Help

NowBoard help

Guides for setting up screens, building Boards and running your players.

Getting started

  • Accepting an invitationOn this page, you create your account after a colleague invites you to their NowBoard organisation.
  • Creating an accountThis page makes a new NowBoard organisation and your first user account in it. It has three short steps.
  • Setting up your first ChannelAfter you register, the setup wizard helps you make your first Site and Channel.
  • Signing inUse this page to sign in to NowBoard. It is for the desktop CMS and for the staff phone app.

Dashboard

  • The DashboardThe Dashboard is the first page that you see after you sign in.

Boards

  • A board's settingsUse this page to configure one board. You can change its name, its appearance, the content it shows and its publish status.
  • AI DesignerAI Designer makes a board for you from a short chat. You do not select a template and complete it yourself.
  • BoardsA board is a screen layout. It is what your screens show.
  • Starter layouts in the editorThis article is about the old grid editor. In the board builder, use the Layouts tab. For more information, see the help article for the board builder.
  • Template versions for boardsEach board uses a template. We update templates from time to time. This article tells you what this means for a board that you made. It also tells you how to…
  • The board builderUse the board builder to make a board from the start. The builder opens for boards that you made without a template ("Custom Board"). To edit a board that us…

Content

  • AnnouncementsUse this page for notices and alerts that you want to send to your boards. For example: closures, one-off events, or other time-sensitive items.
  • ContentContent is your library of all the items that you can show on a Channel. It includes timetables, menus, announcements, media, opening times, info cards, even…
  • CountdownsA countdown counts down to one target date and time. For example: a grand opening or the start of an event.
  • Daily fill-insDaily fill-ins are short items for a quiet screen: quotes, jokes, fun facts and "On this day" events. On an awareness day, for example International Women's…
  • Dates for peopleUse Dates for people for birthdays, anniversaries, welcomes, farewells and milestones. The newer Celebrations board uses these dates.
  • Energy and solar boardsAn energy board shows your solar power, the energy that you use and the carbon that you save. The numbers are Live figures . You can type them, or a Data Sou…
  • EventsUse Events for one-off events and scheduled events. For example: markets, gigs, meetings, or other events with a start time. Most events also have an end time.
  • Fixtures and resultsFixtures and results are named lists of matches or one-off competitions.
  • Guest photosA Guest wall collects photos from your guests. A guest scans a QR code with a phone and sends a photo. No account is necessary.
  • Holiday listingsUse this page to manage self-catering properties: villas, apartments, cottages, lodges, chalets, glamping and hotel rooms.
  • Info CardsInfo Cards are small tiles with different types of information. Welcome boards and visitor boards show them. For example: visiting hours, reception instructi…
  • Job VacanciesA Vacancy list is a named set of your open roles.
  • Live figuresA Live figures set is a named group of numbers. Each number has a label and a unit. It can also have a target and a trend.
  • MapsA map shows streets on a screen, with your own pins. It can also show live points from a feed, such as buses, vans or sensors. It can show traffic.
  • MediaMedia is your library of images and videos for boards. For example: menus, events, listings, ads, board takeover screens and more.
  • MenusUse this page to make the food and drink menus that your boards show.
  • NewsA News list is a named set of stories that you write yourself.
  • Opening TimesAn opening times entry sets a weekly pattern of hours. Each day can have an optional note.
  • PeoplePeople lists are named groups of people. Each person has a photo, a role, two short lines of text, a phone extension and an email.
  • Photo AlbumsA Photo Album is a set of photos in the order that you select. Each photo can have an optional caption.
  • PlacesPlaces are named lists of facilities, attractions, rooms or destinations.
  • PollsA poll is a question with 2 to 6 answers. A board shows the question, a QR code and the results.
  • ProductsUse this page to keep the items that you sell, for example shirts, balls, shampoo and gift-shop items.
  • Property listingsThis page holds all the properties that your board shows. Some listings come from a connected Property feed. You add other listings manually.
  • QR CodesQR Codes are codes that people scan with a phone. Use them for menus, bookings, contact details, Wi-Fi and other information.
  • Ranked listsA ranked list is a named list of entries with scores. Each entry has a name and a score. It can also have a team, a second line and a picture. A board shows…
  • ReviewsA Review list is a named set of your best customer reviews.
  • Rooms and bookingsRooms and bookings shows a list of rooms and the bookings in them. Each room has a name, a capacity and a floor.
  • Safety CountersA Safety Counter counts the days since your last accident. It also records your best run of days.
  • SlidesA slide deck shows a presentation on a screen, one slide at a time. Each page of a PDF becomes one slide.
  • Social LinksA Social Links set is a named list of your social accounts: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, LinkedIn, YouTube and your website.
  • Social wallsA Social wall shows the posts from your own Instagram account or Facebook Page on your boards. The board shows only the posts that you approve, or that the w…
  • TeamsA team is a club or a side. You set it up one time, with a name, a short name, a badge and two colours.
  • TimetablesUse Timetables to publish schedules that repeat, for example class timetables or event lists.
  • Vehicle listingsThis page holds all the vehicles that your board shows. Some listings come from a connected Vehicle feed. You add other vehicles manually.
  • Web URLsWeb URLs are external web pages that a board shows in a frame. Examples are dashboards, status pages and similar sites that you want to show with your other…
  • YouTubeAdd YouTube URLs to show videos on boards. Examples are background videos that repeat, training clips and music videos.

