PowerServer CMS USER GUIDE

Transcription

1 PowerServer CMS USER GUIDE Copyright Acotec Co. Ltd All rights reserved

2 1.0 PowerSignage Overview PowerSignage is a complete enterprise digital signage solution. It is composed of two product components: PowerServer Content Management Service (CMS) One or more PowerPlayer Devices PowerServer is the signage management and storage hub that implements a digital signage content management service CMS. The PowerServer CMS is webbased there is no software to install on your PC. It's used to upload/store PowerPoint media files (presentations), manage PowerPlayer devices (and groups) and create signage display schedules. PowerPlayer is a pocket-sized Windows PC-on-a-stick device that that plugs directly into your TV's HDMI port and displays Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. This guide will focus on the PowerServer CMS operation. Please refer to the PowerPlayer Enterprise User Guide for instructions on how to install and register your PowerPlayer devices with the PowerServer CMS. 1.1 PowerServer CMS Overview The PowerServer CMS supports for the following management components: PowerPlayer Devices Player Groups Signage Presentations Signage Schedules CMS User Account Management PowerPlayer Devices display Microsoft PowerPoint signage presentations on your TV endpoints. Every PowerPlayer device must be registered with the PowerServer CMS before it can be assigned signage presentations. PowerPlayer devices download/display signage presentations from the CMS server and store them in local flash memory. Player Groups are simply a logical group of PowerPlayer devices. Groups make system management easier by supporting a single operation (e.g., assigning a signage presentation) for a group of players. Signage Presentations are a playlist of one or more PowerPoint presentation files that are uploaded to the PowerServer CMS and displayed by PowerPlayer devices. You can assign PowerPlayers or Players Groups to a Signage Presentation. Signage Schedules allow you to display multiple Presentations, specifying the dates, times and days of the week that each Presentation can be displayed by PowerPlayer devices. You can assign a Schedule to one or more player/groups. 2

3 1.2 - PowerServer Configurations PowerServer is available in two (2) product configurations: PC-based and cloudbased hosted at a data center. If you've purchased the cloud-based configuration you will receive the url of your private cloud server which runs the PowerServer CMS software. There's no setup needed for this configuration. To access your hosted PowerServer CMS all you need is your cloud server's url (e.g., mycompany.powersignage.net) which is supplied when you signup for the service. If you purchased our PowerServer PC then you must first setup the server's TCP/IP network configuration. The PowerServer PC has all the necessary CMS software pre-installed PowerServer PC Network Setup To setup, connect a LAN cable from your switch/router to the PowerServer's Ethernet port. Make sure PowerPlayer's access switch/router supports connectivity to any PowerPlayer connected on your network. A good rule-of-thumb: you should be able to ping any PowerPlayer device from the PowerServer's network access port. Next, plug in a video monitor, keyboard, power adapter and press the PC's power button. The video monitor should display the (Ubuntu linux) boot-up screen once power is applied. After 30 seconds or so you will be prompted to specify the PowerServer PC's static IP address, netmask, default gateway and DNS server. This information can be supplied by your network administrator. The PowerServer PC will automatically run the CMS software on power up. After this initial configuration you do not need the video monitor or keyboard. Please note the PowerServer's assigned IP address as this will be needed to access the PowerServer CMS web application and register PowerPlayer devices. Important note: If you have PowerPlayer devices at different locations outside your routable LAN then you must configure the PowerServer with a public IP address and make sure it is accessible over the Internet. This can normally be accomplished by placing the PowerServer in your firewall's or router's DMZ and setting up some type of IP port forwarding. PowerPlayers communicate with the PowerServer CMS over TCP port 80. No other IP ports are used by PowerPlayers. The steps are the same as you would perform if hosting a web server on your LAN that is accessible over the Internet. 3

4 2.0 - Accessing the PowerServer CMS The PowerServer CMS is web-based. To access the PowerServer CMS launch your web browser and enter the IP address of the PC server or cloud server url used when PC server-based CMS - used when cloud-based CMS For example: is the server's IP - cloud server url Note: You will receive your assigned cloud server's hostname after you have signed up for the hosted service. The form of the cloud server url is always: After entering url PowerServer CMS login screen will be displayed (see Figure 1). Figure 1- PowerServer CMS Login Screen You must enter the proper user ID and password to access the PowerServer CMS web application. By default the admin user ID and password is admin and signage, respectively. 4

