Ask and fix: self-service for Windows
InformationBox is a Windows app for the person in front of the screen. It shows their device, account and network status, warns before their password expires, opens your support links and runs the fixes you choose to offer. You brand it and control it from one protected config file.
Contoso Ltd Hybrid Azure AD joined
Device
Network
Health Checks
Account (Online)
Synced from Microsoft Graph
Copy UPN
One-time passwords
Stored encrypted for this Windows account
Open Network settingsOpen VPN settings
Links
Create TicketKnowledge BaseIT Portal
Local sites
Intranet
Contacts
IT Service Desk [email protected] +1-800-555-0100
OneDrive
Restart OneDrive
Reset OneDrive
Microsoft Teams
Restart Teams
Reset Teams cache
Network
Release/Renew IP
Flush DNS cache
Restart OneDrive
Close and restart the OneDrive sync client.
Run
Output Success
Stopping OneDrive... Starting OneDrive... OneDrive restarted.
One window, docked to the bottom-right corner by default, with a tray icon to bring it back. It shows cached data the moment it opens, refreshes in the background and marks the footer Offline when it could not reach live sources.
The header names the organisation and the device's join state (Azure AD, hybrid, domain, workplace or workgroup). The first support link becomes a button beside it, so Create Ticket is always one click away.
Days until the password expires, the connection type and adapter, and the IPv4 address with a Copy IP button. Device and Network cards list the machine, user, domain, tenant, SSID and address.
Join state, connection, VPN, uptime, ping results for the targets you configure, free space on the system drive, the last Windows Update install and Intune enrolment with its last sync. No administrator rights needed.
Display name, UPN, email, job title, department, office, phones and aliases. The data comes from Microsoft Graph when you configure it and from the Windows session otherwise. Copy UPN puts the sign-in name on the clipboard.
One-time password codes from an encrypted vault that belongs to this Windows account. See below.
Connection, adapter, SSID, IPv4 and VPN state, with buttons that open the Windows Network and VPN settings pages.
Your links, the local sites for the user's zone and your service desk contacts. The tab appears only when you configure at least one of them.
The fixes you choose to show, grouped by category, with search, a confirmation step and the command's output as it runs.
Common end-user problems have a built-in fix: a stuck OneDrive, a broken Teams cache, a stale IP address, a full print queue. Each fix is compiled into the app. The protected machine config can reorder, hide or rename them, and no config file can add a command.
Runs as the user Requires administrator
Fixes run in a hidden Windows PowerShell as the signed-in user. Output streams into the Troubleshoot tab, and a command that runs longer than five minutes is stopped.
Fixes marked Requires administrator do not prompt for elevation in the standard builds, so they fail unless InformationBox already runs elevated. A custom build can turn on UAC prompts in its embedded defaults. The elevated command then runs in its own PowerShell window, and the tab records its exit status.
Collect basic logs writes a diagnostics zip to the desktop. Collect & email logs does the same and opens a message to your support address.
The OTP tab keeps TOTP and HOTP codes on the machine the user already works on, in a vault encrypted with Windows DPAPI for their account.
Type the provider, account label and Base32 secret, or use Add QR to scan a QR code already on the screen. Pick region limits the scan to part of the screen, and migration QR codes import all their accounts at once.
Compact mode shows one account and the list view shows them all. Copy puts the current code on the clipboard. For HOTP it saves the next counter first.
The vault is %LocalAppData%\InformationBox\otp-vault.authimo. It works only for the Windows account that created it, so keep the recovery method your provider gives you.
OTP uses the AuthIMO NuGet package. AuthIMO has a separate, proprietary licence and requires an agreement with Evotec Services.
Everything the user sees comes from a JSON config. InformationBox reads the first file it finds and does not merge it with the next one.
--config <path> Planned Choose a config file on the command line.
C:\ProgramData\InformationBox\config.json Machine The machine config. Read only when it is protected, and the only file that can change how fixes are presented.
%APPDATA%\InformationBox\config.json User, UI only Per-user config. It can change the window, links and branding. Its fixes section is ignored.
Embedded defaults Fallback The config.default.json compiled into the app. Used when no other file loads.
Theme choice and OTP settings are saved per user in %LOCALAPPDATA%\InformationBox\settings.json. The log is %APPDATA%\InformationBox\logs\log.txt.
InformationBox skips the machine config entirely unless all of these hold:
Create the folder and file from an elevated deployment, remove inherited write access for users and give users read access.
Built-in commands can use {{SUPPORT_EMAIL}}, {{COMPANY_NAME}} and {{PRODUCT_NAME}}. They are filled from your branding as single-quoted PowerShell literals.
