Kiosk & Website Embed
Field Link Missions can run as a full-screen display in your church lobby, or be embedded into your existing church website.
API Keys
The kiosk uses an API key to identify your church without requiring a login. Generate a key for each physical display location — this lets you revoke individual displays independently if needed.
app.fieldlinkmissions.com/kiosk?key=YOUR_KEY. For the Windows kiosk app or a Raspberry Pi display, nothing is typed on the display: it shows a code, you type that code here under 🔗 Link kiosk.The Status column tells you at a glance whether each display is alive: ● Online means it checked in within the last few minutes, Last seen … shows when it last connected, Never connected means no display has used the key yet, and Disabled means you switched it off.
Per-Key Display Settings
Each API key has its own settings — click ⚙ Settings on any key row to configure it independently. Settings are also available directly during key creation.
- Display Name — rename a key at any time, e.g. when a screen moves rooms.
- Display Mode — Touch (interactive kiosk for touch screens) or Presentation (non-interactive carousel for regular TVs).
- Map Side — In Presentation mode, choose whether the map appears on the left or right side of the screen.
- Theme Override — Give this display a different color theme than the public map.
- Idle Timeout / Carousel Speed — Override timing for this display only.
- Carousel / Search Bar — Enable or disable per display.
- Overlay Opacity — Set a different backdrop darkness for this display only. Leave at Global to use the shared setting from Display Settings.
Touch Mode (Interactive Kiosk)
The default mode for touch-screen displays. Visitors tap missionary pins to open full profile cards, browse the sidebar list (tapping the missionary count in the header opens it), search by name, and read prayer letters and video updates. An idle carousel starts after configurable inactivity.
A touch kiosk never leaves the kiosk page. Map credits and the church's phone, email and website are shown as plain text rather than links, and profile text cannot be long-pressed into a copy menu. Instead, every profile for a missionary who is on the public web map has a 📱 Continue on your device button: tapping it shows a QR code that opens that same profile on your public map, where the visitor can follow the website and giving links and read the letters on their own phone.
Presentation Mode (TV / Non-Touch)
For any screen — no touch required. The display splits into two panels: the live world map on one side and a rotating missionary card on the other. Each missionary's photo, name, location, organization, family members, and a progress bar are shown automatically. The carousel advances on its own indefinitely.
Windows Kiosk App
A single installer for every display, downloaded from 💻 Windows Kiosk App on the Kiosk page (that panel also shows which build your server currently hands out). Nothing about your church is baked into it, so the same file works for all your screens:
- Linking happens by a code shown on the display, typed into 🔗 Link kiosk here. No keyboard is needed at the display: the settings screen also opens by pressing and holding the top-left corner of the screen for four seconds (touch or mouse).
- Kiosk mode is a button inside the app (Ctrl+Shift+K → Turn this PC into a kiosk). It creates a FieldLinkKiosk Windows account with a random password that signs in automatically at boot and shows only the app — no desktop, no taskbar, no Task Manager — disables sleep and the screensaver, and schedules automatic updates. Your own administrator account is untouched (Ctrl+Alt+Del → Switch user). Remove kiosk mode on the same screen undoes everything and disables the account.
- Updates are automatic once kiosk mode is on: a scheduled task checks your FieldLink server nightly and after every boot, installs newer builds silently and restarts the display. The Ctrl+Shift+K screen shows the installed and latest versions and has an Install update button for doing it by hand — it works from the kiosk account too, no administrator sign-in needed.
- Everything reports back. Kiosk mode and updates show a live progress bar with each step, and if something fails the last lines of the helper's log appear on screen. The full logs are
%ProgramData%\FieldLinkKiosk-Admin\admin.log(kiosk mode, updates) and%APPDATA%\fieldlink-kiosk\kiosk.log(the app).
Raspberry Pi Kiosk
The same display on a Raspberry Pi instead of a PC, downloaded from 🍓 Raspberry Pi Kiosk on the Kiosk page (which also lists what to buy and the steps; see Setting Up a Raspberry Pi Kiosk). One image for every church and every display; nothing about your account is on the card until you link it:
- Linking works exactly like the Windows app: a code on the TV, typed into 🔗 Link kiosk here. The pairing survives restarts and power cuts.
- Wi‑Fi from a phone. With no network cable the TV shows a QR code for the display's own FieldLink-XXXX setup network; the page that opens on the phone lists the networks the Pi can see. Plugging in a cable at any point wins. A keyboard gets the same picker on the TV.
