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Display sections

A display is built from sections. Add the ones your lobby needs, drop the ones it doesn't — each section is a self-contained block you can size, colour and point at a specific line.

Owner & Manager Where: Displays → Editor 10 min read

The kinds of section

Numbers being called — Serving points, Called ticket number.
Lists of numbers — Next up, Waiting list, Just called, No-show.
How busy it is — Wait time, How many waiting, Order status, Journey display.
Extras — Ticker, Logo band, Clock, Message, QR code (to join), Video or picture.

A display is built from sections — now-serving, up-next, waiting count, a scan-to-join QR, a ticker, and more — each one you can add, size and point at a line. (Illustrative — your real display matches your design and privacy settings.)

Three sections worth a closer look

Most sections are a straightforward number or list. These three are shaped differently, so here is exactly what each one puts on the wall — when the lobby is busy, and when it's empty.

Serving points


What it is	A table with one row per counter, and the number being served there right now — “Counter 1 → A-42”, “Chair 2 → A-45”. A visitor called to no counter appears under the line’s own name instead (for example “Service”).
What you choose	The word for the left column (Counter, Room, Chair, Bay, or your own word) and how many rows to show. Turn on “Split into two columns” and a busy display with, say, eight counters fits them all on one screen instead of running off the bottom.
Busy	Every row fills with a counter and a number.
Empty	A counter nobody's serving at shows a blank number — never yesterday's or an old one repeated to fill the row.
Who it suits	The ordinary choice for almost any business with more than one counter or chair — a clinic, a salon, a government office — not just food and drink.

Order status


What it is	Two columns, Preparing and Ready. It is your normal line, shown as a pickup display, not a separate kitchen system.
How it moves	“Preparing” lists everyone still waiting their turn, and “Ready” lists whoever has just been called up — as a person moves through the line, their ticket moves from one column to the other by itself.
Who it suits	A counter where people collect something rather than take a seat — a café, a bakery, a pharmacy counter — because “ready” means “come and get it”. Nothing in the product labels it “food & drink”, so pick it if the words fit your counter.
Busy	Both columns fill with ticket numbers.
Empty	Both columns stay blank rather than inventing an order.

Journey display


What it is	One card that follows an entire journey (the multi-stop path some visitors follow — “Reception → Doctor → Pharmacy” is the standing example) and shows the number currently at every real stop, in order, joined by arrows.
What you choose	Bind it to a journey in the section's “Which journey” picker. Journeys themselves are set up on the Journeys page, not here.
Busy	Each stop shows its own current number, how many people are waiting at that stop, and — space allowing — the next couple of names coming up there. A stop with nobody up yet says “Waiting” instead of a blank or a fake number.
Empty	No journey chosen, or a chosen journey with no stops — the card says so: “No journey selected — set one up”, rather than drawing invented stops that were never really there.

All three are ordinary sections. Add one from "Add a section" in the editor and set "What this section shows" to the one you want.

Already in the gallery Start a new display from a ready-made layout that already has one — "Serving points", "Ready for collection" (Order status) or "Journey display".

Shaping a section

Pick a section and the inspector fills with just that section's controls. A display holds up to 12 pages, each with up to 12 sections.

You press	What happens
What this section shows	Swaps a section to a different kind without deleting and re-adding it.
Which line	A named line, or “This display's line” — whatever line this TV is paired to. Use that one and the same display design works on every device in the business.
How many rows to show	For the list sections. Fewer rows means bigger numbers — the control the readability warning is really about.
What to call the left column	Your own word for a serving point: Counter, Room, Chair, Bay. Type anything; a few common words are offered as one-tap chips.
Split into two columns	“Fits twice as many on a wide device.” Worth it on a long list on a wide TV, not on a tall one.
Title for this section	Leave it empty and the screen uses the default wording in the display's language. Not required.
How much of the display	Small, Medium or Large — the normal way to size a section. “Set the size and position by hand” opens exact width, height and position controls for the one display in ten that needs it. Once you use those, the S/M/L buttons stop applying — the panel says “Set by hand below.”
Title size	Smaller, Normal, Bigger or Biggest, if the automatic sizing isn't to your taste. Not every section shows all three size controls (Title size, Column heading, Ticket number size): Column heading is only on table sections, and QR, picture or video and Journey sections have Title size only.
Column heading	Smaller, Normal, Bigger or Biggest, if the automatic sizing isn't to your taste.
Ticket number size	Smaller, Normal, Bigger or Biggest, if the automatic sizing isn't to your taste.
Colours for this section	A title bar and background colour, and "Shade every other row". Leave them and the section follows the display's theme. Text colour is worked out from whatever sits behind it, so it always reads.
Show visitor names	“Turn off if your waiting area is public.” With it on, “How to show names” appears — Full names, Initials only, or However the line is set up. On a numbers-only line it says “This line shows numbers only, so names won't appear here even with this on. Change it in Line settings.” See Names & privacy, below.
No-show numbers along the bottom	“A strip for people who didn't come forward.” Adds a small row of no-show numbers under the section so the desk can call them back.
Remove this section	At the bottom. Greyed out on the last one — "A page needs at least one section." Remove the page instead if you want it gone.