5 After successfully logging in you will be presented with the PowerServer CMS home screen: Figure 2 PowerServer CMS Home Screen Notice the Menu icon in the upper left corner of the home screen. If you click the menu icon the following drop-down command menu will be displayed: 5

6 Figure 3 PowerServer CMS Drop-Down Command Menu This drop-down shows the available PowerServer CMS commands: PowerPlayer Devices click manage your PowerPlayer devices Player Groups click to manage PowerPlayer groups Signage Presentations click to manage signage presentations Signage Schedules click to manage signage presentation schedules Users click to manage PowerServer CMS login user accounts Note: On every CMS page the menu is always displayed in the upper-left corner. As always, click the menu and a drop-down will display the available CMS commands. 6

7 3.0 - CMS User Management To log into the PowerServer CMS you must have a valid CMS user account. By default you can log onto the PowerServer CMS by entering admin and signage for the user ID and password respectively. This admin user account is built in. You can create additional CMS user login accounts via the Users command. The PowerServer CMS supports three (3) types of user accounts: admin, operator and installer. An admin user account can perform any CMS task. An operator user account can perform all CMS tasks except user account management they cannot create/modify/delete user accounts. An installer user account can only be used to register PowerPlayer devices using the NetSetup client utility. To create/manage PowerServer CMS user accounts simply click Users from the drop-down menu (see figure 3) on the home page. Figure 4 User Management Menu 7

8 3.1 - Creating New CMS User Accounts To create a new user CMS login account click Create User. A form will be displayed allowing you to enter the new user's name (informational), login user ID/password and privilege level (admin, operator or installer). After entering the user information click the Create button. To return to the main home page click the Home button in the upper-left corner. Figure 5 Create New User Screen You can also modify any existing user account (for example, to change the name or password) by clicking their entry in the User Management list. A screen will be displayed that will allow you delete the account or change any of the user account's properties: name, user ID, password or privilege level. It is strongly recommended that you change the password of the built-in admin user account which is set to signage as it is well-known. 8

9 4.0 - PowerPlayer Devices You must register each PowerPlayer device. Once registered the player becomes an active part of your signage network. There is a PowerPlayer NetSetup utility pre-installed on desktop on every PowerPlayer that is used by the installer to register PowerPlayer devices. Please refer to the PowerPlayer Enterprise User Guide for more details. Once registered, you can assign a Signage Presentation or Player Group to a PowerPlayer device. Players can also be assigned to a Signage Schedule. To manage your PowerPlayers click PowerPlayer Devices from the drop-down menu (see figure 3) on the home page. The following screen will be displayed: Figure 6 - PowerPlayer Devices Home Screen A list of all of the currently registered PowerPlayer devices are displayed on this page, showing each player's serial number, name, location, online state and the currently playing or (if offline) assigned presentation. 9

10 4.1 - Modify PowerPlayer Settings To modify a PowerPlayer's settings, click its entry in the list. The following screen will be displayed: Figure 7 PowerPlayer Devices Edit Screen From this page you can change the player's current name and location by entering new values and clicking the Update button. You can also delete (unregister) the player by clicking the Delete button. To stop or reboot the PowerPlayer click Player Control and make your selection. To update the PowerPlayer's client software click Update Software. A popup will be displayed allowing you to select/upload the software update file to the PowerServer CMS. You can update the selected PowerPlayer or all registered PowerPlayer devices. Under Player Groups you also have to option of performing these commands on a Player Group. In this case you can update, stop or reboot any PowerPlayer that is a member of the group. 10

11 5.0 - Player Groups Player Groups offer a convenient means of managing a group of related PowerPlayer devices. You can define groups by location, type of signage station (e.g., checkout stands), or whatever makes sense for you business. You can assign a Signage Presentation or a Signage Schedule to a Player Group. All PowerPlayer devices that are members of the group will display all presentations assigned to the group. To manage groups click Player Groups from the drop-down menu (see figure 3) on the home menu. The following screen will be displayed: Figure 8 Player Groups Home Screen This screen will display all of the currently defined Player Groups. 11

