Access Control Widgets allow you to set what Application Page to show when customers are waiting to come in to an establishment and for when it is their turn to enter.
Two widgets are used for this Application from the EngagePHD Store:
Add the Access Control Widgets to Your Network
1) Using the links above, add the Store Counter Remote Control and Application Page Controller widgets to your network.
2) Once the widgets are added, go to the ‘Applications’ section of the software to start building your Application.
Create a Blank Template
First, create a blank Template. Templates are often used to create a global piece of an Application, but in the type of Application we are building, just a blank template is need. A Template is required for the Application to work correctly.
1) Under Templates, click on the ‘Create New‘ button. Give your template a name (i.e. Blank) and click ‘Save‘.
Create Pages for Content
The Access Control experience will use two Pages. One page will be your Home/Main page that will consist of content that will show guidelines for your establishment, and use the Access Control Counter widget.
Click on the “Create New‘ button and create the “Home” or “Main” page.
- In this example, we’ll use the name Access Control – Welcome/Counter.
- Keep the height and width at 1920×1080 for landscape screens (you would change this to 1080×1920 if your screen is in portrait).
- Set the Template to ‘Blank’.
- Click ‘Save‘. You’ll come back to the Page Designer to create content after the next step.
Create a “Please Wait” page with either static content, or using Playlists.
1) Repeat the steps about, but name this second page as something like: Access Control – Stop/Promotional Screen,
2) Save the Page.
Add Content to Your Pages
1) You can access the Designer for your Pages by clicking on the ‘Description‘ of the Page:
Or by clicking on the ‘Designer‘ icon:
2) Start with the Welcome/Counter page.
3) Use the icons on the toolbar to add your content (backgrounds, text, additional images) and the Access Control widgets:
4) Click on the ‘Add Widget‘ icon and add the Access Control (COVID-19) Application Page Controller (2 of 2) widget from the Asset Library:
5) Click on the properties icon of the widget to open the properties:
- Create a ‘Store Name’ – this can be whatever you want, but it has to stay the same for both widgets.
- Application PageID to show when customers can enter: – This is the ID of the Access Control – Welcome Counter Page. Page ID’s can be found under Applications > Pages under the Page ID column:
- Application PageID to show when customers should stop and wait their turn – This is the ID of the Access Control – Stop/Promotional Screen Page ID’s can be found under Applications > Pages under the Page ID column.
- Click on Edit to create a text Style for the font of the counter.
- Set the Maximum Capacity. This is the number that will trigger the Stop/Promotional page.
Here’s an example of these settings:
Here’s an example of the layout with content and the counter widget on the right. In this example the counter Style is very large:
The Page will automatically save your work.
6) Go back to the Applications section. Under Pages open the Designer for the Stop/Promotional page.
7) For your Stop/Promotional page, use the toolbar to add whatever content you want to display. In this example, we’re using two playlists that are rotating content. For more information on creating Playlists and adding Playlists to your Page Designer, please see:
8) Whether you’re using playlists, or other content to your Designer, you’ll need to add the Access Control (COVID-19) Application Page Controller (2 of 2) widget to this Page Designer, the same way you added it to your first Page. All settings will remain the same, except don’t add a font Style to the counter. See the example just above, under step 5.
Now that your pages are created, you’ll need to finish setting the Application settings, then create a Layout that will be used as the Remote Controller.
Set the Application Settings
1) Go back to the Applications main page.
2) Under Applications at the top of the page, click on the ‘Create New‘ button.
- Give your Application a name (i.e. Access Control).
- Set the timeout to 3600 (this is the application timeout and can be any number you want).
- Set the Page to your Access Control – Welcome/Counter page.
- Under the ‘Applications‘ tab, click on the ‘Add pages to application’ button and add both Pages.
- Click ‘Save‘.
Create the Remote Controller Layout
Next, we’ll need to create a Layout that will be used as the remote control to change the counter on your Access Control screen.
1) From the navigation, click on the ‘Layouts’ icon.
2) Click on the ‘Create New‘ button and give your Layout a name. Use the height and width to set the resolution of your layout. In this example, we’re assuming the remote control will be viewed on a mobile phone, so our height and width will be 768×1366.
3) Click ‘Save‘ or ‘Save and go to Designer‘ to take you into the Designer. The ‘Designer‘ icon is where you go each time you need to make changes to this Layout.
4) Use the ‘Add Image‘ icon on the navigation to add background that you’ve created or added from the Store.
5) Use the ‘Add Widget‘ icon to add the Access Control (COVID-19) Store Counter Remote Control (1 of 2):
6) Click on the widget properties icon to add the Store Name (this is the name you added to the widget in your Pages (in this example “access”). Click ‘Save‘:
7) Drag the edges of the zone to position your widget:
8) Use the ‘Preview‘ of the Layout (from either toolbar or the main Layouts page to open the preivew in a new tab in your browser. Copy and save the URL. This will be the URL you will open on your mobile device to use as the remote controller. Please see: How Do I Preview a Layout / Preview URL’s
Connect the Application to the Player
Next, we’ll need to connect the Application to the Player to download and start playing our content.
From the navigation, click on Applications > Schedule and follow the steps to schedule your Application to start playing now or at a future date/time:
Once content downloads, use the preview (mentioned above) to use the remote control to use your Access Control application.