- Settings screen — Ctrl+Shift+K, or press and hold the top-left corner for four seconds on a touch screen or with a mouse. Status and IP address, change Wi‑Fi, check for and install updates, restart, show the log, and Factory reset (forgets the pairing and saved Wi‑Fi, then reboots to a fresh code — for handing the Pi to another display or church).
- Updates arrive overnight from FieldLink's signed package channel and take a few seconds of dark screen; Install update on the settings screen does it now. A new build never needs the card rewritten.
- Nothing to break. No desktop, no login prompt, no browser to close by accident. If the display program ever stops it is restarted within seconds, and the recovery screen with a fresh code appears whenever the key stops working, just as on Windows.
Recovery & Troubleshooting
The Windows kiosk app and the Raspberry Pi display check their key with the server every 30 seconds. When the key stops working it does not sit on a stale or broken page — it shows a recovery screen with a fresh link code that explains what happened and lets you fix it from the admin panel. The same screen opens on demand with Ctrl+Shift+K, or by pressing and holding the top-left corner of the screen for four seconds when there is no keyboard, and shows the linked display name, server, key prefix, app version, last successful check, kiosk-mode status, updates, and where its config and log files live.
Linking a display — the fastest fix
The display also accepts a pasted kiosk URL (from Copy URL) under "Have a kiosk URL?" on the same screen, for the rare case where the admin panel cannot be reached from a phone.
What you see, and what to do
| Situation | What the display shows | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Key deleted | "This kiosk's key is no longer valid" plus a code | Create a key (+ Generate Key), click 🔗 Link kiosk and type the code shown on the display. |
| Key disabled | Same screen | Click Enable on the key. The display reconnects by itself within a minute — nothing to do at the kiosk. |
| Key rotated | Same screen | Click 🔗 Link kiosk on that same key and type the display's code. (Analytics groups kiosk views by key prefix, so a rotated key starts a new series in Analytics.) |
| Lost the key's URL | Nothing wrong yet | ⚙ Settings → Copy URL. Keys are stored encrypted and can always be retrieved. Windows and Raspberry Pi displays never need the URL — they link by code. |
| Internet or Wi-Fi down | "Connecting to FieldLink…" (or the map with an offline banner showing cached data) | Check the network cable, Wi-Fi and router. The display retries by itself and returns to the map automatically. |
| Server maintenance | "FieldLink is temporarily unavailable" or a maintenance page | Wait. The display reloads on its own as soon as the server is back. |
| Display shows stale photos or data | The map, but out of date | Clear the display's cache at the screen: on a touch display press and hold the globe in the bottom-right corner for 5 seconds; on a presentation display press and hold the small globe at the bottom of the side panel. A ring fills around it while you hold; let go early to cancel. The display then reloads with fresh data. |
| App installed but never linked | "Link this display to FieldLink" plus a code | Click 🔗 Link kiosk on a key and type the code. |
| Raspberry Pi shows a QR code and "FieldLink-XXXX" | "Set up Wi‑Fi from your phone" | The display has no network: no cable, and no Wi‑Fi it knows. Scan the QR code with a phone, pick the church Wi‑Fi on the page that opens and type its password — or plug in an Ethernet cable, which the display prefers. After a router change, do the same to give it the new network. |
| Raspberry Pi says "Could not join …: the password was not accepted" | The QR code again, with that message | Rejoin FieldLink-XXXX on the phone (the page shows the same error with Try again) and enter the password again. |
| Raspberry Pi shows "Waiting for the clock" or stays on "Connecting…" after boot | Connecting screen | Normal for the first minute: a Pi has no battery clock and sets its time from the network before it can talk to the server. If it never gets past it, the network has no internet access. |
| Windows shows a blue box when running the installer | "Windows protected your PC" | SmartScreen, because the installer is not code-signed yet. Click More info → Run anyway. Only use the installer downloaded from your admin panel. |
| "Turn this PC into a kiosk" seems to do nothing | "Waiting for administrator permission" with a spinner | The Windows permission prompt opened behind the full-screen window. Press Alt+Tab and click Yes. The progress bar then shows each step. |
| Kiosk mode failed | Red bar, "Setting up kiosk mode failed" | The last lines on screen name the step and reason. Fix the cause (often a Windows policy) and click the button again — it is safe to repeat. Full detail in %ProgramData%\FieldLinkKiosk-Admin\admin.log. |
| PC boots to a black screen or the Windows desktop | No kiosk at all | Sign in as administrator, start the FieldLink Kiosk app, press Ctrl+Shift+K and click Turn this PC into a kiosk again — it repairs the account, auto-login and shell. Also check that Windows is not waiting on an update or a BitLocker prompt. |
