Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics

Transcription

1 Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics Delivered by ITS Training Services for Penn State ITS Training Services 23 Willard Building University Park, PA Version 01/02/2014 AV

2 Alternative Format Statement This publication is available in alternative media upon request. Penn State encourages qualified persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact or in advance of your participation or visit. Statement of Nondiscrimination The University is committed to equal access to programs, facilities, admission, and employment for all persons. It is the policy of the University to maintain an environment free of harassment and free of discrimination against any person because of age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, creed, service in the uniformed services (as defined in state and federal law), veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, marital or family status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, physical or mental disability, gender, perceived gender, gender identity, genetic information, or political ideas. Discriminatory conduct and harassment, as well as sexual misconduct and relationship violence, violates the dignity of individuals, impedes the realization of the University s educational mission, and will not be tolerated. Direct all inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy to Dr. Kenneth Lehrman III, Vice Provost for Affirmative Action, Affirmative Action Office, The Pennsylvania State University, 328 Boucke Building, University Park, PA ; kfl2@psu.edu; Tel Use of Confidential Materials Due to the confidential nature of the materials contained within this document please be cautions in its use and availability to others. This data is intended for the sole use of the individual for which it was created. Thank You. Copyright The Pennsylvania State University These materials are for personal use only and may not be copied or distributed. If you would like to use our materials for self-study or to teach others, please contact us at ITS Training Services, 23 Willard Building, University Park, PA 16802, , or itstraining@psu.edu All rights reserved. The names of software products referred to in these materials are claimed as trademarks of their respective companies or trademark holders.

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics... 4 What is Digital Signage?... 4 Required Files for This Training... 4 Version of the Digital Signage Software Used for This Training... 4 Obtain Penn State Templates... 5 Create a Folder for Storing Sign Content... 7 Create a New Local Database... 7 Explore the Content Manager Interface...12 Drop-down Menus...12 Network Overview...13 Timeline Overview...13 Content, Templates, Users, and Groups...14 Add the Appropriate Penn State Template to the Content Manager...14 Attach a Penn State Template to Your Sign...16 Add Media to the Content Manager...17 Place Media Content in a Sign...19 Scaling Media to Fit a Region...22 Schedule Content to Play...23 Set the Schedule for a Piece of Media in the Content Area...23 Deploy the Sign...24 Run the Content Player...25 Emergency Notifications...27 Campus Codes...29 Four Winds Interactive Support...30 Penn State Support...30 Hardware Requirements...31 Software Requirements...31 Software License Keys...32 How to Download the Software at PSU...32 Through ITS Training Services...38 Additional Technology Resources...38

4 Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics OBJECTIVES Participants will be able to Create a simple digital sign. Locate and utilize Penn State templates for building a sign. Add media to a sign. Configure and schedule content for a sign. Deploy (run) a sign. WHAT IS DIGITAL SIGNAGE? Digital signage is a form of electronic display that shows current information, advertising and other messages. Digital signs may stand alone or be networked. Digital signs can be non-interactive or interactive through the use of touch screens, barcode scanners, card swipes, RFIDs, and other input devices. This tutorial will guide you through the process of creating a digital sign. In this tutorial, all media for the sign will reside on the same computer on which the Content Manager is installed. This is an example of the sign you will create. Figure 1 Digital Sign, blue, with two light blue rectangular regions. The left regions holds a picture of a Koala. REQUIRED FILES FOR THIS TRAINING For this training you are provided with an example image with which you will complete all exercises. Prior to the next exercise, your trainer will first place a Koala.jpg file on your desktop. Version of the Digital Signage Software Used for This Training Version of the Four Winds Digital Signage Software is used for this training. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 4

