Page 1 of 29 PADS Viewer
Welcome to PADS Viewer Thank you for choosing PADS, one of the most advanced and complete digital signage software packages that are available today. This PADS Viewer manual describes the possibilities of PADS Viewer, the application for playback of PADS presentations. Page 2 of 29
Starting PADS Viewer PADS Viewer is the application for displaying PADS presentations. Normally, you will have one PADS Viewer per Viewer PC, which controls the display that is connected to this PC. However it is also possible to run multiple PADS Viewers on one single PC, driving one or more displays. To start the PADS Viewer application 1. Click the Start button on the Windows taskbar. 2. Select Programs and then PADS4. 3. Select Viewer. or 1. Double click the PADS4 Viewer icon on the Windows desktop. or 1. In Windows Explorer, go to the folder containing the PADS Viewer program files. 2. Double click the PADSViewer.exe item. The main window of the PADS Viewer will appear. Page 3 of 29
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Settings The PADS Viewer application has a number of configuration settings that together determine the overall working of the application. You can access the settings of the Viewer by right-clicking on the main window and choosing the Options item in the context menu. T I P If you d on't have a mous e attac hed you c an als o us e the key c omb ination [Alt]+[Enter ] to op en the Op tions window.. Further details will be described in the rest of this section. In this section Identification Describes the steps to create a unique Viewer in the PADS system. Page 5 of 29
Connection Describes the steps to connect the Viewer to a specific PADS Server. Security Enables you to change the Windows security settings that determine the permissions to start the PADS Viewer and PADS Controller application. Synchronization These settings determine the process of synchronizing content files (videos, pictures etc.) between the PADS Server PC and the PADS Viewer PC. Screen Settings Determines the window appearance of the Viewer and the way presentations are shown. Style These settings determine the style of the PADS Viewer application. Viewer Restart These settings enable you to schedule a periodic reboot of the PADS Viewer PC. Log Information Lists the information, warning and error messages for the Viewer. Download progress Shows detailed information about the progress of the content synchronization process. Scheduled Presentations Provides an overview of the presentations scheduled for the Viewer. Graphics These settings determine how graphics will be processed by the PADS Viewer application. Support information Enables you to save valuable information about your PADS Viewer to file and forward it for technical support. Page 6 of 29
Identification These settings determine the unique identification of the Viewer within the PADS system. Each Viewer needs a unique address in order to schedule presentations for it. To specify identification settings In the Language section you can specify the language that is used for the PADS Viewer. In the Identification section you specify the logical name that uniquely identifies the Viewer within your PADS system. By selecting the option Automatic (Computer Name) the Viewer take the PC's name as its name. By selecting Manual you can enter a Viewer Name. If you have specified in the PADS System Management application that this Viewer is password protected (see the PADS System Management manual), you need to enter the Password at the Manual option in the Integrated Security section. Else, no password is needed and you can leave the default option None untouched. Page 7 of 29
In the Viewer Information section you can view the Viewer's license information, like Viewer type and available Elements. Page 8 of 29
Connection These settings determine the communication between PADS Viewer and PADS Server for retrieval of presentations and schedules. In this section Server Connection Describes the steps to connect the Viewer to a PADS Server. Domain Describes the steps to connect the Viewer to a specific PADS domain on the PADS Server, if applicable. Page 9 of 29
Server Connection These settings determine the communication between PADS Viewer and PADS Server for retrieval of presentations and schedules. To specify Server Connection settings The Current Connection section displays information about the connection that is in effect. The Server Connection section provides you with options to choose the Server PC you want to connect to: 1. Automatic This option lets the Viewer PC search automatically for the nearest Server PC. The Viewer PC will connect to the first Server PC found. 2. This Computer Page 10 of 29
The PADS Server resides at the local PC. 3. Other This option will let you enter a net work address (computer name or TCP/IP address) or search for available PADS Servers in the vicinity and list them for you to choose from. Additionally, you can specify another port number for the connection with Show Advanced Options. N O T E A PADS Ser ver c an only b e automatic ally d etec ted when the PADS Ser ver p r oc es s is r unning and the UDP p or t numb er 3702 is not b loc ked b y a fir ewall on the s er ver PC or s omewher e els e in the networ k. The Backup Server section enables you to specify an additional PADS Server to function as a backup. This is done in the same way as at the Other option in the Server Connection section. Page 11 of 29
Domain These settings determine the communication between PADS Viewer and a specific domain of apads Server for retrieval of presentations and schedules. Domains allow you to combine multiple PADS Servers on one physical Server PC. To specify Domain settings The Domain section provides you with options to choose the Domain you want to connect to: 1. Automatic This option lets the Viewer PC search automatically for a domain on the specifiedserver PC. The Viewer. If the PADS Server PC contains multiple domains then the domain that has been marked as the default domain will be used. 2. Manual This option let you manually enter the domain name of the Domain on your PADS Server PC that you want to connect to. Page 12 of 29
