Floor plan application – configuration and setup guide

This page explains how to download, install, configure, and use the Matrix Booking Floor plan app. This guide also shows you how to change the osettings for the app regardless of whether you’re using a Matrix Booking supplied device or your own device:

1. Overview

2. Requirements

3. Device settings

4. Set up a kiosk user

5. Download and install the app

6. Set up the app

7. Change the settings

8. Check version number

9. Log the kiosk user out

10. Troubleshooting

Overview

The Floor Plan app is designed to work with the Matrix Booking family of products. It allows you to make a booking (for example, a room), check in to your bookings, and find out where someone else has a booking.

The behaviour of the Floor plan app is controlled by a series of settings on the app itself (when you log in to it and set it up).

Requirements

This section includes:

1. Device requirements

2. USB cable requirements

3. Power for tablets

4. PoE, switches, and cable runs

5. Domains and endpoints to approve

Device requirements

The Matrix Booking Floor plan app is an Android or iOS app. Devices must support:

• a screen with 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio

• internet access

• an operating system, either:

  • Android 6.0 or later

  • iOS 11 or later

As such, it also allows you to use whatever application restriction process you wish. Some clients may use bespoke lockdown software, whereas others may use more commercial master data management (MDM) type solutions. Matrix Booking should work with all major MDM or app lockdown solutions.

We recommend running the tablet with some kind of kiosk mode software to ensure that the device always runs the app in the foreground and customers can’t accidentally navigate away from the application.

For the best user experience, choose devices that have a crisp, high-definition display and low-latency response to touch gestures. If you’re mounting them on walls or glass, you need to ensure the devices you choose are capable of being mounted.

USB cable requirements

USB cables vary wildly in quality. Consider carefully where your device is in relation to the power sockets. The longer the cable, the more electrical resistance there will be in the cable. For all tablet connectivity, we recommend the following:

• Use the lowest possible rating of USB cable, especially when using longer lengths of cable. Cable rating should be as close to 20 American Wire Gauge (AWG, for power) as possible, where 20, 22 or 24 AWG are fine to use. A higher rating than this will mean that a large portion of the power will be lost over the cable distance. All USB cables will have a rating expressed in the following format XX/YY AWG (where XX is the data rating, which isn’t important for this, and YY is the power rating).

• Maximum USB cable lengths are generally dictated by the USB standards, where the absolute maximum is 5 metres.

Power for tablets

Depending on how long you want to keep the tablets running for during the day and how bright you need the screens to run at, the power usage can vary significantly. To make sure that your devices always charge faster than they use power, we recommend the following:

• The charger that came with your device may not be the best for it because of how your device will be used. Look for alternatives if you expect your device to use more power.

• Make sure a minimum 2 A power supply is used. They are all 5 V, but they vary in the power rating from 400mA to 2.2 A.

• If power supplies are fitted to surfaces (for example, ceilings or walls), they need to be PAT tested in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Regulations and Acts.

PoE, switches, and cable runs

If you’re using PoE to supply power or data to your tablets or devices, this is generally a much more resilient method. However, there are still things to watch out for:

• Make sure that at least Cat5 cables are used.

• Check with the installation team that the integrity of the cable is good and reliable, as often when cables are installed, they can be “stretched” to make them long enough. This can their affect performance and reliability.

• Make sure whatever switch you might be using is able to supply enough power for the devices. If many tablets are being connected, make sure the switch can deliver the correct power level (in watts).

• Whatever switch you use shouldn’t be set to a super-low power saving or economy mode as this may sometimes dip the power below what is needed. This can cause the devices to shutdown or reboot.

• If you’re using MAC address security, always make sure the MAC address of the device is listed in your network. Otherwise, the device will power on but won’t be allocated an IP address This will cause the “connection lost” error message.

Domains and endpoints to approve

Device settings

If your devices were set up by our team, skip this section. If you're using your own devices, follow the steps below to ensure they function correctly:

1. Exit kiosk mode

2. Time and date settings

3. Security to prevent exiting the app

4. Turn off Android Debug Bridge

Exit kiosk mode

All newly purchased signage devices are sent out in “kiosk mode.” This means that the device will automatically launch the Signage app after it’s switched on. The kiosk mode also prevents Signage users from exiting the app and navigating around the device.