12 5.1 Creating Player Groups To create a Player Group click the Create Player Group button. The following screen will be displayed: Figure 9 Create New Player Group Enter a name for the Player Group and click the Create button. 5.2 Editing Player Group Settings Once a Player Group is created you can change its properties, delete it or assign PowerPlayer Devices to it. To edit a Player Group simply click the group from the list. The Edit Player Group screen will be displayed. To change the group's name/comment, make the changes then click Update. To delete the Player Group click Delete. 12

13 Figure 10 PowerPlayer Groups Edit Screen You can assign one or more PowerPlayer devices to a Player Group. If a Signage Presentation has been assigned to the Player Group then each PowerPlayer in the group will play the assigned presentation. To assign one or more PowerPlayers to the group click Assign Players. The following screen will be displayed: 13

14 Figure 11 Assign PowerPlayers to a PowerPlayer Group A list of all the currently registered PowerPlayers will be displayed in this screen. Simply check the PowerPlayers to be added to the Player Group. 14

15 6.0 - Signage Presentations A Signage Presentation is a playlist of one or more PowerPoint presentation files that are uploaded to the PowerServer CMS that can be displayed by PowerPlayer devices. A Signage Presentation can be assigned to one or more PowerPlayers or Player Groups. PowerPlayer devices download any assigned presentation playlist files and store them locally. PowerPlayers always play presentations from their onboard flash storage. This allows PowerPlayer devices to display the last downloaded Signage Presentation even if there is no WiFi/Internet connectivity. To create and manage Signage Presentations click the Signage Presentations item in the command menu drop-down (see Figure 3). The Signage Presentations home screen will be displayed. Figure 12 Presentations Home Screen The Presentations home screen displays a list of all your existing Signage Presentations Create a Signage Presentation To create a new Signage Presentation definition click the Create Presentation button on the Signage Presentations home screen. The following screen will be displayed: 15

16 Figure 13 Create Presentation Screen You must give the new Presentation a descriptive name. You can use any combination of letters, numbers, hyphens and spaces. To add one or more PowerPoint files click the Choose Files button. Your browser will display a file chooser popup from which you can select PowerPoint media files from your PC (or networked folders). When all the PowerPoint files have been selected press the Open browser button, which will close the chooser popup. Next click the Upload button. You browser will upload the selected file(s) to the PowerServer CMS. The file upload may take a while if the PowerPoint files are large, during which time a waiting message is displayed. Please wait until the upload is completed Modify a Presentation To modify or delete an existing Signage Presentation find its name in the list and click it. The following screen will be displayed: 16

17 Figure 14 Modify a Presentation This screen will display the PowerPoint presentation media files that have been uploaded and defined for the selected Signage Presentation. The media files are listed in display order the order in which the PowerPoint files will be displayed by PowerPlayers. In the above example, the Signage Presentation has two PowerPoint files (powerplayer.pptx and flexsignage.pptx) Adding More PowerPoint Files to Presentation To assign additional PowerPoint files to the Signage Presentation, click Choose Files. The web browser will display a file chooser popup from which you can select one or more PowerPoint media files. After selecting the new files click the Update button. The process is similar to creating a new Signage Presentation, as described in section Deleting a Signage Presentation To delete the selected Signage Presentation, along with all the uploaded PowerPoint media files, click the Delete button. 6.5 Modify Uploaded PowerPoint Files To change the display order, define a specific presentation play time, or delete 17

18 PowerPoint media files from the Signage Presentation, simply click the media file of interest (see Figure 14). The following popup screen will be displayed: Figure 15 Modify Presentation Media File From here you can specify the PowerPoint file's display order and play time how long a PowerPlayer will display the PowerPoint file (in seconds). By default the play time is set to '0'. When play time is 0 PowerPlayer will display the PowerPoint presentation indefinitely, looping it when it reaches the end. If you make any changes to the PowerPoint file's properties click Update. To delete the PowerPoint file from the Signage Presentation, click Delete. Note: You must specify the PowerPoint file's play time if your Signage Presentation has multiple PowerPoint files, otherwise only the first PowerPoint file will be displayed. See section 6.7 for more information Assigning a Presentation In order to display a Signage Presentation it must be assigned to PowerPlayer devices or a Player Group. To assign a Signage Presentation to one or more PowerPlayer devices, click Assign Players. The following popup will be displayed: 18

