Manual:Overview

Overview
Xibo tries very hard to be simple and intuitive to use, however it's good to have a basic overview of the components that make up Xibo, how they interact and also to understand the terms we'll use in this manual.

Glossary of Terms

 * Content
 * See Media


 * Dashboard
 * The first component to be presented when the user logs in is the Dashboard. This is used to provide all the components that the user is allowed to access. The dashboard is an easy and intuitive feature for navigating the Xibo server interface and provides an outline of the applications components. It is particularly useful for first time users of Xibo.


 * Groups
 * Xibo put every user of the system in to at least one group. Users can share content with users in the same groups as them, or with global groups (eg Public).


 * Layouts
 * A layout is a collection of Media items in their regions, together with their positioning on the screen and a background colour or image. You could think of a layout as a single slide in a slide show.


 * Media
 * The actual images, videos etc that you want to show. These could be text, images, videos, formatted RSS feeds, flash, Microsoft Powerpoint files, HTML or links to webpages.


 * Navigation Bar
 * The primary means of going between the different areas of the Xibo server interface. You'll find this near the top of every page in the server interface. It shows what components the user logged in has access to - and provides an intuitive "click to nagivate" interface to the main areas of the system. The navigation bar can also drop down where there are lots of options to show.


 * Region
 * A region is transparent box that is placed on the background in a layout to contain a sequence of media items.


 * Schedule
 * A list of layouts and their assigned windows to be shown on a display client.


 * Scheduling
 * The act of assigning layouts to display clients together with information about when the client should show that layout.


 * Template
 * Xibo ships with a set of default templates that setup a blank layout for various screen shapes. It is not currently possible to edit these.


 * Users
 * All actions in Xibo - content creation, schedules etc - are attributed to a user. This information, along with a permissions system, allows users of the system to share things they have created in the system with each other and also allows "admins" of the system to oversee what is being shown on displays. Users also have a "Home Page". This will become their "Dashboard" page. Using the home page users can be directed to a simple page allowing very restricted access to Xibo - or a complex page showing all components available.

Dashboard
The Dashboard is the first page you see once you've logged in to Xibo.

Icons

 * Schedule - Access the schedule for each display, and schedule new or existing layouts to displays.
 * Layouts - Create, edit or delete layouts
 * Library - Create, replace or delete media items
 * Templates - View the templates that are offered to users when they create new layouts.
 * Users - Allows administration of users on the system (Admins Only)
 * Settings - Xibo configuration settings (Admins Only)
 * License - Information about the licenses Xibo is released under.
 * Manual - Access the online manual

Navigation
The navigation bar appears on every page in the Xibo server interface. It's the quick way to jump between the main sections of the server.

Most of the options directly mirror those available on the Dashboard. The main exception to this is the Management Menu - which is only displayed to Admins. It has the following links:
 * Displays
 * Maintain your licensed displays
 * Revoke the license of a display
 * Rename a display
 * Change the default layout for the display
 * Toggle Auditing of the display


 * Groups
 * Add a new group
 * Alter a groups permissions


 * Users
 * Add a new user
 * Edit a users settings
 * Delete a user
 * Set a users homepage
 * Override a users password


 * Log
 * The log page provides detailed messages about the system. These are normally required when reporting bugs or asking for help.


 * License
 * The license page provides details of all the relevant licenses for the system.


 * Sessions
 * Sessions provide details of the current user activity on the network.


 * Settings
 * Settings is used to provide a set of defaults for content and system configurations.