Userful Control Center

Userful Control Center (UCC) is the primary control interface for Userful. It is a web-based application hosted by a server and interacted with using a Web browser.

There are two versions of UCC - Cloud and On-Premise. Both share a common layout and many capabilities such as Display Management, Content Mapping, Video Wall calibration, Events, and Content Switching controls.

On-Premise expands on the feature set with Role-Based User Accounts, System Resource Monitoring, Screen Capture, Additional On-Premise Sources, Settings, and Support functions.

Feature Comparison

Cloud vs On-Premise

Userful cloud and on-premise servers share a common layout and many capabilities. On-Premise servers, however, have expanded features.

This chart lists all the major features with links to each. Some features are common to both platforms but differ in their use in these cases. Similar functions are listed with a Yes parameter against them.

Feature	On-Premise	Cloud
Server Management (Userful Manager)	Yes	Yes
Scheduled Events	Yes	Yes
Display Management	Yes	Yes
Video Wall Calibration and Zones	Yes	Yes
Presets	Yes	Yes
Fast Source Switching	Yes	Yes
Direct Session Control	Yes	Yes
Web Browser Sources	Yes	Yes
Signage Player Sources	Yes	Yes
Network Streamer Sources	Yes	Yes
Web CMS Sources	Yes	Yes
Message Broadcasts	Yes	Yes
Configuration Backups	Yes	Yes
uClients	Yes	Yes
Zero Clients	Yes	No
Virtual Displays	Yes	No
API	Yes	No* (It is planned for future release)
Role-Based Access Control	Yes	No
Active Directory / LDAP Integration	Yes	No
Remote Desktop Sources	Yes	No
HDMI Capture	Yes	No
Remote Session Control	Yes	No
Screen Capture	Yes	No
Composition Sources	Yes	No
Command & Control	Yes	No
Desktop / Web Kiosk Support	Yes	No

Accessing Userful Control Center

You can access UCC by using the following three methods:

Userful Manager

Userful Manager hosts cloud servers (using AWS services) and provides connections to On-Premise servers. It presents a unified interface and enables full connectivity for both types of servers, and is the only way to access cloud servers.

Accessing Control Center for both a Cloud server (left) and an On-Premise server (right)

It is recommended to access the Userful Control Center using this option.

Local Network

Userful on-premise servers host their Control Centers locally and can be accessed using a LAN connection. From a PC on the same local network as the Userful server, enter the IP address of the Userful server into your browser's address bar. The IP address is displayed at the bottom of the screen on the startup screen after the first installation. In case no welcome screen appears, but the monitor is connected to a video port on the Userful server the IP address still appears on the screen.

The initial screen on an onboard display will show the server version, hostname, and the IP address

It is recommended to access the Userful Control Center using this option.

Local Desktop Shortcut or Localhost

You can access the Userful Control Center by logging in to a desktop source and launching a web browser that directs you to the localhost. This is the best option if you have no local network access. Kindly, note that your session may restart if any changes are made to the source you are playing while operating the UCC.

Linux desktop sources also have a shortcut that launches a localhost browser.

• This is an on-premise-only option. It is recommended to use this option only if local network access is not possible.

• Using Command & Control with a local session is not recommended, as there is a risk of overloading the server’s resources, and not all features are supported.