Slide types deep-dive

Introduction

InfoBox supports a handful of slide types. The basics are the same across all of them (add via Add new slide, configure, publish), and new content is added through the categorized picker: Media, Web, and Integrations. YouTube videos and Power BI dashboards are added as Website slides these days; older YouTube and Power BI slides keep playing as they are. This article walks through each type.

Image slides

Static visual content:

• Formats: JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP.
• Recommended resolution: 1920×1080 (landscape) or 1080×1920 (portrait).
• Recommended size: under 20 MB per file.
• Per-slide settings: display duration, rotation (0°/90°/180°/270°), visibility, schedule.
• Source: pick from the Media Library or upload directly when adding the slide. A picked file shows a large preview before you add it.

Video slides

Moving visual content:

• Format: MP4 with H.264 codec, full stop. Other formats may upload but won't play on screens.
• Recommended resolution: 1920×1080 (Full HD).
• Recommended size: under 200 MB.
• Recommended bitrate: 5-10 Mbps for Full HD.
• Audio: videos play without sound on screens. If your message relies on audio, add captions.
• Slide duration: by default the video plays for its full length. Set an explicit duration if the playlist takes part in synchronized playback; see Synchronized playback across screens.

PDF slides

Multi-page documents:

• Each page of the PDF becomes its own slide automatically. Large PDFs process page by page in the background; placeholders fill in as pages finish. Single-page PDFs work the same way.
• Page-by-page playback at the configured slide duration.
• Common uses: lunch menus, multi-page reports, presentations exported from PowerPoint or Keynote.
• Tip: design the source PDF for screen viewing (large fonts, high contrast). PDFs designed for print often have details too small to read on a screen.

Website slides

Embedded web content (the iFrame slide type):

• How to add: Add new slide → Web → Website. The button reads Add website and the field Website URL.
• URL requirement: any public HTTPS URL.
• Preview: a live preview shows how the page renders at the screen's aspect ratio. If the site refuses embedding, the preview says so, and the screen opens it directly instead.
• Embedding requirement: the page must allow being embedded in an iframe (no `X-Frame-Options: DENY` or restrictive `Content-Security-Policy`).
• Common pitfalls: pages that require login, captive-portal pages, pages that detect they're in an iframe and block. None of these will display correctly.
• Test first: open the URL in a private browser window to confirm it loads without authentication.
• Per-slide settings: refresh interval in minutes (how often the website is reloaded), auto-reload.

Bus and train schedule slides

Live departures from Fintraffic and the regional transit authorities (Web → Bus schedules or Train schedules, Pro screens):

• Pick your city, build the stop display on the authority's own site, paste the link; or open a station on Junalähdöt, press Open full screen, paste the link.
• Under the hood they're Website slides that refresh themselves; the slide's own refresh interval (6 hours by default) is only a safety net.
• Cards show the Fintraffic mark and a Bus schedules or Train schedules label.
• Full guide: see Bus and train schedules (Fintraffic).

YouTube on screens

Embedded YouTube video via a Website slide:

• How to add: paste the YouTube video URL into a Website slide (Web → Website).
• Audio: plays without sound on screens (autoplay restrictions also apply).
• Looping: if the video is shorter than the slide duration, it loops. If longer, it plays as long as the slide is on screen.
• Network requirement: the InfoBox device needs internet access to YouTube's servers.

Power BI on screens

Live business intelligence dashboards via a Website slide:

• Requirement: your Power BI tenant must have Publish to web enabled.
• How to add: in Power BI, open your report → File → Publish to web → copy the embed URL, then paste it into a Website slide (Web → Website).
• Refresh interval: how often the dashboard re-fetches its data. Set per slide.
• If you can't enable Publish to web: contact your Power BI administrator. Tenant-level Publish to web settings are managed by the Power BI tenant admin, not InfoBox.
• Optimization tip: design Power BI reports for screen viewing. Use large fonts, simple charts, and high contrast. Strip filters and slicers from the embed view.

Google Slides slides

Presentations imported via the connected integration (Pro screens and playlists):

• How to add: Add new slide → Integrations → Google Slides. Requires a connected Google account.
• Each slide in the presentation becomes its own slide on the screen, in a managed group marked Synced from Google Slides.
• Content updates automatically on the sync interval (default 60 minutes) or instantly with Sync.
• Works with native Google Slides presentations and PowerPoint (.pptx) files in Drive.
• Full guide: see Google Slides presentations.

Canva slides

Designs imported via the connected integration (Pro screens and playlists):

• How to add: Add new slide → Integrations → Canva. Requires a connected Canva account.
• You choose which pages to import; each becomes its own slide in a managed group marked Synced from Canva.
• Content updates automatically on the sync interval (default 60 minutes) or instantly with Sync.
• The group schedules and selects as a unit. Duplicating a Canva slide keeps its link to the design.
• Full guide: see Canva designs (connected).

Playlist-as-slide

Embed a whole playlist on a screen as a single slide:

• When the slide plays, the entire embedded playlist runs through, then the screen continues to its next slide.
• Used heavily for chains and multi-location businesses. Build the campaign once as a playlist, embed it on every location's screen.
• Edits to the playlist propagate to every screen using it. Each screen can still play the slides in its own order; see Assigning playlists to screens.
• The playlist's slides count toward the screen's size and slide count shown in the header.
• Full guide: see Assigning playlists to screens.

Actions every slide type shares

On every slide card:

• Change: swap the file or URL while keeping duration, schedule, and visibility.
• Duplicate: make a copy right after the original, as a draft until you publish.
• Schedule, Hide/Show, Delete, and, with Select, the same actions on many slides at once. See Duplicating slides and editing many at once.

Summary

Pick the slide type that matches your content. Each type has the same per-slide settings (duration, schedule, visibility) plus type-specific options like rotation (image), refresh interval (Website), automatic sync (Google Slides, Canva), or embedded playlist content (playlist-as-slide).