How to Display Dashboards on Your Digital Signage Screens with Pickcel?

How to Display Dashboards on Your Digital Signage Screens with Pickcel?

The Pickcel Dashboard App allows you to securely display dynamic, read-only views of your favorite service dashboards—like Jira, Power BI, Salesforce, and more—directly on your digital signage screens. It works by using a secure, server-side browser to log in, take screenshots of your dashboards at set intervals, and send them to your displays.

This guide provides a complete overview of the setup process. While the process is detailed, it can be broken down into three main stages: Preparation, Configuration, and Publishing.

Part 1: Before You Begin - Essential Preparation

Proper preparation is key to a smooth setup. Before you start creating the app in Pickcel, we highly recommend getting the following items in order.

1. Create a Dedicated Service Account (Best Practice)

Idea: Best Practice
For enhanced security and easier management, create a dedicated service account in the platform you want to display (e.g., a new read-only user in Jira or Salesforce). Use this account's credentials for Pickcel instead of a personal, high-privilege account.

2. Gather Your Credentials

For the specific service account you will be using, make sure you have:

  • The direct Login URL.
  • The Email/Username and Password.
  • The final Dashboard URL that you want to display on screen.

3. Set Up 2-Factor Authentication (If Required)

Many services like Jira, Trello, and Power BI require 2FA. For our system to log in automatically, it must be able to generate the required 6-digit 2FA code on its own, without any manual entry. This is made possible by using a text-based Secret Key. You can retrieve this key during the 2FA setup process by choosing the "manual setup" or "can't scan code" option.

Info
For detailed instructions on how to enable 2FA and get the secret key from your service provider, please see our complete guide:
How to Set Up 2FA and Get a Secret Key


Part 2: The General 4-Step Configuration Process

Once you have your credentials ready, you can configure the app. The following steps are the same for all dashboard types.

Step 1: Create the Dashboard App in Pickcel

  • Log in to the Pickcel Console and navigate to Apps.
  • Search for the Dashboard app and click Create App.
  • Give your app a descriptive name (e.g., "Sales Team Leaderboard - Salesforce").

Step 2: Authenticate Your Service

  • Select your desired service (e.g., Jira, Trello, Power BI) from the dropdown menu.
  • On the right-hand side, carefully fill in the required authentication fields (Login URL, Email, Password, 2FA Secret Key, etc.).
  • Click the Generate Auth Token button. A secure token will be generated and automatically placed in the Auth Token field on the left.

Step 3: Customize Your Display

  • Screen Selection (Optional): To display only a specific part of your dashboard, you can use our Chrome Extension to select an area.

    Info
    Learn how to install and use the extension here:
    How to Use the Dashboard Screen Mapper Chrome Extension

  • Refresh Interval: Set how often the app should take a new screenshot of the dashboard.
  • Session Expiry: Set how often the app should perform a full, fresh login.
  • Scrolling: For tall dashboards, enable auto-scrolling to ensure all content is visible over time.

Step 4: Create and Preview the App

  • Once the configuration is complete, click Create App.
  • Navigate to the Media section of your console to find the app you just created.
  • Click the thumbnail to preview the dashboard.

Part 3: Find Your Specific App Guide

While the process above is universal, the authentication fields in Step 2 are unique to each service. For a detailed, step-by-step walkthrough with the exact field names for your chosen application, please select from the list below:

Dashboards Requiring 2-Factor Authentication (2FA):

Dashboards Without a 2FA Requirement:

Troubleshooting & Common Issues

Alert
I see the login page in the preview, not my dashboard.
This almost always means one of the credentials you entered is incorrect. Please double-check the URLs, email, password, and especially the 2FA Secret Key, then generate a new Auth Token.

The preview is taking a long time to load.
It may take a minute or two for the first screenshot to generate, especially for complex dashboards. Please be patient. If it doesn't load after 5 minutes, please re-check your credentials.

Can I use "Sign in with Google/Microsoft"?
No. This integration requires a direct login with an email and password. Federated login methods (SSO) are not compatible with this setup.

That's a wrap! 🎉

Notes
What's Next?
Once your Dashboard App is created and previewing correctly, you are ready to display it. For further reading:

  • To create a multi-zone layout: Learn about Compositions.
  • To send it to your screens: Learn how to Publish or Schedule Content.

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