# Work in Backstage

Backstage gives you a separate, hidden desktop on a Windows Access device. Programs you start there run alongside the user's own desktop, but the user never sees them. Use it to check services, read event logs or run tools while the user keeps working undisturbed.

:::note
Backstage is in beta. Some programs may not draw or respond to input as reliably on the hidden desktop as on the normal one.
:::

## Start a Backstage session

1. In the console, open **Access**.
2. On the device's row, select the **Backstage** icon (the crossed-out eye), or open the device and select **Backstage**.

The viewer opens on the hidden desktop and the toolbar shows **Backstage**. Your role needs the **Backstage** permission.

Inside an Access session that already has Backstage, the toolbar's **Backstage** button switches to the hidden desktop, and **Exit Backstage** returns you to the live screen.

## The Backstage desktop

The hidden desktop has its own taskbar and Start menu. The Start menu pins common technician tools at the top:

- Command Prompt
- PowerShell
- File Explorer
- Task Manager
- Registry Editor
- Services
- Device Manager
- Event Viewer

Below them it lists the Start menu shortcuts installed on the computer.

## Who the programs run as

By default, programs in Backstage run as the user signed in on the device, with that user's rights.

With the **Backstage as SYSTEM** permission, programs run as SYSTEM instead, with full control of the computer. Hover the **Backstage** button in the device's details to see which applies to you. A Backstage session started this way can only be joined by technicians who also have **Backstage as SYSTEM**. Like the terminal, **Backstage as SYSTEM** is only in a role that names it explicitly; the Owner role has it.

## What the user sees

Nothing. Access sessions show no banner or tray icon, and the Backstage desktop is never shown on the device's screen.

When your plan includes **Session recording**, Backstage sessions are recorded like any other session. They are marked **backstage** in **Sessions** and in the device's session history. In the session player the hidden desktop appears as its own **Backstage** track.

## Tips

- **Ctrl+Alt+Del** is not available in Backstage. Exit Backstage to use it on the live screen.
- After a reboot with automatic reconnect on, the new session opens in Backstage again, unless the device came back in Safe Mode.