# Installing the Finder desktop application (classic)

{% hint style="info" %}
Nexthink Finder is a Windows-only desktop application whose functionality is now available within the Nexthink web interface. Nexthink can now be used directly from a browser and most functions no longer require an additional desktop application.
{% endhint %}

## Installing from the web interface <a href="#installingthefinderdesktopapplication-classic-installingfromthewebinterface" id="installingthefinderdesktopapplication-classic-installingfromthewebinterface"></a>

The recommended way for a single user to install Finder is to download the installer from the web interface and execute it. Users must have been granted access to Finder in their profile to follow this procedure. The procedure installs Finder in a per-user context, meaning that:

* Standard (non-administrator) Windows users can perform the installation.
* Finder is only available to the user who installed it and not to other users of the same machine.
* Finder is able to subsequently perform automatic updates when needed and to simplify mandatory upgrades.

<figure><img src="/files/entWRvuVrRkGcmice3iq" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

To install Finder:

1. Open a web browser and log in to the web interface from a system that runs an operating system supported by Finder.
2. Click the user icon in the bottom left corner of the screen to display the user menu.
3. Click on **Install Nexthink Finder**.\
   Note that this option is only available for the users who have been granted access to Finder in their profile.
4. Before clicking on the **Download** button, select the appropriate Finder version from the pop-up box. Depending on the architecture of your machine, choose between:
   * **64-bit version (recommended)**\
     If you have a machine that runs a 64-bit version of Windows (x64 architecture).
   * **32-bit version**\
     If you have a machine that runs a 32-bit version of Windows (x86 architecture) or if your computer has less than 4 GB of RAM.

Once the installer has finished downloading, run it and allow the program to make changes to your computer (the procedure to run the installer may be slightly different depending on your web browser).

Right after installation, if the installer finds out that an older per-machine version of Finder was present on the machine, it launches the uninstallation program:

If the user has or is able to obtain administrator privileges, the per-machine version of Finder is uninstalled after the user authorizes the program to execute.

If the user does not have administrator privileges or skips the step, the two versions of Finder will coexist on the machine.

After finishing the installation, Finder opens automatically.

## NET Framework requirement <a href="#installingthefinderdesktopapplication-classic-netframeworkrequirement" id="installingthefinderdesktopapplication-classic-netframeworkrequirement"></a>

Modern versions of Windows receive the latest version of the .NET Framework through Microsoft Updates. The .NET Framework 4.6 or higher is required to install and run Finder.

Make sure to update your operating system via Windows Updates (recommended).

## Security certificates <a href="#installingthefinderdesktopapplication-classic-securitycertificates" id="installingthefinderdesktopapplication-classic-securitycertificates"></a>

Upon the first execution of Finder, you may experience some warnings related to security certificates. Certificates ensure that the communication among Nexthink components is safe. Refer to the sections about [logging in to ](/platform/getting-started/installing-finder-classic/logging-in-to-finder-classic.md#loggingintofinder-classic-creating-a-session)Finder and the replacement of security certificates for more information.

## Installing from the product downloads website (not recommended) <a href="#installingthefinderdesktopapplication-classic-installingfromtheproductdownloadswebsite-notrecommende" id="installingthefinderdesktopapplication-classic-installingfromtheproductdownloadswebsite-notrecommende"></a>

In Product Downloads, you can find alternatives to the installation from the web interface. Use these alternatives only when you have a particular well-founded reason for it (for example, installation on Citrix environments), as these downloads do not provide automatic updates and, therefore, may be more difficult to maintain. These alternatives use a per-machine installer.

Running the installer in a per-machine context means that:

* Administrator privileges are required to perform the installation.
* Finder is installed for all users of the machine.

To manually install Finder from Product Downloads:

1. On the **Product Downloads** page, select the first entry of the **Last V6 releases**.
2. In the **Download links** section, find the links for Finder.
3. Choose one set of downloads for Finder, depending on the architecture and memory of your computer:
   * Per-machine installer:
     * 64-bit version EXE: recommended for computers with more than 4 GB of RAM running a 64-bit version of Windows.
     * 32-bit version EXE: suitable for 32-bit versions of Windows or for computers with less than 4 GB of RAM (even when running a 64-bit version of Windows).
4. Run the per-machine installer by double-clicking on the downloaded file.

In its turn, the stand-alone executable version of Finder is no longer proposed as a download. Automatic updates and easy upgrades offer a superior solution to the problem of frequently connecting to different Nexthink instances.

### Silent installation <a href="#installingthefinderdesktopapplication-classic-silentinstallation" id="installingthefinderdesktopapplication-classic-silentinstallation"></a>

To install Finder without user interaction, run the installer with the silent option. For instance:

`finder-setup-x64-machine.exe -silent`

### Personalized installation <a href="#installingthefinderdesktopapplication-classic-personalizedinstallation" id="installingthefinderdesktopapplication-classic-personalizedinstallation"></a>

To automatically open the correct session after installation, thus emulating the behavior of the installation from the web interface, modify the name of the installer executable file before running it on the target device.

Provide the name of the user encoded in Base64 format and the address of the web interface as configured for sending the email digests. For example, rename the installer as:

`finder-setup-[YWRtaW4=@nxdocs.eu.nexthink.cloud].exe`

Where:

* `YWRtaW4=` is the Base64 encoding of the user name admin.
* `nxdocs.eu.nexthink.cloud` is the address of the Nexthink instance.
* Note that they are separated by the @ sign.

In the event that you have the Windows authentication of users enabled in your setup, provide only the address of the web interface:

`finder-setup-[nxdocs.eu.nexthink.cloud].exe`

When executed, and after installation, Finder authenticates the current user by their Windows credentials. If no corresponding session is available, which is usually the case if Finder is being installed for the first time, Finder asks the user to [create one session that uses Windows authentication](/platform/getting-started/installing-finder-classic/logging-in-to-finder-classic.md#loggingintofinder-classic-creating-a-session).


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