Overview
In this article you will find detailed instructions on how to configure your Public Display settings in BuildingLink to show packages, important building announcements, photos, current weather, train schedules, calendar events, and more.
The public display is a monitor placed in a common area of your building (usually in the lobby or mailroom where residents can see it), connected to the BuildingLink Public Display website. For information on the physical set up of a public display (PC and monitor requirements) click here.
Configuring/Editing a Public Display
Each public display is controlled by a log in which will need to be created in order to launch a display. Any Management or Security Officer user can add a new public display login by going to the Settings tab in BuildingLink and clicking on Displays and Consoles.
Click the green Add Display/Console button.
You can create multiple public display logins if you wish to utilize different monitors for different purposes. For instance, you could have one screen in your mailroom show only packages and another show building announcements and calendar events. When creating multiple logins, be sure to name each display in a way that can be easily distinguished for its intended purpose or location.
Be sure the Display/Console type is set to Public Display.
Launching a Public Display
Once the login is created, you can launch the display by opening a web browser and navigating to BuildingLink on the PC that controls the monitor. Rather than entering your credentials when prompted, enter the username and password associated with the display you wish to appear on the monitor.
Customizing a Public Display
After launching the display, you can customize the display from any computer, anywhere! Any changes made will automatically reflect on the designated display monitor once the page automatically refreshes.
Display Settings
You can customize the overall design and layout of the display by clicking on the Gear icon that appears in the control panel.
Setting descriptions:
Padding: Allows you to add spacing in between your widgets.
Allow floating widgets: Allows you to move your widgets into any space on the screen. If you disable this setting, all widgets will move to the topmost available space.
Widgets can move other widgets: Allows you to move a widget into space where another widget is, pushing the other widget down to the next available space.
Transparent Backgrounds: Gives widgets a transparent background so you can see a background image. If you disable this setting, widgets will have a dark grey background.
Background image: Select an available background image or upload an image of your choice. We recommend using an image that is 1920 x 1080px or greater, however, the file size limit is 5 megabytes.
Darken Background: You can also lighten/darken the overlay of the background. To adjust this setting, click and drag the Darken Background button left (lighter) or right (darker).
Adding and Adjusting Display Widgets
To add a widget, click on the + icon on the control bar and select the widget you’d like to add to the display.
The widget will appear in the top left, click and hold to drag the widget where you’d like to place it.
To adjust the size of the widget, click and drag on the bottom right corner.
Some widgets can be further customized by clicking on the settings gear that appears on the widget.
Removing a Widget From the Display
To remove a widget from the display, hover over the widget and click on the red icon with a trash can.
When making any changes to the public display, be sure to click the Save Layout button on the control bar before closing the page or logging out.
To log out, click on the icon with the arrow on the control bar.
Below is the list of Widgets currently available at this time:
Amenities
The Amenities widget displays upcoming approved amenity reservations.
Announcements
The Announcements widget allows you to display announcements you've created within the Management site (customizable from the Active Announcements section on the Admin Dashboard). By default, announcements are set to rotate in and out (carousel mode) but if you prefer to have announcements continuously scroll across the screen, click on the settings gear and select scrolling text.
Click here to learn more about the updated Announcement module.
Banner
The Banner widget displays your Building Name, Logo, Management Company, and website address.
BuildingLink Resident App QR code
This QR widget allows your residents to scan the QR code to download the mobile resident app onto their mobile device.
Calendar Events
The Calendar widget can display upcoming events you've entered into the Building Calendar under the Management tab. In order for calendar events to appear on the Public Display, you must change the setting for that calendar category by going to the Manage tab (in the BuildingLink site) -> Building Calendar -> Calendar Categories. Click Edit next to any category you would like to include events for on your display.
Flyer
Create custom flyers in seconds with the flyer widget!
If you'd like multiple fliers to appear at once, click the three dots next to each flyer and add it to your playlist!
Date & Time
Packages
The package widget displays the deliveries a unit has recorded in the Event Log. By clicking on the settings gear that appears on the Package module, you can further customize how packages are displayed. You can choose a display mode for how you'd like units to appear by selecting "Show all Units" or "Show Only Units with Deliveries" (see an example of each mode below). If you have multiple locations at your property (ex. north tower and south tower) you can choose which locations packages appear on the public display. Lastly, if you're property is specifying event log locations (where packages are stored ex. mailroom, front desk, refrigerator, etc) you can choose to show only events for a specific package location.
Display Mode 1: Show All Units - This display mode shows all units and will highlight the unit in blue if they have a recorded event in the Event Log.
Display Mode 2: Show Only Units with Deliveries - This display mode allows you to show only the units that have deliveries recorded in the Event Log.
Photo Album
Use the photo album widget to display photos from your resident events! To create a slideshow, log into BuildingLink and click on the Communicate tab. Under the photo album section, create albums you wish to show on the display. Once you've uploaded images into an album, choose the album you'd like to appear on the display by clicking the settings icon on the photo album widget.
For more information on creating Photo Albums,click here.
RSS Feed
This widget allows you to display an RSS feed. We offer some common RSS feeds (BBC, CBC News, ESPN, NASA, ABC Australia, New York Times, and Washington Post). Click on the icon to select a feed or click on the use a custom feed link and paste an RSS feed of your choice.
Transit
Display the status of the Metro system you select. At this time, the Metro Systems we support are MTA, London Tube, WMATA, MARTA, and MBTA.
Uber
Display the ETA of when an Uber will reach your building.
Weather
Display the weather based on the zip code of your building.
YouTube
Stream a YouTube playlist or create your own custom playlist by adding the each video's URL.
If you wish to show closed captioning, be sure to choose a video with closed captioning capabilities. You can apply a filter on YouTube to only show video search results where Closed Captioning/Subtitles are available.
