Guidelines for Kiosk Behavior

Workstation Connect Administrator's Guide

In some cases, using Zebra Workstation Connect to implement kiosk-like application behavior is desirable. Consider a use case where the UI presented by Zebra Workstation Connect is exposed to the public, such as in a physical kiosk located within a retail establishment. Customers interact with the UI to perform some targeted function(s). For example, the user might browse deals, print coupons, search for items in stock, review item prices, and so on.

In this case, limiting the options for customer interaction with the UI is desirable to prevent mistakes or malicious actions. For example, an administrator might want to lock the user into a task-specific application and prevent the user from exiting or launching any other applications.

Administrator Configuration	Guidelines for Use
Edit Desktop UI Elements > Hide Shortcuts	Select whether shortcuts display on the secondary screen
Edit Desktop UI Elements > Hide Wallpaper	Select whether a wallpaper displays on the secondary screen
Edit Desktop UI Elements > Hide Launcher Context Menu	Select whether to display a Context Menu when right-clicking on the desktop
Edit Desktop UI Elements > Hide Notification Panel	Select whether the Notification Panel displays on the secondary screen
Edit Desktop UI Elements > Hide Taskbar	Select whether a Taskbar displays on the secondary screen
Disable Freeform Windows	Select whether applications on the secondary screen run within a movable, resizable window.
Disable Application behaviors > Taskbar Move to Device	Select whether a device user can move all or specified activity for the application from the desktop to the device.
Disable Application behaviors > Taskbar Move to Desktop	Select whether a device user can move all or specified activity for the application from the device to the desktop.
Disable Application behaviors > Taskbar Icon	Select whether a taskbar icon is shown for the application when running.
Disable Application behaviors > All Apps	From the desktop all apps panel, select whether a device user can launch all or a specified activity for the application.
Disable Application behaviors > Create a Shortcut	Select whether a device user can access all or specified activity for the application to be added as a shortcut
Disable Application behaviors > Launch Shortcut	Select whether a device user can launch all or specified activity for the application to be added as a shortcut
Disable Application behaviors > Notification	Select whether a device user can move all or activities for the application from a notification in the notification panel
Disable Application behaviors > On Undocking > Stop	Select whether a device user can move all or specified activity upon an undocking event
Taskbar > All Apps Button > Disable	Select whether clicking the All Apps button displays the All Apps panel.
Taskbar > Mobile App Icons > Hide	Select whether icons of running mobile applications are displayed

Any time a physical keyboard is connected, keyboard shortcuts initiated from it will perform their normal functions. In many cases, this could provide the user with inappropriate functionality. In such cases, it may be ideal to avoid providing access to the keyboard to the user. For example, a touch monitor might be used instead of a keyboard to limit user access to functions offered on-screen by an application.

The PrintScreen keyboard shortcut can capture a screenshot; however, no toast notification displays.

When applications run with this specific behavior, users can still use the contextual menu by right-clicking the desktop shortcuts or the applications running on the Taskbar.

The following configurations could collectively achieve complete kiosk lockdown or in subsets to satisfy other less extreme use cases.

Zebra Workstation Connect has a collection of configurations that can strategically limit the visibility of specific UI elements in various ways. Together, these configurations define the UI sufficiently to implement a stand-alone kiosk safely. An administrator may choose to apply some or all available configurations. If users require additional access, relaxing the restrictions to suit their needs could be helpful.

To achieve kiosk behavior:

Turn freeform windows off by forcing an application to run maximized without a window control bar. This would make more screen space available for displaying application content and ensure that the user could not close or minimize the application because the buttons are on the window control bar, which is not shown. This would also ensure that the user could not resize the application, exposing the desktop or other applications. To exit such an application, the user would typically need to complete that application's task(s) to its satisfaction. At that point, the application could elect to exit, exposing the desktop or launch another application to take its place.

Turn the Taskbar off by preventing the user from seeing what applications are running and from using the icons on the Taskbar to close, reset, or switch between those applications.

Control which shortcuts are displayed on the desktop and disable the user's ability to create and modify shortcuts. This allows the user to launch applications approved for use but prevents the user from launching any applications not approved for use.

For use cases that do not require complete kiosk behavior, it may be optimal to block selected items from the Launcher Context Menu (such as Shortcut or Wallpaper) rather than block access to the entire Launcher Context Menu. Other items on the Launcher Context Menu (such as Suspend and Lock device) can be helpful for users to have access to in case slight adjustments are needed that do not necessitate intervention from the administrator.