# Browser desk Takeoff in the browser. Share a Project; they sign in and open without installing. Mac and Windows apps are the same desk if you prefer a native window. You do not need a Windows install to open the takeoff.
Sheet A-7 open on the desk in the browser, page 7 of 11.
The browser is the desk. Same sheet after you sign in.
Construction markup spent a long time living in one desktop product on one PC. Sharing meant emailing a PDF, starting a Session, or teaching someone which Cloud client to open. Here the **browser is a first-class desk**. Chrome on a Mac is not a consolation SKU. Edge on the shop PC is not a preview. Sign in. Open the [Project](/guides/projects). Calibrate, measure Length / Polylength / Count / Area, export CSV. Same loop as [how it works](/how-it-works). Prefer a native window? [Download Mac or Windows](/download). That is the **same** product, not a second family. Same login. Same markups. [Cloud sync](/guides/project-cloud-sync) is how the Project follows you across machines either way. ## Where this lives Open [forwardlayout.com](/) (or your signed-in `/app` URL). Sign in. Recents and Projects are the cabinet. Open a [Document](/guides/project-documents). That is the live desk in the tab. **Share** still names people by email: [Project collaborators](/guides/project-collaborators). Not anyone-with-the-link. After they accept, they open that Project in **their** browser. No install step before they can see the sheet. Avatars, **Follow**, and comments need a connection. Measuring a sheet you already opened still works when the trailer link flaps: [cloud sync](/guides/project-cloud-sync). ## Why the browser desk matters | Benefit | What that means | | --- | --- | | No install to start | Sign in and measure. IT does not push an .msi before the second estimator can look. | | Fast invite | [Share](/guides/project-collaborators) by email. They click, sign in, open the Project. Guest or org member: [Working together](/guides/working-together-collaboration). | | Same product everywhere | Browser, [Mac](/download), [Windows](/download). Not Revu-plus-Cloud as two surfaces. | | Mac is first-class | Chrome on a Mac is the desk. You are not renting a Windows VM to click Length. | | Trailer Chromebook | Sign in on whatever machine is in front of you. Recents fills in as you open sheets here. | | Revoke is access, not a folder | Remove the grant. They lose the Project. Details: [Project access](/guides/project-access). | Shop still prices. Stairs and rails are how we show the package. The desk is a general measure tool. ## Browser vs installed app Both are the live Project. Pick the shell you want. | | Browser | [Mac / Windows app](/download) | | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | The desk in Chrome, Edge, or another modern browser | The same desk in a native window | | Best when | You want zero install, a guest jump-in, a machine that is not “yours” | You want a dock icon, an OS window, the habit of an installed app | | Login | Same account | Same account | | Projects and markups | Same | Same | | Offline after a visit | Yes, same contract | Yes, same contract | | First open of a new PDF | Needs a connection | Needs a connection | | Presence / Follow / comments | Online | Online | There is no thinner “web only” feature set. If a button exists in the app, it exists in the browser (and the reverse), for the product you have today. Phone and tablet as a thinner layout are later. ## How someone jumps in without installing 1. You **Share** the [Project](/guides/projects) (or they already inherit as an org [member](/guides/organization-members)). 2. They get the invite by email. Pending invites last seven days. 3. They **sign in** as themselves. You do not mint their login. 4. They open the Project in the **browser**. No download required. 5. Give the least role that fits: **View** to read, **Comment**, **Edit** to measure. [Roles](/guides/project-access). 6. When the bid is over, **revoke**. Hand them the CSV if they still need quantities. Outside estimator or GC’s PM: prefer a [guest](/guides/project-collaborators) on this Project, not the company directory. Two setups with a client: [Working together](/guides/working-together-collaboration). ## When to download anyway Install when you want it, not because the browser is incomplete. - You live on one shop PC and like a native window. - You want the app pinned next to everything else you open every morning. - Cold trailer machine where a bookmark is easy, and a dock icon is easier. First desktop launch still connects once so that machine can hold the desk. After that, offline rules match the browser: [cloud sync](/guides/project-cloud-sync). ## Pick the next page | Your question | Open this | | --- | --- | | Install Mac or Windows | [Download](/download) | | Same Project on every machine? Offline after a visit? | [Cloud sync](/guides/project-cloud-sync) | | How people work on one Project | [Working together](/guides/working-together-collaboration) | | Two Edit seats measuring now | [Realtime multiplayer collaboration](/guides/realtime-project-collaboration) | | Calibrate → measure → CSV | [How it works](/how-it-works) | | Who can View or Edit | [Project access](/guides/project-access) · [Project collaborators](/guides/project-collaborators) | ## Limits - Share is named people and Teams. Not a public link that anyone can open. - First visit of a new PDF needs a connection so this device can hold it. - Presence, Follow, and comments are online-only. - Takeoff is quantities. Estimating is price. ## Evaluating this If the bake-off question is “can a second estimator open the hospital stairs without installing anything,” this page is the answer: browser desk, then [Share](/guides/project-collaborators). If the question is “is the shop PC the same Project as the laptop,” that is [cloud sync](/guides/project-cloud-sync). If the question is “can two people measure at once,” start at [Working together](/guides/working-together-collaboration). Job A is still calibrate → measure → CSV: [how it works](/how-it-works). Prefer the native shell: [download](/download). Noun map: [how work is organized](/guides). Software-choice without a 12-logo grid: [choose takeoff software](/resources/choose-takeoff-software). Still in Revu and retyping: [Bluebeam into Excel](/resources/bluebeam-to-excel). ## FAQ ### Do I have to install software to take off? No. Chrome, Edge, or another modern browser is a first-class desk. Sign in, open the Project, calibrate and measure. [Download](/download) is optional: the same product in a native Mac or Windows window. ### Can someone join without installing an app? Yes. [Share](/guides/project-collaborators) them on the Project (named email, not a public link). They sign in, open the Project in the browser, and they’re on the sheet. No .dmg or .exe first. ### Is the browser a thinner Cloud SKU? No. Browser and [desktop](/download) are the same product. Same login, same Projects, same markups. There is no Windows-only markup OS with a thinner web client beside it. ### When should I download Mac or Windows? When you want a native window, a dock icon, or the habit of an installed app. The measure loop is the same: [how it works](/how-it-works). Devices and offline: [cloud sync](/guides/project-cloud-sync). ### Does the browser work offline? After you open a Document while signed in, that takeoff stays on the device. Keep measuring when the trailer link fails. First visit of a new PDF, comments, Follow, and CSV export need a connection. Details: [cloud sync](/guides/project-cloud-sync). ### How do two people measure in the browser? Both open the same [Project](/guides/projects) with Edit. No Session to start. Start with [Working together](/guides/working-together-collaboration). Simultaneous Edit: [realtime multiplayer collaboration](/guides/realtime-project-collaboration).