A booth left in a venue has to survive being switched off at the wall, started by a cleaner, and poked at by guests all night, without ever showing someone your settings or your photo library. VertexBooth has three separate pieces for this, and they only work together if you set all three.
What you need
- The booth computer, set up and working.
- A password you will not forget, because it cannot be looked up later.
- About ten minutes.
1. Make the booth start itself
Close Studio to get back to the VertexBooth launcher. On the right, under Unattended start, there are two checkboxes and you want both.
- Start when Windows starts opens VertexBooth as soon as the computer signs in, so power coming back on is enough to bring the booth back.
- Always start in kiosk mode skips the launcher entirely and goes straight into the locked booth, so nobody sees this screen.
Write this down before you tick the second box. Once the booth starts straight into kiosk mode, the way back to this screen is to hold Shift while VertexBooth is starting. It is not written anywhere on the booth, and it is the thing people call about.
2. Set the password
Open Studio, and under System choose Security. Enter a password and click Set password.
Only a scrambled version is stored, never the password itself. That is good for security and means a forgotten password is replaced here rather than recovered, so put it somewhere you will still have it in six months.
3. Choose what the password actually protects
Below the password there are two switches: require it to leave kiosk mode, and require it to open Studio.
This is the trap. Those two switches do nothing at all until a password exists. You can tick both, see them ticked, and still have a completely open booth. It works this way on purpose so you cannot lock yourself out of a booth you never set a password on, but it does mean a ticked box is not proof of anything. Set the password first, then tick the boxes, then test.
4. Test it the way a stranger would
Start the booth and try to get out. Press Escape. Try the hidden button in the top-left corner of the screen. Both should ask for the password rather than dropping you out.
Note that running the booth is never gated. An attendant can always start it. The password is there to stop someone reaching your settings, your photo library or your payment setup by tapping the wrong thing, not to stop the booth being used.
What this does not do
The password protects VertexBooth. It does not stop somebody pressing the Windows key, using Alt and Tab to switch programs, or reaching the taskbar. If you need the computer itself locked down, that is Windows’ own Kiosk or Assigned Access mode, set up on the booth machine.
For a booth in a controlled spot, such as a lobby with staff nearby, the VertexBooth password is usually enough. For a booth in a bar at midnight, do both.
Common questions
I ticked both boxes and the booth still lets anyone into the settings.
No password is set. Go back to the Security page, set one, and the switches start working immediately.
I am locked in kiosk mode and I forgot the password.
Hold Shift while VertexBooth starts to get back to the launcher. From there you can open Studio and set a new password, since the old one cannot be read back.
Should every booth have a password?
Any booth you are not standing next to, yes. A booth on your own workbench does not need one, and VertexBooth deliberately does not nag you to set one while you are still building.