Kiosk HOWTO
Gene Wilburn, ITS Dept, Royal Ontario Museum
<genew@rom.on.ca>
v1.0, October 1999
This document provides a guide for setting up a WWW-based kiosk using
Linux, X11R6, FVWM2, Netscape Navigator 4.X, and a customized track-
ball. It outlines the methods that were used to create a public kiosk
for the Hands On Biodiversity Gallery at the Royal Ontario Museum,
Toronto.
______________________________________________________________________
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Copyright, license and terms of usage
1.2 Acknowledgements
2. Overview
3. Building a Kiosk Environment
3.1 FVWM2
3.1.1 /etc/X11/fvwm2/system.fvwm2rc
3.2 Netscape Navigator
3.3 Overlay Masks for Navigator
3.3.1 Creating the Graphical Masks
3.4 /root/kiosk.xinitrc
3.5 /root/xkiosk
4. Initializing the Kiosk
4.1 /etc/inittab modifications
4.2 /etc/rc.d/rc.4/S99xkiosk runlevel script
4.3 Booting normally from the console
5. Other Considerations
5.1 Screensavers
5.1.1 /.xscreensaver
5.2 Sound Files
5.3 Trackballs
5.4 Designing or modifying HTML pages for kiosks
6. Future Directions
6.1 Remote Kiosks
6.2 Touchscreens
6.3 Keyboards
6.4 Collaboration
______________________________________________________________________
1. Introduction
Information display kiosks are useful in libraries, galleries and
museums, educational institutions, municipal offices, visitor
information booths, conferences, shopping malls, airports---in short
any location where simple, easy access to information is desirable.
Kiosks are normally set up with touchscreens or pointing devices such
as trackballs, to allow people to select and view information that is
attractively displayed and up to date.
There are many ways to create kiosks, from expensive solutions based
on proprietary software to HTML-based open-source solutions. Browser-
based technologies are particularly attractive because they are
inherently multimedia, offering text, graphics, sound and streaming
media, and the content is highly portable.
Linux provides a flexible and interesting platform for kiosk
development. Linux is inexpensive to set up and it offers a wide range
of options, from diskless display stations to self-contained,
database-driven web servers. Due to the versatility of the underlying
operating system, a well-designed Linux kiosk can be placed in a
remote location and administered via a telephone or network link.
This HOWTO explores one method of setting up Linux as a standalone
information kiosk, using Netscape Navigator 4.X and FVWM2 on a Red Hat
Linux 6.X system. It is based on a kiosk I set up for use in the
Hands-on Biodiversity Gallery in the Royal Ontario Museum (
<http://www.rom.on.ca>), Toronto, Canada. The kiosk outlined in this
HOWTO incorporates a trackball rather than a more expensive
touchscreen. There are undoubtedly many other ways to create a Linux-
based kiosk, but this one has worked reliably for us and it may
provide a useful starting point for your own kiosk project.
1.1. Copyright, license and terms of usage
Copyright Gene Wilburn 1999. All rights reserved.
The author disclaims all warranties with regard to this document,
including all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a
certain purpose; in no event shall the author be liable for any
special, indirect or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever
resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of
contract, negligence or other tortuous action, arising out of or in
connection with the use of this document.
This legalese means use at your own risk.
1.2. Acknowledgements
Our Linux kiosk derives heavily from the work done by the City of
Charlotte, North Carolina, for their municipal website, Charlotte's
Web (see <http://www.charweb.org/webinfo/kiosk/>). The Charlotte's
Web kiosk project, which employs a touchscreen monitor, was set up in
1996 using an early version of Slackware Linux, Netscape Navigator
2.X, and FVWM. The webmasters at Charlotte have created a very useable
kiosk implementation and have shared their complete setup via their
website. This HOWTO, to a certain degree, represents an update of
their work, altering the details to work with Red Hat 6.X, Netscape
Navigator 4.X, FVWM2, and a custom-made trackball.
I worked with Debra Luneau (debral@rom.on.ca), the Royal Ontario
Museum webmaster, to create the graphics overlays for Netscape. The
examples we distribute at our ftp site are her work---and are the ones
we use on the kiosk in the Biodiversity Gallery.
The Ontario Biodiversity section of the ROM website was designed by
Hopscotch Interactive (www.hopscotch.ca). The original application was
converted from a flat-file database system to a MySQL-database driven
system by Gord Howells (gordonh@rom.on.ca), the ROM's database
designer and programmer. The non-kiosk version of this mini-site may
be viewed at <http://www.rom.on.ca/ontario/>.
