The Public Display
What customers see on a live menu board, the active daypart, sold-out handling, between-service states, real-time updates, and TV display mode.
The public display is the customer-facing render of a board. It's a clean, large-format screen designed for counters and TVs that always shows the right menu for the current moment, and scales gracefully down to phones for customers viewing on the web.
The display is served from the public boards app at the board's address. A board must be Published to appear; drafts are hidden from the public.
Board URLs
Public boards resolve from the organization slug and the board's URL slug (set in board settings), not the location name:
| Environment | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Production (subdomain) | {orgSlug}.boards.* + /{boardSlug} | acme.boards.example.com/lunch |
| Testing | Your GreenSails-provided board address | Ask your administrator |
Omit the board slug segment to show the org's Primary published board.
What Customers See
When a daypart is active, the display renders:
- The organization name and board name as a header
- The location and the active daypart label (e.g. "Breakfast")
- Items grouped by category in elevated cards with an emerald accent rail
- Each item with its display name and price (or labeled price points)
- Sold-out items always shown with strikethrough and a Sold out label (never hidden)
- A Live menu badge when connected to realtime updates, or Updating menu when the display is refreshing without a live connection
- A Powered by GreenSails footer with a link to TV display mode
Typography scales fluidly to the screen size, so the same board looks right on a wall-mounted TV and on a phone.
Between-Service & Empty States
The display never shows a blank screen. Depending on state it renders a purposeful message:
- Between services: When no daypart is active for the current time, customers see a "we're between services" message. If a next service is scheduled, it names what's coming and when (in the board's timezone).
- Menu coming soon: When a daypart is active but has no items yet.
- Menu unavailable: When the board can't be found or isn't published.
Real-Time Updates
The public display stays in sync with the back office automatically:
- Schedule & item edits update the display when you save in the dashboard.
- Availability toggles (sold-out) update within seconds, no refresh needed.
- If the live connection drops, the display refreshes automatically every 60 seconds until it reconnects, and the badge shows Updating menu.
You can preview exactly what's live without leaving the dashboard, the board detail page's Live preview panel mirrors the public display in the board's timezone. See Live Availability.
TV Display Mode
For wall-mounted TVs and digital signage, append ?display=tv to the board URL for a dedicated fullscreen slideshow layout with multi-column menus and automatic slide rotation.
See TV Display Mode for the full walkthrough, URL patterns, fullscreen setup, slide intervals, and bookmarking on a TV browser.
Mobile Responsiveness
The standard display is mobile-first: padding, font sizes, and the item/price layout adapt for narrow screens so long item names and multi-price columns stay readable on a phone, while large displays keep their bold, glanceable typography.