---
title: "Designer Launcher"
---

# Designer Launcher

> <IUCard title="The Designer Launcher" link="https://www.inductiveuniversity.com/videos/the-designer-launcher/8.1" />
> <p></p>

The Designer Launcher is used to launch the Designer and connect to a Gateway. It displays a list of Designer cards, each representing a configured Gateway connection and its associated launch settings. From the Launcher, you can open projects, manage Designer settings, and access Gateway resources.

The Designer Launcher is available from the **Home** section of the Gateway. For information on setting up the Designer Launcher, see the [Launchers and Workstation](../launchers-and-workstation.md#launcher-download-and-installation) page.

![](img1.png)

Each Designer card includes a three dots menu that provides actions for managing and interacting with the Designer configuration without opening it.

| Menu Item | Description |
| --- | --- |
| Manage | Opens the General Settings Configuration window. |
| Go to Gateway | Opens the Gateway in a new browser window. |
| Create Shortcut | Creates a desktop shortcut for the Designer. |
| Add to Favorites | Adds the Designer to your Favorites. |
| Export | Exports the Designer configuration as a JSON object. |
| Delete | Deletes the Designer. |

## General Settings

The Designer Launcher provides application-specific settings for each Designer. To access these settings, click the **three dots menu** on a Designer card and select **Manage**.

![](img3.png)

| Setting Name | Description |
| --- | --- |
| Designer Name | Specifies the name of the Designer.  This field is required. |
| Gateway Address | Specifies the Gateway address in the format `http[s]://host:port`. |
| Timeout | Defines the maximum number of seconds allowed for Gateway communication. If the timeout is exceeded, the Launcher aborts the request and retries it if retries are configured. |
| Retries | Defines how many times the Launcher retries a request after a communication error occurs. Available values include:**-1**: The Launcher retries indefinitely until it is closed.**0**: The Launcher does not retry after the first failure.**1 (or greater)**: The Launcher retries the specified number of times. If retries are exhausted, the Launcher attempts to launch the fallback application. |
| Initial Heap | Specifies the initial heap size, in memory, allocated to the Designer. |
| Maximum Heap | Specifies the maximum heap size, in memory, allocated to the Designer. |
| JVM Arguments | Specifies additional JVM arguments for the Designer. The Launcher copies the defaults from the global JVM arguments at creation time and does not update them if the global settings change. |