Blocks Application Notes

Blocks application notes provide inspiration and make it easy to try out ideas, hone your Blocks skills and learn best practices. Many application note come with a complete set of files that includes everything you need to run it on your Blocks system (see below for installation notes).

• Audio guide application
• A remote control sending Blocks to Spots
• Displaying a clickable 3D object
• Creating a 360 degree panorama
• A before/after comparision
• Create a staggered slideshow over multiple screens controlled by a task.
• Synchronize a task to the progress of a video

• Use live video in Blocks
• Network camera over RTSP

• Art-Net/DMX512 Control
• Use Nexmosphere sensors and actuators
• Use a linear position sensor to move content
• Remote control of a PC from Blocks
• Zigbee Lights and Power Switches

• Displaying an External Data Source using Feeds
• Using external data sources
• Use a Google Calendar as a feed in Blocks
• Rendering a local CSV file data using a Feed
• Use a text file to provide some text data to Blocks
• Rendering a Google spreadsheet data using a Feed

• Clocks and Time-keeping
• World clock
• Animated wall clock
• A basic countdown timer

• Listing Detailed Spot Information
• Partial password protection
• Send the server logs over email

• Set up the Zebra EC30 as audio guide device
• Controlling devices with RS232/RS485 serial data with Moxa Nport
• Controlling Devices through IR with iTach TCP/IP to IR
• Postion tracking sensor with bar code reader

• Integrating a Spot with a custom web page
• Basic Interaction from a Custom Web Page
• Advanced Interaction from a Custom Web Page
• An clickable, interactive map
• Take a photo and publish on Spot
• Scribble on one Spot then publish to another
• Adding hand-drawn elements to a photo

• Custom Styling with CSS

Many application notes come with a complete set of files (commonly referred to as a "Blocks root") for running the application on your own blocks server. To use such a Blocks root, do as follows:

1. Download the .zip file.
2. Unzip it into a suitable location on the computer you use as your Blocks server (may be your own Mac/Windows laptop, or a Linux-based server).
3. Stop Blocks if it is running on that computer.
4. Make sure you have a file named PIXILAB-Blocks-config.yml in your home directory, containing your preferred Blocks settings, as described here.
5. Locate or create a root entry in that configuration file, specifying the path to the application note directory unzipped in step 2 above, as described here.
6. Start Blocks.

If you don't already have a configuration file in your home directory, you can download this generic configuration file.

Most application notes also require that you re-assign the Display Spot used in the example to a display or browser window of yout choice. Do so by double clicking the Display Spot in the editor and select yout spot's ID under "Re-assign to Display Spot".