19 Figure 16 Assign PowerPlayer Devices to a Signage Presentation This popup will display a list of all of the registered PowerPlayer devices in your network. Simply check the players you want assigned to the selected Signage Presentation. Assigned PowerPlayer devices will automatically display the Signage Presentation continuously 24x7 unless overridden by an assigned Signage Schedule. Assigned Signage Schedules have a higher priority than directly assigned Signage Presentations (see section 8). To assign a Signage Presentation to a Player Group, click Assign Groups. The following popup will be displayed: 19

20 Figure 17 Assign Player Group to Signage Presentation Likewise, check the Player Groups that you want assigned to the Signage Presentation. Each PowerPlayer in that group will automatically display the Signage Presentation assigned to that group. An assigned Signage Schedule will override the assigned Signage Presentation (see section 8). 6.7 Supporting Multiple PowerPoint Files If your Signage Presentation contains more than one PowerPoint file you must specify the play time for each PowerPoint file (see section 6.5 on how to do this). By default a PowerPoint file will be displayed indefinitely, automatically looping to the first slide when it reaches the last slide. In this case only the first PowerPoint file in the Signage Presentation will be displayed. You must set the play time for each PowerPoint file to the total time of the presentation. This is the sum of the display time for each slide in the PowerPoint. When the display time is reached PowerPlayer will display the next PowerPoint file in the Signage Presentation. Alternatively you can simply merge the separate PowerPoint files into a single (new) PowerPoint file. With this approach you can control the visual transition (fade, slide, etc.) between each PowerPoint file. Please review our Using PowerPoint for Digital Signage guide for more information. 20

21 7.0 - Signage Schedules Signage Schedules represents a powerful PowerSignage CMS feature. With schedules you can specify multiple Signage Presentations along with the dates, times and days of the week each PowerPoint presentation will be displayed. You can assign a Signage Schedule to one or more PowerPlayer devices and Player Groups. Assigned PowerPlayers will display selected Signage Presentations at their specified date, time and day of the week. If a Player Group is assigned to a schedule then the PowerPlayers that are members of that group will likewise display the schedule's Signage Presentations at the scheduled time. In addition to date/time you can specify schedule priority. There are four (4) schedule priority levels: normal, medium, high and alarm; with normal being the lowest display priority and alarm the highest. If each Signage Presentation in a schedule does not overlap in time with any other presentation, then schedule priority has no effect. However, if two or more schedules overlap in time then the schedule with a higher priority will be selected for PowerPlayer devices. Otherwise, the Signage Presentation with the closest time fit will be selected. To manage schedules, click Signage Schedules from the drop-down menu (see Figure 3). Figure 18 Signage Schedules 21

22 A list of all your Signage Schedules will be displayed Create a New Signage Schedule To create a new schedule, click Create Signage Schedule. The following screen will be displayed: Figure 19 Create Signage Schedule Enter a descriptive name for the Signage Schedule and click Create. After a schedule is created it will be empty. For a Signage Schedule to be meaningful you must add one or more Signage Presentions Managing Signage Schedules A Signage Schedule is defined by adding one or more Signage Presentations, specifying the date, time and day of the week each Signage Presentation should be displayed by PowerPlayer devices. For a schedule to be effective you must assign it to PowerPlayer devices and/or Player Groups. To manage a Schedule, click the entry from the list. The following screen will be displayed: 22

23 Figure 20 Managing Signage Schedules This screen will display any Signage Presentations that have been added to the Schedule. For each presentation in the schedule it lists its priority, start/end time, name of the Signage Presentation, active days of the week and the starting and ending dates. To delete the entire Schedule, click the Delete button. Note: deleting a Schedule does not delete the associated Signage Presentations. To assign a Signage Schedule to PowerPlayer devices click Assign Players. A popup will be shown, displaying registered PowerPlayer devices. Check the players you wish to assign to the schedule. To assign a Signage Schedule to Player Groups click Assign Groups. Likewise, a popup will be shown, displaying the available Player Groups. Check the groups you wish to assign to the schedule Adding Signage Presentations to a Schedule To add a Signage Presentation to the Schedule, click Add Presentation. The following popup will be displayed: 23

