Postman Windows app vs Postman web interface

I am new to Postman.

  1. I have workspace, and a collection within that workspace. Using the Windows app, I have defined two variables in the workspace. I cannot figure out how to see these variables through the Postman web interface.

  2. I have placed an image file in my %HOMEPATH%/Postman/files folder. How can I see this file through the web interface? (I assume the image file is sync’ed to my Postman account.)

Thank you so much.

Hi @sabuncu,

Welcome to the Community :wave:

If you’re starting, I’d recommend going through the Getting Started and concepts section of the documentation to help address the questions you have. I’ve linked them at the end.

Regarding your two points:

  1. I cannot figure out how to see these variables through the Postman web interface.

Did you create them in an Environment template? You should be able to see them in the Web Interface by clicking on the Workspace and then Environment:

  1. This seems like you are talking about the Working directory set up here. You should be able to get information about that here: https://learning.postman.com/docs/postman/launching-postman/settings/ scroll down, and the section is Working Directory

When you work with files in form-data request body and binary file body, save them in this directory to let Postman persist your file’s path relative to the working directory. This means your files loaded from within the working directory run smoothly across devices if other users use the same files on their devices.

P.S: https://learning.postman.com/concepts/ and https://learning.postman.com/getting-started/ are great starting points to help navigate the documentation and explain some of the concepts.

Hopefully, this helps as a starting point.

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No, because documentation says:
Don’t use environment variables if you only have one environment . Use collection variables.
I actually have no environment. I just have a collection, which has variables. Does this mean that collection variables not in an environment are not shared?

I know about the working directory setup. What I’d like to understand is whether I can view my working directory files via the web interface.

My bigger implied question here is: Can you do everything that the Postman Windows app does through the Postman web interface? The answer seems to be no. For example, I can edit collection variables using the app, but not through the web interface.

Thank you.

Hey @sabuncu,

I’m happy to address your follow-up questions:

Use collection variables.
I actually have no environment. I just have a collection, which has variables. Does this mean that collection variables not in an environment are not shared?

Not necessarily, your collection variables are still shared if you’re working on a shared collection in a team workspace and collection variables are created. They just won’t be exposed in the Web Interface the same way Environments do. As seen in the following screenshot:

When creating collection variables here, let’s say you have initial values set for the variable the will be shared with the Team.

What I’d like to understand is whether I can view my working directory files via the web interface.

No, that isn’t possible.

Can you do everything that the Postman Windows app does through the Postman web interface? The answer seems to be no. For example, I can edit collection variables using the app, but not through the web interface.

You are correct here. Currently, not everything can be accomplished via the web interface. It complements the native app but doesn’t necessarily imply all feature are available. You’ll also notice that sometimes the Native app will redirect to the Web Interface for certain things example when clicking on Manage Team for your Team or more information on Usage etc…

I hope this helps.

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Thank you Sabri, now things are much more clear.

Regards.

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