How to Sign In to the ABM Service Desktop App
The ABM Service desktop app is the Windows program version of ABM Service. When you open it from the Windows Start menu, a small sign-in window asks who you are and for your ABM password, then which company to open. When you open it from a button on the toolbar of ABM (Advanced Business Manager) instead, you are not asked to sign in at all, because ABM tells it who you are.
How do I sign in to the ABM Service desktop app?
Open ABM Service Desktop from the Windows Start menu, choose your name under Who you are, type your ABM password under Password, and press Sign in. The sign-in window is two steps: this one, then the choice of company.
- Open the Windows Start menu and select ABM Service Desktop. A small window opens, saying Opening… for a moment and then loading users… while it reads ABM's list of users, with Sign in to continue under the product name.
- Type any part of your name in the Who you are box. The list of ABM users opens and narrows as you type.
- Choose your name from the list with the mouse, or move to it with the Up and Down arrow keys and press Enter. The caret moves to the Password box.
- Type your ABM password — the same password you use to sign in to ABM itself.
- Press Sign in, or press Enter in the Password box.
If you can open only one company, ABM Service starts straight away. If you can open several, the window moves to its second step, where you pick the company.
The very first time you open ABM Service Desktop on a computer, a window titled Setting up ABM Service may appear first, saying This happens once on this computer. and showing the download. Leave it to finish; the sign-in window opens by itself afterwards.
Note: The desktop sign-in window does not ask for an authenticator code. Authenticator codes are only for signing in to ABM Service in a web browser.
Why is my name already filled in when I open the desktop app?
The ABM Service desktop sign-in window remembers the last person who signed in under your Windows sign-in on this computer, so their name is already in the Who you are box and the caret waits in the Password box. You will see Last signed in on this PC under the name.
This is the same remembered name that ABM's own sign-in keeps, so ABM and ABM Service suggest the same person. It changes whenever somebody signs in successfully, in ABM Service or in ABM.
If the name is not yours, click in the Who you are box, or press Show every user at the end of it: the whole list of users opens, with the remembered person ticked, and you can choose your own name. (The Down arrow key opens the list too, but only while the caret is in the Who you are box, not in the Password box.) Nothing else is remembered: not the password, and not the company last opened.
How do I find my name in the list of ABM users?
In the ABM Service desktop sign-in window, type any part of your name in the Who you are box, or press the Down arrow key to see everybody. The box is a search, not a list of user numbers: nobody needs to know their ABM user number.
- Names whose first word starts with what you typed come first, then names where any word starts with it, then names that contain it anywhere. The matching letters are highlighted.
- The foot of the list says how many of the users match what you typed, or how many ABM users are on this installation when you have not typed anything.
- The button at the end of the box, Show every user, opens or closes the whole list.
- Press Escape to close the list without choosing.
- If nothing matches, you will see No ABM user matches followed by what you typed.
Users whose name in ABM contains "(Removed)" are never listed and cannot sign in, the same as in ABM's own sign-in. If your name is missing, ask whoever looks after ABM to check your entry in ABM's user list.
Can I see the password I am typing?
Yes. In the ABM Service desktop sign-in window, press Show beside the Password box to see what you typed, and Hide to cover it again. This helps when you are not sure you typed it correctly.
The password is only checked when you press Sign in, never as you type. As in ABM itself, capital and small letters are treated the same, and spaces before or after the password are ignored.
The desktop app does not offer to save your password, and it does not count wrong attempts: any lock-out rule belongs to ABM itself.
Can I change or reset my password in the ABM Service desktop app?
No. The ABM Service desktop sign-in window has no forgotten-password link, and the desktop app has no page for changing your password or your name. You sign in with your ABM user and your ABM password, so both belong to ABM: whoever looks after ABM at your company resets or changes them in ABM's own user list, and you then sign in to the desktop app with the new password. The same person sets a password when the sign-in window says This user has no password yet.
The desktop sign-in window does not use your e-mail address at all: you choose your name from the list under Who you are and type your ABM password.
What do the messages in the desktop sign-in window mean?
The ABM Service desktop sign-in window never greys out Sign in; instead it tells you what is missing, in a message above the boxes. While your password is being checked, the button reads Signing in….
- Choose your name from the list first. — You pressed Sign in without choosing a name. The list opens so you can pick one.
- Enter your ABM password. — The Password box is empty.
- That password was not accepted. Check it and try again. — The password did not match. The Password box is cleared so you can type it again.
- This user has no password yet. Whoever looks after ABM can set one in ABM’s own user list. — ABM has no password stored for this person. Somebody who looks after ABM must set one before you can sign in.
- A message beginning ABM's control database, ABM's user list could not be read or ABM's company list could not be read, or Signing in did not work. Try again. — the desktop app lost touch with the list of users and companies that ABM keeps while it was checking your password. Press Sign in again; if it keeps failing, tell whoever looks after ABM.
Two situations replace the boxes with a message of their own:
- There is no company for this user. — You signed in, but ABM has not given you any company. The message adds that whoever looks after ABM can give you one in ABM's own user list. Press Choose another name to go back.
- A message beginning ABM's control database or ABM's user list could not be read, with a Try again button, before any names appear — the desktop app could not reach the list of users and companies that ABM keeps. Press Try again; if it keeps failing, tell whoever looks after ABM.
The line at the foot of the window names the control database it read, the ABM version, and the version of ABM Service. Support may ask you to read it out.