pulse-signage/docs/user/web-guide.md

Web Guide

Pulse Signage brings content creation, publishing, screen management, and live operations into one web application. This guide explains what each area is for, how the areas work together, and when to use each one.

How Pulse Signage Fits Together

The main content objects have a simple relationship:

• A template defines the structure and appearance of a slide.
• A slide is a piece of finished content built from that structure.
• A playlist arranges slides into a sequence.
• A screen is the display destination for a playlist.
• A player runs the screen and reports its connected clients.

You can reuse a template across many slides, reuse a slide across many playlists, and change a playlist without rebuilding the slides inside it. This separation lets you update one part of a signage setup without recreating everything around it.

Typical Publishing Workflow

For a new piece of signage, work through the application in this order:

1. Decide the screen size or aspect ratio and create a matching canvas size if one does not already exist.
2. Choose an existing slide template, or create one when the design needs a new structure.
3. Build a slide, add its content, and preview it at the intended size.
4. Add the slide to a playlist and place it in the correct order.
5. Assign the playlist to a screen.
6. Check connected clients to confirm the player is online and displaying the expected content.
7. Use an announcement or data source when the information needs to change independently of the playlist.

The web application is the main place where content and screen assignments are managed. Once a change is saved, the relevant players receive the updated state.

Overview

Dashboard

The dashboard is the starting point for everyday work. It summarizes the parts of the system that matter most when you are publishing or checking displays, including screens, playlists, slides, templates, and active clients.

Use the dashboard to:

• See whether the system has content ready to publish.
• Move quickly to the content or screen area that needs attention.
• Check high-level counts and current activity.
• Identify whether a display problem is likely to be content-related or connection-related.

The dashboard is an overview rather than a replacement for the detailed pages. Use the dedicated feature pages when you need to edit content or investigate a specific connection.

Screens and Players

Screens

A screen represents a display destination in Pulse Signage. It gives a playlist somewhere to play and provides the link between your content and a physical display.

When setting up a screen, choose a clear name and stable slug so other people can recognize it. Assign the playlist that should normally play there, then associate the screen with the appropriate player during setup.

Use the screen area when you need to:

• Add a new display destination.
• Change the playlist shown on a display.
• Review which player is associated with a screen.
• Update screen details after a display is moved or renamed.
• Remove a display that is no longer part of the signage setup.

If a screen exists but is not showing the expected content, first check its assigned playlist, then check the player and client status.

Connected Clients

A connected client is an active browser or player connection reporting to a screen. A single screen can have more than one connection over time as players restart, browsers reconnect, or replacement devices come online.

The clients page helps you distinguish content problems from runtime problems. It shows information such as:

• The client name and screen group.
• The current slide title, when one is available.
• The client viewport size.
• When the connection was established or last updated.
• Whether the client is paused or blacked out.

From this page, available controls can reload a client, move to the previous or next slide, pause playback, or toggle blackout. Commands apply to the selected connection, so confirm the client and screen before sending one.

If a client is missing, check that the player is running and connected before changing the playlist. If the client is present but showing the wrong content, check the screen's playlist and the playlist order.

Content

Slide Templates

A slide template is a reusable design definition. It controls the structure editors work with and can provide fields for text, images, colors, animations, and dynamic values.

Templates are useful when you want consistency. For example, an event announcement template can give every editor the same title, date, image, and background fields without asking them to rebuild the layout each time.

When working with templates:

• Give each template a descriptive name based on its purpose.
• Keep fields focused on the content an editor is expected to change.
• Preview the design at the canvas sizes where it will be used.
• Consider existing slides before changing a template, because layout changes can affect every slide built from it.
• Create a separate template when two designs are conceptually different instead of forcing one template to handle unrelated layouts.

Templates provide structure; they do not decide which slides play or which screen receives them.

Slides

A slide is an individual piece of signage content. It is normally created from a template, filled with content, previewed, and then placed into one or more playlists.

