This article contains the following sections:



Action Library Screen

Selecting Designer in the Navigation bar and then selecting Actions in the sub-menu navigation opens the Action Library screen.


This screen allows you to:


Support.com Cloud supports two types of Actions:


  • Shortcuts: Shortcuts launch existing programs and utilities on the target device, such as Control Panel or Device Manager. Shortcuts work on Windows devices only.
  • Tools: Tools download and launch external programs on the target device, such as antivirus software, system utilities, etc.


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Viewing Existing Actions

The Action Library screen contains two tabs that allows you to view Actions by type (shortcut or tool):

  • Shortcuts: Selecting this tab displays all shortcut Actions.
  • Tools: Selecting this tab displays all tool Actions.


Each tab has a table that displays the following information and functions for each Action:


  • Edit: Clicking the Edit icon (pencil) for a Step opens either the Edit Shortcut popup (if the Action is a shortcut; see Edit Shortcut Popup) or the Edit Tool popup (if the Action is a tool; see Edit Tool Popup).


Note: Unlike Guided Paths/Support Articles, Support.com® Cloud does not maintain a version history for Actions. Editing an Action directly changes that Action for all Steps (and Guided Paths/Support Articles) that currently use that Action or that will use that Action in the future.


  • Delete: Clicking the Delete icon (trash can) for an Action deletes that Action from Support.com Cloud (see Deleting an Action).
  • Name: Name of the Action.
  • Description: Brief description of the Action.
  • Endpoint: Type of device(s) to which the Action applies (e.g., Windows, Macintosh, Android, or iOS). See Endpoints (opens a new article).


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Adding an Action

To add an Action:

  1. In the Action Library screen, select the Shortcuts or Tools tab, as appropriate to the type of Action you are creating.
  1. In the selected tab, click the green Add New button at the top left of the table. You may be prompted to allow the Guided Paths for Windows application. Click OK to proceed.
    • If you are on the Shortcuts tab, then the Edit Shortcut popup appears. See Edit Shortcut Popup.

    • If you are on the Tools tab, then the Edit Tool popup appears. See Edit Tool Popup.
  1. Enter the parameters for the Action you are creating, as appropriate.
  1. Click the green OK button.


Support.com Cloud will:

  • Create the new Action with your specified parameters.
  • Close the popup.
  • Return you to the appropriate tab of the Action Library screen.


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Editing an Action

To edit an Action:

  1. In the Action Library screen, select the Shortcuts or Tools tab, as appropriate to the type of Action you are creating.
  1. In the selected tab, click the Edit icon (pencil) for the Action you want to edit. You may be prompted to allow the Guided Paths for Windows application. Click OK to proceed.
    • If you are on the Shortcuts tab, then the Edit Shortcut popup appears. See Edit Shortcut Popup.

    • If you are on the Tools tab, then Edit Tool popup appears. See Edit Tool Popup.
  1. Enter the parameters for the Action you are creating, as appropriate.
  1. Click the green OK button. The changes to this Action will immediately affect all Steps and Guided Paths/Support Articles that use this Action.


CAUTION: USE CAUTION WHEN EDITING ACTIONS THAT ARE IN USE BY ACTIVE STEPS, BECAUSE THIS COULD CAUSE ERRORS OR OTHER UNEXPECTED BEHAVIOR IF THE ACTION HAS NOT BEEN PROPERLY EDITED.


Support.com Cloud will:

  • Update the Action with your specified parameters.
  • Close the popup.
  • Return you to the appropriate tab of the Action Library screen.


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Deleting an Action

To delete an Action:

  1. In the Action Library screen, click the Delete icon (trash can) for the Actionyou want to delete.

    A confirmation dialog appears.

  1. Click the green OK button to continue with the deletion.


CAUTION: DELETING AN ACTION AFFECTS ALL STEPS AND GUIDED PATHS/SUPPORT ARTICLES THAT CURRENTLY USE THAT ACTION. YOU CANNOT RECOVER A DELETED ACTION.


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Edit Shortcut Popup

The Edit Shortcut popup appears when you:

  • Click the Add button on the Shortcuts tab of the Action Library screen. In this case, the popup will be blank.
  • Click the Edit icon (pencil) for the shortcut Action you want to edit. In this case, the popup will be populated with the existing parameters for the selected Action.


This popup contains the following fields and functions:

  • Name: Enter a unique name for the Action in this field.
  • Description: Enter a brief description of the Action in this field.
  • Select the shortcut to use, as follows:
    • OS: Use this pull-down menu to select the operating system for this shortcut Action (such as whether the shortcut applies to the 32-bit version of the selected operating system, the 64-bit version, or Both versions.

    • Target: Enter the name of the executable file that will be run on the consumer’s Windows device, such as control.exe for the Control Panel.

    • Directory: Enter the name of the directory on the consumer’s device where the Target is located. You can also use common shortcuts in this field; for example, the shortcut %WINDIR% specifies the Windows directory.

    • Parameters: Enter any parameter(s) for the Target. For example, if the Target is control.exe and the Parameter is admintools, then this shortcut will open the Administrative Tools window that is accessible from the Windows Control Panel.
  • Add: Clicking the Add button adds a new row to the shortcut Action that you can customize as described above. You may add as many rows as needed.
  • Save: Click this button to finish creating or editing the current shortcut Action.


Support.com Cloud will:

  • Create or update the Action, as appropriate.
  • Close the Edit Shortcut popup.
  • Return you to the Shortcuts tab of the Action Library screen.


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Edit Tool Popup

The Edit Tool popup appears when you:

  • Click the Add button on the Tool tab of the Action Library screen. In this case, the popup will be blank.
  • Click the Edit icon (pencil) for the tool Action you want to edit. In this case, the popup will be populated with the existing parameters for the selected Action.


This popup contains the following fields and functions:

  • Name: Enter a unique name for the Action in this field.
  • Description: Enter a brief description of the Action in this field.
  • Target: Source URL from where the program/package will to be downloaded, such as http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/myuninst.zip.
  • Launch Executable Name: Name of the executable, such as myuninst.zip.
  • Rename Executable: Whether (Yes) or not (No) you want Support.com Cloud to rename the executable file. Enabling this option randomly renames the executable file before launching it, to prevent malicious programs from detecting the executable file by name and hindering the executable launch process.
  • Extract: Whether (Yes) or not (No) you want Support.com Cloud to extract the downloaded package. Select Yes if the package/program you are downloading is in .zip file format.
  • Automatic Run: Whether (Yes) or not (No) you want Support.com Cloud Toolkit to automatically run/lunch the downloaded executable file on the consumer’s device.
  • Save: Click this button to finish creating or editing the current shortcut Action.


Support.com Cloud will:

  • Create or update the Action, as appropriate.
  • Close the Edit Tool popup.
  • Return you to the Tools tab of the Action Library screen.


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