5 OBTAIN PENN STATE TEMPLATES Templates contain the background images and data regions for signs. Templates for each Penn State location with the Penn State logo, etc. are available for use. In this example, you will download the Penn State Templates from the Penn State Pass Explorer and place a copy on your desktop. 1. Open the Firefox browser. NOTE: If you are working remotely, you must also use the VPN software to ensure a secure connection. Please see for more information and installation instructions. 2. Type in the browser address bar. NOTE: You may need to authenticate with your Penn State user ID and Password to enter PASS Explorer. 3. Choose <Enter a path> from the Browse To: drop-down menu. Figure 2 A pull down menu with the <Enter a path> choice selected. 4. Type /pass/services/digitalsignage in the folder location dialog. Figure 3 A pop up dialog box with a single line text entry field. In the field the user types /pass/services/digitalsignage. 5. Click the OK button. 6. Select the [samples] choice. Figure 4 A list of choices with [samples] selected. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 5

6 7. Click the Change Folder button. Figure 5 A complex screen with multiple options. The change folder button at the bottom of the screen is circled. 8. Select penn-state-templates.zip. Figure 6 A list of choices with penn-state-templates.zip selected. 9. Click the Download button. Figure 7 A complex screen with multiple options. The download button near the top left of the screen and directly to the right of the upper left Upload button is circled. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 6

7 10. Click the Click to start download button. Figure 8 A dialog box with a single click to start download button. 11. ` 12. Click the Save file radio button. 13. Close the download dialog when the download completes. 14. Navigate to the Downloads folder. 15. Double-click the penn_state_templates.zip file to open it. NOTE: You may need to do step 14 twice as the template files may be double-zipped. 16. Copy the Four Winds folder onto your desktop. 17. Close the Downloads folder. 18. Close Firefox. 19. Rename the Four Winds folder to PSU Four Winds Templates. CREATE A FOLDER FOR STORING SIGN CONTENT Four Winds recommends storing all your sign content in one folder. 1. Create a folder on the desktop and name it Digital Sign Content. 2. Place the Koala.jpg image in this folder. 3. Place all your future sign graphics, etc. in this folder. CREATE A NEW LOCAL DATABASE A database is where your digital sign templates and other internal data are stored. Your content (text, pictures, links, etc.) is not stored in the database. In Windows 7, a local database is stored on the same computer as the Content Manager software, within the C:\Users\Documents folder. Using a local database is most useful if a single person is maintaining a single sign. In this exercise, you will create a local database. Other database options include creating an SQL database and creating a local database with shared access. SQL databases are useful only if you will have multiple people editing the same sign at the same time. Establishing an SQL database will require local technical assistance and assistance from Four Winds. A local database with shared access is most useful if you will have multiple people editing the same sign and you can establish a schedule that ensures only one person will be editing a sign in a given period of time. Please see Appendix D for more information on establishing a local database with shared access. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 7

8 EXAMPLE In this exercise you will use the Content Manager Setup Wizard to create a sign for the second floor of the Business Building of the Smeal College of Business. 1. Click on the Windows Start button. 2. Click on All Programs. Figure 9 A menu with All Programs selected. 3. Click on the Four Winds Interactive folder. Figure 10 A menu with Four Winds Interactive selected. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 8

9 4. Click on Content Manager. Figure 11 A menu with Content Manager selected. 5. If you do not see the Content Manager Setup Wizard Dialog as shown, follow all sub steps a through d. If you do see the Content Manager Setup Wizard Dialog, proceed to step 6. Figure 12 The Content Manager Setup Wizard dialog, set up your database screen. The create a new local database radio button is selected. a. Select New from the File menu. b. Click the Create a new local database radio button. c. Click OK at the Replace Existing Data dialog. d. Proceed to step Click the Create a new local database radio button. 7. Click the Next button. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 9

10 8. Type Penn State College of Business in the Name field (e.g.,) of the Set up your company dialog. Figure 13 The Content Manager Setup Wizard dialog, set up your company screen. The name field contains Penn State College of Business. NOTE: Many dialog boxes have optional fields. For this training, you will only complete necessary fields. 9. Click the Next button. 10. Type Business Building in the Name field of the Set up a signage location dialog. Figure 14 The Content Manager Setup Wizard dialog, set up a signage location screen. The name field contains Business Building. 11. Click the Next button. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 10