Locations

  • Channel settingsUse this page to set up one Channel. You can set its branding, header, schedule, Wi-Fi override and emergency info.
  • ChannelsA Channel is one content feed at one place. It plays Boards in the sequence that its Playlist sets.

Map

  • Sites mapThe map shows each Site that has GPS coordinates. You can quickly see which venues have Channels offline. You do not need to open each Site.

Players

  • Pairing a playerPairing connects the hardware of a new device to your organisation. You use a one-time code that the device shows on its screen.
  • PlayersA Player is the physical device that connects to a Channel and plays its content. A Player can be a NowBoard Player Pro, a smart TV with the NowBoard Player…
  • Set up a DIY Player on a Raspberry PiA DIY Player is a Raspberry Pi that you own, with the free NowBoard Player software on it.

Analytics

Advertising

  • Ad campaignsA campaign is a booked run of an advert. It shows who advertises, on which of your ad spaces, for how long and how much they paid.
  • Ad spacesAn ad space is a package of advertising slots on one or more of your Channels.
  • Advertising explainedThis page explains how you sell ads on your screens, from when you make an ad space to when you get paid.
  • The public advertise pageYou send this page to a business that wants to advertise on your screens.

Users

  • UsersThis page shows all persons who can sign in to your organisation. It also shows persons that you invited who did not accept yet.

Feeds

  • Calendar feedsA calendar feed copies the events of a calendar into NowBoard. Use it for a calendar that your team keeps in Google Calendar, Microsoft 365 (Outlook) or anot…
  • Data SourcesA data source gets your own data from a REST API, a published Google Sheet or a CSV file on the web. NowBoard reads it again on a schedule and puts the rows…
  • Property feedsA property feed gets listings from an estate agent portal or CRM into NowBoard. Thus, you do not have to type homes for sale or to let manually.
  • RSS feedsAn RSS feed gets headlines from a news site or blog and shows them on your boards.
  • Vehicle feedsA vehicle feed gets stock from a dealer management system or portal into NowBoard. Thus, cars for sale show on your boards, and you do not have to type them…
  • WeatherWeather adds the current conditions and a 5-day forecast to a site. Thus, your boards at that site can show the local weather. You do not have to type anything.
  • WebhooksA webhook is a web address. Another system can send data to this address. When the data comes in, NowBoard sends it to a board or a Channel immediately.

Takeover

  • TakeoverA takeover sends a board to all Channels or to selected Channels. It replaces the content that they play now.

Emergency

  • Emergency alertsAn emergency alert stops the usual content on your displays and shows an urgent message.

Beam

  • BeamWith Beam, a visitor can show a tab from their own laptop on one of your screens. The visitor uses a short code.

Settings

  • AreasAn Area is a section of a Site, for example "Reception" or "West Wing".
  • Billing and plansThis page shows your plan. Use it to upgrade, downgrade or cancel your plan.
  • BrandsA brand is a named set of logos and colours that you can apply to a board.
  • Divisions, regions, areas and zonesIf your organisation has many sites, you can group them with Divisions, Regions, Areas and Zones.
  • LookupsLookups are named values that you select in other parts of NowBoard. They are Rooms, People, Categories, Subcategories, Buildings, Departments and Tags.
  • My ProfileThis page is about you. Users with any role can open it.
  • OrganisationThis page holds the name, venue type, default currency, brand colours and logo of your organisation.
  • RegionsA Region is a smaller group in a Division, for example "South West" in "UK".
  • SettingsThis page sets the main details of your organisation: name, timezone, locale and currency.
  • SitesA Site is a top-level physical place in your organisation. It is a building or venue, for example "London HQ" or "Riverside Care Home".
  • ZonesA Zone is a specific space in an Area, for example "Meeting Room 2" or a specific corridor.

What's New

  • What's NewThis page shows a list of all NowBoard releases. The newest release is first. You can see what changed and when.

Operator App

  • AnnouncementsUse Announcements to send messages to your screens from your phone. Examples are a closure or a schedule change. You can remove a message from your screens w…
  • ChannelsChannels shows a list of all the Channels in your organisation. Use the search box to find a Channel quickly. A status dot shows if each Channel is online.
  • EmergencyUse Emergency to start an alert from your phone. Channels change to an emergency message immediately. When the emergency stops, clear the alert.
  • MenuUse Menu to see and update your menus from your phone. When an item is finished, you can immediately show it as sold out.
  • SettingsSettings shows the details of your account. You can also change the Channel, install the app or sign out.
  • Take overTake over puts one board on this screen immediately. It does not change the schedule of the screen.
  • TodayToday shows the schedule for the day on the current Channel. Use it to see what is on. You can also record changes when they occur, for example when a class…
  • WelcomeThis is the first screen in the NowBoard Operator App. It shows before you select a Channel. Use it to start. The app also shows this screen when no Channel…