iWall 3.2 User Guide

Overview

What is iWall?

iWall is a text-to-screen and picture-to-screen software tool that allows you to create interactive entertainment at your events by letting the crowd send texts and pictures to the big screen from their mobile phones via SMS, Email, Facebook or Twitter.

How does it work?

The following diagram explains iWall’s basic operation:

Someone at the event uses his mobile phone to send a text message or an image to some of the addresses displayed on the projection screen.
The system operator accepts or rejects the text message.
If the message was accepted it will be published on the projection screen.

Features

Manual or automatic message authorization

Authorization of messages to be published can be manual or automatic. If using manual authorization, each received message is put on a pending messages list and you can choose to publish or reject it. If using automatic authorization, all received messages are published in the projection screen without your participation.

Customizable screen design

You can customize the projection screen design by choosing one of several screen layouts included in iWall, or by designing your own layout using the included editor. You can also use a play list to show images and videos on the projection screen.

Polls and prize draws

You can use iWall to conduct text message polls and display live results on the projection screen. You can also use it to run text message prize draws.

Message sending groups

You can create text message sending groups to use iWall as an interactive marketing tool. The people at the event can opt to subscribe to these groups to receive announcements, discount coupons, or any other information you want to share with them.

Live video projection

iWall can play live video on the projection screen by using a video capture device. Any DirectShow compatible device can be used as input for live video projection.

GSM compatibility

iWall uses the GSM standard to send and receives text messages, so you can use it with any mobile operator that owns GSM networks. You do not need a special contract with your mobile operator to use iWall, any standard mobile line with text message service will work.

System requirements

These are the minimal system requirements to use iWall:

PC with x86 architecture processor at 1.6 GHz.
Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Vista, or Microsoft Windows 7.
1 GB of RAM.
30 MB of available hard disk space.
XGA display at 1024x768.
VGA projector at 640x480.
Graphic card with dual-display support.
GSM/GPRS/EDGE/HSDPA USB modem or GSM phone with built-in modem.
Bluetooth or USB adaptor to connect the GSM device to the PC.
DirectShow compatible video capture device (optional).

Installing iWall

Follow these steps to install and configure iWall on your PC:

1. Setup the Extended Desktop

iWall needs two displays to work, one to show the management window and another to show the published messages. Make sure your PC has dual-display support and follow these steps to enable the extended desktop:

Connect the video projector to the graphic card’s secondary output port.
Right-click on the desktop, and then click Properties.
In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Settings tab.
Click the Display list and select your secondary display. If you do not see multiple monitors listed, your graphic card may not support Dualview. Contact your graphic card manufacturer for more information.
Select the Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor check box.
Click OK.

Display properties dialog box

After following these steps, you should be able to move the mouse pointer between both displays. The Windows Taskbar should be shown only at the bottom of the PC display.


PC display	Projector display

2. Setup your USB GSM modem or GSM phone

To use iWall with your GSM phone or USB GSM modem, you will first need to install the drivers provided by the device manufacturer to configure it as a modem for your PC.

If you are using Bluetooth or RS-232-C to connect the GSM device to your PC, you may not need to install drivers to make it work with iWall.

After installing the device drivers, follow these steps to see if your GSM device is working correctly:

Connect your GSM phone or GSM modem to your PC and turn it on.
Click Start and choose Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > System.
On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager.
Expand the Ports (COM & LPT) category.
There should be a new entry in this category for your GSM modem or GSM phone COM port (see the example image below). Make sure there is no yellow exclamation mark next to it before continuing.

COM port entry for a Sony Ericsson T290 with DCU-11 cable

3. Install and configure iWall

Make sure to close all the programs that use the GSM phone or GSM modem, including the one provided by the device manufacturer if it appears in the taskbar notification area.
Download the iWall installer for Windows and run it to install iWall on your PC. In the last step of the installation process, make sure the Run iWall 3.2 box is checked and then click Finish to start iWall.
The management window and the projection window will be shown. Wait until the message "Searching for GSM modem…" disappears from the status bar of the management window.
Drag the projection window to the secondary display and double-click or press F11 inside it to enable full-screen mode.
Click the Preferences tab in the management window and enter the mobile line number of the GSM phone or GSM modem in the Phone number field of the SMS section.