Security These settings enable you to change the Windows security settings. This determines the permissions to start the PADS Viewer and PADS Controller application. Run as User By default both PADS Viewer and PADS Controller will be started with your current Microsoft Windows user account. Depending on your situation it may be required to start these applications as a different user with different permissions. For instance, you can start the applications as Administrator to ensure that you have (remote) access to all PADS features. User Name The user name of the Windows user account that will be used to start both PADS Viewer and PADS Controller. Password The password that belongs to the specified user name. Domain If the specified Windows user is part of a domain then here you must enter the name of the domain. Page 13 of 29
N O T E If you c hange the Ru n as U ser s ettings then next time PADS Viewer and PADS Contr oller will b e s tar ted with thes e new s ettings. If PADS fails to s tar t with thes e new us er s etting it will us e the c ur r ent W indows us er ac c ount s ettings ins tead. Windows User Account Control (UAC) User Account Control helps prevent potentially harmful programs from making changes to your computer. This means for instance that you will be notified when programs want to make changes to your computer or your Windows settings. Since Windows 7 Microsoft automatically turns on UAC. Depending on the security settings of your Windows user account this may a proper working of some PADS features like e.g. the automatic installation of software updates. To overcome this problem UAC must be switched off. Disable UAC When you select this option then the PADS software will check your UAC settings at startup and automatically switches off UAC. Please not that the UAC settings will not be set back to the original settings when the PADS software is closed. N O T E If you c hange the Di sabl e U AC s etting then you need to r es tar t your c omp uter in or d er for this new s etting to take effec t. To manually change the UAC settings in Windows 7: 1. Go to the Control Panel of Windows and switch to Large Icons or Small icons view. 2. Click User Accounts. 3. Click Change User Account Control settings. 4. Move the slider to Never notify to switch off UAC. For other versions of Windows the procedure to switch off UAC may be different. Page 14 of 29
Synchronization These settings determine the process of automatic synchronization of content files (videos, pictures etc.) between the PADS Server PC and the PADS Viewer PC. To set Synchronization setting In the Content Library Synchronization Activation section you determine at what interval the Content Libraries, local (Viewer) and remote (PADS Server). This can be Automatic, checking for triggers to synchronize whenever a change occurs, remote or local. You can have the Viewer check a given Periods by creating a list of From and Until data. Alternatively, you can disable synchronization completely by choosing Never. For synchronization the PADS Content Library Storage Folder needs to be specified. You can choose the default by opting for Automatic or you can select one yourself at the Manual option. Page 15 of 29
Screen Settings These settings determine the visual appearance of the content in the PADS Viewer application. To specify Screen settings In the Scaling section you can determine whether you want to stretch the content of any presentation, with possibly another resolution than the display's, to fit the Window. If you choose to do so with the option Scale Presentations to Fit into the Destination Window then you can further determine whether the scaling needs to take aspect ratio into account, so that the presentation and its elements are scaled properly. This can be done by checking or un-checking the Maintain Presentation Aspect Ratio checkbox. In the Location and Size section you can specify the dimensions and position of the Viewer application. You can decide to have the Viewer application display in Full Screen. Alternatively, you can specify the Size and Position yourself when you choose the option Manual. The Position determines the horizontal and vertical offset from the screen's left top. In the Size section you can choose from a Page 16 of 29
Predefined resolution or enter exact Width and Height. All measurements are in pixels. Apart from that you can specify whether the content needs to be displayed on one of the other Displays than the primary one, if applicable. Finally, you can opt for a Background Image for the Viewer in its corresponding section. A File Name is needed to link the image to the background of the Viewer. The Stretch option lets you stretch the image to fill out the available space in the display's resolution, if so desired. The underlying option Lock Aspect Ratio will maintain the original aspect ratio in stretching the image to fill out the space. Page 17 of 29
Style These settings determine the style of the PADS Viewer application. To specify the Style settings In the Window section you can switch on or off some options concerning the display of the Viewer screen: 1. Show PADS Viewer Window always on top If this setting is switched on then the window of the PADS Viewer application will always stay on top. This means that any other window will be pushed behind the PADS Viewer window. 2. Hide Mouse Cursor With this setting you can determine if you like the mousepointer to be visible or invisible when the PADS Viewer application runs. 3. Hide Popup Menu Page 18 of 29
With this setting you can determine if the context menu (popup menu) of the PADS Viewer window will be accessible. When you have switched off the popup menu, the only way to enable it again is to manually adjust the file C:\ProgramData\PADS\PADSViewerSettings.xml file. When opening this file in a text editor (like notepad) you need to change the entry '<ShowPopupMenu>False</ShowPopupMenu>' into '<ShowPopupMenu>True</ShowPopupMenu>'. After saving the file you must restart PADS Viewer for the new setting to take effect. 4. Hide Window Title Bar If this setting is switched off then the window of the PADS Viewer application will contain a title bar. In the title bar the name of the Viewer will be displayed. Only if the title bar is made invisible you will be able to create a real full screen Viewer window. 