24 Figure 21 Adding a Presentation to a Schedule From this popup select the Signage Presentation you wish to add from the Presentation drop-down list. Click particular the days of the week the Presentation will be active, along with the start/end date and the start/end time. Select the desired priority from the Priority drop-down. When finished click Create Active Signage Presentations Each Signage Presentation in the schedule becomes active: From the specified starting date, up to (but not including) the ending date For the specified days of the week From the specified starting time, up to (but not including) the ending time Every sixty (60) seconds a PowerPlayer device connects to the PowerSignage CMS server, requesting the most current presentation playlist. If a schedule has been assigned to the requesting player, the CMS will check if any Signage Presentation in the schedule satisfies the start/end date, day of the week and start/end time conditions. If so the CMS will return that presentation to the requesting player. If no scheduled presentation exists at the time of the player's request the CMS will return any Signage Presentation that has been assigned to the requesting player. Please note that a player can be assigned to a schedule or presentation directly or indirectly via a Player Group to which the player is a member. 24

25 However, a Signage Presentation's starting/ending time can overlap with other presentations in the schedule. If the overlapping presentations have the same priority then the presentation with the closest starting/ending time fit (with respect to the current time) will be selected for the requesting PowerPlayer; otherwise the Signage Presentation with the higher priority will be displayed. For example, if you have the following two (2) Signage Presentations in a Signage Schedule: Signage Presentation #1 start time: 08:00 to 17:00 Signage Presentation #2 start time: 12:00 to 17:00 If at 12:05 a PowerPlayer checks the CMS server, then Presentation #2 will be selected by the CMS as the current presentation, as the starting/ending times are a better fit. If Presentation #1 had a higher schedule priority (e.g., medium vs. normal) then it would be selected as the active presentation. If a player would check at 11:59 then Signage Presentation #1 would be selected as Signage Presentation #2 does not meet the schedule's time conditions. 25

26 8.0 PowerPlayer Presentation Assignment A PowerPlayer device can be directly assigned to a Signage Presentation and a Signage Schedule. A PowerPlayer device can also be indirectly assigned via a Player Group to a Signage Presentation or Signage Schedule. If assigned (directly or indirectly) to a Signage Presentation, a PowerPlayer device will display the presentation continuously 24x7 unless overridden by a Signage Schedule. If assigned to a Signage Schedule then the player will display each Signage Presentation at the scheduled time. However, a PowerPlayer device can be assigned to a Signage Presentation, a PlayerGroup and a Signage Schedule at the same time. So at a given moment in time, what is the current Signage Presentation for a PowerPlayer device? Every sixty (60) seconds each PowerPlayer will query the PowerServer CMS, asking for the current presentation playlist. The PowerSignage CMS determines the current playlist using the following rules: 1.) Check if the player is a member of a PlayerGroup. If so: 2.) Check if the group has been assigned to a Signage Schedule. If so, return any scheduled presentation to the player. If no scheduled presentation currently exists: 3.) Check if the group has been assigned to a Signage Presentation. If so, return this presentation to the player. Otherwise: 4.) Check if the PowerPlayer has been assigned to a Signage Schedule. If so, return any scheduled presentation to the player. If no scheduled presentation currently exists: 5.) Check if the player has been directly assigned to a Signage Presentation. If so, return the presentation to the player. Otherwise, tell the player there is no presentation playlist available at the current time. For assignment checking, Player Groups assignments are always checked/selected before any PowerPlayer assignments groups have a higher assignment checking priority. Furthermore, Signage Schedules are always checked/selected before any assigned Signage Presentation is checked/selected. Even though a PowerPlayer has been assigned to a Signage Schedule it does not mean that any assigned Signage Presentation is always ignored. A schedule specifies the dates and time its Signage Presentations can be displayed. However, a Signage Schedule may not cover all 24 hours in a day. For those times for which the schedule does not apply, any Signage Presentation assigned to the player become selected. Looking at it the other way around, if you assign a Signage Presentation to a player (or group), that presentation will always play unless overridden by an assigned Signage Schedule. And it will only be overridden for the times in which the schedule applies. 26

