How do I change how my wall screens look, and lock them?

Settings → Venue → Wall screens, screen by screen — backgrounds, what each screen shows — and the padlock that stops guests leaving a screen.

Part of How do I set up wall screens?. This part covers Settings → Venue → Wall screens, screen by screen, and screen locking (the padlock).

Settings → Venue → Wall screens

The page is grouped by screen: pick a screen from the list down the left and everything about it is in one place — its background (named for the screen, like Staff board background), whether it needs a staff PIN to leave (Lock this screen), and its own settings. Each entry shows what it is set to right now, and opens beside the list fully open — nothing starts collapsed. The gear at the top right of the Wall screens page opens this page.

Two sections come first, for the things that genuinely apply to every screen rather than to one:

• Default for new screens — the default screen for TVs that haven't picked yet (each TV's own on-device choice always wins).
• Settings for every screen — Page-flip speed (3–30 seconds, default 8) for columns with more cards than fit; Upcoming window (All day by default, or 1h/2h/3h — late and arrived bookings always show); Text size (Small / Normal / Large); and Lock screens again after (1–15 minutes, 3 by default), the quiet period before an unlocked screen re-locks itself.

Then one section per screen:

• Staff and guest boards — one section for both, because they share these settings. A background for each board (Staff board background and Guest board background) and a Lock this screen switch for the guest board, then the card toggles, all on by default: Seated timer, Time remaining (with the red "over time" pill), End times, Arriving countdown ("in 15m" within the next hour, then "Due now" from the booked time until the party is late), plus Table names, Allergy text, Dietary preferences text, Occasion text and Deposit marker on staff screens only. Switching allergy, dietary or occasion text off keeps an icon — the safety signal never disappears. Sections on the board covers the Alert banner, Stats bar and Event banner on the staff board; guest screens handle these automatically (they never show alerts or stats, and always keep the event name and time without the check-in count).
• Guest waitlist screen — Estimated waits, the Join-the-waitlist QR code and the Table-ready sound (all on by default) with a Chime tone picker (Table ready / Attention / New booking / Subtle) and a Preview button.
• Menu board and Today's specials — Prices and Descriptions toggles, and which menu sections the board shows (new sections appear automatically until you hide them). The Today's specials screen follows these same settings, so a venue that hides prices on the wall hides them on both, and a section you've hidden from the menu board doesn't reappear through its specials. Each of the two screens gets its own Background, and the specials screen has one switch of its own, When there are no specials, show the menu board (off unless you switch it on).
• Book with us screen — the Headline (up to 80 characters, standard: "Book a table with us") and Message (up to 200); leave either blank to use the standard copy. The Booking QR code toggle shows your booking web address as text instead when off. Today's opening hours (on unless you switch it off) shows today's hours and, once you're closed, when you open next; The walk-in wait right now (off unless you switch it on) shows the wait a new party of 2 would have — it needs the waitlist, and without it the switch sits under More options with its padlock.
• Event door screen — which numbers show: Checked in, Tickets sold and Still to come.
• What's on, Gift cards and Loyalty sign-up screens — the What's on screen has Show events and Show offers (both on by default) and How far ahead to look (2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months or 3 months — 1 month unless you change it). The Gift cards screen and the Loyalty sign-up screen each have a Headline and a Message (blank for the standard copy) and a QR switch, on by default — QR code to buy and QR code to join; with it off, the web address shows as text instead. The loyalty screen adds Let guests type their details on the screen (off unless you switch it on).
• Your adverts and Ad loop — each has its own section for making and choosing adverts: see Your adverts on your wall screens and The Ad loop.
• There is no longer a section for the kitchen and bar pass here: the Orders screen's settings — ticking items off, grouping, how the Wall layout turns its pages and its background — live in the Screens section of Settings → Order & Pay (a line at the top of this page points there).
• Self-service kiosk — the kiosk's Welcome headline (up to 80 characters) and Welcome message (up to 200), blank for the standard copy, and the Queue information toggle (on by default) for the live numbers-only line — its wait shows only while your waitlist's Show estimated wait time is on.

Every screen's background is Dark unless you change it, chosen separately per screen because a menu board in a bright window and a staff board in a dim service area want opposite things. Your accent colour from Branding is used on both, adjusted so it stays readable either way. A venue that wants every screen light sets it on each screen — that is the trade for having one screen's settings all in one place.

Screen locking (the padlock)

Guests can't leave a locked screen. To stop guests exiting the menu board, the waitlist screen or any other guest-facing screen, leave Lock this screen on for that screen (it is on out of the box). The lock is your team's own PINs — the same PIN each person uses to sign in to the staff portal. There is no separate passcode to set up, and nothing to configure on the TV itself.

A locked guest-facing screen shows a padlock next to the gear. Tapping the padlock (or pressing Esc) opens Unlock this screen: tap your name (the people recently on this TV come first, or search), then your PIN. A wrong PIN counts towards that person's own PIN lock, and the screen says how many tries are left. When it opens it says who unlocked it ("Unlocked by Sam R."), and it stays open while your team are using it — no PIN for every single change. A screen that was opened on an owner's sign-in unlocks only for that owner (I'm Sofia, with their approval PIN); anyone on the team can still Leave this screen with their own PIN, which signs the owner out and takes the TV to the staff PIN page. Tapping the padlock locks it again straight away, and it locks itself once nobody has touched the screen for a while (Lock screens again after, 1–15 minutes, 3 by default, under Settings for every screen; a countdown appears on the padlock for the last stretch). While it is locked Board options will not open, and pressing Esc asks for a PIN instead of leaving — so guests can't wander from a public screen into your dashboard. Locking is ON out of the box for every guest-facing screen type, and you switch it off with the Lock this screen toggle in that screen's own section. Screens only your team see — the staff board and the Orders screen's Wall layout — are never locked (and the staff board is the only screen that shows the "?" help button; guest-facing screens hide it). Display-link TVs are unaffected: nothing on them leaves the screen — all they show besides it is a Full screen button that fades away. Changing which screen a TV shows always locks it again, and so does reloading the page. For a fully locked-down device, also use the device's own kiosk mode (for example iPad Guided Access).

Related: How do I set up wall screens? · How do I put a wall screen up on a TV? · How do the guest waitlist screen and self-service kiosk work? · How do I add my logo, colours and images?