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How to Download the ABM Service Desktop Setup

The ABM Service Desktop machine setup is downloaded from the ABM Service download page, at https://download.abm-portal.com/downloads/. The page always shows the current setup first, with a permanent address you can keep in a runbook, and lists earlier releases underneath.

Where do I download the ABM Service desktop app?​

Download it from the ABM Service download page, https://download.abm-portal.com/downloads/, under Current, on the card for ABM Service Desktop. Press Download the desktop setup on that card.

  1. Open https://download.abm-portal.com/downloads/ in a web browser.
  2. Find the Current section, described as "what a new machine should be given today".
  3. Find the card marked Desktop · Per user, updates itself and named ABM Service Desktop. It shows the version number, the date it was built, its size and one sentence about what the release changed.
  4. Press Download the desktop setup.

The file you get is called ABMService-Machine-Setup-production.exe. It is one signed file that carries everything the PC needs; you can copy it to a network share or a USB stick and run it on each PC.

The other card on the page, ABM Service Server (Server · Machine-wide, IT installs it), is the web server product. You do not need it for the desktop app.

Does the download address change with every release?​

No. The address behind Download the desktop setup on the ABM Service download page is permanent: every new release of the desktop setup replaces the file at the same address, so a link in an email or a runbook always gives the newest setup.

Each release is also kept as a dated copy, named with its version number, for 60 days from the day it was published. The foot of the card shows this version's own file, which is that dated name. The foot of the ABM Service download page says how recent the current setups are, for example The current pair was published a number of days ago, and the top of the page shows the date the list was last Updated.

You do not have to download the setup again for every release. Once a PC has the machine half installed, the ABM Service desktop app updates itself for each user. You only need a newer machine setup when you want to refresh the launchers and the first-run installer on a PC, or to set up a new PC.

How do I get an older version of the ABM Service desktop setup?​

Scroll down the ABM Service download page to Earlier, "every release, newest first", grouped by month. Each row shows the version, whether it is Desktop or Server, the note for that release, the date and the size, and a Download button.

  • Press Desktop above the list to see only desktop releases, Server for only server releases, or Both products for everything.
  • A row that shows leaves the archive on and a date is in its last week: download it now if you need it.
  • A row that says no longer in the archive is more than 60 days old. Its record stays on the page, but the file has been deleted and cannot be downloaded.

Note: An older machine setup installs older launchers, but it does not move anybody's desktop app back to an older version. Each user's copy keeps updating from the update address to the newest release.

How do I check the downloaded ABM Service setup is genuine?​

Compare its SHA-256 fingerprint with the one on the ABM Service download page. Each current card shows SHA-256 followed by the fingerprint of that file, and commit followed by the build it was made from.

  1. Open PowerShell in the folder where you saved the file.
  2. Type Get-FileHash .\ABMService-Machine-Setup-production.exe -Algorithm SHA256 and press Enter.
  3. Compare the result with the SHA-256 value on the card. Upper and lower case do not matter.

Every file on the download page is also signed with the ABM Service code-signing certificate. The machine setup installs that certificate's trust on the PC when it runs, and the first-run installer then refuses to run any download for a user that is not signed with that same certificate.

What do I do when Windows blocks the ABM Service setup?​

When Windows or the browser warns about the ABM Service setup, open Windows blocked the download? on the ABM Service download page and use the two-line command it gives you, or tell Windows to run the file anyway. The warning appears because the ABM Service certificate is its own, not one Windows already knows.

Windows marks every file a browser downloads, and for a publisher it does not recognise it can show Windows protected your PC. To run the file from there, press More info, then Run anyway.

To avoid that warning altogether, fetch the file from the command line instead:

  1. Open Windows blocked the download? on the ABM Service Desktop card.
  2. Press Copy the command. The button says Copied for a moment when it has worked. If it changes to Press Ctrl+C to copy instead, the browser would not let the page copy for you: press the Ctrl and C keys together (Ctrl+C) to copy the text it has selected.
  3. Open PowerShell or the Command Prompt, paste both lines, and press Enter.

Either way, when the setup asks for administrator rights, Windows says the publisher is unknown. That is expected until the setup has installed the ABM Service certificate on that PC.

What if the ABM Service download page shows no releases?​

If the ABM Service download page says The list of releases could not be read, followed by a reason and Try again in a moment., the page could not load its list. Reload the page after a minute; if it keeps failing, check that the PC can reach the download address through your firewall or proxy.

Nothing has been published to this channel yet. means you are looking at a channel with no releases, and No earlier releases. under Earlier means only the current setups exist (or none match the Desktop or Server choice you pressed). The header says which channel you are on: Production is the one for your sites. The link at the top right, Development builds, leads to the software supplier's test builds, which are not for customer PCs.