launch the shortcut to start the desired environment.

### Alternative Approaches

- **Use separate io.Manager instances** — one for each group of machines (e.g., home vs. office), which allows different default layouts to be selected per instance.
- **Use different io.Manager users** — one user account for the office and another for home usage, each with their own layout preferences.