Joan Workplace Digital Signage getting started guide

Joan Workplace Digital Signage is a comprehensive Content Management System (CMS) solution coupled with dedicated templates for workplace signage needs. It runs on Joan e-paper displays as well as regular LCD displays.

Initial setup

To begin using the CMS you will receive a dedicated URL from our Sales/Support team where your CMS instance will be accessible, and initial credentials for the administrative user account.

To display the content on your device for the first time, you will need to complete the following steps:

• Update your user profile (only when logging in for the very first time)
• Pair your first device
• Create a playlist
• Schedule the playlist to your device

To change the content subsequently you can only modify the playlist without going through other steps.

Some of these steps may have already been completed by our team. If that's the case, feel free to skip those and continue with the remaining steps.

Updating your user profile

Upon your first login, you will be prompted to fill in your user profile in the My Profile window. To get the most out of your experience, it’s best to fill out your profile as completely as you can.

Pairing your display

Initial notes

All display devices are called "Players" in the CMS.

The pairing procedure for Joan displays is different from the one for LCD displays.

Furthermore, the procedure for LCDs differs depending on whether they use a software-based player or a hardware-based one. 

Joan displays

Once you have successfully configured your device for your network and the CMS server by following the instructions on this link, it will show a PIN code. This PIN code is used to pair the device with your CMS account. Please note that it may take up to 15 minutes for the code to show up after a successful configuration.

To add the device to your CMS account, go to Players and select Add Player. In the pop-up window, follow these steps:

1. First, choose E-Ink device (NOT E-Ink Demo).

2. Then, enter the name of the player. Choose something descriptive, as this device will be referred to by this name elsewhere in the CMS. Example: “Entrance”
   
3. Set the time zone for this particular player. It is important to set the correct time zone, as it is used to calculate the play times. The default time zone is GMT+1. 
   
4. Type in the PIN code that is displayed on your Joan display
5. Click on Register Player. 
   

When the player is registered, it will display a blank screen with status notes at the bottom of the display. Now we can adjust its settings, add it to a group, and then assign a playlist. Please continue here.

LG and Samsung digital signage displays

For digital signage displays from LG based on WebOS and Samsung ones based on Tizen OS, we provide a software player that can be installed from the appropriate app store.

To install the player software, go to the respective app store, search for the Centoplayer app, install it and run as any other software.

When done, you will be presented with a screen displaying a PIN. To pair the display, please provide the PIN to our support team, and they will pair it with you CMS instance.

All the other LCD displays

For displays other than the above mentioned we provide a Linux-based OS image that can be installed on any reasonably powered PC. Typically a Mini PC from factor is recommended, so it can be mounted behind or near the display. For this option please contact our support team, and they will provide further guidance.

Assigning the player to a group

After the player has been paired to the CMS, we need to assign it to a group. This is mandatory for Joan devices, so the correct settings for e-paper technology are applied to display the content. Please follow the below steps to assign your Joan device to a device group.

1. Click on your Joan device in the Players tab
2. Navigate to Groups in the top menu
3. Assign the Player to one or multiple Player groups by selecting the checkbox(es).

Creating a playlist

Once you have successfully paired your device and assigned it to a group your are ready to create your first playlist.

To do so, first navigate to Content –> Playlists. 

1. Click on Create Playlist.
2. Name your playlist.
3. Choose what happens with the pages that expire independently from others (we call this a clean-up procedure). We recommend to keep the default option.
4. Choose to allow changes on individual Players or not. We recommend to keep the default option as this is needed only in very rare cases. Also note that changes on Player level are not available for E Ink devices
5. Choose Select Player groups and choose the player group that you have created above. This is mandatory for Joan devices, so the correct settings for e-paper technology are applied to the playlist.
6. Choose Select User groups to specify which user group will be able to edit the playlist. It is also possible to assign the editing permission by selecting specific user roles, although this is not recommended. If you select Skip all users will have access to this playlist. 
7. One of the more powerful tools in the CMS are advanced templates that we call Apps. They can be data-enabled and are prepared by our team. Some are built-in and some can be customer-specific. Here you can choose whether to select certain app folders or to assign all apps. For e-ink playlist we recommend to only select e-ink apps.

Congratulations, your first playlist has been successfully created. Now you can add some content that you wish to display in this playlist.

Editing the playlist

1. In menu item Content->Playlists select the playlist and click Open Playlist. Or click on playlist name and it will open straight away.
2. The playlist view is divided in Playlist timeline at the bottom, current page details panel on top left, and content panel on top right. Add the content (images, videos, PDFs, PPTs) to the library by dragging from your desktop to library panel.
3. To add a page to the playlist drag some content from the content panel to the playlist timeline panel. Use Library tab to drag ready-made content, or Apps tab to add apps that require some additional info and then render by themselves as pages. Another option is to click Create in the timeline panel to create a new page from scratch. In this case a page editor will open up which is a full graphis editor that can work with images, text, and a few other graphic elements. 
4. Once you have finished customising your playlist, click on the Publish button. 
   This will apply all the changes you made on the playlist.
   
   

Schedule the playlist on your device

To schedule your newly created content to the device, navigate to Content -> Scheduling. 

1. Select the Player on the left tab for which you wish to create a Schedule.
2. Drag and drop the Playlist from the right tab to the Schedule calendar.
3. The Create Schedule window will open.
4. Select start and end date for your playlist
5. Select start and end times in the day for your playlist
6. Select the recurrence of your playlist
7. Click Create, and that is it!

Congratulations! You have successfully scheduled your content to your display!

It will start playing on your device in a couple of minutes.

If you encounter any issues please reach out to us at suppport@getjoan.com.

Further steps

For more information please see the built-in manual in the CMS or click here.