| Want a different mode, theme, carousel speed… | — | ⚙ Settings on the key. The display applies changes within about a minute; a mode change reloads it. No visit to the PC. |
| Kiosk app needs updating | "Update available" on the Ctrl+Shift+K screen | Displays in kiosk mode update themselves overnight, and so does a Raspberry Pi. To do it now: Ctrl+Shift+K → Install update. The current builds are shown under 💻 Windows Kiosk App and 🍓 Raspberry Pi Kiosk. |
| Moving a key to another PC | — | Install the app on the new PC and link it to the key by code; on the old one press Ctrl+Shift+K → Remove kiosk mode. Two PCs can share a key, but one key per display keeps Last seen meaningful. |
| Retiring a display | — | On a PC: Ctrl+Shift+K → Remove kiosk mode, then uninstall FieldLinkKiosk from Settings → Apps (uninstalling also removes kiosk mode). On a Raspberry Pi: Ctrl+Shift+K → Factory reset, which forgets the pairing and the saved Wi‑Fi. Then Delete or Disable the key here. |
| Browser-based display (Chromebook, Fire stick, Mac…) | "This kiosk key is no longer valid" page | Open the new kiosk URL from Copy URL on that device and update its bookmark or start-up shortcut. If you only disabled the key, the page reloads by itself once you enable it. |
Keyboard shortcuts on the kiosk (Windows and Raspberry Pi)
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+Shift+K | Open or close the settings & recovery screen |
| Press and hold the top-left corner for 4 s | The same, without a keyboard — touch or mouse (a ring fills up while you hold) |
Ctrl+Shift+R | Reload the kiosk page |
Ctrl+Shift+Q | Quit the kiosk app (Windows: screen goes black — sign out or restart; Raspberry Pi: the display comes back by itself in a few seconds) |
Ctrl+Alt+Del → Switch user | Windows only: sign in with your own administrator account |
QR Code on Presentation Mode
Each API key has an optional 📱 Show QR Code toggle in its ⚙ Settings (on by default). When enabled on a presentation key, a scannable QR code appears at the bottom of each missionary card during Presentation Mode. Scanning it opens the missionary's full profile on the public web map — prayer letters, photos, bio, and family — directly on the visitor's phone.
Continue on Your Device (Touch Mode)
Touch kiosks have their own way to hand a profile to a visitor: a 📱 Continue on your device button in every profile card, which shows a QR code to that missionary on your public map. The same 📱 Show QR Code toggle in the key's ⚙ Settings controls it: turn it off and the button disappears from that touch kiosk (already-linked displays pick the change up within a minute, no restart needed). Like the presentation QR, it never appears for missionaries with Show on Website Map unchecked.
Web Map Visibility vs. Kiosk Visibility
Each missionary has two independent visibility checkboxes: Show on Website Map and Show on Kiosk. These can be mixed:
- Kiosk only — missionary appears on the lobby kiosk but not on the public website map. No QR code is generated. Their profile cannot be fetched publicly. Use this for missionaries in sensitive or closed-country contexts.
- Web map only — missionary appears on the public website and embeds but not on the kiosk displays.
- Both — appears everywhere. QR codes link to their full public profile.
- Neither — missionary record is saved but not displayed anywhere publicly.
Global Display Settings
These settings apply to all kiosk displays by default. Individual API keys can override any of them independently.
- Idle Timeout — seconds of inactivity before the touch-mode carousel starts. 0 = never.
- Carousel Speed — how many seconds each missionary shows during the carousel.
- Show Search Bar — toggle the search field on the touch kiosk.
- Overlay Opacity — how dark the backdrop is behind the missionary card in the carousel. Drag the slider to preview. Each API key can override this for that specific display.
Website Embed
Go to Kiosk → Website Embed, pick a size and an optional theme override, then copy the generated <iframe> snippet. Works with WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, and any platform accepting custom HTML blocks.
- Responsive (recommended) — the map fills the width of wherever you place it and takes about 70% of the visitor's screen height, so the same snippet works on phones and desktops. On a phone the missionary list becomes a full-screen sheet behind the round 👥 button.
- Fixed — choose an exact width and height. Use this only if your page layout needs a set box. A fixed width wider than a phone screen will not shrink on mobile.
Scrolling on the embedded map. So the map never traps visitors who are scrolling your page, plain scrolling moves the page. To zoom the map, hold Ctrl (⌘ on a Mac) while scrolling, or use the + / − buttons. On touch screens, one finger scrolls the page and two fingers move the map. A short hint appears on the map the first time a visitor tries.
If you gave a church website an older embed snippet, it keeps working. Re-copy the snippet whenever you want the responsive version.