If the message "GSM modem not found or being used by another program" appears in the status bar, see the Troubleshooting section.

Using iWall

How to moderate messages

To publish or reject a pending message, follow these steps:

Click the Moderation tab.
Select a message from the Pending messages list.
Click Publish or Reject.

You can also use Enter or F5 to publish the selected message, and Delete or F6 to reject it.

How to enter messages from the keyboard

To enter and publish messages from the keyboard, follow these steps:

Click the Moderation tab.
Enter the message you want to publish in the text field at the bottom of the tab.
Press Enter or click Publish.

How to edit messages before publishing

To edit a message before publishing it, follow these steps:

Click the Moderation tab.
Select the message to edit from the Pending messages list.
Click Edit.
Edit the message in text field at the bottom of the tab.
Click Publish.

How to send a reply to a message

To send a reply to a received message, follow these steps:

Click the Moderation tab.
Select the message you want to reply from the Pending messages list or from the Moderated messages list.
Enter your reply in the text field at the bottom of the tab.
Click Send.

How to block or unblock a mobile number

To block or unblock a mobile number, follow these steps:

Click the Moderation tab.
Select a message from the mobile number you want to block or unblock from the Pending messages list or from the Moderated messages list.
Click Block / Unblock.

Messages received from banned numbers are shown in gray strike-through text in the Moderated messages list.

How to show images and videos in the projection window

To show images or videos in the projection window, follow these steps:

Click the Player tab.
Select the images and videos you want to show from the Files list, and then click Add.
Choose the delay between images in the Time per image drop-down list.
Click Play.

The player can show JPEG, GIF, PNG, FLV, and MP4 files using the Flash engine; or JPEG and PNG files using the FreeFrame engine.

How to use a video capture device

To use a video capture device to show live video in the projection window, follow these steps:

Make sure you have a DirectShow compatible video capture device (like a USB webcam, a DV camera or an analog video capture card) and its drivers are correctly installed.
Click the Layout tab and enable the Camera layer to show live video from the video capture device.

Live video capture devices are supported only in the Flash graphic engine.

How to conduct a poll

To conduct a text message poll, follow these steps:

Click the Poll tab.
Enter the poll question in the Question text field.

Example:
```
    What do you want to listen to now?
```
Enter the possible answers in the Options field writing one option per line. You can enter multiple valid answers for each option by separating them by a comma. Only the first answer for each option will be displayed on the projection screen.

Example:
```
    Rock
    Dance
    Pop
```
Click Start.
When you want to finish the poll click Stop.

You can use the Poll layout for full-screen polls.

How to enable a group for message sending

To enable a group to which people at the event can subscribe to receive text messages with announcements, follow these steps:

Click the Groups tab.
Choose an available group from the Name drop-down list and enter the name of the new group.
In Instructions enter the text that will be published in the projection window to explain how to subscribe to the group.

Example:
```
    To subscribe to our news group, send us a text
    message with the word NEWS.
```
In Subscription keywords enter one or more words that must be present in the messages for them to be processed as subscription requests.

Example:
```
    NEWS
```

In Subscription response enter the message that will be sent to new members on subscription to the group.

Example:

    Thanks for subscribing to our news group! If you
    want to unsubscribe, send as a message with the
    word CANCEL.

In Cancellation keywords enter one or more words that must be present in the messages for them to be processed as subscription cancellation requests.

Example:
```
    CANCEL
```
In Cancellation response enter the message that will be sent to members canceling their subscription to the group.

Example:
```
    Your subscription to our news group
    has been canceled.
```

How to send text messages to the members of a group

To send a text message to the members of a group, follow these steps:

Click the Groups tab.
Choose in the Name drop-down list the target group the message is for.
Enter the message text in Text.
Click on the first button from the left below Members to select all the members in the group.
Click Send.

