How to use the lite kitchen display on an old TV

What the lite kitchen display is

The lite kitchen display is the same order screen, deliberately drawn with the bare minimum: a fixed dark background, cards stacked one below the other, large type and no modern browser features. It exists because TVs with a built-in browser and old Android tablets tend to have an old engine that renders the full screen badly or doesn't open it at all. The address is the same as the display's with lite/ at the end, and it lives inside your kitchen, not in a separate system.

The data comes from the same place, and that's the main point: both screens read the same queue for that station, with the same orders, the same statuses and the same buttons for marking things done. What the lite version doesn't have is the trimmings — the light/dark theme switch, the close button, the full screen's visual effects. In practice you lose a little polish and gain a screen that opens on the device your restaurant already has.

Why there's a simplified version

• It puts the device already sitting idle to use. That TV in the meeting room, the retired tablet from the register, the monitor with an old mini PC. If its browser can open a web page, it can open this one.
• Less to freeze in the middle of service. No heavy stylesheet, no colors calculated on the fly, no grid layout. It's large text on simple cards, and whatever processing power is left over goes into speed.
• The queue is the same, so there's no risk of it drifting. Marking READY? on the old TV removes the item from the full screen at the same instant, and the waiter gets the notice the same way.
• It stays live even in a limited browser. When the device supports a live connection, the queue changes instantly. When it doesn't, the page fetches the queue again every 6 seconds. With JavaScript turned off, it reloads itself every 10 seconds.
• It's a plan B in a pinch. If the full screen looks odd on some device, you add lite/ to the address and the kitchen keeps working while we sort out the rest later.

How to open the lite version in 7 steps

Seven steps, from the link copied in the Dashboard to the screen marking orders done in the middle of service.

1. Copy the display link

   In the Dashboard, open Kitchens. Each station's card has the Display link block, with the address and a copy button next to it. The format is always qmen.us/your-restaurant/k/1/, where that last part is the code for that kitchen.

2. Open the address with lite/ at the end

   In the old device's browser, type the same address with lite/ added at the end: qmen.us/your-restaurant/k/1/lite/. There's no button for this and no switch in the settings — it's just the address. If you mistype it, the browser lands on the error page; check the part after c/.

3. Sign in with the display password

   The screen asks for the Display password, the same one you set on the kitchen card under Set or Change. Next to the field there's a keyboard button that opens an on-screen keyboard with big keys — made for TVs and tablets with no physical keyboard. Tap Sign in and the session stays valid for 30 days on that device.

   Tip: If the password screen itself looks broken on a very old browser, skip step 4 and get in with the token: then that screen doesn't even appear.

4. If you like, turn on sign-in without a password

   On the kitchen card, under Printing, tap Set up. At the bottom is the Open the display without a password switch: with it on, a device that opens the link with the token goes straight to the screen. Copy the token under Details for the print app, tap Save and open qmen.us/your-restaurant/k/1/lite/?token=YOUR-TOKEN. The address cleans itself up once you're in.

5. Check how the queue looks

   Each order becomes a card with the table at the top, the order name when there is one and a status label: Draft, Ordered or Preparing. Inside, each item comes out in large type with the quantity, the category, the add-ons and the note flagged with ⚠. An order still in Draft appears with a dashed border and the message Waiting for the waiter to send… — it's a preview, you can't mark it done. With nothing in the queue, the screen shows No pending orders.

6. Mark things done the way you already do

   If the Complete item by item switch is on in Settings, each line gets the READY? button. If it's off, the whole card gets a full-width ORDER READY?. The tap is sent in the background and the queue redraws right after; when every item is out, the order becomes Ready and the waiter gets the notice.

7. Keep the screen on through the whole service

   The lite version updates itself: live when the browser supports it, every 6 seconds when it doesn't, and every 10 seconds even with JavaScript off. Leave the tab open and the device's screen sleep turned off. To disconnect that device later, open the same address with lite/ replaced by logout/.

Frequently asked questions

Glossary

Kitchen display

The wall screen that shows that prep station's queue live, protected by a password.

Kitchen

The display where orders show up and move from Preparing to READY.

Draft

An order's first status, while the waiter is still putting the list together and nothing has gone to the kitchen yet.

Preparing

The stage the guest sees on the table page while the kitchen works on the order.

Ready

An item's status after the prep station marks it done; the waiter is alerted right away.

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