Digital Signage Configuration Interface

In this article, we'll go through how to set up your digital signage. 

Things to know: 

• This feature is controlled by a hidden setting that only the MyTime team can enable. To enable the hidden setting, please contact our Support Team at support@mytime.com. 
• The digital signage configuration page is access controlled and requires the "Access Digital Signage" permission to be turned on in order for staff members to have access to configure digital signage. This can be found by going to Staff & Availability > Access Controls Settings > selecting the Business Setup option > Digital Signage.                                                                                                                                                                
• Message updates are synced every 10 seconds, so you can pause, update, or delete messages (pictures, videos, or text messages) and the Digital Signage waitboard will be updated instantly. 

Configure Digital Signage

Once the hidden setting is enabled, you are now ready to configure your digital signage. Here are the steps:

1. Navigate to Business Setup

2. Select the Signage tab from the sub navigation menu  

3. You will be given the option to do the following:

• Create Signage Templates 

• Create Announcement Messages

Create Signage Templates 

Signage templates are used to define how the digital signage should be displayed. You can create multiple templates and choose the locations to which they should apply.

To create a new digital signage template:

1. Click the Create New Template button in the top right corner
2. Add the following:
   • Template Name - This is the template name for your own reference.  It is not shown anywhere on the external display to clients.  The template name helps your staff choose the right template to display. 
   • Locations - This determines which locations are permitted to use and display this template. This is not shown anywhere on the external display to clients.
   • Logo - Upload the logo that should show at the top of this template. The logo is displayed on the external display and is shown to clients.
   • Theme Color - This determines the color of the banner behind the words SERVICE NUMBER, WINDOW NUMBER, and EST. WAIT TIME on the digital signage display. The banner is displayed on the external display and shown to clients.
   • Layout -  This determines the layout of the external display. Fullscreen layout will display the waitlist across the entire screen. Half screen layout will split the screen between the waitlist and the multimedia promotions.
   • Waitlist Based On - This option allows you to show all appointments at the location or only those related to a specific resource or resources (for instance, rooms or counter windows). If you choose Appointments by Resource here, a list of resources available at the location will be presented so that you can choose the related resources from which to base the waitlist calculation.
3. Save

Once you have all of the settings configured for the template and save it, the template will be ready and available for use in the Digital Signage!  

Create Announcement Messages

To create Announcement Messages:

1. Click the Create New Message button  

2. This will open the Message modal for configuration: 

Message Types

The Announcement Messages section allows you to configure the various messages, images, and videos that will be displayed to your clients. There are 4 types of announcement messages: Announcement, Emergency Announcement, Promotion Video and Promotion Image, which are described below.

Announcement

Announcement displays scrolling text at the bottom of the screen

Promotion Video

Promotion Video displays a video to the right side of the waitlist. When the video is complete, the next video or image will be displayed, otherwise the video will be looped. Portrait orientation videos with an aspect ratio of 3:4 work best. 

Promotion Image

Promotion Image displays an image to the right side of the waitlist. Images will be displayed for 10 seconds each before the next image or video is shown. You can upload images that are up to 5MB in size. PNG, JPG or GIF are accepted. Portrait orientation videos with an aspect ratio of 3:4 work best. 

Emergency Announcement

Emergency Announcement displays scrolling white text over red background at the bottom of the screen. The Emergency Announcement will overwrite any regular Announcement that is currently running until it is paused or deleted.

Once you have decided which type of message will be used, you can begin configuring the message.

• Pause - The Pause option is only available when editing an existing message. If you would like to temporarily stop displaying an existing message, click the Pause button. When you are ready for the message to be displayed again, edit that message and click the Unpause button.
• Name - Choose a name for the message to help identify the message in the Announcement Messages list. This name is not shown to clients. 
• Locations - The locations option lets you choose which location or locations should display the message.
• Time - The time option allows you to choose whether the message is permanent or has set dates and times it should display. The permanent option means the message will always be displayed as long as it is not paused. The Display Between Set Dates option allows you to set a specific start date + time and end date + time.                                                                                                                                                                                                  
• Media Options - Depending on the Message Type chosen above, you will have one of the following options: 
  • Content - The content field is shown only for Announcements and Emergency Announcements. This is a text field that allows you to enter up to 255 characters. The text will be displayed in a banner that runs horizontally across the bottom of the screen.
  • Video Link - The video link option is only shown for Promotion Video message types. To embed videos, you’ll need to copy the embed URL from YouTube and paste it in the Video Link field.
  • To get the embed URL from YouTube:
    • Go to www.youtube.com
    • Find the video that you would like to add to the Announcement Message
    • Click on share  
    • Click on the embed option                                                                                                                                        
      
    • Copy just the part of the code that is a URL, like https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID  Example: https://www.youtube.com/embed/epblU2CwnTQ 
    • Paste the YouTube embed link into the Video Link field in your MyTime Digital Signage setup page.      
  • Upload Image - The upload image option is only shown for Promotion Image message types. The Promotion Image message type allows you to upload an image that is up to 5MB in size. You can use a JPEG, PNG, or GIF image type. Portrait orientation images work best.
  • Preview - The preview gives you an idea of what your message will look like when it is displayed on the Digital Signage.

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