Website Kiosk Mode Archives - The KioskSimple Blog

How to Display a Menu of Websites On Your Kiosk

In order to make it easy to navigate between a series of websites on your kiosk we’ve added a menu feature to KioskSimple.

This is particularly useful if you’re allowing users to navigate away from your website to 3rd party websites.

In the case of a 3rd party website you probably don’t control their content and it will be difficult for users to find their way back to your website.

In this short article I’ll show you just how simple we’ve made it to create a menu of websites so your users can always find their way back home.

Continue reading “How to Display a Menu of Websites On Your Kiosk”

Windows Kiosk Mode vs. Kiosk Software

A common question I hear from new clients is “why would I want to use kiosk software when I can just use kiosk mode in Windows 8 (aka Assigned Access)?”

This is a fair question, so I’m going to explain the limitations of Windows Kiosk Mode and when there is a need for kiosk software.

The short answer is that kiosk software makes up for the short comings in Windows Kiosk Mode and adds an additional layer of security and ease of use to get you up and running quickly without all the headaches.

Our kiosk software is designed to be so simple that no nerd degree is required.

Continue reading “Windows Kiosk Mode vs. Kiosk Software”

Setting Up a Time Tracking Kiosk with KioskSimple

KioskSimple makes it easy for organizations of any size to make their time tracking website securely accessible from a self-service kiosk. This way workers can use a central kiosk or Windows tablet to log their time. In this example I’ll be using the eBillity Time Tracker web app from the Intuit App Center, but it would work fine with other time tracking websites also. Continue reading “Setting Up a Time Tracking Kiosk with KioskSimple”

Hiding the Web Browser Scrollbars in Your Kiosk Application

If you’re running your website on a self-service kiosk you may notice some unattractive scrollbars which you’ll probably want to hide. These scrollbars appear because the HTML content is tall or wide enough where it can’t all fit on a single screen, so the web browser displays a scrollbar so that the user knows there is more content available, they just have to scroll to see it. While this behavior is usually desirable on a web browser running on a desktop PC it looks unattractive in a touchscreen kiosk. You may notice that with many mobile devices the scrollbars do not appear until the user touches the screen. Continue reading “Hiding the Web Browser Scrollbars in Your Kiosk Application”

Start Internet Explorer in Kiosk Mode with KioskSimple

KioskSimple makes it a breeze to start Internet Explorer in “kiosk mode” and convert your PC into a self-service kiosk in just a few easy steps. This is a great option if your kiosk content is HTML based and you want to display it via the Internet Explorer web browser. Continue reading “Start Internet Explorer in Kiosk Mode with KioskSimple”

How to Start Your Web Browser in Kiosk Mode with KioskSimple

By starting your web browser in “kiosk mode” it effectively converts the web browser into a self-service kiosk application. The goal of running your web browser in kiosk mode is to “cripple” the web browser so that all of the typical web browser navigation functions are stripped away, giving you complete control over the users experience.

The problem is this still leaves the Windows operating system vulnerable to user tampering since it’s trivial to exit most web browsers by pressing Alt-F4 (and several other methods) and thereby dropping to the Windows desktop. This is why we created KioskSimple, to not only run your web browser in kiosk mode, but actually secure the Windows operating system. In many cases you’ll also want to control the web content users will be permitted to access and limit it to that of your organization which is also made possible by KioskSimple. Continue reading “How to Start Your Web Browser in Kiosk Mode with KioskSimple”

Disabling JavaScript Error Messages on Your Kiosk with KioskSimple

Disable JavaScript Error Messages on your kiosk with KioskSimple — Internet Explorer JavaScript error message

If your kiosk is running a website which utilizes JavaScript then chances are you don’t ever want to display JavaScript error messages to your kiosk users. Ideally your JavaScript would never encounter an error, but on the off chance that your developers aren’t perfect a JavaScript error can cause the web browser to display a very confusing error message that can distract your kiosk users from their intended purpose. Continue reading “Disabling JavaScript Error Messages on Your Kiosk with KioskSimple”

Blocking Websites on Your Kiosk with KioskSimple

If you’re using a kiosk to display a website(s) then chances are you don’t want your users to be able to browse wherever they please. You want to keep your website on the kiosk at all times so that you control exactly what your customers see while using your kiosk. We’ve made this easy with KioskSimple and no coding or nerd degree is required.

KioskSimple uses a hybrid whitelist (websites that are allowed) and blacklist (websites that are blocked) for maximum security and flexibility. In order for a website to be displayed on your kiosk it must be both included in the whitelist and not include in the blacklist. I’ll do an example below so you can see just how easy this is. Continue reading “Blocking Websites on Your Kiosk with KioskSimple”

8 Signs of an Amateur Touchscreen Kiosk Application

Have you ever been using a self-service kiosk and thought to yourself “that’s obviously not right?” Anyone who uses kiosks on a regular basis has at some point interacted with a kiosk that was less than professional. As a kiosk software company we’ve had the privilege of developing kiosk applications deployed across the US and I’ve compiled a list of signs of an amateur kiosk application so you can avoid these same mistakes.

1. The artwork on the kiosk screens looks like generic clipart or is inconsistent

Usually this happens because the kiosk designer doesn’t have access to a graphic artist or the client has their own ideas on what’s “acceptable” artwork. Fortunately we have an excellent graphic designer on staff but we’ve experienced the latter where clients will send us generic clipart for buttons and ask to have them put on the kiosk. We try our best to talk them out of this but sometimes to no avail. If you’ve seen our website KioskSimple.com you’ll notice we use a lot of hand drawn artwork that all meshes together nicely to give a consistent and professional theme with the occasional clipart thrown in for humor. Continue reading “8 Signs of an Amateur Touchscreen Kiosk Application”

5 Reasons to Develop Your Kiosk Application as a Website

In a previous article on getting started developing kiosk software I briefly covered my thoughts on the pros and cons of developing kiosk applications as a website vs. a native Windows application.

It boils down to a case of client-side vs. server-side and deciding which approach best fits your needs.

My goal for this 2-part series is to define the pros and cons of each approach to better help kiosk application developers make an informed decision. Continue reading “5 Reasons to Develop Your Kiosk Application as a Website”