Four sections have controls of their own.

Section	What its own control does
Message	A box headed “Your message” for a standing notice (“Free tea while you wait — just ask at the desk”). Keep it short — a long, unbroken run of characters, most often a web address, can be cut off at the edge of the panel.
Ticker	“Messages that scroll along” is a list, not one line. Add several, move them up and down, remove one; they take turns crawling along the screen. Your live running-late announcement is merged into the same crawl automatically.
Video or picture	“Picture or video” takes a picture you upload (press Upload picture; PNG, JPG, WebP or GIF) or a link for a video. Videos can't be uploaded — put the video on YouTube or Vimeo (unlisted is fine) and paste its link. You can paste YouTube's or Vimeo's embed code instead: turnda takes the link out of it (“We took the video link out of the embed code.”). A link can also be an https:// .mp4 or .webm file. Remove picture clears an uploaded picture. The video must allow embedding — see the box below. “How it fills the space” chooses between “Fill the space (edges may crop)” and “Show the whole thing.” If a link is not a valid https:// address the editor says so in red; if a valid link simply fails to load, the panel shows nothing on the TV — check the link rather than the display.
Logo band	The words it prints come from “Business name in the logo band” on the Whole display tab. Leave that empty and it uses your business name.

How to allow embedding

Where the video is	What to do
YouTube	Open YouTube Studio → Content → pick the video → Details → Show more → tick “Allow embedding” → Save.
Vimeo	Settings → Privacy → Where can this be embedded → Anywhere.

If the video is not allowed to play on other sites, turnda says “YouTube won't let this video play on other sites.” and suggests another video or allowing embedding as above.

Three display settings that live with the line, not the display

Most of what a display shows is the display's own design. Three things are not — they belong to the line, so two lines on one screen can differ. You set them in Locations → Line settings → Lobby TV.

Setting	Default	What it does
Names shown as “up next”	10 (1–20)	“Shapes the default display. A display you designed keeps its own rows, and the Big-number layout has no up-next panel.” It's aimed at the built-in Standard display. On a display you designed, the count comes from the “How many rows to show” you gave the Next up section instead.
Show no-show numbers on the TV	On	Lists no-show numbers so the desk can call them back.
Chime on call	Off	A short sound when someone is called — leave it off in a quiet room. See Display look & sound.

For example Set “Names shown as up next” to 3, then walk out to a wall running your own design — nothing moves. That is not a fault: change the rows on the section instead.

Looking for a “columns” setting? There isn't one. How the waiting numbers fill the screen comes from the layout you pick and the size you give the section — change those, rather than hunting for a number to type.

Counters, the closed message and markers

Under Counters, closed message and markers on a section you can tie it to one place, choose which counters it lists, and add small markers.

You press	What happens
Which counter or room	Ties this panel to one room — a screen on its door shows only that room's calls. The default is Every counter on the line.
Which counters to list	Only counters serving now (the default), Every counter — closed ones greyed, or Open counters only. A counter you have closed can be greyed out or left off, so nobody walks to a dead desk.
Show who is at each counter	Their staff name under the counter, like “Dr. Tan — Room 4”. Off by default, because a waiting room is public.
Mark priority visitors	A star and the word “Priority” beside a priority visitor's number. Off by default.
When this line is closed	What this panel says when the line is closed for the day. Leave it empty to use the display's standard wording.
Picture behind the title bar	Optional, and found under Colours for this section; only table sections (Serving points and Order status) have it. Paste an https:// link or press Upload picture — a plain http:// link is blocked by the screen's browser and the panel would stay blank.
Picture behind the column headings	The same, for the row of column headings. Optional; found under Colours for this section, and only on Serving points.

Names & privacy

A section can show names, but the bound line's privacy always has the final say — enforced on the server, not just hidden in the layout.


Full name	The whole name.
Initials	“J. S.”
Numbers only	No name at all — the safest public default.

Which one shows depends on the line — see The lobby TV and the line's privacy setting.

A section looks empty? Check which line it's bound to — a "Next up" pointed at a quiet line is simply empty. Bind it to the busy line, or use "This display's line" so it follows wherever the device is paired.