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Configuring sign users

A sign user is used to authenticate a signage client. They need to be configured in two places: the database and awesign.yaml. You can use the web UI to create a new sign user, which handles the database configuration for you.

Properly configuring a sign user

Once the user is created and designated as a sign user in the database, it can be configured under sign_users in awesign.yaml.

A sample configuration looks like this:

sign_users:
  - email: sign1@example.com
    default_sign: sign1
  - email: sign2@awesign.cse.buffalo.edu
    default_sign: sign2
    location:
      building: some_building
      floor: 1
      point_id: abcde
      rotation: 90
    enable_accessibility_controls: true

Default signs

Each sign user has a default sign, which should be the name of a sign configured in the signs section.

Location configuration

The location field is optional. If specified, a building (string), floor (int), point_id (string), and rotation (int/float in degrees), must be provided. This is used to place the "you are here" location on interactive floor maps in the correct location when viewed on that sign. Learn more about locations in Configuring buildings and Creating floor maps

For rotation, 0 points upwards, 90 points right, etc.

Additional sign user configuration

The enable_accessibility_controls field is optional (defaults to false). If true, the sign will display physical accessibility controls to lower the entire sign to the bottom half of the display or scale the whole sign down to the bottom middle of the display. This is ideal to make large touch screens accessible to people in wheelchairs or young children. Don't enable this for non-interactive displays.

Zombie sign users

A user designated as a sign user in the database but without a configuration is called a "zombie sign user." Zombie sign users can be used for remote authentication, but they naturally won't have a configuration, so certain operations will not work.

Unauthorized sign users

A user configured as a sign user in the configuration file, but not designated as a sign user in the database, is considered an "unauthorized sign user." Such users will be treated as human users and won't be able to authenticate as a sign.