27 As an example, in a restaurant you may want to display a standard signage menu during most of the day. However, during breakfast and lunch you may want to display targeted menus. This customer would create three (3) presentations: main menu, breakfast menu and lunch menu, The customer would also create a single Signage Schedule. The main menu presentation would be added to the schedule and made active for 24 hours from 00:00 to 24:00. The breakfast menu and lunch menu presentation would also be added to the schedule and scheduled for the appropriate times. In this scenario the main menu would normally be displayed by the PowerPlayer. However, during breakfast and lunch times the respective menus would be displayed. Note: Even though the main menu Signage Presentation is active during breakfast and lunch, the other menus are displayed because they are a better time fit (see section 7.4). Using Player Groups note: If a PowerPlayer has been assigned to a Player Group that group can overshadow any Signage Presentation or Signage Schedule directly assigned to the player. If that Player Group has been assigned to a Signage Presentation then the PowerPlayer's assignments will never be chosen they will be overshadowed for as long as the player is assigned to that group. For this reason you should normally not assign a Signage Presentation to both the player and the group. This makes sense you want the Player Group to override the player's assignments. When assigning a PowerPlayer to a Player Group you are in effect declaring your intention to use that group's assignments instead of the player's assignments. If you discover that a PowerPlayer is not displaying to the correct Signage Presentation it is likely due to an indirect assignment via a Player Group. 27

28 9.0 - Using Microsoft PowerPoint for Signage In order to use Microsoft PowerPoint for digital signage it is important to remember: by default, a PowerPoint presentation cannot be used for digital signage. In order to be used you must make sure your PowerPoint presentation is self-running. By default, a PowerPoint presentation will automatically end when it reaches the last page. Also, by default, PowerPoint will not automatically advance to the next page in the presentation until you press your keyboard or mouse click. First, setup the PowerPoint to run in kiosk mode. By selecting kiosk mode your PowerPoint will automatically loop once it reaches the end. To setup kiosk mode, click the SLIDE SHOW tab from the PowerPoint main menu. Then click Set Up Slide Show from the sub-menu, which will display the Set Up Show popup menu. From this popup check Browsed at a kiosk (full screen) and then click OK. Second, specify the display time for each page in the PowerPoint presentation. Click the TRANSITIONS tab from the PowerPoint main menu. Notice the Advance Slide section at the far right of the TRANSITIONS sub-menu. Check the After checkbox and specify the display time for the selected page (if you want a same display time for all pages, click the Apply To All checkbox). Repeat these steps for each page in your PowerPoint presentation. Note: If you have multiple PowerPoint files in a single Signage Presentation you should note the presentation's total display time, which is the sum of the display times for each page. You should set the Signage Presentation's play time to this total (see section 6.5 for details) PowerPoint Font Issues It is possible that fonts used by your presentation will not be available on PowerPlayer devices. In this case the PowerPoint Viewer running on PowerPlayer will use the best available font. To work around this problem you can embed your fonts into the PowerPoint file itself. In this way, when the PowerPoint is downloaded the exact fonts will be available for display. To embed fonts into your PowerPoint select the FILE tab from the PowerPoint menu and click Options from the command list. This will display the PowerPoint Options dialog box. Select the Save option from the left side of the dialog box. On the right side click the Embed fonts in the file checkbox and click OK Pre-Testing Your PowerPoint Presentations Before you upload your PowerPoint to the PowerSignage CMS you should always run the presentation on your PC. It is always easier to find/resolve any display problems in this way. This is especially true when displaying portrait signage. From SLIDE SHOW tab click From Begining. You PowerPoint should now be running fullscreen. At the last slide the presentation should automatically loop to the starting page and continue on. To end the PowerPoint demo on your PC press the Esc key. For more detailed information on using PowerPoint please refer to our Using PowerPoint for Digital Signage guide. 28