Learn how to take your devices out of kiosk mode

Time and date settings

If you have your own device, ensure the default time zone is correct, as it may be set to the device manufacturer's time zone. Devices supplied by us are pre-configured with the correct time zone and use 2.android.pool.ntp.org as the NTP server, which is included in the standard endpoint or firewall list.

If your device uses a different time server, make sure it’s approved through your firewall so devices can maintain the correct time.

Security to prevent exiting the app

To prevent users from accidentally exiting the app, consider one of these options:

• Matrix Booking MDM kiosk software – contact your customer success manager to arrange this.

• Your organisation's MDM kiosk software.

• Android native PIN or password or see our iOS kiosk mode guidance.

These options aren’t mandatory, but skipping them may leave devices unsecured. Check your IT security policy to confirm whether one is required.

If you’re using MDM or kiosk software (either Matrix Booking’s or your own) or our Hardware as a Service (HaaS) offering, install it before the app. A password or PIN won’t be needed as access is restricted automatically and it will also interfere with our remote support capabilities.

To prevent navigation away from the app:

1. Close all other apps:

   • For iPads:

     • Go to the Home Screen

     • Swipe up from the bottom of the screen.

     • Pause in the middle of the screen.

     • Swipe right or left to find the app that you want to close.

     • Swipe up on the app’s preview to close the app.

   • For Android tablets:

     • Tap the square icon at the bottom of the device.

     • Tap the X button on each apps.

2. Open the Settings app.

3. Go to the Security section (may be called different names depending on the OS).

4. Go to the Screen locking sub-section. This may be called a different name depending on the OS (for example, Guided Access on iOS).

5. Set a password or PIN.

6. Go to the Screen pinning option (may be called different names depending on the OS).

7. Tap the Screen pinning checkbox or slider.

   

8. You’ll notice a pin button in the bottom-right of the Arrivals app.

9. Tap the pin button. A dialog will appear asking you to confirm.

10. Tap Confirm.

Learn more about Guided Access for iOS devices

Turn off Android Debug Bridge

If your network isn’t configured to block port 5555 and you don’t have your signage and kiosk devices running on a separate VLAN, we recommend disabling the ADB over Wi-fi, LAN, or Power over Ethernet (PoE) on your devices.

Learn more about how to turn off the Android Debug Bridge

Set up a kiosk user

Before downloading, installing, and setting up the app, you need to:

1. Add a Floor plan app user as a new System/API user.

2. Assign them as a location manager.

This is so that you can log in to the app as that user on your device and the account can be used to book on behalf.

Add a Floor plan app user

To add a System/API user:

1. Select Admin in the navigation bar.

2. Select Users under the Security & Integrations section in the side menu.

3. Select New User in the filters ribbon. The New User dialog will appear.

   

4. Enter their email address.

   • If the first and last names can be extracted from the email address, they will be auto populated.

   • Enter their first and last names if the auto populated results are incorrect.

5. Enter and re-enter a password for them.

6. Enter their other details you have available (for example, phone number).

7. Select System/API.

8. Select Save.

Assign the Floor plan app user as a location manager

To assign a location manager to a location:

1. If you haven’t already:

   • Add your booking categories.

   • Set up a location.

2. Select Admin in the navigation bar.

3. Select Location managers under the Location Settings section in the side menu.

4. Select + Add manager. The Add location manager dialog will appear

5. Begin to enter the specific location they are going to be a manager of into the Location text box. A dropdown will appear.

6. Select the location.

7. Begin to enter the name of the person in the Who text box. A dropdown will appear.

8. Select the manager’s name.

9. Select Add.

   

Download and install the app

Google accounts and Google Play

Within a corporate environment, it’s better to avoid adding a Google account to the device. This will prevent updates from being downloaded and installed automatically.

Many commercial devices are supplied with a “locked-down” version of the Android OS that prevents the use of Google accounts, Google Play and mobile services. On such devices, the Welcome app must be loaded directly onto the device. This is the same as the Matrix Booking standard supplied devices.