If the message “Error while sending messages” appears in the status bar, see the Troubleshooting section.

How to run a prize draw

To run a text message prize draw, follow these steps:

Click the Groups tab.
Choose an available group from the Name drop-down list and enter a name for the prize draw.
In Instructions enter the text that will be published in the projection window to explain how to participate in the prize draw.

Example:
```
    To participate in the prize draw of an Isle of
    Rainbow Cannibals's CD send us a text message
    with the word RAINBOW.
```
In Subscription keywords enter one or more keywords that need to be present in the messages to participate in the prize draw.

Example:
```
    rainbow, cannibals
```

Enter the message that will be sent to winners in the Text field.

Example:

    You are the winner of an Isle of Rainbow
    Cannibals's CD!!! Come to the bar to pick it up.

When you want to draw a prize click Random to send the message entered in Text to a random chosen member of the group.

How to access the message history

To access the history of messages received in a given day, follow these steps:

Click the History tab.
Choose the day you want to look up in the days drop-down list.

How to receive messages and pictures via Email and MMS

iWall can use an IMAP server to receive messages and pictures sent using Email or MMS in real-time and publish them on the screen just seconds after being sent. To take advantage of this feature the IMAP server you use must support the IDLE command.

To enable the reception of email and MMS messages, follow these steps:

Click the Preferences tab.
In Username of the Email section enter the email address of your email account.
In Password of the Email section enter the password of your email account.
In IMAP Server of the Email section enter the host name of the IMAP server for your email account.

You can use any Gmail or Google Apps email account for this feature as the IMAP server provided for free by Google fully supports the IDLE command.

How to receive messages and pictures from Facebook

iWall can receive messages and pictures from the wall of a Facebook profile or a Facebook page. To enable this feature, follow these steps:

Click the Preferences tab.
Click the Get access token in the Facebook section. A Facebook web page will be opened using your web browser.
Login on Facebook using the account you will use for iWall, then authorize the permissions requested by the Facebook application iWall Link.
After authorizing iWall Link, a page containing an access token will be shown. Copy this access token and paste it on the Access token field of the section Facebook in the Preferences tab inside iWall.
After a few seconds, the Account drop-down list will show the profile and the pages associated with your Facebook account. Choose from which of these you want to receive messages and images from the wall.

How to receive messages from Twitter

You can use iWall to look for messages in Twitter that contains certain keywords and show them on the projection screen. To enable the reception of messages from Twitter, follow these steps:

Click the Preferences tab.
In Username and Password of the Twitter section enter your twitter account username and password.
In Keywords of the Twitter section enter one or more keywords that you want to track separated by comma.

How to publish announcements

To configure iWall to automatically publish announcements on the projection screen, follow these steps:

Click the Preferences tab.
In the Interval drop-down list of the Announcements section choose the time between announcements.
In Announcements enter the announcements you want to publish on the screen using a single text line for each announcement.

How to enable the word filter

To enable the automatic word filter, follow these steps:

Click the Preferences tab.
In Words of the Word filter section enter the words you want to catch separated by comma.
In the Action drop-down list choose what you want to do with the messages containing one or more of the words you entered in Words:
- Replace words will replace the filtered words with asterisks.
- Hold back message will put the message in the Pending messages list instead of publishing it so you can review it.
- Reject message will put the message in the Moderated messages and will mark it as rejected.
- Ban address will ban the address that sent the message so no further messages will get published from that address.

You can use the asterisk (*) to represent any group of characters inside a word or phrase.

How to use iWall with Virtual DJ

To integrate iWall with Virtual DJ, follow these steps:

Copy the file FreeFrameEngine.dll from the folder C:\Program files\iWall 3.2\engines to the folder My Documents\VirtualDJ\Plugins\VideoEffect.
Start iWall, go to the Preferences tab, then choose plug-in in the Video output drop-down list of the Projection screen section.
Click the Layout tab and disable the Background layer.
Start Virtual DJ, go the Effects tab, then click on Video Effects.
Select FreeFrameEngine from the list on the left and then click the Activate button.