The Slideshow Settings File

Important: This document only applies to Showbooth Go. The functionalities referenced in this document are not supported by Showbooth Player.

About The Settings File

You can add a _settings.json file to your slideshow files to change the default behaviour of slideshows (don't forget the underscore). This is a JSON file, so an editor capable of editing these files is a good idea. A JSON validator may also be a good idea to make sure your file is valid. Remember that invalid JSON files are ignored by Showbooth Go.

There are two kinds of settings: global and local settings.

Global Settings

Global settings define behaviors for the entire slideshow that apply to all groups, folders or media files.

Structure of a file with global settings:

{
	"global_setting_1": "string",
	"global_setting_2": 5,
	"global_setting_3": 0.1
}

Local Settings

Local settings apply to a specific group, folder or media file when a diferent behavior is needed than the one defined in the global settings (or default settings from the app).

Structure of a file with global and local settings:

{
	"global_setting_1": "string",
	"global_setting_2": 5,
	"global_setting_3": 0.1,
	
	"local":
	{
		"group/": {"local_setting_1": "some_string", "local_setting_2": 8},
		"folder/": {"local_setting_1": "another_string", "local_setting_2": 4},
		"folder/file.jpg": {"local_setting_1": "a_string", "local_setting_4": 1}
	}
}

General

title (string) - Global
The title of the slideshow. The default value is Untitled Slideshow.
menu (true/false) - Global
Enable or disable the content menu (when you click on the remote when a slideshow is playing). The default value is true (enabled).

Download and Update

download_interval (number) - Global
The download interval in minutes that Showbooth checks for updates in the server (only for remote slideshows). The default value is 30 (30 minutes). 1.2
fast_install (true/false) - Global
When true, Showbooth will install the update immediately by stopping the slideshow as soon as possible, installing the files and restarting the slideshow. By default Showbooth only updates at the end of a slideshow cycle. The default value is false (disabled). 1.2

Folders

folders (number) - Global
The number of folders/groups that Showbooth will select to play. By default all folders/groups are played. The default value is -1 (all).
folder_selection (string) - Global
The selection method applied to folders/groups when Showbooth builds its playlist. Possible values are name, random and shuffled. The default value is files.
  • files - The folders/groups are selected in the order they appear in the filesystem, alphabetically.
  • random - The folders/groups are selected randomly, but its order will be kept.
  • shuffled - The folders/groups are selected randomly and without order.
Both files and random will have no practical effect if folders is not defined or its value is not smaller than the total of folders and groups in your slideshow.
images (number) - Global/Local
The number of photos/images Showbooth will choose to play in folders. By default all images in each folder are selected. The default value is -1.
image_selection (string) - Global/Local
The selection method applied to images in a folder when Showbooth builds its playlist. Possible values are name, random and shuffled. The default value is random.
  • files - The images are selected in the order they appear in the filesystem, alphabetically.
  • random - The images are selected randomly, but its order will be kept.
  • shuffled - The images are selected randomly and without order.
Both files and random will have no practical effect if images is not defined or its value is not smaller than the images in a folder.
videos (number) - Global/Local
The number of videos Showbooth will choose to play in folders. By default only one video in each folder is selected. The default value is 1.
video_selection (string) - Global/Local
The selection method applied to videos in a folder when Showbooth builds its playlist. Possible values are name, random and shuffled. The default value is random.
  • files - The videos are selected in the order they appear in the filesystem, alphabetically.
  • random - The videos are selected randomly, but its order will be kept.
  • shuffled - The videos are selected randomly and without order.
Both files and random will have no practical effect if videos is not defined or its value is not smaller than the videos in a folder.
image_duration (number) - Global/Local
The time in seconds an image is shown while playing. The default value is 20.
image_override_duration (number) - Global/Local
The time in seconds an image is shown when the user overrides to slideshow with the remote. The default value is 60.
image_motion (true/false) - Global/Local
Whether the motion effect is applied to images. The default value is true.
image_override_motion (true/false) - Global/Local
Whether the motion effect is applied to images when the user overrides to slideshow with the remote. The default value is false.
image_fit (true/false) - Global/Local
Makes the image fit the screen by adding black bars on top or side depending on the image aspect ratio. The default value is false. 1.1
volume (decimal) - Global/Local
The audio volume for videos. Values ranges from 0.0 (muted) to 1.0 (normal volume). The default value is 1.0.

Captions

captions (true/false) - Global/Local
Enable or disable the captions. The default value is true (enabled).
image_caption_duration (number) - Global/Local
The time in seconds the caption is shown in images/photos. A value of -1 will always show the caption. The default value is -1 (always).
video_caption_duration (number) - Global/Local
The time in seconds the caption is shown in videos. A value of -1 will always show the caption. The default value is 5.
caption_title (string) - Local
The title in the caption.
caption_subtitle (string) - Local
The subtitle in the caption.

Overlays

overlays (true/false) - Global/Local
Enable or disable the overlays. The default value is true (enabled).
overlay_videos (true/false) - Global/Local
Enable or disable overlays over videos. The default value is false (disabled).
overlay_duration (number) - Global/Local
The time in seconds the overlay is shown. The default value is -1 (always).
override_overlays (true/false) - Global/Local
Enable or disable overlays when in override mode. The default value is false (disabled).

Keep in mind that overlays are only supported on a per-folder basis. Folders can only have one overlay, and its settings are applied only once, when the folder starts playing.

Logo

logo_width (number) - Global
The width of the logo. The maximum width value is 300 pixels. 1.3
logo_shadow (true/false) - Global
Enable or disable the logo shadow. The default value is false (disabled). 1.3
logo_opacity (number) - Global
The opacity value. This value can be any value from 0 (invisible) to 1 (opaque). The default value is 1 (opaque). 1.3
logo_color (color) - Global
Lets you mask the logo by the defined color. The color format is hexadecimal RGB (example: ff0000 for red). By default this is disabled. 1.3

Social Media

social_interval (number) - Global
The interval in seconds that each account info is shown. The default value is 8 (8 seconds). 1.3
facebook (string) - Global
The facebook address. 1.3
instagram (string) - Global
The instagram address/handle. 1.3
twitter (string) - Global
The twitter address/handle. 1.3
youtube (string) - Global
The youtube address. 1.3

Interstitials

interstitials (decimal or number) - Global
The number (if integer) or percentage (if between 0 and 1) of interstitial files that will be slotted in the slideshow. The default value is -1 (all). 1.1
interstitial_fill (true/false) - Global
When the number of interstitials available are less than the available slots, this will fill all slots by randomly repeating interstitials. The default value is false (disabled). 1.1

Content Menu

menu (true/false) - Global
Enable or disable the content menu (when you click on the remote while a slideshow is playing). The default value is true (enabled).
menu_interstitials (true/false) - Global
Enable or disable interstitials in the content menu (when you click on the remote while a slideshow is playing). The default value is false (disabled).

Portrait Mode

orientation (string) - Global
Set the orientation to portrait for the slideshow, this is useful for a TV mounted vertically. This will disable the content menu. The value can be portrait_left or portrait_right depending on how the display was rotated. The default value is landscape. 1.3

Important

Remember that you have to give Showbooth a valid JSON configuration file, or it will ignore it completely.

Article last updated on November 7th, 2019 [c6df08].