How to use an iPad or spare iPhone as a scrolling shop sign

This is digital signage, the simple kind

It is the simple end of it. LED Banner shows one bright message at a time, scrolling or still, on the device's own screen, and holds up fine behind a market stall for a weekend. That covers a lot of small jobs: OPEN on a stall, a SALE in a shop window, a welcome at a reception desk, today's special at a counter.

What it does not do is what full signage software does: no schedule, no playlist of messages, no remote control and no output to a TV. If you need those, this is not the right tool.

Set up the shop sign, step by step

1. On the Create tab, tap Templates. Pick Open, Closed, Sale or Welcome.
2. The banner opens in the editor. Open and Closed are set to stay still in the center; Sale and Welcome scroll.
3. Tap Text to change the Message, for example to 20% OFF TODAY or FRESH COFFEE.
4. For a scrolling promo, tap Motion and lower Speed so passers-by can read it; for a single word, set Loop to None.
5. Plug the iPad or iPhone into power and place it in landscape.
6. Tap Full Screen. The screen stays on at full brightness for as long as the sign is showing.

How long does a scrolling promo take to come round?

People walking past only see the sign for a few seconds, so speed matters. On a 6.1-inch iPhone in landscape (852 pt wide), a message the length of WELCOME HOME ANNA at Size 120 is about 1,280 pt wide. An iPad is wider, so these times are a little longer there.

For a shop window, a short message at a medium speed works better than a long one at high speed: nobody waits half a minute for a sentence to finish.

Switch between OPEN, CLOSED and SALE quickly

• Save each message as its own banner. In the Library, long-press a banner and tap Pin to keep it at the top under Pinned.
• To switch, double-tap to close the current sign, tap the other banner and open Full Screen again.
• The free version keeps 3 banners, which is enough for OPEN, CLOSED and one promo. Duplicate also uses a slot.
• You can edit the text of a saved banner as often as you like, so one promo banner can carry this week's offer.

Tips for leaving a device on display

• Keep it plugged in. Full brightness with auto-lock off eats battery fast enough to leave an unplugged device dead by mid-afternoon behind a counter.
• Keep the app in front. Auto-lock is off only while the full-screen sign is showing; if you leave the app or close the sign, your normal lock settings apply again.
• Consider Guided Access, an iOS accessibility feature, if you want to stop customers from leaving the app. It is part of iOS, not of LED Banner.
• Direct sun on a window can wash out any screen; a shaded spot or an inside counter reads better.

In the free version, no ad appears while the sign is showing. An ad can appear after every third time you close the sign, and when you return to the app from the background. Any LED Banner Pro plan removes all ads, which is worth it for a device that stays on display.

Questions and answers

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