TV screens show your menu on TVs and monitors in your venue. They use the same menu as your website: a price change or a dish turned off in the dashboard appears on the screen at the next refresh, usually within a dozen or so seconds. You don't have to print boards or keep a separate system.
How it works
- A screen is a layout made of TV blocks (dish grid, slideshow, banner, image, video, divider). You build the layout in the Gutenberg editor.
- A slot is a dish block whose content you manage in TV Manager – without editing the layout. E.g. a “Dish of the week” slot in a slideshow.
- The TV opens the screen's address in a browser:
/wp-inplate/tv/{screen-name}/.
Creating a screen
- Open TV → Manager ↗ (address
/wp-inplate/tv-manager/). - Click New screen and enter a name, or choose Ready-made templates:
| Template | Description |
|---|---|
| Photo grid | A grid of cards with large photos. Good for a menu with attractive photos |
| Full list | One slot with a list of dishes over the whole screen. For a daily menu or a menu card |
| Two columns | Two lists side by side, e.g. main courses and drinks. Each column has its own slot and heading |
| Slideshow | A full-screen slideshow – one dish at a time with a photo in the background. For promotions or a burger of the week |
- Click Edit layout ↗ to fine-tune the layout in the editor, or start adding dishes to the slots straight away.
You can export screens to a JSON file and import them – e.g. to move a layout to another website.
The list of screens is also in the dashboard: TV → Screens.
Screen settings
In the screen editor, in the TV screen settings side panel:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Screen layout | Landscape (16:9) or portrait (9:16) |
| Content size | 80–200%. Enlarges the whole screen at once: text, spacing and photos. Increase it when the content is too small from a distance |
| Thumbnail | The screen's picture in the launcher |
| Background color, text color, accent color | The screen's colors |
To check the size on one TV without changing the settings, add ?scale=150 to the screen's address.
The screen's height is divided between the blocks automatically. Blocks placed in columns side by side fill their column.
TV blocks
TV – Dish grid
Dishes from a category or from a slot, as a grid of cards or a list.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Category | The source of dishes when the block isn't a slot (or a fallback when the slot is empty) |
| Layout | Grid or List (a list can have several columns) |
| Columns, max number of dishes | 3 columns and 12 dishes by default |
| Card layout | Card (photo at the top), Background (photo over the whole card), Photo on the left, Bottom bar |
| Photo size | None, small, medium, large |
| Visibility | Prices, photos, description, title, product tags, unavailable dishes |
| Text style | Font scale, color, inner spacing (padding) and margin – separately for the title, description and price |
| Relative height | The block's manual share of the screen's height (0 = automatic) |
A list fits the available space: the whole block uses one font size. Long names wrap to two lines and shrink, prices are aligned to the right, and the weight and description don't go below a legible size. Nothing is cut off.
TV – Slideshow
Dishes that change every few seconds.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Category, max number of slides | The source of dishes and the limit (10 by default) |
| Slide display time | In seconds (5 by default) |
| Transition | Fade or slide |
| Slide layout | Background, photo on the left, card, bottom bar |
| Slides per page | 1–4 dishes at once. Works best with the Card layout. The last page shows the remaining dishes |
| Zoom effect | A slow zoom into the photo (Ken Burns effect) in layouts with a background photo |
| Visibility | Prices, photos, product tags, unavailable dishes |
TV – Text banner
Text on the screen, e.g. your venue's name, opening hours, an announcement. Size: small (24 px), medium (36 px), large (56 px), extra large (80 px). Alignment and text color.
TV – Image
An image or a logo from the media library, with alignment and a maximum width.
TV – Video
A video or a playlist of several files from the media library. Options: autoplay, looping the whole playlist, mute, controls. Browsers block autoplay with sound – for autoplay keep the video muted. Controls are useful on touch screens; after 10 seconds without movement they disappear together with the cursor.
TV – Divider
A gap or a colored line of a chosen height, e.g. a margin at the bottom of the screen.
Slots and TV Manager
In a grid or slideshow block, in the TV Manager – Slot section, give the block a slot key and a label. From then on you set the dishes in this block in TV Manager:
- Add product – a search with a category filter, several dishes in a row,
- the order – drag with the mouse or a finger,
- Hide on TV – the dish stays in the list but isn't shown,
- Remove from screen,
- Badges for the dish – one or several,
- Label above the dishes – a heading above the slot, with a choice of size,
- Slot visible / hidden on TV – hides the whole slot.
The TV tab in the manager panel in the KDS has the same functions, so the manager can change the screens from a tablet.
Administrators and shop managers have access to TV Manager.
Badges on TV screens
Badges are named, colored labels next to dishes on the screens, e.g. “Promotion”, “New”, “Today's pick”.
- You create the badge catalog in InPlate → Settings → System → TV screens → Badges on TV screens. A shop manager can also edit it in the KDS: Manager → TV → TV badges.
- A badge has a name, a background color (or a transparent background), a text color and an optional outline.
- An optional icon: an image from the media library, or a character or emoji typed on the keyboard. The image takes priority. Older TVs often don't show emoji – use an image on them. The icon is centered next to the name.
- You assign them to a dish on a specific screen in TV Manager or in the KDS. A dish can have several badges.
- A badge shows in the corner of a card, next to the price in a list or under the name in a slideshow.
- A change of name or color in the catalog applies straight away on all screens.
What else shows on the screen
- The dish's weight and product tags (optionally with an icon) – tags if you turn them on in the block.
- The full description of the dish with its line breaks.
- Unavailable dishes – marked automatically if you turn on showing them in the block.
- “TV only” categories – items shown only on the screens, not in the online menu. See Products and categories.
Running it on a TV
- Open the browser on the TV.
- Go to
/wp-inplate/tv/(the launcher) and choose a screen, or go straight to the screen's address/wp-inplate/tv/{screen-name}/. - Turn on the browser's full-screen mode.
PIN: you can protect the launcher with a 4-digit code in InPlate → Settings → System → TV screens → PIN for the TV panel. An empty field means no protection.
Refreshing: the screen fetches data about every 15 seconds. Changes to the layout (colors, spacing, blocks) appear at the next refresh. After a plugin update the screen reloads itself.
Older TVs: the screens also work in the browsers of older Smart TVs (e.g. Vestel / Vewd with Chromium 38 or newer). You can also use a stick or a mini PC with HDMI.
Diagnostics: add ?debug=1 to the screen's address to see what the TV's browser reports (resolution, pixel density, CSS support). Useful when the screen looks different than on a computer.
License
TV screens require an active license or a trial. After the license expires, the screens are paused. See License.