2. Overview
Setting up Linux for use as a web-based kiosk is similar to setting up
Linux as a graphical workstaion, with a few extra considerations. If
the machine is to be a standalone unit, it must boot straight into
kiosk mode. Furthermore, the browser environment must be modified in
to disable standard dialog screens and to eliminate parts of the
browser that allow inappropriate interaction, such as the Location Bar
in Netscape.
Essentially a kiosk website is self-contained. Users navigate through
the site via clicks with a pointing device. The pointing device can be
a touchscreen, a trackball, or a mouse. Mice are difficult to secure
in a public area.
A Linux kiosk can be connected back to a home site via a direct
network or PPP link, requesting pages from the home site, or it can be
a self-contained website, running Apache and any corresponding CGI
modules.
3. Building a Kiosk Environment
3.1. FVWM2
FVWM2 (FVWM, version 2 -- www.fvwm.org) is a flexible, reliable, and
lightweight X Window manager that provides excellent configurability
for creating a kiosk environment. For kiosk use you must change some
of its default settings. You need to modify the system.fvwm2rc file to
remove things like virtual desktops, title bars, exit controls, etc,
leaving a relatively minimalist FVWM environment. Because the kiosk is
a standalone unit, modifying the system-wide settings does not present
a problem.
You can also take advantage of FVWM's settable object properties to
use X Window bitmaps (xpm files) to mask the parts of Netscape
Navigator you don't want users to access.
The FVWM2 file you need to modify is /etc/X11/fvwm2/system.fvwm2rc.
(If you use a different distribution than Red Hat, this file may be
located elsewhere.) You may have to poke around in this file to find
the sections listed below.
3.1.1. /etc/X11/fvwm2/system.fvwm2rc
In /etc/X11/fvwm2/system.fvwm2rc change
DeskTopSize 2X2
to
DeskTopSize 1X1
This eliminates the virtual desktops.
Next, in the Default Styles section, change
Style "*" BorderWidth 7, HandleWidth 7
to
Style "*" BorderWidth 0, HandleWidth 0, notitle, nohandles
This will disable most of the normal windowing controls.
Add the following two lines to the Default Styles section:
Style "xdaliclock" StaysOnTop
Style "sxpm" StaysOnTop
The Default Styles part of the file should look something like this
when you finish:
# default Styles:
#Style "*" BorderWidth 7, HandleWidth 7
Style "*" BorderWidth 0, HandleWidth 0, notitle, nohandles
Style "*" Icon unknown1.xpm, Color lightgrey/dimgrey
Style "*" MWMFunctions, MWMDecor, HintOverride
Style "*" DecorateTransient, NoPPosition
Style "*" IconBox 0 -10 -280 -1
Style "*" FocusFollowsMouse
Style "*" RandomPlacement, SmartPlacement
Style "xdaliclock" StaysOnTop
Style "sxpm" StaysOnTop
You can use the xdaliclock and sxpm programs to cover up parts of
Netscape Navigator. The ``StaysOnTop'' attribute is the active
ingredient.
Next, find the following four lines and comment them out as shown:
#AddToFunc InitFunction "I" Module FvwmButtons
#+ "I" exec xsetroot -mod 2 2 -fg \#554055 -bg \#705070
#AddToFunc RestartFunction "I" Module FvwmButtons
#+ "I" exec xsetroot -mod 2 2 -fg \#554055 -bg \#705070
Commenting out these lines will eliminate the nice task launcher from
FVWM2, which is okay because you're after as simple an environment as
you can create.
3.2. Netscape Navigator
Netscape Navigator is a better choice for setting up a kiosk than
Netscape Communicator. Being simpler, there are fewer objects to hide.
Under Microsoft Windows, Netscape Navigator has a kiosk mode that
eliminates most of the Navigator controls but there is, at the time of
this writing, no built-in kiosk mode for the Unix version of
Navigator.
The Unix version can, however, be invoked with a -geometry argument
that allows us to always start Netscape full screen. This forms part
of our strategy for a Netscape-based kiosk.
You need to decide on our kiosk screen resolution. Using a 19- or
20-inch monitor, we found 640x480 too large, 1024x768 too small, and
800x600 just about right for public viewing (you may decide
differently). Once you decide on the resolution, you are ready to
begin adjusting Navigator. For the rest of this HOWTO we assume
800x600 resolution. You'll need to adjust accordingly if you select a
different resolution.
