Remote Control

What is it?

The Windows version of the Camera Controller App can be used to monitor and control the iPad. This is very useful when running an unattended photo booth because you can use remote desktop software such as TeamViewer, Logmein or Windows Remote Desktop to login to the Windows computer and control and monitor the iPad app.

Enable Controller

To enable the connection to the Controller App from your device, go to App Settings and select the “External controller” option.

Enable Network Camera

To enable the Controller and use a Networked Camera go to the Camera Settings screen and select “External camera”.

The monitoring and remote control capabilities described in this section are available in the camera controller with or without an external camera.

When you run the camera controller for the first time you may receive a warning message from the firewall software running on the computer (e.g. Windows Defender). This is normal because the camera controller needs to access the network in order to communicate with the iPad. Please allow the camera controller access to the network.

Monitoring the iPad

The camera controller displays the iPad’s status and shows:

• The iPad’s name, vendor ID and Breeze Booth for iPad version
• Whether the iPad is signed in or not
• The Dropbox account (if signed in)
• The current status (screen currently displayed e.g. Startup)
• Battery state and memory usage via two status bars

Screenshot

You can take a screenshot of the iPad app by clicking the Screenshot button. This sends a command to the iPad requesting a screenshot and displays it in a separate window on the PC.

• The screenshot can be refreshed automatically by setting the refresh interval.
• If set to never, screenshots only update manually by pressing the Screenshot button.
• Warning: Setting refresh to 1 sec puts a load on the iPad and may cause instability.

Controlling the iPad

• The Login/Logout button can be used to log the iPad in or out.
• The Touchscreen command dropdown allows touchscreen commands to be sent to the iPad.

Commands vary depending on the screen currently displayed:

• When the Startup screen is shown, the dropdown lists available events and an “Update all” option.
  • Selecting an event will run it.
  • Selecting “Update all” will update all events using the sync method defined in App Settings.

• When an event is running, the dropdown lists the touchscreen commands defined for that screen.
  • Sending a command has the same effect as tapping the touchscreen area on the iPad.
  • “HOME (return to start screen)” will exit the event and return to Startup.

The controller cannot send key presses to the app when a keyboard or survey screen is displayed (e.g. for entering email or phone number).

You can monitor execution by observing the Status line or taking screenshots.

Syncing Events

The Sync… button can be used to update events on the iPad, overriding the sync method currently set in App Settings.

• Pressing Sync… opens the Sync Events dialog.
• Press Update all events to instruct the iPad to update all events using the selected method.
• Status line will show “Updating all events…” and return to “Startup” once complete.

The Method dropdown lets you select the sync method:

• Dropbox: Updates events from Dropbox (requires app to be logged into Dropbox). Optional prefix specifies the Dropbox folder.
• GET: Updates events from a web server using HTTP GET.
  • Example: https://bb4ipad.com/sync
  • Leave blank to use the server defined in App Settings.
• POST: Updates events from a web server using HTTP POST.
  • Enter the server URL and optional password.
  • Leave blank to use the server defined in App Settings.