11 12. Type Second Floor in the What should Content Manager call the signage player? field in the Set up Player dialog. Figure 15 The Content Manager Setup Wizard dialog, set up player screen. The What should Contente Manager call the signage player field contains Second Floor. 13. Click the Finish button. You will now see your initial sign defined in the Network Overview. Your company is the Penn State College of Business. Your location is the Business Building. You currently have one sign named Second Floor, indicating it is located on the second floor of the Business Building. Figure 16 The Network Overview tree menu. Penn State College of Business is at the top. Business Building is under that and indented to the right. Second Floor is under that and indented to the right. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 11

12 EXPLORE THE CONTENT MANAGER INTERFACE The Content Manager is the software used to create your signs. The following image illustrates the Content Manager interface. Figure 17 Menus across the top. Media insertion icons in the left verticle frame. A file tree structure to the right of the icons. A timeline with dates to the right of the file tree. At the bottom of the screen is a list of templates one can insert in the sign. Drop-down Menus Figure 18 The Content Manager menu list. The File menu contains entries to create, open, save, and close a database. The Network menu contains entries that control what's displayed in the view pane. The Content menu contains entries to create, import, and export content items. The Template menu contains entries to create, import, and export templates. The User menu contains an entry to add a new user. The Group menu contains an entry to add a new user group. The View menu contains entries to control which panes are included in the Content Manager user interface, along with links to player status and history dialogs. The Tools menu contains links to dialogs to manage advertising, Effective Local Time, content searching, and user settings. The Help menu contains links to the About dialog and to online product information. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 12

13 Network Overview This area shows you how your signs are set up and where your signs are located. Figure 19 A file tree structure. In this example, Penn State College of Business is the company or organization, Business Building is the building inside that company, and Second Floor is a sign inside that building. Give careful thought to the way you name items at the company, building, and sign level. Attempt to model the real world as much as possible. Timeline Overview The Timeline enables a user to visualize the scheduling of content and templates. The view will display horizontal bars that line up with the templates, regions, and content items of the Network Overview. A purple bar indicates the scheduling for a template and a yellow bar indicates the scheduling for a region or individual content item. Solid bars indicate an item that is set to play all day, every day with no end date. Bars with breaks indicate special scheduling. In this example, the Horizontal Readerboard is scheduled to play all day, every day. Figure 20 A timeline showing tasks on the left, dates on top and a colored bar under the dates and to the right of the task. The left side of the bar starts on the start date, and the right side of the bar ends on the stop date. In this example, Breakfast/coffee promos is scheduled to play only in the morning of every day. Figure 21 A timeline showing tasks on the left, dates on top and colored bars under the dates and to the right of the task. The left side of the bar starts on the start date, and the right side of the bar ends on the stop date. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 13

14 Content, Templates, Users, and Groups This is a four-in-one area. You can click a tab at the bottom of this area to change between areas. Figure 22 This area displays the name of a template, a description, the suggested recurrance, and the background image size and location. There are four tabs below this area. The Templates tab is selected. Other tabs are Content, Users, and Groups. Content tab Displays any media (text, pictures, etc.) you have added to the Content Manager. If you have a great deal of content, you can create folders here via the New Category command under the Content menu, then drag content into these folders for better organization. Template tab Displays any templates for signs to which you have access. User tab Displays any users you have added to the Content Manager. By default, anyone with access to the Content Manager can open it and access all the signs it contains. Adding one or more users to the Content Manager forces anyone using the Content Manager to log in with a user ID and password. Groups tab Displays any groups of users you have created and who is assigned to those groups. You can assign different levels of permissions to different groups (e.g., Group A can only access Sign A, and Group B can only access Sign B). ADD THE APPROPRIATE PENN STATE TEMPLATE TO THE CONTENT MANAGER All signs have background images and data regions. Penn State has templates you can use to create a common look for your signs. EXAMPLE In this exercise, you will add the appropriate (to your campus college location) Penn State template to the Content Manager. 1. Select Import Library from the Template menu. 2. Locate the PSU Four Winds Templates folder on the desktop. 3. Open the PSU Four Winds Templates folder. 4. Open the folder specific to your college campus. For example, if you are from the Penn State York campus, open the York folder. 5. Open the template1 folder. 6. Select the template.ftl file. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 14