Note: Navigator is going to be invoked by root during bootup, so make
all of the Netscape adjustments under the root account in the
/root/.netscape directory.
Invoke Netscape and click into the Edit, Preferences dialog. Under
Appearance check ``Show Toolbar as Text Only.'' Under Appearance,
Fonts adjust both fixed- and variable-width fonts to at least 14pt or
the screen display will be too small for comfortable reading.
Under Preferences, Navigator insert the URL of your kiosk home page.
If you're running a local version of Apache or another web server,
make this http://localhost/ for top level access, or deeper into the
html doctree if desired.
Save these options, then click View on the Navigator menu bar.
Deselect Personal Toolbar and Location Bar.
Notice how much more kiosk-like the interface has become? When you
exit Navigator, these settings will be saved.
3.3. Overlay Masks for Navigator
If you look closely at your adjusted Navigator screen, you'll see four
areas that need to be covered and protected from mouse or trackball
clicks:
1. The Toolbar at the top
2. The twister at the left-hand side of the navigation toolbar
3. The rest of the navbar to the right of Home
4. The security key in the lower left-hand corner of Navigator.
Here's a rough schematic of the areas you need to mask:
+---------------------------------------+
| # 1 Toolbar |
+--+------------+-----------------------+
|#2| | #3 Navbar |
+--+ +-----------------------+
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
+--------+ |
|#4 Key | |
+---------------------------------------+
To mask over the top areas (#1-3), we'll need three graphic images. To
mask the security key (#4) we'll use xdaliclock.
3.3.1. Creating the Graphical Masks
The easiest way to create graphical masks to cover areas #1-3 is to
grab a screenshot of Navigator in full 800x600 mode and then crop out
areas that correspond to #1-3. I used GIMP for this.
You can then re-design the basic graphics, changing the colors if you
wish, or putting your own logo on them. Save them as:
1. topbar.xpm
2. navleft.xpm
3. navright.xpm
The xpm format is the native X Window bitmap format. You will use the
X Window program sxpm to place them on the screen.
Creating the masks with just the right number of pixels and just the
right placement on the monitor requires some experimentation. For your
convenience, I have placed the xpm files we created plus our
configuration files in at the following web site:
<http://www.rom.on.ca/kiosk/HOWTO/>. You may find it simpler to
download our masks and use them as a starting point for your own
graphics.
3.4. /root/kiosk.xinitrc
Just as you would normally create a .xinitrc file for your personal
use, you must create an X Window session initialization file for our
kiosk application. The following script implements a number of
features:
o Screensaver initialization (optional)
o Placement of graphic bitmap over Navigator menu bar (topnav.xpm)
o Placement of graphic bitmap over navigation bar twiser
(navleft.xpm)
o Placement of graphic bitmap over rest of navbar (navright.xpm)
o Xdaliclock placement over Navigator security key (adjusted for
800x600 screen resolution)
o Netscape startup and loop checks to make sure Navigator is running,
and to re-run it if it isn't.
This is the main file that runs the kiosk.
______________________________________________________________________
#!/bin/sh
# kiosk.xinitrc -- Initialization script for kiosk X Window session
# Start screensaver
/usr/X11R6/bin/xscreensaver-command -exit
/usr/X11R6/bin/xscreensaver &
# Overlay over Navigator (mask #1)
sxpm /root/navtop.xpm &
# Overlay small graphic over Toolbar twister - left-hand side (mask #2)
sxpm -g +0+23 /root/navleft.xpm &
# Overlay larger graphic to cover everything to the right of
# Home on the Toolbar (mask #3)
sxpm -g +275+23 /root/navright.xpm &
# Place xdaliclock over top of Netscape security key, lower lhc (mask #4)
/usr/X11R6/bin/xdaliclock -g 38x20+0+578 -font fixed -noseconds \
-bg gray -fg black &
sleep 2
# Start fvwm2 window manager
fvwm2 &
# restart netscape if it ever exits
while true ; do
if [ -f /.netscape/lock] ; then
rm /.netscape/lock
fi
/usr/bin/netscape -geometry 800x600
done
# This should never be reached
______________________________________________________________________
3.5. /root/xkiosk
You can now start testing your kiosk setup. Since you will need to do
this repeatedly, manually, as well as from an initialization script,
create the following as a shell script named /root/xkiosk:
______________________________________________________________________
/usr/X11R6/bin/xinit /root/kiosk.xinitrc -- /usr/X11R6/bin/X \
-xf86config /root/kiosk.XF86Config bc
______________________________________________________________________
Because you will be testing often, and reusing this later when you
automate the startup, create this command as a shell script called
/root/xkiosk. Be sure to chmod ug+x it.
