On the purchase of one or more LCD user license(s), a customer will receive a new license file from the iDashboards account executive with the added LCD user(s). The username of the LCD user(s) is embedded into the software license file and cannot be changed. 

As of 9.7a we have introduced a new method in which allows admins to manage their LCD from a central location without going too out the different LCDs to change the dashboards or configurations. 

Hardware and OS Configuration

iDashboards has tested the LCD using the New Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Firefox. 

In order for the LCD to work properly, we recommend using a mini PC we have found very few TV browsers that can utilize Javascript and HTML5 fully (They just don't perform well). 

The LCD browser will need the ability to store session cookies. These cookies are necessary for the function of the LCD. Loss of the cookie will cause the LCD to lockout. Any domain policies that could clear the cookies are excluded from these devices. 

Slideshow setup

1. To manage your LCDs, login to the idashboards/admin portal. 
2. Locate the license section and identify your LCD IDs. 
   • As you can see from the above this license has two LCDs: lcd1 & lcd2. 
3. Go into the Users Page
4. Add your LCD users into your user list. We recommend using a naming convention such as last name use "LCD" and fist name the location this helps you filter the users in the search quickly if I need to make changes. 
5. Now that we have added the IDs, go into the Manage Slideshow section on the top right of the user list. 
6. On the LCD Slideshows Manager screen you now see the slideshows user IDs you added in the list with an empty drop-down at the end. We need to create our slideshows playlist. On the right side, use the New button to start. 
7. This takes us to were we can setup our slideshows. We will now need to fill in the blanks and configure the slideshow.
   1. Show Controls: allows for the forward-backward button to be removed from the screen. 
   2. Show Countdown: when checked will display the time until the next transition.
   3. Interval Seconds: set the default time the slides will be displayed in seconds. 
   4. Transition: pick between the different transition slide effect.
   5. Interval Seconds (on dashboards): allows for dashboards to be for a longer or shorter duration. 
8. Once you have setup your slideshow Save.
9. Now you should be able to set the Slideshow under your LCD user
   • 
10. Now there will also be an icon that looks like   under the user name. This link will give you the URL that you need to run on the LCD browser. By default the URL given will be for the Flash viewer to use HTML just add html5 after idashbords/ and before /lcd.(mydomainname:6700/idashboards/html5/lcd?user=lcd1)

LCD Locking

When an LCD is called by a client the iDashboards system performs a lock. The lock is held until the iDashboards Web server is rebooted or it is unlocked via the Manage Slideshow screen. Locks are issued to the first browser that provides the correct URL.  

Why do system get locked out: 

• The most common issue is the loss of the cookie by the web browser. This can be caused by domain rules or settings in the browser to delete cookies.
• The LCD is in use by a different browser. Even on the same system using incognito or a different browser, you will need to release the lock before using a different browser. 
• Logging into the LCD user account directly will also lock out the browser. 

Unlocking the LCDs

Using the locking method is fairly simple. If an LCD gets locked out you can go to the Manage Slideshow screen. You will see the list of LCD next to the LCD there will be 3 possible options.  Nothing, Dark Lock, and a grayed out lock. 

• Missing Lock indicates the LCD has not been used since the last reboot of the system.
• Grayed-out Lock, the LCD is in an unlocking or unlocked state. 
• Dark Lock, the LCD is currently locked to a device. 

To unlock the LCD from the device click on the Dark Lock. The unlock process does take about 10 minutes to complete. 

HTML5: Running the LDC in html5 could add some additional benefits. With the LDC mode, you can minimize the header and footer space. Also, some TV and the lightweight system could crash the browser with prolonged use of Flash. Running in html5 will likely add longevity if there are issues with the crashing of the browser.

Legacy Method Before 9.7:

1. A user account must be created with a matching username (refer to the iDashboards Admin console 'Home' page for this predefined username).
2. Assign a user role to the LCD account.
3. Assign one or more user groups to the LCD account.
4. Now invoke the special URL, for example:
   • http://www.mycompany.com/idashboards/lcd?dashboards=16,21&refreshSeconds=60&user=lcduser1
   • Replace the 'lcduser1' in the above URL with the actual username viewed in the Admin module for this LCD user.

NOTE: An LCD license is designed to get locked to the computer that is being used to connect to the iDashboards server. The only way to release a lock on an LCD user account is to restart the iDashboards server which will unlock all LCD user accounts. Once configured, use the special LCD Slideshow URL to start the slideshow from the machine.

Refer from the Admin manual on the topic:

Chapter 'LCD Slideshow'