Application Ad Copies

To add an application ad copy, use one of the following methods:

• Go to the Schedules ribbon and select the arrow on the “Ad Copy” icon. Then, from the drop-down menu, select Application.

• From the resource tabs on the left, select “Ad Copies”. Then, right-click anywhere in the work area. From the contextual menu, select New, then select Application Ad Copy.

By default, the Add Native Application Wizard contains the following pages:

• Welcome: Name the application ad copy.

• Application Settings: Specify the settings needed by your application.
  Note: Ensure that your application corresponds to the operating system on which you run Broadsign Player, i.e., Windows executables on Windows and Linux applications on Linux.
  • Application zip: Both the executable and all supporting files must be in one compressed .zip file when uploaded through Broadsign Administrator. When scheduled, the package is distributed to the targeted players where it gets extracted upon completion of download into a folder named based on the Ad Copy Id. The folder is created as a subfolder of the player documents folder so control over the files is ensured.
  • Path to Main Executable: Include the path to the main executable or application.
    Note: Whether your player runs on a Windows or Linux operating system, the path to the executable can be absolute or relative.

    Sample directory structure:
    package.zip
    | - bin (folder)
    	- yourApp #Linux example
    	- yourApp.exe #Windows example
    
    Sample path:
    bin/yourApp.exe #Windows
    

  • Command Line Parameters: Several applications make use of command line options upon startup. These options can be specific to the program such as operating variables or default variables supplied by the player as described below:
    • $x: the x coordinate (in pixels) of the containing frame
    • $y: the y coordinate (in pixels) of the containing frame
    • $height: the height (in pixels) of the containing frame
    • $width: the width (in pixels) of the containing frame
    • $duration: the duration of the slot (in milliseconds)
  • Environment Variables: For applications requiring specific environment variables, it is possible to define them in a series of key-value pairs that will be passed unmodified directly into the child’s process’s environment. Therefore, Win32-style variables should be referenced with %VAR% while Unix-style variables should use the $VAR convention.
  • Run as administrator: You can run your ad copy applications as an administrator. However, for an application ad copy to run as an administrator, you need to enable the option in the player configuration. For more information, see Configuration Profiles – Products Section – The Application Tab.
  • Run only once: You can limit the ad copy application to be run only once.

To edit an application ad copy, use the same method used for standard ad copies. See Edit Ad Copy Properties.

After you have uploaded application ad copies to your network, you can then move on to other basic steps:

• Categories and Triggers
• Content & Scheduling tutorial – Create categories
• Campaigns
• Quick start tutorial – Book a campaign