Open Kitchens in the Dashboard, click Change in the Display password block, type at least 4 characters and click Save password. On the kitchen screen, someone types that password once per device: the session lasts 30 days, so the display stays signed in on the wall all through service.
What protects the kitchen screen
The display password is the lock on the kitchen screen. Each kitchen you create has its own, with at least 4 characters, and it only works for that station: the Grill link doesn't open with the Bar's password. Whoever types it doesn't become a user or need an account — what gets authorized is the device.
There's no email or sign-up along the way. The kitchen card in the Dashboard shows the link and the password side by side; you copy both to the tablet on the wall and you're done. The sign-in page comes with an on-screen keyboard, for displays and tablets without a physical keyboard, and the kitchen screen is kept out of Google searches — but the address opens for anyone who has it, and the password is what keeps the door locked.
Why each kitchen has its own password
- Each station sees only its own queue. The password is per kitchen, so the Bar doesn't open with the Grill's password. Nobody has to go through a general restaurant screen to mark an item READY.
- Nobody types a password in the middle of a rush. Signing in lasts 30 days on that device. You sign in once when you hang the screen and it's still there for the next shifts, without interrupting the station.
- The link alone isn't enough. The display address follows a simple pattern and isn't a secret. The password is what stops an outsider from opening your kitchen's queue on their phone and messing with what's already being prepared.
- The password stays within reach of whoever's in charge. On the kitchen card it appears masked, with an eye button: you reveal it, pass it to the station's staff and hide it again, without having to reset anything.
How to set the display password in 6 steps
Six steps: set the password in the Dashboard, sign in once on the wall device and know how to remove that access later.
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Open Kitchens in the Dashboard
In the restaurant Dashboard, open Kitchens. Each station becomes a card, with the Display link at the top, the Display password block right below and a label at the top saying No orders or how many items are queued right now.
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Click Set or Change
In the password block, the button on the right says Set when the kitchen has no password yet and Change when it already has one. Both open the same window, which reminds you of the essentials: whoever opens the link types the password once per device.
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Type the password and save
The field asks for at least 4 characters — anything shorter brings back the message that the password needs at least 4 characters. Click Save password and the card updates instantly. When you create a new kitchen, we ask for this password right in the creation window.
Tip: Pick something short and easy to type on a touch screen: the station will be typing it standing up, with their hands full. -
See the password or pass it to the station
On the card, the password shows as ••••••. The eye button next to it shows and hides the text, so you can read it out to the staff without changing anything. If an older kitchen says Password protected — reset it under “Change” to see it, just save a new password.
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Sign in on the wall device
Copy the Display link and open it on the kitchen's tablet, TV or computer. The screen asks for the password and has a keyboard button next to the field: it opens a large keyboard right on the page, with a Done key to close it, for devices without a physical keyboard. Type it and tap Sign in.
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Stay signed in — and know how to sign out
After signing in, that device stays authorized for 30 days, so the screen doesn't ask for the password in the middle of service. The close button in the corner only closes the window: to remove that device's access, open the display address with
logout/at the end. Changing the password in the Dashboard doesn't disconnect anyone already signed in; it applies to the next devices.
Frequently asked questions
I forgot a kitchen's password. Can I recover it?+
You can see it, so there's nothing to recover. On the kitchen card the password appears masked and the eye button shows you the text. If the card says "Password protected — reset it under Change to see it", that password was stored only as a scrambled code: click Change and save a new one.
Does changing the password disconnect screens that are already open?+
No. Devices that already signed in keep showing the queue as usual; the new password applies to whoever signs in from then on. To cut off access for a specific device, open the display address on it with logout/ at the end.
Is the display password the same as the waiter's?+
No, they're separate things. The waiter signs in through their own link with the restaurant password, the owner signs in with a Google account and each kitchen has its own screen password. That way the station's staff can't see the Dashboard or the waiter app.
Can the kitchen screen open without anyone typing anything?+
Yes, and it's optional. In the Set up window of the Printing block there's the "Open the display without a password" switch: a device that opens the address with the kitchen's token goes straight in, and that token then also gives read access to the display. Since the link becomes the key, keep it as carefully as the password.
I got the password wrong several times and saw "Too many attempts". What do I do?+
Wait. After ten wrong tries in a row from the same device within five minutes, we lock that sign-in to frustrate anyone guessing passwords. The lock lifts on its own, and one correct try resets the count.
Do I need to install an app on the kitchen TV or tablet?+
No. qmen.us runs in the browser: open the link, type the password and you're set. If the device is old and the screen comes out broken, use the same address with lite/ at the end, a simplified version of the display with the same password.
Glossary
- Kitchen display
- The wall screen that shows that prep station's queue live, protected by a password.
- Display password
- A short password, at least 4 characters, that unlocks a kitchen's screen on that device. Each kitchen has its own.
- Display link
- The address of that prep station's screen, like qmen.us/your-restaurant/k/1/, which you copy from the kitchen's card.
- Kitchen
- The display where orders show up and move from Preparing to READY.
- Prep station
- The station that makes one kind of thing: grill, cold station, bar, pastry.
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