Introduction
In this guide, you will learn about the channel browsing interface that is available on the Appspace App. When the Appspace App is configured to browse channels, any channels or channel groups that are published to the device will be displayed in a menu-driven interface.
Note: The device will need to have a touch-screen, a remote control, or an attached mouse or keyboard in order for you to use the menu-driven interface.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure that you have the following ready:
- You will need an active Appspace cloud account.
- You will need a compatible device that is running the Appspace App and registered.
- You will need to have channels that are published to a device.
- You will need the Network Administrator permission to manage devices.
Configure a device to browse channels
At this stage, you should already be familiar with creating channels, along with the knowledge of registering devices and publishing channels to devices.
Previously, you configured a device to Autoplay published channels so that it can automatically play channels that are published to it. By following the next few steps, you will update the configuration for channel browsing.
Navigate to the Devices workflow
In the Appspace Console, navigate to the Devices workflow from the main menu.
Select the target device
Click on the name of the device from the list that you want to update.
Set the device's channel selection mode
Click on the Settings tab of the device to see the device configuration, then click on the Channel selection mode dropdown and select Users browse published channels.
Complete
Once this mode is selected, the Appspace App running on the device will update at the next interval and show the menu-driven interface.
To the next part
With the device configured to let users browse published channels, the next part shows the basics of navigating the channel browsing interface.
Start browsing channels
Channels published to the device will appear as tiles that you can select and play. The channel browsing mode starts at the home screen where all channels and channel groups are displayed. Selecting a channel will go to the channel playback screen where it will automatically start playing. You can use a remote control, keyboard or touch screen to navigate.
Home Screen
By default, channels that do not belong to any group will be displayed under the general Channels group. Channels within a group are displayed in alphanumeric order, and channel groups are also listed in alphanumeric order. Selecting a channel will automatically launch into the channel playback screen.
From the home screen, you can also access the menu of the Appspace App to perform a search or navigate within a specific channel group.
How to access the Appspace App menu
- Keep pressing the Left button on the remote control, or Left key on the keyboard until the menu appears.
- With a touch screen or mouse, simply click the left grey bar on the home screen.
Channel playback screen
Once a channel is selected from the home screen, it will automatically start playing full screen. On this screen, you are also able to navigate to the specific content items within the channel.
Selecting a content item from the playlist strip will automatically jump to that sequence of the channel.
How to access the playlist strip
- Press either the Up or Down button on the remote control, or Up or Down keys on the keyboard.
- With a touch screen or mouse, click anywhere on the screen.
How to return to the home screen
- Press the Back button on the remote control, or the Right Command key on the keyboard.
- With a touch screen or mouse, click anywhere to access the playlist strip, then click on the left arrow button on the left side of the playlist strip.
Congratulations!
You have successfully configured a device for channel browsing.
The ability for users to browse for channels is the first step in providing an interactive experience. Channels can be organized into groups for a better browsing experience.
What's Next?
Now that you know how to configure a device for channel browsing, and all the channels have been organized into groups that represent different teams and departments, the next step is to delegate how channels and content are managed.
At a certain stage, different teams and departments in your organization may want to start managing their own channels, channel groups and devices. In order to do so, the logical next step is to invite your coworkers to start using Appspace so that they are able to manage their own content.