What it does
When something needs everyone's attention, this takes over the whole screen with a bold headline and optional details. Type your message, choose a severity — critical red, warning amber or information blue — and turn the icon and slow pulsing edge on or off. It keeps working even if the network drops, so it is ready for evacuations, safety notices and other urgent moments in offices, factories and public spaces.
Every app in the catalogue is part of the plan. There is no app store, no per-app charge and nothing held back for a higher tier.
How to show an emergency alert on every screen
Write an alert in advance, pick the screens and leave it switched off. When something happens, one switch covers every chosen screen with your message within a second, including screens outside their working hours.
- 01
Add the app
In the dashboard, open Apps and add Emergency Alert.
- 02
Write the message
Keep the Headline short so it reads from across the room, such as "Evacuate the building". Add Details for what people need to know next. A longer message is set smaller so it fits the screen.
- 03
Set the look
Severity sets the colour and icon: Critical (red), Warning (amber) or Information (blue). Show icon and Pulsing edge are on by default; the edge pulses slowly, with no rapid flashing. Font, Font weight and Font size (%) change the lettering.
- 04
Pick the screens
Under Show on screens, choose every screen the alert should cover. Leave Show this alert now off and save the changes: the alert is ready, and the screens carry on as normal.
- 05
Put it on a screen
When you need it, turn on Show this alert now and save the changes. The chosen screens are covered within a second. Turn it off and save again to give them back to their content. The alert never goes in a playlist.
Good to know
Ready before you need it
An alert that is switched off costs the screens nothing. Prepare one for each situation, so the emergency itself is a single switch.
Stays up offline
Switching the alert on reaches each screen over its connection. Once there, it stays up if the network drops, and a screen that was offline shows it as soon as it reconnects.
The words always get through
If the alert's design cannot load on a screen, the screen shows the headline and details on the severity colour instead.
Questions about this app
No. An alert shows while Show this alert now is on, and stops when you turn it off and save.
No. It is silent, and any sound from the screen's content stops while the alert is up.
Yes. The time a screen spent on an alert is marked as an emergency notice, so it does not look as if the screen was down.
From the blog
- What to show on school digital signage, and who keeps it currentWhat to put on school corridor, reception and staff room screens, who keeps them current, and how to run them on a school budget with the TVs you have.
- Digital bulletin board: how to replace the paper notice boardHow to swap a paper notice board for a screen: what to post, who can post, how old notices come down, and what one screen costs to run.
Something for every kind of screen.
Install what you need and ignore the rest. Nothing here is an add-on you pay extra for.