How to Handle Operating Modes

This How-To assumes you have completed the quick start and have an exhibit connected to Gumband Cloud

The Operating Mode feature has been deprecated in Gumband. We’ve learned that most exhibits on the platform were not using the feature and the switch in the UI was confusing to many users. The original Operating Mode feature is still available for developers to implement it in their exhibits, but is now disabled by default.

Basic Description

An exhibit can be set to one of two operating modes in Gumband: “On” or “Off”. When the feature is enabled, the operating mode can be toggled through the Gumband UI on the Exhibit Settings tab:

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Enabling The Operating Mode Feature

To enable the Operating Mode feature for your exhibit, all you need to do is set the Operating Mode to either the “On” or “Off” mode via the Gumband SDK’s setOperatingMode method [see: API Reference (V2.0.0 - Latest)]. Once the mode is set, the Operating Mode Setting will appear on your exhibit’s Settings tab which will behave like a normal setting.

import { Gumband } from "@deeplocal/gumband-node-sdk";
import { MANIFEST } from "./manifest.js";
this.gumbandSDK = new Gumband(
    process.env.EXHIBIT_TOKEN,
    process.env.EXHIBIT_ID,
    MANIFEST
);

this.gumbandSDK.on('READY', async () => {
  // *** Setting the Operating Mode to enable the feature.
  // *** Once the Operating Mode has been set once, the line below can be removed
  await this.gumbandSDK.setOperatingMode(true);
});

Note: You only need to set the Operating Mode once from the SDK to enable the feature, once the Operating Mode has been set. Meaning if you don’t want your exhibit to set the Operating Mode every time it starts, you don’t have to.

Handling Operating Modes

You can listen for changes in the operating mode through the Sockets.OP_MODE_RECEIVED event listener callback on the SDK:

this.gumbandSDK.on(Sockets.OP_MODE_RECEIVED, (payload) => {
    console.log(`received op mode: ${JSON.stringify(payload)}`);
    if(payload.value) {
      console.log('OP mode now on'); 
    } else {
      console.log('OP mode now off');
    }
});

The operating mode can be used in whatever way makes the most sense for your exhibit. For example, for signage it might toggle the screen on and off to conserve power; for an exhibit with many moving parts, perhaps it stops all motion.