15 7. Click the Open button. Figure 23 Open the template folder in the library Library 8. Click the OK button at the Select Templates dialog. Figure 24 The Select Templates dialog. The template1 template choice has a checkmark beside it. The cursor is on top of the Ok button. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 15

16 9. Locate and select the Digital Sign Content folder previously created. Figure 25 The Browse for Folder dialog. The folder Digital Sign Content is selected. 10. Click the OK button. ATTACH A PENN STATE TEMPLATE TO YOUR SIGN Once you have a template in the Content Manager, you need to copy it into a sign. EXAMPLE In this exercise, you will copy a template to your sign. 1. Click the Template tab in the Content, Templates, Users, and Groups section of the Content Manager to see your added templates. 2. Drag the template1 template up to the Second Floor sign in the Network Overview area of the screen to add that template to the sign. Figure 26 The Content Manager interface. An arrow indicates one should drag the template1 template to the Second Floor sign. 3. Click the Second Floor sign. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 16

17 4. Click the Preview button to preview the sign. Figure 27 The Preview button that sits above the file tree and to the right of the words Network Overview is highlighted. 5. Click the Preview button again to cancel the preview. ADD MEDIA TO THE CONTENT MANAGER You can add a variety of media to your sign, including text, images, and data from other sources. First, you have to add non-text media to the Content Manager. EXAMPLE In this exercise, you will add a JPG image to the Content Manager. 1. Select New from the Content menu. 2. Select Image. Figure 28 The Content menu, New choice is selected causing a secondary menu to the immediate right to appear. Image is selected in the secondary menu. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 17

18 3. Click the Figure 29 A button with three dots. icon to the right of the URL field to locate a file from your computer. Figure 30 The Image Properties dialog. The button with three dots is circled. NOTE: All dialog boxes look similar to this, whatever media type you choose. 4. Select Desktop from the options on the left. Figure 31 An Open File dialog. The Desktop is selected. 5. Open the Digital Content folder. 6. Double-click the Koala JPG image. 7. Uncheck the Duration checkbox in the Image Properties dialog. 8. Click the OK button. Figure 32 The Image Properties dialog. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 18

19 9. Select Save from the File drop-down menu to save your work. Figure 33 The File menu. Save is selected. NOTE: You should periodically save your sign. PLACE MEDIA CONTENT IN A SIGN After you add media to the Content Manager, you can add it to your sign. EXAMPLE In this exercise, you will add the text Koala and a Koala JPG image to a sign. 1. Select New from the Content drop-down menu. 2. Select Text. Figure 34 The Content menu, New choice selected, causing a secondary menu to appear to the immediate right. Text is selected in the secondary menu. 3. Type Koala in the Name: field. 4. Type Koala in the Text: field. 5. Uncheck the Duration checkbox. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 19

20 6. Click the OK button. Figure 35 The Text Properties dialog. 7. Click the Content tab. 8. Drag the Koala text from the Content area to the left region header region within the sign. Figure 36 An arrow indicating one should drag the Koala text from the bottom of the screen up to the left region header area of the sign. 9. Click the Content tab. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 20

21 10. Drag the Koala JPG image from the Content area to the left region content region within the sign. Figure 37 An arrow indicating one should drag the Koala image from the bottom of the screen up to the left region content area of the sign. 11. Click the Second Floor sign. NOTE: In the next step, the word Koala will appear in white on a light blue background. You may need to adjust the tilt on flat-screen monitors or the contrast on other monitors to see the word clearly. 12. Click the Preview button. Figure 38 A preview of the sign. There are two rectangular regions, The left region has the word Koala at the top and an image of a Koala under the text. The right region is empty. 13. Click the Preview button again to cancel the preview. NOTE: Content creation for a sign usually takes place before a sign is created. The exact type of content and tools you will use to create is dependent on your situation and too varied to cover in this training. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 21

