Functionality of Sharptools on a Windows 10 Touchscreen

[jfelstead]

Hi, I am new to Sharptools in fact I have not even installed it and joined this forum to answer some initial questions before linking to Smartthings.
I have a windows 10 PC in my kitchen with a 15" touchscreen with the primary purpose of using it as a Smart Hub Control panel. I have installed Smartthings for windows but there is lack of functionality compared with the App.
Currently the PC is acting as a photo frame and is linked to my Home Server and displays all my family photos when in screensaver mode. So my questions:-

1. Is it preferable to use a Kiosk Mode browser to support Sharptools dashboard?
2. If so can you have screensavers in Sharptools or does the underlying operating system still handle this.
3. I believe some tables have presence sensors so that the screen returns to the dashboard when people walk up to the dashboard. Is this possible in windows? I assume I will have to add some sort of PIR which is attached to the PC?
4. Can Ring doorbell cameras be displayed in a tile?
5. Can only cameras that are integrated into Smartthings display on Sharptools or can any locally attached CCTV camera feed appear in a tile?
6. Is there a minimum version of browser supported. I have an old iPad 2 with IOS 7.1. which is not much use for anything other than playing games. Would this run Sharptools in Safari for testing?
   I am sure there are lots of other questions but these will help me decide if I go the sharptools route. Many thanks

[josh]

@jfelstead

Is it preferable to use a Kiosk Mode browser to support Sharptools dashboard?

It’s a personal preference, but many people prefer using dedicated browser that has kiosk features.

On Android devices, Fully Kiosk Browser is a really popular solution and as you mentioned, it opens up a whole host of neat features like screen savers, motion waking, dimming, etc.

@jfelstead

If so can you have screensavers in Sharptools or does the underlying operating system still handle this.

Yes, typically the kiosk browser or the operating system would handle this.

@jfelstead

I believe some tables have presence sensors so that the screen returns to the dashboard when people walk up to the dashboard. Is this possible in windows? I assume I will have to add some sort of PIR which is attached to the PC?

I don’t know of any web browsers in Windows that have this sort of wake on motion functionality. That being said, Windows has been around for a loooong time and prior to the introduction of Android and iOS tablets, it was a popular choice for kiosks, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s some sort of software out there for Windows that could do this.

I would also note that if your browser can be controlled or triggered by external events, another approach that is popular in the community is to use an actual physical motion sensor connected to your smart home hub of choice to trigger things.

The approach with the external sensor is possible with Fully Kiosk Browser as there are smart home hub integrations for Fully Kiosk Browser – as such, you could write a rule that when motion is detected on a physical sensor, you could trigger an action on Fully Kiosk like exiting screensaver mode or opening a particular URL.

Again, I’m not sure what kind of software solutions like this are available for Windows, so I’ll leave it open to the community… or if you come up with something, I would love to hear what solution you went with!

@jfelstead

Can Ring doorbell cameras be displayed in a tile?

Officially, no. Ring is a closed ecosystem and they don’t provide access to their camera streams.

Some community members use alternative approaches, like automating their tablets so they’ll display the open the Ring app by simulating tapping the Ring notification on the tablet whenever motion is detected. Again, this is a more common thing on Android and from a brief search, it looks like Ring deprecated their Windows app.

@jfelstead

Can only cameras that are integrated into Smartthings display on Sharptools or can any locally attached CCTV camera feed appear in a tile?

Any camera which provides a compatible stream that can be displayed in a browser as noted in this article:

How do I add video / images to a SharpTools dashboard? - SharpTools Knowledge...

@jfelstead

Is there a minimum version of browser supported. I have an old iPad 2 with IOS 7.1. which is not much use for anything other than playing games. Would this run Sharptools in Safari for testing?
I am sure there are lots of other questions but these will help me decide if I go the sharptools route. Many thanks

We don’t have an official list of browsers, but support any modern browser.

iOS 7.1 is not supported.

While we don’t officially support it and I would strongly recommend against it, some community members are using iOS 9.3.x – that being said, as we continue to improve the platform, we will eventually sunset support for 9.3.x as it’s an ancient browser in tech terms considering it runs on devices 10+ years old.

[jfelstead]

Many thanks Josh,
That’s answered a lot of unknowns and given me some things to think about and research. For example I understand the Edge and Chrome i believe has a full kiosk mode so need to look at that. Incidentally iPad is 9.3 not 7.1 LOL
Next think is to look at geolocation using a mobile but that’s another whole subject in itself which I think you have contributed to in the Smartthings Forum. I need to walk before I run
Thanks for the help