4. Initializing the Kiosk
Under normal (i.e. kiosk) conditions, Linux should boot straight into
Kiosk mode. In the event of a power failure, accidental reboot, or
scheduled reboot, you need to configure the system to do this.
For our kiosk we elected to use init level 4, which is normally
unused, for kiosk mode. We made the following adjustment to
/etc/inittab:
4.1. /etc/inittab modifications
______________________________________________________________________
# Default runlevel. The runlevels used by RHS are:
# 0 - halt (Do NOT set initdefault to this)
# 1 - Single user mode
# 2 - Multiuser, without NFS (The same as 3, if you do not have networking)
# 3 - Full multiuser mode
# 4 - Kiosk mode
# 5 - X11
# 6 - reboot (Do NOT set initdefault to this)
#
id:4:initdefault:
______________________________________________________________________
4.2. /etc/rc.d/rc.4/S99xkiosk runlevel script
To initialize the kiosk after everything else has been initialized,
including, in our case, Apache and MySQL, create the file
/etc/rc.d/rc.4/S99xkiosk:
______________________________________________________________________
#!/bin/bash
#
# S99xkiosk Initialization of kiosk for runlevel 4
#
# Author: Gene Wilburn <genew@rom.on.ca>
#
# Display message on console
echo "Starting up the X Window Kiosk ... "
if [ -f /.netscape/lock] ; then
rm /.netscape/lock
fi
# Logging of X activity
echo %%%%%%%%%%%%%Reboot%%%%%%%%%% >> /var/log/xlog
/root/xkiosk
# This point should only be reached by pressing Ctrl-Backspace
/sbin/shutdown -r now
# All done.
______________________________________________________________________
Once this file has been created and inittab has been adjusted to boot
into init level 4, Linux will boot directly into kiosk mode. On our
kiosk we disable telnet and ftp and install ssh so we can maintain and
administer the kiosk remotely across the network with ssh and scp.
4.3. Booting normally from the console
There are times, especially during testing, when you'd like to work
from the console in a normal init level 3 mode. To do this, press
Ctrl-Backspace to reboot the system. When LILO: appears type:
LILO: linux init 3
and log in as usual.
5. Other Considerations
5.1. Screensavers
Depending on where you deploy your kiosk, you may not want all the
default xscreensaver images to appear. For our Hands-On Biodiversity
Gallery we wanted to display only the animated fractal images that
suggested life science themes.
After testing out several screensaver images, we decided that we to
select randomly between two choices: coral and forest.
To limit xscreensaver to displaying these two, we created the file
.xscreensaver in the filesystem root (/) with the following options:
5.1.1. /.xscreensaver
______________________________________________________________________
programs: \
coral -root \n\
forest -root \n
______________________________________________________________________
5.2. Sound Files
Our kiosk machine contains a Sound Blaster AWE64 card with attached
speakers. We chose this card specifically because it works well with
Linux sound drivers.
The MySQL database that drives our Biodiversity Gallery kiosk points
to a collection of sound files that a visitor may listen to, including
a ``bird song quiz.'' The downside of using Linux Netscape for a kiosk
is that some of the multimedia aspects are primitive, compared to
Windows and Macintosh.
To enable sound, we implemented a Unix Netscape plugin called Xswallow
written by Caolan McNamara (
<http://skynet.csn.ul.ie/~caolan/docs/XSwallow.html>). All the sound
plugins we tested create a separate web page as the sound is being
played (unless the sound file is embedded). Of the programs we tested,
Xswallow worked the best and had the cleanest display page.
Although the extra page is inconvenient, we decided that having the
stability of Linux was more important than the extra click required to
return to the previous screen.
An additional problem is that when a sound is selected, the Xswallow
page displays ``Click to Abort Swallow of type audio/basic''. Clicking
merely returns a blank page. I made a slight change to the author's
source code for UnixShell.c, changing
char *text2 = "Click to Abort Swallow";
to read
char *text2 = "Click BACK Button to return from playing file";
The phrase ``of type audio/basic'' appears to come directly from
Netscape rather than Xswallow.
After recompiling, I added the plugin to Netscape.
A last note about sound files: the original set of files we received
were a mix of .au and .wav files. Our experience was that the .au
files worked the most reliably in Linux and we converted all sound
files to .au format.
