Close, quit, reopen, and restart TechDash

Choose the right action when hiding, stopping, reopening, or restarting TechDash.

Last checked 21 August 2026

Closing and quitting have different effects in TechDash. Closing the main window hides the interface while the tray process can keep monitoring. Quit TechDash stops the application and its scheduled work.

Close the window

Use the normal window close control when you want TechDash out of the way but still monitoring. The window closes, its position and size are saved, and the app stays in the macOS menu bar or the Windows and Linux system tray.

Scheduled checks, lookups, site-resource work, Search Console work, and notifications can continue as long as monitoring is not paused, the license is valid, and the computer is online.

Closing a laptop lid is different from closing the TechDash window. The computer usually sleeps when the lid closes, so local checks cannot continue until it wakes.

Reopen the window

Use one of these methods:

  • Select the TechDash tray icon and choose Open TechDash.
  • Open TechDash from Applications on macOS.
  • Open TechDash from the Start menu or desktop shortcut on Windows.
  • Open TechDash from your app launcher on Linux.

TechDash allows only one running instance. Opening it again shows the existing instance instead of starting a duplicate scheduler.

The app normally restores the last main area you used. If it was launched at sign-in, it may intentionally remain hidden until you use the tray or open it normally.

Quit TechDash

Open the tray menu and select Quit TechDash when you need to stop the process completely. On macOS, the standard application menu's quit command also quits it.

Quitting closes shared browser resources and the local database connection. Monitoring, scheduled lookups, Search Console jobs, and new desktop notifications stop until TechDash starts again. The tray icon should disappear.

Pause all monitoring is different. It keeps TechDash open and changes the tray action to Resume all monitoring. Use pause when you want a reversible portfolio-wide stop without closing the app.

Restart for troubleshooting

Use a full restart if the window will not appear, a setting seems stuck, or queues do not recover after connectivity returns:

  1. Quit TechDash completely.
  2. Confirm that its tray icon has disappeared.
  3. Open it again from Applications, the Start menu, desktop shortcut, or Linux app launcher.
  4. Confirm that the main window appears.
  5. Open Queue Status and review the latest page-check times.

A normal window close is not a restart because the desktop process keeps running.

Restart to install an update

On macOS and Windows, an eligible update can download in the background. When Settings > Check for Updates shows Restart and install, select that exact action. TechDash hands the downloaded package to the updater and closes the running app.

Simply quitting does not install a downloaded update. Linux does not apply an update in-app. Use Download installer, install the matching .deb or .rpm through the normal operating-system process, then reopen TechDash.

Before restarting for an update, allow active page checks to finish if interruption would be inconvenient. The app remains licensed after an eligible update.

If the window will not appear

  • Look for the tray icon before assuming TechDash is not running.
  • Select it and choose Open TechDash.
  • If the app was started at login, it may have intentionally opened in the background.
  • If no tray icon is present, start TechDash through the operating system.
  • If the tray icon is present but Open TechDash does nothing, use Quit TechDash, confirm the icon disappears, and reopen it.
  • If startup displays a desktop-process error, record the exact message and your version and platform for support.

After reopening, the expected result is either the licensed main app or Activate TechDash if the local license has been unlinked, revoked, or moved. A restart should not erase websites, results, or settings because those are stored locally.

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