The communication screen is the customer-facing display you put on a TV, projector, or tablet during a live event. It shows the timer, used and remaining interactions, any images or videos your host sends from the tracker, and optional intro/outro media. The Communication screen settings page is where you configure how that display looks and behaves for a specific event.
Getting started
Open an event (the page is reached via Events > Event setup → open the event → Communication screen settings, or from the Interaction settings flow → pick an event → Communication screen settings).
The breadcrumb reads Event settings > [event name] > Communication screen settings (or Interaction settings > [event name] > Communication screen settings when entered from the clues flow).
How it works
One configuration per event. The page is split into two tabs (General settings and Appearance) plus a live Layout preview on the right. The preview is an interactive 3×4 grid where you drag and resize four widgets (Timer, Logo, Interactions, Content) to design the customer-facing display.
The screen is shown to customers during the event. The host runs the Event tracker in advanced mode and the actions there (send an interaction, hit the hint counter, finish the session) drive what the customer sees on this screen in real time.
Step-by-step guide
Pick the tab to work on
Two tab buttons at the top of the page switch between configuration groups.
| Tab | What you configure |
|---|---|
| General settings | Timer, interaction count limit, sounds, background music, event start/completion media, display options |
| Appearance | Background color, timer font/size/color, interaction text font/size/color, interaction icon colors and style |
Configure the timer (General settings)
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Include timer | Toggle. When on, surfaces Time limit (hh:mm:ss) |
| Time limit (hh:mm:ss) | Text input masked as ##:##:##. The countdown for the event |
When Include timer is off, the timer widget is removed from the Layout preview. When on, the Timer widget is added back to the grid.
Configure the interaction count limit
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Limit the number of interactions | Toggle. When on, surfaces Maximum number of interactions |
| Maximum number of interactions | Numeric input. The cap drives how many interaction icons render on the Interactions widget |
When the limit is off, the Interactions widget is removed from the Layout preview. When on, the widget is added back and the icons reflect the maximum.
Configure the pre-interaction sound
The pre-interaction sound plays right before an interaction appears on screen. Useful for drawing the customer's attention before a clue or message is delivered.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Play a sound before an interaction is displayed | Master toggle |
| Audio file upload | Dropzone with helper text "Drop audio file or click to browse"; once a file is uploaded, a file card shows the audio player and a Replace button |
| Play sound before interaction type | Sub-heading with five independent checkboxes |
The five checkboxes decide which interaction types trigger the sound.
| Checkbox | Triggers on |
|---|---|
| Text | Plain-text interactions |
| Custom | Custom-content interactions |
| Image | Image interactions |
| Audio | Audio interactions |
| Video | Video interactions |
Configure background music
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Play background music | Master toggle |
| Loop | Toggle. When on, the audio file loops continuously |
| Audio file upload | Dropzone with helper text "Drop audio file or click to browse"; the file card shows the audio player and a Replace button |
Configure event start media
The event start media plays automatically when the host begins the session in the Event tracker. Use it for an intro video or audio cue.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Play media on event start | Master toggle |
| Media file upload | Dropzone with helper text "Drop audio or video file or click to browse". Once uploaded, a preview card shows the filename (Event start video or Event start audio) and a Replace button |
| Timer behavior | Radio buttons. Only renders when media is uploaded |
The Timer behavior radios decide when the event timer starts.
| Option | When the timer starts |
|---|---|
| Start timer immediately with media | Timer starts the moment the media plays |
| Start timer after media ends | Timer waits until the media finishes |
Configure event completion media
Same pattern as event start media. Plays when the host marks the event complete.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Play media on event completion | Master toggle |
| Media file upload | Dropzone with helper text "Drop audio or video file or click to browse"; preview card shows filename (Event completion video / Event completion audio) and a Replace button |
Configure display options
The remaining General-settings toggles control how the screen renders specific content types.
| Toggle | What it does |
|---|---|
| Display image interactions in full screen mode | Image interactions take over the full screen instead of rendering inside the Content widget |
| Play video interactions in full screen mode | Video interactions take over the full screen |
| Automatically clear video interactions after ending | When a video interaction finishes, it auto-clears from the screen |
| Include company logo | Adds the Logo widget to the Layout grid. Toggling off removes it |
| Include a background image | When on, opens the image editor to upload and tune a background image. Info popover reads: "Recommended resolution sizes: Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Pixels: 1920x1080" |
| Portrait mode | When on, the Layout preview switches to portrait dimensions (650px tall, 50% width). When off, the grid uses landscape dimensions |
Tune the appearance (Appearance tab)
Switch to the Appearance tab to control colors, fonts, and icon styles. Every input updates the live Layout preview immediately.