5.3. Trackballs
Not having the funding for a touchscreen display, we opted for a
trackball (and no keyboard) for our kiosk navigation. Our colleague,
Andy Rauer at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto, tipped us off to
using ``industry-strength'' trackball components from Happ Conrols
Inc., Elk Grove Village, Illinois <http://www.happcontrols.com/>
(check under their Interactives section).
One of the things we needed to do was disable any right-mouse button
click equivalents from being used in Netscape Navigator because right-
click events invoke user dialogs.
By building our own trackball, we were able to wire it any way we
wanted. We wired in two push-button controls, both with a left-mouse
button equivalent. The buttons are arranged on either side of the
trackball, allowing ease of use from right-handed and left-handed
visitors. Our gallery designers then took the trackball parts and
built them into the gallery's kiosk enclosure.
For our kiosk we purchased the following components for building a
heavy-duty trackball designed to withstand visitor use (and abuse):
o A 2 1/4-inch Atari Trackball Assembly (we selected red)
o Trackball Interface Kit for IBM (Microsoft serial mouse compatible)
o Illuminated Push Buttons (red)
From a local electronics vendor, we purchased a Hammond Manufacturing
plastic handy case (Cat no. 1591ABK) for housing the electronics board
for the trackball.
Anticipating additional kiosks, and potential part failure, we ordered
four sets of each of the above for spare parts and testing.
5.4. Designing or modifying HTML pages for kiosks
In the best of all possible worlds, you will have the opporunity to
design your kiosk pages from scratch. Bearing in mind that using a
kiosk is a different experience from sitting at a desk browsing the
web from a personal workstation, the following guidelines are useful
design principles:
o Keep text passages very short and use large fonts.
o Avoid screens that require scrolling.
o Use colorful, large, eye-catching images on every page
o Create embedded navigation if possible, e.g., return to previous
page, go to next page, go to kiosk menu, etc., should all be
designed right into the pages themselves.
o Avoid anything that requires a keyboard. Design for clicking.
o If you use sound files, keep the duration short. Embed them into
the page if possible.
o Make everything punchy and snappy. Design for short attention spans
and pass-through traffic. Save your theses and exegeses for
elsewhere.
Unforunately you will sometimes inherit pages that were designed for
web browsing rather than kiosk browsing. In these cases it may be too
time-consuming or too difficult to redesign them as kiosk pages. When
implementing standard web pages for a kiosk display:
o Remove all external A HREF's, including MAILTO's.
o Remove all unnecessary verbiage, logos, etc. from the pages.
o Check font sizes and increase if necessary.
o Remove any animated GIF's that don't pertain directly to the pages
being viewed.
o Actually, remove any animated GIF's, period.
o Do anything else you can to simplify the page design.
o Check into using server-side includes to add some fundamental
navigation or a consistent graphic to tie the pages together.
6. Future Directions
Our previous attempts at creating browser-based kiosks with Windows-
based PC's were unsatisfactory. The units were unstable, freezing up
frequently. The Linux approach has given us a reliable, robust kiosk
in a public gallery that has stood up well to visitor usage. Our
success with this project has led us to consider other kiosk
possibilities.
6.1. Remote Kiosks
One of our future goals is to implement remote kiosks in the greater
Toronto area where people can browse some of our site information and,
hopefully, be attracted enough by it to visit the ROM in person. These
might be deployed at places such as conventions, trade shows, shopping
malls or special exhibits. We are also thinking in terms of deploying
kiosks in more distant locations, perhaps in public libraries.
For this project we would likely implement modem-based Linux boxes
that could ``call home'' to update files on a routine basis and could
be dialled into for maintenance and updates.
6.2. Touchscreens
When the technology gets cheaper, we would like to experiment with
flat-panel touchscreen displays for kiosks. The combination of flat-
panel display and very small PC units would enable us to deploy kiosks
with a very small footprint.
6.3. Keyboards
Ultimately we may need to deploy kiosks that utilize keyboards. This
will present a new set of challenges in terms of blocking unwanted
keystrokes. If anyone would like to contribute information on this, or
to any other aspect of the Kiosk-HOWTO, please email me at
genew@rom.on.ca or my alternative email address njo@interlog.com.
6.4. Collaboration
I would be very interested in collaborating with other kiosk builders
to extend the Kiosk-HOWTO for other situations. Kiosks are a bit like
Perl: ``There is more than one way to do it.''
