In addition to being used on Android phones and tablets, the SolarView Android app can be used on a Windows or Mac computer. This is done by following these easy steps:

  1. Install the free BlueStacks Android emulator on your Windows or Mac computer.
  2. Open BlueStacks.
  3. Click on Google Play.
  4. Search for “SolarView for SolarEdge”.
  5. Install the SolarView app.
  6. Click on the app icon.

The app will be 100% functional, exactly as it is on an Android phone or tablet. By default the BlueStacks window will be configured as a landscape tablet, however you can change the resolution, resize the BlueStacks window, or rotate to portrait view, as you prefer.

Many people wish to keep SolarView actively running on their desktop or laptop computer at all times, so they can see their current solar status at a glance without having to open the app on a phone. If you have a display screen with limited space, you might want to make the BlueStacks window smaller so that SolarView will be less conspicuous and it can be placed in a corner of your desktop screen away from other windows.

We have introduced a “Desktop Mode” feature for SolarView, optimized for viewing on a computer desktop. When placed in this mode, the SolarView display is streamlined by being oriented into a square shape and with the info status area suppressed by default. When in desktop mode, SolarView looks like this:

(In addition to being available on Windows or Mac with the BlueStacks emulator, Desktop Mode may be used on an Android device that allows window resizing, such as Samsung DeX. Simply resize the SolarView window to roughly square shape and Desktop Mode will be enabled automatically. You may also activate Desktop Mode on any device by long-pressing on the SolarGIS icon in the lower right hand corner of the production graph.)

You can resize BlueStacks on your Windows or Mac screen by clicking on the corner and dragging the mouse. Resizing the BlueStacks window does not change the internal resolution of the app. Resize the window to suit your preference and place it in a corner of your screen, such as this:

In order to activate the SolarView Desktop Mode, simply configure BlueStacks to emulate a screen resolution of 700×700. SolarView will detect this screen size and automatically configure itself into Desktop Mode. To configure BlueStacks to 700×700, click the BlueStacks Settings icon, go to Display, select Custom resolution, enter 700 for both Width and Height, click 320 DPI, and click Save. BlueStacks will restart.

After BlueStacks restarts, open the SolarView app and it will automatically configure to Desktop Mode. (You may also wish to hide the BlueStacks “side bar” icons. This is done by clicking the “<<” icon in the upper right corner of the BlueStacks window.)

When in Desktop Mode the info status area normally seen on the SolarView home screen is hidden. It can be displayed by clicking in the header area of the energy production chart. This will overlay the status area in front of the production chart. Clicking on the status area will cause it to be hidden again.

All other SolarView functions are available with the Desktop Mode, with only minor concessions for the limited display resolution.

Important Notes:

  • If you are using SolarView on multiple devices (phones, tablets, or computers), be sure to go to the SolarView “Other Settings” screen on each device, and disable “Primary Device” on all devices but one. Not only will this optimize your SolarEdge data access, but it will prevent you from getting duplicate status and report emails. Since most people use SolarView on only one device, the Primary Device checkbox is checked by default, so users of multiple devices need to manually uncheck the checkbox on secondary devices. It doesn’t matter which device is designated as Primary.
  • BlueStacks can be configured to create a desktop shortcut icon for SolarView, which may also be pinned to your task bar. Clicking that icon will launch SolarView directly without having to open BlueStacks first. At the present time, the desktop shortcut feature is not available in BlueStacks version 5, so if you want to use this feature, download and install BlueStacks version 4.
  • After changing the screen resolution in BlueStacks, such as from a landscape view to the custom 700×700 “Desktop Mode” view, BlueStacks will restart. Sometimes after the restart the display is incorrect due to a bug in BlueStacks. For example you may see more white space above the energy production chart than is shown in the screenshots above. In this case, close BlueStacks and re-open it, and this normally resolves any such display issues.