The Room Monitor [event_monitor]

Shortcode6 Min.Updated: October 2, 2026

The [event_monitor] shortcode generates an automated, full-screen digital door sign for seminar halls, conference auditoriums, and main stages.

A room monitor for the main hall: the running session at the top with category, title and info line, the room badge on the dividing line, the upcoming sessions below.

Display Anatomy (The 4 Zones in Detail)

From top to bottom, the room monitor consists of four clearly separated zones. There is intentionally no header bar with room name or clock – the display stays calm and focused:

1

Running Session (Hero Area)

Occupies the upper section, marked “LIVE” (or “Cancelled”) at the top right. The venue photo fills the background. Priority: 1. Featured image of session, 2. Venue image from Events → Venues, 3. Global default image. Category appears above the large session title.
2

The Info Row

Time span (HH:MM – HH:MM), speaker/performer with role label (e.g. Speaker, Host), and language. Font colors are automatically calculated via ec_get_contrast_color() for optimal legibility.
3

The Room Badge

The room name sits as a bold colored badge (.ec-monitor-venue-badge) centered directly on the dividing line between hero and preview (wrapper height: 0px). Clearly visible from metres away. Hides automatically via CSS :empty when no venue filter is set.
4

Upcoming Schedule Preview

Preview list of subsequent sessions in this room with time, title, and sub-line. Sessions on future days automatically include weekday and date (e.g. "Sat, June 27").

Kiosk Hardening & Zero Scrollbars

The layout scales precisely to the screen height. There are no vertical or horizontal scrollbars. Mouse cursor and fullscreen buttons auto-hide after brief inactivity.

Setting up a Room Monitor (5 Steps)

1

Create Room with Image

Ensure the venue is created under Events → Venues – with a featured image. The image fills the hero background. Without an image, the monitor looks bare.
2

Create an Unlinked WordPress Page

Create a page, e.g. Display Hall A (Canvas / Full Width template without site header or menu).
3
Insert Shortcode Block

Add the shortcode with the exact venue name:
Shortcode
```
[event_monitor venue="Hall A" count="4"]
```
4

Publish and Launch Fullscreen

Publish and launch in fullscreen on the display hardware (press F11 in most browsers).
5

Setup Further Rooms

Repeat for other rooms or set up the Kiosk Hub for unified management.

Notice: Avoid Ampersands (&) in Room Names

Venues with "&" cannot be filtered via shortcode: venue="Hall A & B" fails due to WordPress string encoding. Rename the venue to "Hall A and B" under Venues.

Available Shortcode Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description & Behavior
`venue="Hall A"`	(all)	Specifies the room to display. Comma-separated names produce a split screen grid. Omitted: Foyer overview of all rooms.
`count="4"`	`4`	Number of entries in the preview list – including cancellation info rows.
`parent_id="12"`	(all)	Restricts to a specific parent event.
`category="Keynote"`	(all)	Filters by category slug or name (comma-separated lists supported).
`show_upcoming_roll="true"`	`false`	Enables smooth rotation of the upcoming list when more than two sessions are queued.
`roll_interval="10000"`	`10000`	Rotation pace in milliseconds (10000 = 10 seconds).
`refresh_rate="900000"`	global rate	Server sync in milliseconds. Minimum 60000 ms (server-enforced security limit).
`fake_now="2026-06-21 13:00"`	(empty)	Testing & rehearsal mode: Simulates a specific date and time (format `YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM`). Essential for screenshots and client demos.

Offline-First & On-the-Minute Transitions

The display never freezes during temporary WiFi dropouts:

Hidden Hero Templates: The template renders valid, invisible <template class="ec-hero-template"> blocks into the DOM for every upcoming session.
System Clock Alignment: The minute tick calculates distance to the exact second 00. Displays mounted side-by-side transition perfectly in sync.
Event ID Comparison: Uses the unique session ID rather than titles to avoid spurious refetches caused by "Cancelled:" title prefixes.
Network Drop Resilience: An active screen keeps ticking locally. On cold starts without internet, it loads from localStorage and catches up immediately.

Cancellations & Replacement Handling

Two cases side by side: on the left a regular session runs in Hall B, the simultaneous cancellation sits greyed out at the top of the list. On the right only a cancelled workshop runs in the workshop room – it takes the hero with “Cancelled” instead of “LIVE”.

A deterministic 3-tier priority rule governs the hero area:

1

Non-cancelled items before cancelled ones

If a cancellation and its replacement run simultaneously, the replacement takes the hero area with the “LIVE” badge.
2

Cancellation stays visible

The cancelled item moves as a grey row with red "Cancelled:" prefix to the top of the upcoming list and expires automatically once its time window ends.
3

Only cancelled items running

If only a cancelled item is running without a replacement, it stays in the hero marked with red "Cancelled" status.
4

Transitions without reloads

If a replacement begins while on screen, the display switches on the minute automatically – even without an active internet connection.