5. Hide Task Bar This setting determines if the Windows taskbar will be visible when the PADS Viewer application runs. Only if the Windows taskbar is made invisible you will be able to create a real full screen Viewer window. In the Screen Standby Mode section you can switch the option Turn the Screen off when there is no Presentation shown on or off to have the screen go to black when no presentation has been scheduled for display. This setting enables you to start or shutdown a monitor display based on the availability of presentations for the PADS Viewer. The number of seconds indicates the idle period after which the display must be shut down. In the Time section you can switch the option Synchronize PC Clock with Server Time on or off to have the local system clock of the Viewer PC synchronized with the system clock of the PADS Server PC. In most situations it will be best switch on this synchronise option, to make sure that the date and time of both the Server PC and the PADS Viewer PC will run exactly in sync. If this is not the case it might happen that the information in the PADS Scheduler application will not correspond with the presentation that is displayed by the PADS Viewer application. If the setting Use local Timezone for Scheduled Presentations in the Time Zone section is switched on then the PADS Viewer application will use it's local Microsoft Windows timezone settings to determine when a scheduled PADS presentation must be played. E X A M P L E If a p r es entation has b een s c hed uled to r un fr om 9:00 until 11:00 for a PADS Viewer in Ams ter d am as well as a PADS Viewer in New Y or k and the T imezone s etting for thes e Viewer s has b een s witc hed on, then the p r es entation will p lay fr om 9:00 until 11:00 loc al time. Page 19 of 29
Viewer Restart These settings enable you to schedule a periodic restart of the PADS Viewer PC. To specify Viewer restart settings In the Reboot section you can specify if you want to have the Viewer PC restarted, and if you do, you can specify the Reboot Time as well as the pattern of days at which the Viewer PC should be restarted. In the Viewer Application section you set the triggers for the Viewer application to close down and restart itself (not the PC!). You specify the criteria like Maximum Memory Load, Maximum Number of Handles and Maximum Number of Handles. Page 20 of 29
Log Information The Log Information contains valuable information about the Viewer application process. To view the Log Information The Log Information section is a placeholder for the presentations that are to be running at the current time. If any information is shown then the Time Stamp, the Type, and the Messageare listed. If you want to view only the Information items, Warnings, Errors or any combination of those, then use the buttons below the listing to filter the Log Information. Page 21 of 29
Download_progress When content synchronization has been enabled, then you will find here detailed information about the progress of the content synchronization process. Synchronization Status If synchronization of content files has been switched on and the synchronization process is in progress, then here you can see the status of the process. Download progress Shows detailed information about the synchronization process. Optionally you can click Refresh to get the latest information. Page 22 of 29
Scheduled Presentations PADS Viewer now offers the possibility to get an overview of the presentations that are scheduled for this Viewer at the time of checking. To get an overview of the current scheduled presentations The Scheduled Presentations section is a placeholder for the presentations that are to be running at the current time. If any presentations are to be shown at the time of checking then the Start Date, the End Date, the Presentation and the Type are listed. Page 23 of 29
Graphics These settings determine how graphics will be processed by the PADS Viewer application. Hardware Acceleration Use hardware acceleration By default hardware acceleration is enabled. In this case the rendering process of graphical operations may use hardware and/or software rendering, depending on your system. By switching off hardware acceleration the system is forced only to use software rendering. T I P In p ar tic ular s ituations - like r unning a PADS Viewer ac r os s multip le d is p lays - s witc h- ing off har d war e ac c eler ation may lead to b etter r es ults. Animation frame rate The animation frame rate settings determine how transition effects will be executed by your PADS Viewer application. Page 24 of 29
Default The default system defined frame rate is used to execute animations. Manual Specify your own custom frame rate to be used for animations. T I P On s ys tems with p oor g p u c ap ab ilities, you may manually lower the animation fr ame r ate value to imp r ove the p er for manc e of tr ans ition effec ts. Page 25 of 29
Support information Here you can save valuable information about your PADS Viewer to file and forward it for technical support. Support Information Each PADS Viewer automatically creates a so-called black box in which valuable information about PADS is stored. This includes system information and various logs. When you encounter a problem with a PADS Viewer, the black box is the ideal source of information to analyze the situation and trace the problem. So, when you contact support for a problem with a PADS Viewer it's suggested always to send the black box file. To save you black box to file: 1. Click Save. 2. In the file save dialog box, specify the location and file name and click Save. T I P T o r emotely c ollec t and s ave the b lac k b oxes of your PADS Viewer s you c an b es t us e the PADS Ag ent ap p lic ation. Page 26 of 29
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Checking for updates As with the other applications within the PADS4 software package the Viewer has the ability to check for a newer version. To check for updates 1. Right-click on the main screen of the PADS Viewer, select the Software item form the context menu, followed by the Check for Updates menu item. 2. The PADS Software Update Wizard is started. The steps that follow are described in the PADS Installation Manual, in the section Maintaining the installation. Please consult that manual for further instructions. Page 28 of 29
Closing PADS Viewer When you are finished with displaying presentations you can close the PADS Viewer application. To close the PADS Viewer 1. Right-click on the main screen of the PADS Viewer and click the Exit application item from the context menu. Alternatively, you can the key combination [Alt] + F4 to leave the application. If you have opened additional windows then you must use this key combination several times to quit. N O T E W hen c los ing the ap p lic ation you will automatic ally b e log g ed off in all c onnec tions that you have ac tive, after whic h they will b e c los ed. Page 29 of 29