Your product name, company, logo, icon, colours, default theme and support address. The theme can be Auto, Light, Dark, Classic, Ocean, Forest or Sunset; Auto follows Windows.
"branding": {
"productName": "Contoso Help",
"companyName": "Contoso Ltd",
"primaryColor": "#0050b3",
"secondaryColor": "#e5f1ff",
"logo": "Assets/logo.png",
"logoWidth": 0,
"logoHeight": 40,
"icon": "Assets/app.ico",
"theme": "Auto",
"supportEmail": "[email protected]"
}One file can serve several organisations. Key an override by the Entra tenant ID the device is joined to, and its sections replace the base config's branding, layout, links, local sites, contacts, password policy, feature flags or health checks. Security settings in an override are discarded.
"tenantOverrides": {
"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000": {
"branding": { "productName": "Fabrikam Help", "supportEmail": "[email protected]" },
"layout": { "defaultWidth": 720, "denseMode": true }
}
}The maximum password age, in days, for accounts synced from on-premises AD and for cloud-only accounts. On an Azure AD joined device with a client ID configured, InformationBox reads the account from Microsoft Graph with the delegated User.Read permission and checks AD over LDAP for synced accounts. Otherwise it asks on-premises AD over LDAP.
"passwordPolicy": {
"onPremDays": 360,
"cloudDays": 180
},
"auth": { "clientId": "" }Links, zones, local sites and contacts fill the Support tab. Zones map the user's DNS domain to a site, and local sites show only in their zone. showLocalSites and showContacts hide those cards. showHelp and showHealth are accepted, but the current source does not change the window for them.
"featureFlags": {
"showLocalSites": true,
"showHelp": true,
"showContacts": true,
"showHealth": false
},
"links": [ { "name": "Create Ticket", "url": "https://helpdesk.contoso.com", "section": "Support", "order": 1 } ],
"zones": [ { "domain": "corp.contoso.com", "zone": "HQ" } ],
"localSites": [ { "label": "Intranet", "url": "https://intranet.contoso.com", "zone": "HQ" } ],
"contacts": [ { "label": "IT Service Desk", "email": "[email protected]", "phone": "+1-800-555-0100" } ]From the protected machine config, address a built-in fix by its id to change its order or hide it. For fixes that run as the user you can also change the name, description, confirmation text and category.
"fixes": [
{
"id": "restart-onedrive",
"name": "Restart OneDrive",
"description": "Close and restart the OneDrive sync client",
"category": "OneDrive",
"confirm": "OneDrive will be restarted. Continue?",
"visible": true,
"order": 1
},
{ "id": "clear-firefox-cache", "visible": false }
]Size, the corner and monitor it opens on, tray-only mode and whether Close hides to the tray. Dense mode is on by default.
"layout": {
"defaultWidth": 680,
"defaultHeight": 440,
"horizontalAnchor": "Right",
"verticalAnchor": "Bottom",
"multiMonitor": "Active",
"trayOnly": false,
"minimizeOnClose": true,
"denseMode": true
}Build/Deploy.ps1 publishes four Windows x64 builds from the same source and zips each one. Pick by whether your machines already have the .NET 10 Desktop Runtime.
| Build | What you get | Needs .NET 10 | Zip |
|---|---|---|---|
portable/ | Self-contained, loose files | No | InformationBox-portable.zip |
single-contained/ | Self-contained, one compressed file that extracts its native libraries | No | InformationBox-single-contained.zip |
single-fx/ | Framework-dependent, one compressed file | Yes | InformationBox-singlefx.zip |
fx/ | Framework-dependent, loose files; the smallest download | Yes | InformationBox-fx.zip |
Portable builds will be published on GitHub Releases. Until the first release appears there, build them from source on Windows with the .NET 10 SDK.
First release pending
git clone https://github.com/EvotecIT/InformationBox.git
cd InformationBox
# All four flavours into Artefacts\
pwsh Build/Deploy.ps1
# Or a single debug build
dotnet build InformationBox/InformationBox.csproj -c DebugPowerBGInfo puts a machine's name, address and support contacts on the wallpaper, where everyone at the desk sees them without opening anything. InformationBox is where the user acts on them: copy the address, check the password, open a ticket or run a fix.
The wallpaper names the machine, its IP address and who to call. A QR code on it can open your helpdesk page.
AvailableThe window gives the user the same facts to copy, their account and password status, and fixes to try before they call.
AvailableA PowerBGInfo tile or QR code that opens InformationBox on the right tab.
Planned