Use any OLD windows tablet as a full screen Hubitat Home Dashboard Touch screen!

[WarlockWeary]

So I had a few old tablets that I hadn't used in years. that had been sitting around.
So I fired one up and reset it to factory defaults ended up having windows 8.1. LOL
So I set it up as a full screen Hubitat home dashboard touch screen ! And It Works Great ! & Free !

I added a simple batch file to start chrome in full screen mode and the Hubitat Home Screen automatically when it boots. ( this also works for your home desktop computer )

Pretty simple to do really. If you guys want to try it,
All you need to do is create the batch file and stick it in the startup folder of windows.
( A batch file is just a text file ( test.txt ) - renamed to ( test.bat ) ) BTW

Just remember to disable having to have a password during boot. And it will automatically.
Run the batch file. when Windows boots up. and you will have a cool touch dashboard.
And if you use the correct link, you can switch between all of your dashboards by pushing the icon in the upper left hand corner.

Now depending on which version of windows.
There's two Versions of different batch files that you will / can use ..
Just a fun little project if you want to give it a try.
I got bored, and it turned out super cool.

Chrome.exe file default location, usually, the default location in 64-bit Windows is
C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe

and in 32-bit Windows operating system it is
C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe.

@echo off
start c:\"program files"\google\chrome\application\chrome.exe --start-fullscreen http://**ADD-IP-HERE**/apps/api/2/dashboard/390?access_token=**ADD-ACCESS-TOKEN-HERE**&local=true
exit

@echo off
start c:\"program files (x86)"\google\chrome\application\chrome.exe --start-fullscreen http://**ADD-IP-HERE**/apps/api/2/dashboard/390?access_token=**ADD-ACCESS-TOKEN-HERE**&local=true
exit

Then add the batch file to the windows start folder ..

To access the Startup folder on Windows 10, press Windows+R and enter "shell:startup" into the Run window . Add a shortcut in the Startup folder to launch a program when your PC starts.

To put it simply, “C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp ” is the location of the Startup folder for all users on Windows 11 and 10.

[calinatl]

I've got an older Lenovo Yoga windows laptop/tablet combo that I'm interested in using as a dashboard, so was searching the forum for guidance and found this post. A few questions before I start:

1. Once it starts chrome with HE, could you still manually go to something else in Windows?

2. I really don't want the thing on at all times. Is yours on at all times or have you figured out a way to trigger it to wake from sleep and show the dashboard? Can you use the built in cam to wake it up? Windows is usually kind of slow - how long does it take to wake the screen and refresh the dashboard once it is triggered to wake?

3. There seems to be considerable concern about keeping it plugged in at all times. Most laptops in my household stay plugged in at all times; some may only get unplugged 2-3 times year, and I've never had a problem with the batteries - am I just pushing my luck? What have you done about the plugged in at all times concern?

[WarlockWeary]

yes you can always make it not full screen.
Anytime you want .. and do other stuff.
this works very well give it a try!
I just leave it plugged in all the time..

[tohm]

I have a couple Amazon Firetablets for my touch-screen panel system. They're cheap and they also act as Amazon Alexa devices... works great in the kitchen when I need timers and such. The other benefit is that they will also open video from my Wyze and Blink camera's by simply asking to see them. I also don't need any scripts to run the panel. I'm using ActionTiles for my hubitat panel.