Help

One machine in the room runs OrgKit and holds the boards. Everyone else opens a browser on the same network and joins it. None of this needs the internet.

The app includes a full manual that works offline. The Operator's Field Manual hangs on the wall beside the cabinet under the calendar. Click its cover or the Field manual button in the toolbar to open it. It covers every part of the app and lists common problems by symptom. This page covers what you need before the app is open.

Before you start

Everyone joins the same network. Nobody on mobile data or at home can reach the board. A router with no internet connection works fine. So does a phone hotspot.

Guest Wi-Fi often blocks it. Many venue networks stop devices from seeing one another. This is usually why the address will not open on anyone's phone. Use a hotspot that everyone can join instead.

The host stays awake. Closing OrgKit on the host ends the session for everyone. People are also cut off while the host sleeps or has its lid shut. Set it not to sleep during the meeting.

One machine hosts. Two people who each start OrgKit end up with two separate sets of boards. The app shows a banner when it sees another host on the network. Agree on one machine to host and have everyone else join it in a browser.

Keep your boards out of sync folders. Dropbox, iCloud Drive, OneDrive and Google Drive can corrupt a board by copying its files while the app is using them. The app's own data directory is already in a safe place. If you set up a second office in a directory of your own, keep it on the machine's own disk.

The first time you open it

1. Open OrgKit on the machine that will host. It starts on the filing cabinet.
2. Say yes when macOS or Windows asks about incoming connections. Nobody else can reach your board unless you do.
3. Type a name in the field at the top, pick a colour and click New case file. Its board opens.
4. Click Connect at the top right. The dialog shows a QR code and the address to join.
5. Everyone else scans the code with a phone camera or types the address into a browser. They do not need to install anything or make an account.
6. Each person clicks Set your name. That name appears on their cursor and on anything they tick.

The address looks like one of these:

http://orgkit.local:3883
http://192.168.1.47:3883

The first one works on most home and cafe routers. The second one always works. Read that one out if people have trouble with the first. Always use the address the Connect dialog shows. If another program is using the port, OrgKit picks a different one and the number will not match these.

From then on everyone sees the same board. Two people can type in the same note and both keep their text. There is no save button because every change is saved to the host's disk as it happens.

If nobody can join

Check the network first, then the host's firewall. The firewall blocks other people if you missed the prompt, clicked Deny or use a system that never asks.

macOS. System Settings → Network → Firewall → Options. Find OrgKit and set it to allow incoming connections. If it is not listed, add it with the + button.

Windows. Windows Security → Firewall & network protection → Allow an app through firewall. Find OrgKit and tick the Private column. Leave Public unticked.

Linux. There is no prompt on Linux. Most desktop installs have no firewall on incoming connections and need nothing done.

Fedora, RHEL and openSUSE run firewalld out of the box. Open the two ports with:

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=3883/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=8080/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Add --permanent --add-service=mdns as well if you want the orgkit.local name to work. The numeric address does not need it.

Ubuntu and Debian include ufw but usually leave it off. If yours is on:

sudo ufw allow from 192.168.0.0/16 to any port 3883
sudo ufw allow from 192.168.0.0/16 to any port 8080

Change the address range if your network uses a different one. Both ports are needed. Port 3883 serves the app and 8080 carries live edits. If people can load the board but do not see each other's changes, 8080 is being blocked.

Where your data lives

Boards, uploaded images and video all live in one directory on the host machine:

macOS     ~/Library/Application Support/it.orgk.desktop/
Windows   %APPDATA%\it.orgk.desktop\
Linux     ~/.local/share/it.orgk.desktop/

The app calls a directory of case files an office. The one above is created for you. Any office you create yourself lives wherever you choose to put it. Devices that join keep nothing but a browser cache. On Linux, moving or deleting the AppImage does not touch your boards.

Anyone with access to the host machine can copy these files. A board about tenants or members is only as private as the laptop it sits on. Turning on disk encryption for that laptop is the most useful precaution you can take.

Backing up

There are two kinds of backup for two different jobs.

The copy that restores. Quit OrgKit and copy the data directory to an external drive, another machine or an encrypted volume. To restore, copy it back. Make one before you install a new version as well. A new version may save boards in a format older versions cannot read.

The copy you can read. Click Backup at the top right of the cabinet or any board. Choose Markdown or JSON, click Back up everything and pick a folder. The app writes one folder for the office with a folder inside it for each case file. Each holds the board as a single file plus copies of its images and video. The same panel can also set a reminder for hourly, every four hours or daily. The reminder only marks the backup chip as due. It never writes a backup on its own.

The readable copy is for taking a board somewhere else. OrgKit cannot import it back. To restore a board, use the directory copy. The manual's Custody of Records section covers moving an office and what deleting one removes.

Still stuck?

Email support@orgk.it. Say which system you are on, what you expected and what happened instead.