22 SCALING MEDIA TO FIT A REGION Many times you will need to change the size of a media object (e.g., an image or video) to fit the region in which the media object will be placed. EXAMPLE In this exercise you will scale the Koala image so it better fits within the left content region. 1. Right-click the Koala JPG image in the Content tab. 2. Select Edit Koala. Figure 39 A pop up menu with Edit Koala selected. 3. Click the Advanced tab. 4. Select Center if smaller than container under the Scaling drop-down menu. Figure 40 Properties dialog. Scaling pull-down menu set to Center if smaller than container. 5. Click the OK button. NOTE: Ideally you should prepare and size all images outside of the Content Manager, making sure the image sizes match as close as possible the size of the region to which they will be added. You can determine the size of a region by selecting the source template in which the region resides at the bottom of the Content Manager, right-clicking on it, and selecting Edit. The size (in pixels) of each region is then visible. Be sure to close the template without saving any changes. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 22

23 SCHEDULE CONTENT TO PLAY You may want to only show something for a limited period of time, rotate two or three things within the same region, etc. Setting the duration on a piece of media attached to a region allows you to do so. There are two places you can set the schedule for a piece of media in the Content area or within the region to which the media is attached. Set the schedule in the Content area if you plan on always scheduling this media the same way, regardless of how many signs in which it is used. Set the schedule in the region area if the schedule for the media is particular to that sign. Set the Schedule for a Piece of Media in the Content Area EXAMPLE In this example, you will schedule the Koala image to play every day for one week. Every sign that uses this image will display this image for the same duration. 1. Right-Click the Koala JPG image under the left region content region and select the Existing Recurrences/All Day option. Figure 41 A pop-up menu. Existing Recurrences selected, causing a secondary menu to appear immediately to the right. All day every day is selected in the secondary menu. 2. Click the End by radio button. 3. Set the End by: field to one week after the current date. In this example, the current date was 11/14/2011. This media was scheduled to play every day (c) from 7/14/2011 (a) until 11/21/2011 (b). Figure 42 Recurrence dialog. The letter a is beside the State date field. The letter b is beside the End By date field. The letter c is beside the Pattern, daily radio button. 4. Click the OK button. NOTE: If this were a real sign, you would need to do this for the Koala text in the left header region as well. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 23

24 DEPLOY THE SIGN You must deploy a sign when it is ready for the public. Deploying a sign initially tells the Content Player to show the sign on the chosen screen(s), or when revisions to a sign are complete, the Content Player will update and display the latest version of the sign. EXAMPLE In this exercise you will deploy your Second Floor sign. 1. Right-click the Second Floor sign in the Network Overview area of the Content Manager. 2. Select Deploy from the menu. Figure 43 A pop-up menu, Deploy selected. 3. Click the Save Changes button if prompted to do so. NOTE: If you receive a Resolve message, click on the Resolve button. 4. Click the Close button when the success screen appears. Figure 44 Deploy to my computer dialog, no errors appearing. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 24

25 RUN THE CONTENT PLAYER The Content Player software presents the deployed sign to the public and must be installed on the computer used to display the sign. If changes to the sign are needed it will be necessary to edit the sign in the Content Manager, redeploy the sign, and run the Content Player again to view your changes. You may need to do this several times. EXAMPLE In this exercise you will view your Second Floor sign in the Content Player software. 1. Click on the Windows Start icon. Figure 45 The Windows logo. A circle with a colored square inside the circle. 2. Click on All Programs. Figure 46 All Programs menu choice selected. 3. Click on the Four Winds Interactive folder. Figure 47 A menu with Four Winds Interactive selected. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 25

