io.Connect Desktop 10.5 introduces Layout and Workspace sharing between users and teams, a new Layouts API, more control over Workspaces, better handling of unavailable apps, and expanded observability through io.Insights.
Layout & Workspace Sharing
Users can now share Global and Workspace Layouts with colleagues and teams through io.Manager, rather than requiring everyone to recreate the same setup.
Layout owners can publish their Layouts to specific users or groups with view or edit permissions. Recipients can restore shared Layouts, make changes when permitted, or save private copies for their own use. Layouts can also be organized into folders.
Requirements: Layout sharing requires io.Manager 4.0+, with advanced Layouts enabled in both io.Manager and Desktop. All Desktop instances connected to that io.Manager deployment must use 10.5 or later.
New Layouts API
The new fully asynchronous io.layouts.v2 API identifies Layouts by unique IDs and supports the new sharing capabilities.
It works with all supported Layout stores, even when sharing is disabled, and is designed to replace the existing io.layouts API.
Important: When Layout sharing is enabled, apps must use io.layouts.v2.
Better Workspace Control & Recovery
Several additions make Workspaces easier to manage and more resilient:
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App Restrictions for Workspaces – control which apps users can add through the “Add Apps” popup or drag and drop into a Workspace, with rules for individual apps and defaults.
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Placeholder App – optionally display a placeholder when an app saved in a Layout is no longer available. This preserves the Workspace or window-group structure so the original app can be restored when it becomes available again.
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Workspace Tab Overflow – enable scrollable Workspace tabs and a “More Workspaces” menu for selecting or closing tabs that are outside the visible area.
Launchpad Redesign & Customization
The redesigned Launchpad brings Global Layouts into their own section alongside apps and Workspaces, introduces a footer showing the active Global Layout, and lets users add Global Layouts to favorites.
You can also use the new standalone <Launchpad /> React component to build custom launchers while reusing the default Launchpad functionality and UI components.
Expanded io.Insights Capabilities
10.5 adds several ways to investigate application performance and user workflows:
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Per-app io.Insights configuration, allowing settings to be tailored to individual applications.
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More detailed app startup traces, showing how long different window creation and loading phases take.
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HTTP request metrics for measuring request duration, response sizes and other network performance characteristics.
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Additional instrumentation for events such as errors, WebSocket connections and long tasks.
These additions help teams investigate slow app launches, network delays and other performance problems with more detailed telemetry.