A Simple Method for Creating Digital Signage with Websites (HTML+JS) on Windows
2021-07-13 21:33 (3 years ago)
ytyng
Creating a dashboard and advertisement slideshow as a web application on a website, and displaying it on Windows digital signage.
There are several methods to do this, but in conclusion, this time I chose the method of:
“Creating a regular Windows user and putting a Chrome shortcut with kiosk mode options in startup.”
Various Methods
A. Creating a User Specifically for Kiosk
In Windows, there is a feature called “Set up a kiosk” or “Assigned Access.”
It allows you to create a user account that only runs a single application in fullscreen mode.
This method is the most secure, but making a website a kiosk is difficult.
Despite having several built-in features, it’s still challenging.
A1. Kiosk Mode + Edge’s Kiosk Mode
Windows provides a suitable feature built-in.
When creating a kiosk user (Assigned Access), if you select Edge, it asks for the startup URL and how often to reset the session.
However, since Edge switched to the Chromium engine, it cannot launch within the kiosk mode itself, making this feature unusable.
When trying to start in kiosk mode, you only get an error message saying, “Could not start the app. Ctrl + Alt + Del 0xffffffff” and nothing else can be done.
Discussion on this issue:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/204877/assigned-access-will-not-start.html
There doesn't seem to be a clear solution. I give up.
A2. Using a Kiosk Browser
There is an app called Kiosk Browser for kiosk mode available on the Windows Store.
Once installed, it can be launched by a kiosk user.
However, specifying the initial URL is difficult.
Just installing the app doesn't allow you to set the initial URL.
How to set it up:
It seems you need to use Kiosk Browser + Windows ADK (Assessment & Deployment Kit), specifically a tool called Imaging and Configuration Designer (ICD) to create it. It seems to create an app with embedded settings or a Windows image.
Download and install the Windows ADK
By the way, the tool is about 1GB in size, and setting it up is complicated. I wonder why I have to go through so much trouble just to display a web page. Rejected.
A3. Building a Custom App
If you only need to use WebView, building a custom app using C#, Xamarin, Electron, Flutter, etc., would be much simpler than using Kiosk Browser + Imaging and Configuration Designer. I didn't try this method this time.
B. Creating a Regular User and Launching a Regular Browser in Kiosk Mode at Startup
This method is much simpler than creating an Assigned Access user as mentioned in method A. However, since it’s a regular user, the app can be closed, and if the app crashes, the user can access the desktop or launch other apps. Therefore, security is not great.
It’s fine if used within a limited user base and under supervision.
B1. Launching Edge in Kiosk Mode
By adding the options --kiosk <URL> --edge-kiosk-type=fullscreen to Edge, it launches in kiosk mode. The specified URL is displayed maximized.
This was the feature I wanted to use this time. It works perfectly.
Explanation of other options for Edge’s kiosk mode:
Create a shortcut for Edge, right-click it to display properties, and add the above options to the command line.
Press Windows + R, enter shell:startup, and display the startup folder. Place the shortcut in it.
That’s it.
With functionalities like Alt+Tab, the app can be closed. If used under supervision and for purposes like signage where a keyboard is not used, it should be fine.
However, cookies are deleted when the app closes. So, login sessions cannot be maintained.
If using a page that requires login, Chrome is a better choice.
B2. Launching Chrome in Kiosk Mode
Chrome can also be launched in kiosk mode with --kiosk <URL>. It looks exactly the same as Edge.
In the case of Chrome, cookies are not deleted even after closing and reopening, so it’s better for pages that require login.
This time, I wanted to do digital signage on a logged-in page, so I chose to put Chrome with kiosk mode options specified in the startup.
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