26 4. Click on Content Player to view the sign. Figure 48 A menu with Content Player selected. It may take several seconds for the sign to appear. NOTE: The sign will not fit the current small screen. You will only see the upper left part of it. 5. Press the Q key to pause the Content Player. 6. Click the Shut Down button to shut down the Content Player. Figure 49 Content Player Monitor dialog. NOTE: Once you initially launch and close the Content Player, it may continuously re-launch itself after you close it. This is a feature built into the player in case of a computer crash, etc. Use the Content Player Configuration application (located in the same folder as the Content Manager and Content Player) to stop this from happening. Click the Stop/Start toggle button under the Deployment tab. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 26

27 Figure 50 Content Player Configuration screen. Stop button selected. EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS The Four Winds Digital Signage software includes methods for administrators to automatically send out emergency notifications to signs. Please discuss this with your local IT staff to ensure your signs are able to accept these notifications. You MUST enable an emergency channel on every sign to comply with Penn State policy. EXAMPLE In this exercise, you will define a new Penn State Emergency Channel. Defining a new channel is similar to setting up a playlist. 1. Create the channel by right-clicking the Business Building location in the network tree and selecting the New Channel... option. NOTE: If you do not see a Properties dialog at this point, locate the new channel under the Business Building location in the network tree, right-click on it, and select Properties. 2. Configure the channel as follows. Name: Emergency Channel Description: The Penn State Emergency Channel Display and behavior: Select Shrink templates and content if needed to fit the screen. The checkbox for Align templates smaller than screen size should be checked. Select Middle Center for the on screen location. Deployment properties: Channel ID: alerts_[yourcampuscode]_v or H o Every campus has a unique campus code. For example, anyone at University Park (UP) would use alerts_up_h or alerts_up_v as a campus code (see Campus Codes below) o V = Vertical, H= Horizontal. Base your choice on the physical orientation of your sign. Polling Interval: 01:00:00. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 27

28 Figure 51 The Properties dialog. Click the Connection properties link to view this sub-dialog screen. Protocol: FTP Host name: sign-ftp.its.psu.edu User Name: Anonymous Password: Any character(s) you want. This cannot be blank. You do not need to remember it. Do NOT user your PSU Access password! Path: /pub/digitalsignage/[yourcampuscode]/v or H o See Campus Codes below. o V = Vertical, H= Horizontal. Base your choice on the physical orientation of your sign. Port: 21 Figure 52 Setup the connection properties 3. Click anywhere outside of the Connection Properties dialog to close it. 4. Click the OK button. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 28

29 5. Drag the Channel alerts icon and drop it onto the Second Floor sign in the network tree to subscribe to the emergency channel. Figure 53 An arrow indicating one should drag the Channel Alerts UP H channel up to the Second Floor sign. Your sign should contain the subscribed channel as illustrated. Figure 54 A file tree showing the Subscription to the Channel Alert is now in the Second Floor sign. NOTE: Each player must be subscribed individually to the emergency channel. Campus Codes Code Campus Code Campus OZ Abington HN Hazleton AA Altoona HY Hershey BR Beaver AN Lehigh Valley BK Berks MA Mont Alto DE Brandywine NK New Kensington DN Dickinson-Carlisle SL Schuylkill DS DuBois SV Shenango BD Erie UP University Park FE Fayette WB Wilkes-Barre KP Great Valley WS Worthington Scranton MK Greater Allegheny YK York CL Harrisburg Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 29

30 Four Winds Interactive Support Appendix A: Additional Support The Four Winds Wiki - You must request a password to access this wiki. You may want your technical support staff to have access as well. Ben Lawrence Penn State Client Service Advocate Telephone: mobile fax blawrence@fourwindsinteractive.com General Telephone support: , 8AM to 7 PM M-F EST. Call all other times. Web support: support: support@fourwindsinteractive.com Penn State Support The Penn State Digital Signage Overview: The Penn State Digital Signage Web Site: The Penn State Digital Signage List: This electronic mailing list is used to share information of interest to all at Penn State using the Four Winds Digital Signage software. Join this list at Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 30