General section
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Background color | Color picker with alpha. The page background of the communication screen |
Timer section
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Font | Dropdown of available fonts. The list previews each option in its own typeface |
| Font size | Numeric input (pixels) |
| Text color | Color picker with alpha |
Interactions section
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Font | Dropdown of available fonts (excludes Material Icons, Libre Baskerville, M PLUS Rounded 1c) |
| Font size | Numeric input (pixels) |
| Text color | Color picker with alpha |
Interaction icons section
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Available interaction icon color | Color picker with alpha. Color used for icons representing remaining interactions |
| Used interaction icon color | Color picker with alpha. Color for icons representing already-used interactions |
| Font size | Numeric input (pixels). Drives the size of each icon |
| Icon style | Dropdown with icon previews. Pick from a library of icon shapes for the interaction counter |
Design the layout
The right panel is the live Layout preview. It's a 3×4 grid (3 columns, up to 4 rows tall) where you place the four widgets.
| Widget | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Timer | The countdown formatted from your Time limit; renders with the Timer Appearance settings |
| Logo | Your company logo (from your company settings); appears when Include company logo is on |
| Interactions | A row of icons sized by Font size, colored by Available / Used interaction icon color, with the count from Maximum number of interactions |
| Content | Placeholder text "[Interactions will be displayed here]" styled with the Interactions Appearance settings |
Drag a widget to reposition it; grab an edge to resize. Vertical compaction is off, so widgets stay where you put them. Layout validation runs before save — if any widget extends beyond row 4, save is blocked with an error.
The Reset layout button at the top right of the preview returns every widget to its default position (and removes any that aren't currently enabled by their corresponding toggles).
Save your changes
Click Save at the bottom of the configuration form. The button text changes to Saving... while the request runs. A confirmation alert reads Display configuration has been updated.
There's no separate Cancel button — changes update the configuration object live but only persist after Save. Navigate away to discard.
Reference
Page header
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Breadcrumb (from event setup) | Event settings > [event name] > Communication screen settings |
| Breadcrumb (from clues flow) | Interaction settings > [event name] > Communication screen settings |
| Tabs | General settings / Appearance |
General settings — Timer
| Field | Type |
|---|---|
| Include timer | Toggle |
| Time limit (hh:mm:ss) | Masked text input |
General settings — Interactions
| Field | Type |
|---|---|
| Limit the number of interactions | Toggle |
| Maximum number of interactions | Numeric |
General settings — Pre-interaction sound
| Field | Type |
|---|---|
| Play a sound before an interaction is displayed | Toggle |
| Audio file | Dropzone or file card with Replace button |
| Play sound before interaction type | Checkboxes: Text, Custom, Image, Audio, Video |
General settings — Background music
| Field | Type |
|---|---|
| Play background music | Toggle |
| Loop | Toggle |
| Audio file | Dropzone or file card with Replace button |
General settings — Event start
| Field | Type |
|---|---|
| Play media on event start | Toggle |
| Media file | Dropzone or preview card with Replace button. Audio or video |
| Timer behavior | Radio: Start timer immediately with media / Start timer after media ends |
General settings — Event completion
| Field | Type |
|---|---|
| Play media on event completion | Toggle |
| Media file | Dropzone or preview card with Replace button. Audio or video |
General settings — Display options
| Field | Type |
|---|---|
| Display image interactions in full screen mode | Toggle |
| Play video interactions in full screen mode | Toggle |
| Automatically clear video interactions after ending | Toggle |
| Include company logo | Toggle |
| Include a background image | Toggle plus image editor when on |
| Portrait mode | Toggle |
Appearance — General
| Field | Type |
|---|---|
| Background color | Color picker with alpha |
Appearance — Timer
| Field | Type |
|---|---|
| Font | Dropdown of fonts |
| Font size | Numeric (pixels) |
| Text color | Color picker with alpha |
Appearance — Interactions
| Field | Type |
|---|---|
| Font | Dropdown (limited font set) |
| Font size | Numeric (pixels) |
| Text color | Color picker with alpha |
Appearance — Interaction icons
| Field | Type |
|---|---|
| Available interaction icon color | Color picker with alpha |
| Used interaction icon color | Color picker with alpha |
| Font size | Numeric (pixels) |
| Icon style | Dropdown of icon shapes |
Layout preview
| Element | Notes |
|---|---|
| Title | "Layout" |
| Reset layout button | Refresh icon. Resets widget positions to defaults |
| Help text | "Drag to reposition, resize from edges." |
| Grid | 3 columns × 4 rows max. Vertical compact disabled |
| Widgets | Timer, Logo, Interactions, Content (each enabled by its corresponding setting) |
| Validation | "Layout components are out of bounds." blocks save when a widget extends beyond row 4 |
Save behavior
| Element | Notes |
|---|---|
| Save button | Primary; disabled while loading. Text changes to "Saving..." |
| Confirmation | Success alert: "Display configuration has been updated." |
| No Cancel | Changes update the config object live; navigate away to discard before save |
Recommended image size (background)
| Setting | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 (shown in the info popover next to Include a background image) |
| Pixels | 1920 × 1080 (shown in the info popover) |
Good to know
- One configuration per event. Each event has its own communication screen config. There's no group-wide default; every event needs to be configured separately.