Slides can contain ordinary editorial content such as text and images, as well as content that changes over time through announcements or data sources. This lets a playlist remain stable while the information inside a slide stays current.

A useful slide workflow is:

1. Select the template that matches the intended design.
2. Fill in the visible content and any optional fields.
3. Preview the slide at the target canvas size.
4. Check text wrapping, image cropping, animation, and contrast.
5. Save the slide and add it to a playlist.
6. Recheck the live client after publishing.

If a slide is reused in multiple playlists, an edit can affect every place where it appears. Create a separate slide when the content needs to vary between destinations.

Playlists

A playlist is the sequence a screen plays. It controls which slides appear, the order in which they appear, how long they remain visible, and how transitions behave.

Use playlists to organize content by destination, audience, or purpose. A lobby playlist, for example, may combine welcome messages, schedules, announcements, and a repeating information slide without changing the underlying templates.

When editing a playlist:

• Add only the slides that belong to that display experience.
• Reorder slides to establish the intended viewing sequence.
• Review each slide's duration and the overall rhythm of the sequence.
• Configure transitions where a change in visual pacing is useful.
• Decide how unavailable streams should be handled if the playlist uses live media.
• Save the playlist before checking the player.

A playlist change affects the screens using that playlist. A slide change can affect every playlist that includes that slide, so choose the object that matches the scope of the change you intend to make.

Canvas Sizes

Canvas sizes describe the dimensions or aspect ratios a design is meant to use. They help templates and slides stay predictable when a display has a known resolution or orientation.

Create a canvas size when your organization has a recurring display format, such as a landscape lobby screen, a portrait information board, or a wide event display. Use a consistent name that makes the intended hardware obvious.

Before publishing a design, preview it at the target canvas size. A slide designed for a wide screen may need different spacing, font sizes, or image treatment on a portrait display.

Assets

Media and fonts support the content you build rather than defining a separate publishing workflow.

Media

The media library stores files that can be used by slides and player content. Upload media once and reuse it in the places where it belongs instead of creating duplicate copies for every slide.

When preparing media:

• Use clear filenames so editors can find the correct asset.
• Choose images and videos that suit the target canvas size.
• Check how a file is cropped or scaled in the slide preview.
• Remove obsolete assets when you are certain they are no longer used.

Data and Live Content

Announcements

Announcements are messages that can be sent to selected screens without rebuilding a regular playlist. They are useful for temporary information such as room changes, service notices, event reminders, alerts, or time-sensitive instructions.

An announcement normally includes:

• The message or content to display.
• How long it should remain visible.
• Its visual treatment, such as color or icon.
• The screens that should receive it.

Use an announcement when the message is temporary or targeted. Use a playlist slide when the content is part of the normal repeating experience.

After changing an announcement, connected players receive a refresh and update their displayed state. If a target screen is offline, it will receive the current state when it reconnects and refreshes its content.

Data Sources

See the Data Sources guide for supported source types, refresh behavior, and troubleshooting.

Administration

Accounts and Access

See the Administration guide for accounts, fonts, player pairing, and remote players.

Player Pairing and Remote Players

See the Administration guide for pairing and remote-player setup.

Operations

Background Updates

Pulse Signage performs routine work in the background so the web application does not need to wait for every refresh or cleanup operation. This includes refreshing data sources, synchronizing media and fonts, removing expired information, and keeping player state current.

Most background work happens automatically. If content appears stale, use the relevant feature page to check the source or player state first. The task and system pages can help administrators investigate work that is delayed or failed.

System Settings and Activity

System settings provide defaults and integrations used across the application. Depending on the deployment, they can include player behavior, announcement defaults, data-source refresh settings, email templates, and external service providers.

Activity history records important account and system changes. It is useful when you need to understand when a setting changed, investigate an unexpected update, or review recent administrative activity.

Related Guides

• Local Control guide for offline control on an individual player.
• Compose guide for deployment and remote-player setup.
• API reference for player HTTP endpoints and onboarding integration.
• WebSocket reference for player and snapshot channels.