31 Appendix B: Hardware and Software Requirements Hardware Requirements To create digital signage with the Four Winds Interactive Digital Signage software, you need a Windows-based machine running Windows 7 software. Ideally, this machine has access to local networks and the Internet. To deploy (run and display) a sign, you need a Windows-based machine running Windows 7 software. Ideally, you would have a large display attached to this machine. If your sign uses any media that requires applications to run it (such as Microsoft Word), you will need that software installed as well. Software Requirements The Penn State Computer Store has a site license for the Four Winds Interactive Digital Signage software. See for more information on Four Winds Interactive. See for current Penn State pricing and licensing options. The Four Winds Digital Signage software consists of a Content Manager for creating and managing sign content, and a Content Player for showing sign content. The Content Manager typically is installed on the computer used to create and manage content. The Content Player must be installed on the machine used to show the sign. It may also be installed on the same machine as the Content Manager for testing purposes. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 31

32 Appendix C: Installing the Four Winds Content Manager and Content Player The Four Winds Digital Signage software consists of a Content Manager for creating and managing sign content, and a Content Player for showing sign content. The Content Manager typically is installed on the computer used to create and manage content. The Content Player must be installed on the machine used to show the sign. It may also be installed on the same machine as the Content Manager for testing purposes. The Penn State Computer Store has a site license for the Four Winds Interactive Digital Signage software. See for more information on Four Winds Interactive. See for current Penn State pricing and licensing options. Software License Keys You will receive your license keys after you purchase the software, as well as directions for activating the keys. The easiest way to add the keys is to go to the Help menu for both the Content Manager and Content Player and select the About choice. How to Download the Software at PSU 1. Open the Firefox browser. NOTE: If you are working remotely, you must also use the VPN software to ensure a secure connection. Please see for more information and installation instructions. 2. Type in the browser address bar. NOTE: You may need to authenticate with your Penn State user ID and Password to enter PASS Explorer. 3. Choose <Enter a path> from the Browse To: drop-down menu. Figure 55 Current Folder dialog. Enter a path chosen fromt he browse to pull-down menu. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 32

33 4. Type /pass/services/digitalsignage in the folder location dialog. Figure 56 A pop up dialog box with a single line text entry field. In the field the user types /pass/services/digitalsignage. 5. Click the OK button. 6. Select the [software] choice. Figure 57 The utilities menu choice is selected. 7. Click the Change Folder button. 8. Click on the most current version of the software. 9. Click on the Current folder. Figure 58 The current menu choice is selected. 10. Click the Change Folder button. 11. Click on the most current version of the software. 12. Click the Download button. 13. Click the Click to Start Download button. 14. Close the download dialog when the download completes. 15. Navigate to the Downloads folder. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 33

34 16. Double-click the ContentManager.zip file to open it and start a standard Windows installation procedure. Follow the prompts to install the software. 17. Repeat steps for the Content Player. 18. Activate the software by adding the license keys you received when you purchased the software. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 34

35 Appendix D: Create a Local Database With Shared Access Follow these steps if you want to store your local database on a network drive (to share access with others). 1. Launch (open) the Content Manager. Figure 59 The Content Manager Setup Wizard dialog, set up your database screen. The create a new local database radio button is selected. 2. Click the Create a new local database radio button. 3. Click the Next button. 4. Add your company/department information as desired. It is recommended you use Penn State [Your College and Dept. Name] (e.g., Penn State College of Ag Entomology Dept.). Figure 60 The Content Manager Setup Wizard dialog, set up your company screen. 5. Click the Figure 61 A button with three dots. button to the right of the Content Path field to store your local database on a network drive (to share access with others). Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 35

36 6. Double-click your network drive. In this example, an individual s PASS space is being used. Figure 62 Browser for folder dialog. 7. Double-click your network folder. In this example, MyDigitalSignageFolder is used. Figure 63 Browser for folder dialog. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 36

37 8. Once you have a network folder on a network drive identified, your Content Path field on the Set up your company dialog should contain the path to the network folder. Figure 64 Network setup dialog. The content path text field contains the absolute path to the network folder. Note: You must ensure all users can access a shared network folder. If you use PASS space, you must establish a User Managed Group (UMG). Please see for more information. Digital Signage at Penn State: The Basics 37

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