MyBids Office is a server: while it runs, your MyBids data is available. It keeps running in the system tray (the menu bar on macOS) when you close its windows.

The two windows

MyBids Office — the control window: status, updates, backups and your licence. The data folder is shown at the bottom.
MyBids — the estimating app itself, opened with Open MyBids. It is the same app you get at http://localhost:4780 in a web browser.

When MyBids is ready, the Office window shows MyBids is running with the address on this computer and two buttons:

Open MyBids — opens the app window.
Open in web browser — opens the same address in your default browser.

The tray icon

Click the tray icon to open MyBids. Its menu has Open MyBids, MyBids Office…, Open in web browser and Quit MyBids.

Closing a window only hides it; the server keeps running. Starting MyBids again while it is already running brings its window forward instead of starting a second copy.

Tick Start MyBids when this computer starts (on the setup form, or in the MyBids is running card). When it starts with the computer, MyBids stays in the tray and doesn't pop up windows.

Quitting

Use Quit MyBids in the tray menu or at the bottom of the Office window. MyBids stops its database cleanly before it exits.

ℹ️ Note

If MyBids crashes or is force-quit, it shuts its database down too. If a database was left running anyway, MyBids stops it on the next start before starting again.

Status messages

Status	Meaning
Starting MyBids…	Services are starting; the step is shown underneath.
Almost ready — create your administrator account	First run — see First-run setup.
MyBids is running	Ready.
Backing up… / Restoring a backup…	A backup or restore is in progress; MyBids is briefly stopped.
MyBids needs attention	Something failed. See Troubleshooting.