This section will explore what widgets are, what forms they can take and how to add and edit them across your in-room tablets.
What is a Widget?
Widgets are a great promotional tool to get guests viewing key information you wish to share with them, from requestable services to helpful information. Widgets are available in a multitude of sizes and types, and can be adjusted to display however you wish and link off to wherever is needed. Widgets can appear as images or plain text with icons.
Where Can Widgets be Placed?
Widgets can be placed in specific locations on a device and are set to only appear within these set spaces. For the Home and Cart tab types, widgets can be applied to the right-hand side of the screen within a 2x10 sized space. As widget sizes vary you will need to ensure you can fit all the widgets you wish to display within the space.
For other tab types such as Category tabs, widgets can be added to the left-hand column of the screen where the menu listings appear. You will need to be considerate of the space taken up by widgets as the menu listings need enough space to display correctly. When adding widgets to Category Tabs, the Menu Fill widget will need to be created in order for the menu listings to display either above or beneath your widgets.
Some tab types such as room controls or web links do not allow you to hold widgets on these tabs as their content is full screen.
Widget Types & Sizes
There are many different types of widgets to choose from depending on what function you would like them to provide, with the key difference being Link type widgets and Single Use type widgets.
Link widgets are used for redirecting guests to another area of the tablet’s content or to an online web page or URL.
Single use widgets have their own specific functionality, such as alarm clock widgets, availability widgets and language switchers.
These widgets are all available in at least 2 different sizes. Usually these are 1x1 (255x87 px) and 2x1 (318x52 px)sizes with some widgets being available in larger sizes like 2x2 (636x232 px) link widgets and 2x4 (636x488 px) text widgets.
Link Widgets
Link widgets are available in 1x1, 2x1 & 2x2 sizes and are the most commonly used widgets on in-room tablets. Link widgets are fantastic promotional tools for promoting items, events or experiences and give greater visibility of these offerings to guests.
Link widgets can redirect guests to specific products and categories within your menu or divert guests to online web pages depending on the widget's aims.
Specific Use Widgets
The majority of widget types available are specific use widgets and have their own unique functionality. Single use widgets are often found at the bottom of pages and offer guests the ability to change language, change currency, set alarms or review item availability.
Adding and Adjusting Widgets
Widgets are held in the CMS within the UI Mode. To add a new widget or adjust an existing widget, you will need to navigate to Company -> UI Modes and select the UI Mode you are using.
Once inside your UI Mode you will need to enter each tab individually to add or adjust the widgets held within it. To add a new widget you can select your widget type from the drop down and press Add Widget. Once inside your widget, you will need to set the Sort Order which will control the order your widgets appear in the tab.
It is important to name your widget image files appropriately and consistently for an easier viewing experience within usage reports.
You will also need to set a caption if you wish for text to appear inside your widget. Images can also be added under the Images tab. These images can take over the whole widget space or provide a small icon to the left-hand side of the widget depending on your preference.
Widget Images
Most widget types allow images to be added within them to give extra clarity to their meaning or for a more engaging visual effect.
Most 2x2 link widgets don't use captions and instead users opt to upload an image containing text for a stronger brand presence.
Smaller widgets such as 1x1 and 2x1 widgets can also hold images. It is recommended to use smaller icons for these widgets to not distract from the caption text.
Ensure you are selecting the correct tick box when uploading the image so it appears correctly and as expected.
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