Launching the Slideshow Player

The slideshow player is a full-screen, borderless window that displays your slides on a target monitor. This article covers how to launch the player and select the target display.

How to Launch

There are two ways to launch the player:

• Click the Launch Slideshow button on the Dashboard tab.
• Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+L from anywhere in the Slideshow Manager.

Both methods require the MKT_LAUNCH_PLAYER permission. If you do not have this permission, the Launch Slideshow button is hidden and the keyboard shortcut does nothing.

Playlist Selection

When you launch the player, the system first checks the scheduling service for an active playlist at your current location and time. If a schedule-based playlist is found, it uses that playlist automatically.

If no active schedule is found, the system shows a playlist picker dialog where you can manually select which playlist to play. This allows you to launch ad-hoc slideshows without creating a schedule.

Monitor Selection

If your computer has multiple monitors connected, the system shows a monitor selection dialog. The dialog lists all available screens with their device names and resolutions. Select the monitor where you want the slideshow to display and click OK.

For a typical digital signage setup, you would connect a secondary monitor or TV and select that display. This keeps your primary monitor available for regular AccuArk operations while the slideshow plays on the signage screen.

If only one monitor is connected, the player launches on that monitor without showing the selection dialog.

What Happens at Launch

When the player launches:

1. A full-screen, borderless window opens on the selected monitor.
2. The player checks for any active emergency overrides. If an override is active, it displays the emergency message instead of slides.
3. If no override is active and slides are available, the first slide renders and playback begins.
4. If no slides are available (empty playlist), a fallback screen displays.
5. The launch is logged to the slideshow activity log with the playlist name and target screen.
6. The 30-second database polling timer starts, checking for content changes and emergency overrides.

Activity Logging

Every player launch is recorded in the activity log with:

• The action type (LAUNCH_PLAYER).
• The playlist name (or "Manual" if manually selected).
• The target screen device name.

This creates an audit trail of when and where slideshows were displayed.

What to Read Next

• Slideshow Player Controls and Keyboard Shortcuts for controlling playback.
• How the Player Renders Content for technical details on rendering and transitions.