- The configuration drives both setup and runtime. Toggling Include timer off doesn't just hide the widget in the preview; it removes the timer entirely from the customer's view during the live session.
- Event start media is asynchronous. When Start timer after media ends is on, the host starts the session in the tracker and the customer sees the intro media before the countdown begins. Use this for narrative intros.
- Event completion media plays when the host marks the session complete from the tracker. Use it for celebratory outros, reset instructions, or a "thanks for playing" message.
- Portrait mode is for vertical displays — tablets mounted on a wall or stand. Keep it off for TV/projector setups.
- Background image recommended at 1920×1080 (16:9). The info popover next to Include a background image surfaces this recommendation. Larger images are fine; smaller ones may look pixelated on big displays.
- The Layout grid is non-compacting. Widgets stay where you put them; they don't snap to the top or auto-shift. Use Reset layout if things get messy.
- Layout validation blocks save when any widget extends beyond row 4. Drag the widget back into bounds and try again.
- Sound files and media files are stored as uploaded. No transcoding or normalization happens server-side. Test your audio levels in a real venue setup before committing.
- The Interactions widget label reads "Interactions" in the preview, but the underlying name in the layout array is "Hints" (legacy naming). The customer always sees "Interactions"-styled icons.
FAQ
Q: Do I need to configure this for every event?
A: Yes. Each event has its own communication screen settings; there's no group-wide default that applies automatically. Set up your first event, then for subsequent events use the Duplicate event action on the event setup list to copy settings (which carries the config over to the new event).
Q: Where does the communication screen actually appear?
A: It's a customer-facing display you point a browser at during the live event. Most venues run it on a TV connected to a computer, a tablet on a stand, or a kiosk in the room. The screen receives real-time updates as the host runs the session in the Event tracker.
Q: Why don't I see the timer on the preview?
A: Include timer is off in the Timer section. Toggle it on; the timer widget reappears in the Layout grid.
Q: My background image looks pixelated. What size should I use?
A: Use a 16:9 image at 1920×1080 px or larger. The info popover next to Include a background image confirms this recommendation.
Q: Can I have a different communication screen for the same event on different days?
A: No, one config per event. Day-of-week or schedule-specific overrides aren't supported here. Use a separate event template and switch which event is active on the calendar.
Q: What's the difference between Pre-interaction sound and Background music?
A: Pre-interaction sound plays once each time the host sends an interaction to the screen. Background music loops continuously throughout the session. Use pre-interaction sound for attention cues; use background music for atmosphere.
Q: Why does Save show "Layout components are out of bounds"?
A: One or more widgets extends past row 4 of the grid. Drag the affected widget back inside the 4-row boundary and save again.
Q: How do I preview the actual customer-facing screen?
A: Open the communication screen URL on a separate browser tab or device. The Layout preview on the configuration page shows the structure, but the live screen is the real test — it reflects real-time tracker actions.
Q: My event has no objectives or interactions configured. Will the communication screen still work?
A: The screen still renders (timer, logo, background, etc.), but the Interactions widget shows the icon row without any interactive behavior. To make the screen drive customer engagement, configure objectives and interactions on the Objectives and interactions tab.
Q: Can I share one communication screen across multiple venues?
A: Communication screens are scoped to a specific event in a specific group. Each venue (group) has its own events and configs; cross-venue sharing isn't supported.