Starting IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer

You can start the IBM® App Connect Enterprise Designer UI by running the Designer command, or from the Windows Start menu.

Before you begin

Install IBM App Connect Enterprise.

Read about the concepts of IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer as described in IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer overview.

About this task

After you start IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer, the UI opens in your default web browser.

Note: IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer is not multi-user compatible. If you edit the same flow from multiple locations, changes that are made from one location are not reflected when the flow is viewed from other locations.

Procedure

Start IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer by using one of the following methods:
1. Open the Integration Console, and run the Designer command.
  The command has some optional parameters, including --designer-directory and --vault-key, but you can run it with no parameters. For example:
```
Designer
```
  For more information about the Designer command, see Designer command.
  The IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer login page opens in your default web browser. The command can take a few minutes to run before it completes.
2. From the Windows Start menu, click IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer.
  The Integration Console opens and automatically runs the Designer command, and then the IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer login page opens in your default web browser. The command can take a few minutes to run before it completes.
IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer uses a vault to store credentials. You can enter a vault key to unlock the vault and access the UI by using one of the following methods:
1. If this is your first time accessing the IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer tool in a specific --designer-directory, you must create a new vault key. Complete the New vault key and Confirm new vault key fields, and then click Create vault.
  The IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer welcome page is displayed.
2. If you have accessed IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer before, then the IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer login page is displayed. Complete the Vault key field and click Log in to access the UI. The IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer welcome page is displayed.
3. If you forget your credentials, you can use one of the following options:
  - Click Reset vault and follow the on-screen instructions. This option deletes all existing accounts and then creates a new vault with the new key. Follow the on-screen instructions by completing the New vault key and Confirm new vault key fields, and then click Reset vault.
  - Run the ibmint update vault-key command to update the vault key for the Designer directory. For example:
```
ibmint update vault-key --designer-directory C:\Users\myUserId\IBM\ACEDesigner13\data\vault --old-vault-key 12345678 --new-vault-key 87654321
```
    For more information about the ibmint update vault-key command, see ibmint update vault-key command.
Trouble: If connection to the IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer is lost, the following message is displayed: Connection to Designer has been lost. You can reconnect by running the Designer command again, or clicking IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer from the Start menu again. After you restore the connection and unlock the vault, you can continue to use the IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer to create, test, and export flows.
You can log out of the IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer by clicking your user profile icon on the menu bar in the header, and selecting Log out. The login screen is displayed. When you want to access the IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer again, you must enter your vault key to log in.

What to do next

Optionally, before you create an account, you can create an HTTP proxy in IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer as described in Creating an HTTP proxy configuration in IBM App Connect Enterprise Designer.

If you know in advance which connectors you want to use in your flow, you can create an account for each designer connector by completing Creating accounts. Alternatively, if you need to decide which connectors to use during flow creation, you can create the accounts by completing the required step in Creating an event driven flow or Creating a flow for an API.