Setting Up Silent Printing on Google Chrome Kiosk Mode with Vizito

This guide will walk you through the process of setting up silent/background printing on Google Chrome in Kiosk Mode with the Vizito Frontoffice.

What is Kiosk Mode?

Kiosk Mode in Google Chrome is a function that allows the browser to run in full-screen mode, without displaying toolbars or the address bar. It keeps the user “locked” into the Vizito Frontoffice screens, preventing easy toggling between other apps. This can be restrictive, but it can also be beneficial in settings where you don’t want employees or visitors to easily access other websites or applications.

Enabling Silent Printing and Kiosk Mode

Here are the steps to enable the Vizito Frontoffice in Kiosk Mode and Silent/Background Printing using Google Chrome:

Install Google Chrome

If you don’t have Google Chrome installed on your computer, visit http://www.google.com/chrome to download and install it.

Set up the default printer

Ensure your receipt printer is set as your computer’s default printer. You might also want to check your print settings in Google Chrome for proper margins, headers, and footers.

Enable Print Preview

In Chrome, type about:flags in the address bar. Make sure the “Disable Print Preview” flag is not enabled. Print preview must be enabled for Kiosk Printing to work.

Edit Chrome Shortcut

Now, create a copy of your Chrome browser shortcut on your desktop. Right-click on the shortcut, select “Create shortcut”, and paste it onto your desktop. Right-click the copied shortcut and select properties.

Configure Shortcut Properties

In the target field, append the following text to the end, after a space: --kiosk-printing --kiosk "https://frontoffice.vizito.be/".

Customize Your Shortcut

Optionally, you can rename your shortcut in the ‘General’ tab and select a different icon in the ‘Shortcut’ tab using the ‘Change Icon’ button.

Launch Google Chrome

Save these changes and launch Google Chrome using the edited desktop shortcut. Google Chrome should now load in full-screen (Kiosk) mode. Please note, if you have other Chrome windows already open, or if Chrome is set to continue running background apps when closed (you can turn this off in Settings > Advanced - System), this will prevent Chrome from launching in Kiosk mode.

Test the Setup

In Kiosk mode, sign in a visitor and print a badge. You should briefly see the print preview appear on your screen and instantly print a badge to your default printer.

Background Printing without Full Kiosk Mode

If you prefer to not be locked into Kiosk Mode and want to toggle full-screen on and off using the F11 key, follow the same steps as above, but in step 6, do not include the flag --kiosk. Instead, use only --kiosk-printing. This will enable silent/background printing without forcing full-screen mode.

For example: --kiosk-printing "https://frontoffice.vizito.be/"