Appearance
Menu Boards
Menu boards are the visual layouts that define how your menu content appears on screen. Each menu board uses a template for its overall design and contains sections that map your menu categories to specific layout styles.
Creating a Menu Board
- Navigate to Menu Boards in the sidebar.
- Click Add Menu Board.
- Enter the board details:
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | A descriptive name (e.g., "Main Bar Menu") |
| Template | Yes | The visual theme for this board |
| Status | Yes | Draft, Active, or Archived |
- Click Save to create the board, then proceed to add sections.
Templates
Templates control the overall look and feel of your menu board. Each template offers a curated set of layout options suited to different types of businesses.
Available Templates
| Template | Rendering | Best For | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tapboard Dark | Native | General use, taprooms | Dark full-screen tap list with two-column card grid and serving-size pricing |
| Tapboard Light | Native | General use, cafes | Light warm-cream tap list with two-column card grid and serving-size pricing |
| Tapboard Lumen | Webview | Modern bars, taprooms | Refined dark tap list with image-top cards on a deep neutral and a soft amber glow |
| Tapboard Bistro | Webview | Restaurants, cafes | Cream editorial tap list with Playfair serif headings on warm paper and a deep forest accent |
| Tapboard Industrial | Webview | Breweries, warehouses | Brutalist, high-contrast tap list with Archivo Black display type and hot orange accents |
| Tapboard Field | Webview | Craft breweries, farms | Brewer's tasting journal aesthetic with polaroid cards, manila paper, and a red-ink stamp feel |
Each template ships with its own set of layouts for sections (see Layout Options below). New webview templates render at the same 1920×1080 resolution but use a richer typography and asset pipeline than the native templates.
Fire TV Compatibility
Some templates require a minimum version of the Fire TV app. The webview templates (Lumen, Bistro, Industrial, Field) need Fire TV 1.19.0 or newer because they use the new HTML renderer; the native templates (Tapboard Dark, Tapboard Light) work on any supported build.
If a paired device on one of your screens is running an older Fire TV app:
- The incompatible templates are disabled in the theme picker, with a suffix like "(requires Fire TV 1.19.0+)" on the menu board create modal, the edit page, and the screen-page picker.
- Publishing is blocked with a clear error naming the device, its current version, and the required version.
Update the device through the Amazon Appstore (see App Updates) or pick a template the device can render.
Sections
Sections are the building blocks of a menu board. Each section maps a menu category to a display layout.
Adding a Section
- Open a menu board for editing.
- Click Add Section.
- Configure the section:
- Category — Select which menu category to display in this section.
- Layout — Choose how items in this category are arranged.
- Sort Order — Control where this section appears on the board.
- Save the section.
Layout Options
Each template exposes its own set of layouts. The currently shipped layouts:
| Layout | Templates | Description | Item Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| One Column | Tapboard Dark, Tapboard Light | Single-column vertical list with full-width rows | Thumbnail next to each item |
| Two Column / Two Column Grid | Tapboard Dark, Tapboard Light | Two-column card grid for balanced menus | Card image at the top of each tile |
| Four by Three Grid | Tapboard Lumen, Bistro, Industrial, Field | Image-top card grid arranged in a 4×3 layout for image-rich menus | Card image at the top of each tile |
| Two by Six Strip | Tapboard Lumen, Bistro, Industrial, Field | Two columns of compact horizontal strips for dense tap lists | Small image alongside each strip entry |
Layout options control how items are arranged on the board. Visual properties (colors, typography, image visibility, spacing) are controlled through Template Customization — see Template Customization for the editable tokens per template, and Menu Items for how to attach images to items.
Subgroups (Titled Item Groups)
By default, a section shows its category's items as one list. You can split that list into titled subgroups — labeled groupings like "IPAs," "Appetizers," or "Seasonal" — to organize a long section.
- Open a menu board for editing and find the section you want to organize.
- In the section's items area, type a name in New subgroup title (e.g., "IPAs") and click Add Subgroup.
- Click +Add inside the subgroup to pick items for it, or move an existing item in with its subgroup dropdown (choose No subgroup to pull it back out).
- Rename a subgroup by editing its title inline, reorder subgroups with the up/down controls, or remove one with the × (its items return to the ungrouped list).
On the board, ungrouped items render first, then each subgroup appears as a labeled divider followed by its items — all within the same section.
Ordering Items
Within a section (and within each subgroup), every item has Move up / Move down controls, so you set the exact order items appear on the board regardless of when they were created. When a section is linked to a category, use Import Category Items to bulk-add all of that category's items, then arrange them.
Board Status
Menu boards have three statuses:
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Draft | Work in progress. Not available for screens. |
| Active | Ready for use. Can be assigned to screens. |
| Archived | No longer in use. Cannot be assigned to screens. |
Note: An active menu board that is currently assigned to a screen cannot be archived. Remove it from all screens first.
Editing a Menu Board
- Go to Menu Boards.
- Click Edit next to the board.
- Modify the board name, template, sections, or layout options.
- Changes are saved but do not go live until you publish the screen that uses this board (see Screens).
Deleting a Menu Board
- Go to Menu Boards.
- Click Delete next to the board.
- If the board is assigned to any screens, you will see a warning listing the affected screens.
- Confirm the deletion.
Background Images
You can set a background image for a menu board to give it a custom look (a brewery taproom photo, brand artwork, a textured backdrop). The board preview and the Fire TV display both render the background underneath your sections.
Adding a Background
- Open a menu board for editing.
- In the Background section, choose an image from your Media Library or upload a new one.
- Optionally enable the Overlay to add a translucent dark or light layer between the background image and your content. The overlay is useful when a busy or high-contrast background image makes menu text hard to read.
- Adjust the overlay color and opacity as needed.
- Save the board.
The background image previews live in the editor at the same 1920×1080 resolution that the Fire TV will render at, so what you see in the preview is what your displays will show after publishing.
Tips
- Preview before publishing — Use the board preview to see how your menu will look before pushing it live.
- One board per purpose — Create separate boards for different menus (e.g., "Lunch Menu," "Happy Hour," "Late Night").
- Update without disruption — Make changes to a draft board, then swap it onto a screen when ready and publish.