Download and install steps

The Floor plan app is a licensable product, and therefore, you’ll need to contact your customer success manager to make sure this software is part of your subscription package.

To manually download and install the app:

1. Download the latest version of our Floor plan app (APK, 4.6 MB) using the onboard browser app.

2. Tap the file to install the app. A dialog will appear asking you to install the software.

3. Tap INSTALL.

4. The installation will begin.

5. Your device may attempt to block the installation. You can send the app for scanning or you can continue the process by tapping DON’T SEND.

6. The Matrix Booking Arrivals app has been installed.

7. Tap OPEN to begin the configuration of the software.

   

Set up the app

This section includes:

1. Log in

2. Set a location

3. Choose the type of bookings to be made

4. Search for people

5. Return home when idle

6. Cost codes

Log in

1. When you open the app, the Floor Plan log in screen will be displayed.

2. Enter your login credentials that you created (Create a login).

   

Set a location

1. After logging in, you need to define where the app will live (the location the app will be for checking people in). Begin to type the location name.

2. Tap the dropdown to see the available buildings or car parks and choose the correct location for your device and app.

3. After choosing the building, you can choose the floor of the building. This is an optional setting that you may not need if your building has 1 floor plan only or if the kiosk-type device is located in a central reception for the whole building. If your building has multiple floors with multiple reception areas, you should pick the floor that the app will be placed.

4. Tap CONFIRM LOCATION.

   

Once the building or location is set, you have the option to set a specific behaviour for the app.

Choose the type of bookings to be made

When you make a booking using the Floor plan app, there are several ways it can work. You can make bookings:

• that are completely anonymous (all bookings will be made by your Floor plan app login account)

• that identifies the booking owner, where there are 2 options:

  • assign them to a user in your directory

  • that require you to log in with an email address and password to assign it (both will appear in the My Bookings area in the web and mobile apps)

Search for people

Once you’ve chosen the type of bookings that can be made, there are 2 more settings to choose. The first is the Find someone feature. With the Allow people to find someone by their bookings checkbox, you’ll be able to find another member of staff by searching for them and their bookings on the homepage. This is similar to the web app’s Find someone feature. There are 2 further options that you can choose to find someone, which are:

• Only show checked in bookings

• Show all bookings

For the Only show checked in bookings option, you need to have the check-in settings switch on for your locations or resources. The booking also needs to be checked in to by the booking owner or booking organiser for a user to be able to find the person with the booking. For more information on this setting, .

If you don’t have check-ins set up for your organisation, we recommend you use the Show all bookings option if you want the Find someone feature on the Floor plan app.

If you would prefer staff didn’t have this option, leave it unticked.

Return home when idle

The second setting is the Return to home screen when idle option. You can have your device return to the homepage after a minute of inactivity. If you’d prefer that it stays on the page until someone presses NEXT or HOME, leave it unticked.

Cost codes

Cost codes can be used when making a booking using the Floor plan app. You need to set up cost codes by raising a support ticket and using the web.

Change the settings

If at any point you wish to change the settings or the location, you need to:

1. Log out.

2. Follow the steps from Log in again.

Tap 5 times consecutively in the top-right corner on the Matrix Booking logo. The Log out dialog will appear.

Check the version number

Tap 5 times consecutively in the top-right corner on the Matrix Booking logo. The Log out dialog will appear with the version number.

Log the kiosk user out

To log out of the Floor plan app:

1. Tap 5 times consecutively in the top-right corner on the Matrix Booking logo. The Log out dialog will appear.

2. Tap OK. The dialog will close and you’ll be redirected to the Log in page.

Troubleshooting

This is the list of our troubleshooting articles:

• Software-related troubleshooting:

  • Floor plan app troubleshooting

  • Enter and exit Guided Access mode (iOS only)

• Hardware-related troubleshooting:

  • Signage device time troubleshooting

  • Room signage device or screen shows a blue page only?

  • Room signage, kiosks, and devices dropping to "need PIN" page or lock screen

  • Email alerts – device is no longer compliant

  • Turn off Android Debug Bridge (ADB) on ProDVX devices