Start Kiosk Mode without White Screen

#1 (**permalink**) 09-24-2007, 08:10 AM

Okay, I know that I can start IE7 in Kiosk mode using the following
command,

C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe -k http://blahblah.com/blah.html

It works great. The problem is that it flashes a white screen (blank
page) before loading the page. On a large screen, in a dark room, the
white flash blinds the audience. So, how do I change that so the
screen doesn't flash white before loading the page? A black screen
would be nice before loading the page.

#2 (**permalink**) 09-24-2007, 12:00 PM

Hi Den,

Try changing the default background color to black
See Tools > Internet Options > Colors

Best regards,

Viktor Krammer
--
http://www.quero.at/
The New Web Experience

#3 (**permalink**) 09-25-2007, 11:00 AM

On Sep 24, 2:27 pm, "Viktor Krammer" <support@quero_no_spam.at> wrote:
> Hi Den,
>
> Try changing the default background color to black
> See Tools > Internet Options > Colors
>
> Best regards,
>
> Viktor Krammer
> --http://www.quero.at/
> The New Web Experience

Hi Viktor,
Good suggestion, but it doesn't work. :-/.

I'm running Vista Ultimate w/ IE7.

I tried changing the background color through Internet Options as you
suggested. I closed IE7, deleted the cache and launched IE7 in kiosk
mode, still flashes a white screen before displaying the page. :-(

I even tried setting the first page launched to a black background,
e.g. <body bgcolor="black"> with a redirect to the desired page, which
results in the screen flashing, white then black, then the page. :-
( I'm afraid this might cause epileptic seizures! <jk> ;-)

Besides, changing the default background to black has undesirable
affects on other pages when browsing the web.

IMHO, it is undesirable to flash a white screen in a darkened room and
kiosk mode should honor the background color settings you suggest, but
it doesn't.

A professional presentation shouldn't flash white, or white then
black. Grrrr.

Any ideas out there?

It looks like I'm stuck with live with it, don't use IE, or record the
whole thing on digital video and edit out the white screen. :-( I'm
not a happy camper.

-Den Fox

p.s. Quero looks nice.

#4 (**permalink**) 09-25-2007, 12:50 PM

Hi Den,

I am just curious about your use case? Is the flashing really such an issue
if you consider that most kiosk computers are only started once a day
probably?

I have played a bit with IE and come up with two solutions to avoid the
white flashing:

1 Use Quero Launcher and a black redirect page
http://www.quero.at/launcher.php

Quero Launcher is a small command-line tool, I developed, which slightly
defers the visibility of IE's window to avoid UI flickering.
Use something like this to launch IE
qlaunch.exe kiosk,status=no,open="file:///c:/.../black.html"
where black.html will look like this
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; URL=http://www.quero.at/">
</head>
<body bgcolor="black"></body>
</html>

Unfortunately, this will not remove the white flashing when IE is closed ;-)

2 Write a small application and host the IE Web control in it

Of course, this is more work but allows you to fully control IE and remove
the undesireable flashing.

> p.s. Quero looks nice.

Thanks,

Viktor Krammer
--
http://www.quero.at/
The New Web Experience

#5 (**permalink**) 10-05-2007, 02:10 PM

On Sep 25, 3:31 pm, "Viktor Krammer" <support@quero_no_spam.at> wrote:
> Hi Den,
>
> I am just curious about your use case? Is the flashing really such an issue
> if you consider that most kiosk computers are only started once a day
> probably?
>
> I have played a bit with IE and come up with two solutions to avoid the
> white flashing:
>
> 1 Use Quero Launcher and a black redirect pagehttp://www.quero.at/launcher.php
>
> Quero Launcher is a small command-line tool, I developed, which slightly
> defers the visibility of IE's window to avoid UI flickering.
> Use something like this to launch IE
> qlaunch.exe kiosk,status=no,open="file:///c:/.../black.html"
> where black.html will look like this
> <html>
> <head>
> <meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; URL=http://www.quero.at/">
> </head>
> <body bgcolor="black"></body>
> </html>
>
> Unfortunately, this will not remove the white flashing when IE is closed ;-)
>
> 2 Write a small application and host the IE Web control in it
>
> Of course, this is more work but allows you to fully control IE and remove
> the undesireable flashing.
>
> > p.s. Quero looks nice.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Viktor Krammer
> --http://www.quero.at/
> The New Web Experience

On a "kiosk" computer, it is not a problem. However, projecting on a
theatre-sized screen in a darkened theatre, it is a big problem.

I converted the presentation to a digital video and edited out the
frames with the white screen as a work around. Nonetheless, it is
truly annoying and if anyone knows a way to launch IE7 in kiosk mode
without the white flash, I'd still be interested.

I tried the meta refresh thing but still got the white screen flash.
Like I say, in a dark theatre the white screen would be really
uncomfortable on the eyes.

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