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ske087 6abde5a767 Fix Windows weblink handling: fullscreen Chrome, black overlay masking, proper process tree kill

Windows-specific fixes:
- _windows_play_weblink: uses --start-maximized + --app=URL for true fullscreen
- Shows black Win32 overlay before opening/closing Chrome to mask desktop
- _windows_kill_process_tree: uses taskkill /F /T to kill all Chrome child processes
- _Win32Overlay class: fullscreen borderless always-on-top black window
- Updated README to note Python 3.12 requirement and local data dir behavior

2026-07-24 13:48:49 +03:00

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Kiwy Signage Player - Windows Edition

Build and run the Kiwy digital signage player on Windows as a standalone .exe.

📋 Requirements Analysis

The original app was built for Raspberry Pi (Linux), using these technologies:

Component	Original (RPi/Linux)	Windows Equivalent
GUI	Kivy 2.3+	Kivy 2.3+ (works cross-platform)
Video	ffpyplayer	ffpyplayer (needs FFmpeg DLLs)
Card Reader	evdev (Linux input)	Not available — gracefully disabled
Screen Keep-Awake	xset, xdotool, Wayland	`SetThreadExecutionState` (Win32 API)
Weblink	chromium-browser (kiosk)	Chrome/Edge (--kiosk mode)
Audio	ALSA/PulseAudio	DirectSound
Window Backend	SDL2 (Wayland/X11)	SDL2 (Windows native)
OpenGL	Desktop GL	ANGLE (DirectX wrapper)

What works on Windows

✅ Media playback (images, videos via ffpyplayer)
✅ Playlist sync from DigiServer (HTTP/HTTPS)
✅ Touch & mouse controls
✅ Settings popup
✅ Image editing/annotation
✅ Password-protected exit
✅ Web links (opens in Chrome/Edge kiosk)
✅ Network monitoring
✅ Auto-update playlist

What is disabled on Windows

❌ Card reader (evdev is Linux-only; EVDEV_AVAILABLE = False)
❌ HDMI power management (tvservice is RPi-specific)
❌ WiFi restart (uses Linux nmcli)

🚀 Quick Start (Development)

Prerequisites

Python 3.12+ (64-bit) — python.org
- ⚠️ Python 3.13+ is NOT supported — Kivy 2.3.1 does not have pre-built wheels for it
- ⚠️ Python 3.14 is NOT supported — no Kivy wheels available
- ✅ Python 3.12.9 is the recommended version (confirmed working)
FFmpeg — for video codec support
- Download from ffmpeg.org
- Add bin\ folder to your PATH
Visual C++ Redistributable — latest

Install & Run

cd windows

REM Create virtual environment with Python 3.12
py -3.12 -m venv venv
:: OR specify full path:
:: "C:\Users\Dell-PC\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python312\python.exe" -m venv venv

venv\Scripts\activate

REM Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements_win.txt

REM Run in development mode
python run_win.py

📦 Building the .exe

One-Command Build

cd windows
build_win.bat

Manual Build

cd windows
venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements_win.txt
pyinstaller build.spec --clean --noconfirm

Output

windows\dist\KiwySignagePlayer\
    ├── KiwySignagePlayer.exe     # Main executable
    ├── config/                    # Config files (auto-copied)
    ├── resources/                 # Icons, intro video
    └── ... (supporting DLLs)

For a single-file .exe, edit build.spec — uncomment the exe_onefile section and comment out the coll = COLLECT(...) section.

⚙️ Configuration

On first run, config files are created in the same folder as the executable (not in %APPDATA%)
- The .exe creates: config/, media/, playlists/, logs/ directories locally
- This allows you to copy the entire dist\KiwySignagePlayer\ folder anywhere and it works
Edit config\app_config.json (next to the .exe) to set your server:

{
  "server_ip": "192.168.0.109",
  "port": "8080",
  "screen_name": "Birou_IT",
  "quickconnect_key": "8887779",
  "orientation": "Landscape",
  "touch": "True",
  "max_resolution": "1920x1080",
  "edit_feature_enabled": true,
  "use_https": false,
  "verify_ssl": false
}

🧪 Testing

cd windows
venv\Scripts\activate
python run_win.py

🔧 Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
"ffpyplayer not found"	Install: `pip install ffpyplayer`
"No video" / black screen	Install FFmpeg and add to PATH. Try `KIVY_GL_BACKEND=angle_sdl2` or `KIVY_GL_BACKEND=gl`
Kivy window doesn't open	Run from command prompt to see error messages. Ensure GPU drivers are up to date.
Weblinks not opening	Install Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge
Can't connect to server	Check firewall. Try `use_https: false` and `verify_ssl: false` for testing
Antivirus flags .exe	Add the output folder to antivirus exclusions. This is a false positive common with PyInstaller.

📁 Project Structure (Build)

Kiwy-Signage/
├── windows/
│   ├── run_win.py              # Windows entry point (patches platform differences)
│   ├── build.spec              # PyInstaller configuration
│   ├── build_win.bat           # One-click build script
│   ├── pyi_runtime_hook.py     # PyInstaller runtime hook
│   ├── requirements_win.txt    # Windows Python dependencies
│   └── README_WINDOWS_BUILD.md # This file
├── src/
│   ├── main.py                 # Main application (original)
│   ├── get_playlists_v2.py     # Playlist sync
│   ├── player_auth.py          # Authentication
│   ├── ssl_utils.py            # SSL/HTTPS
│   ├── keyboard_widget.py      # On-screen keyboard
│   ├── network_monitor.py      # Network monitoring
│   ├── edit_popup.py           # Image editing
│   └── signage_player.kv       # Kivy UI layout
├── config/
│   ├── app_config.json         # Player configuration
│   └── resources/              # Icons, images, intro video
├── media/                      # Downloaded media (created at runtime)
├── playlists/                  # Playlist files (created at runtime)
└── logs/                       # Log files (created at runtime)

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