Showcase Installation Guide
This guide covers installing, setting up and maintaining MT Showcase 26.x on Ubuntu, Windows and macOS.
MT Showcase presents images, video, PDFs and web content on MultiTaction Cells and other touch screens. Designers build interactive apps in the web-based MT Showcase Editor, and the MT Showcase client plays them on the wall.
Components
An MT Showcase installation has three parts. The installer puts all three on one computer.
- MT Showcase server. Stores apps, content and user accounts, and serves the Editor. It keeps its data in two local database files: the main application database and a reporting database for data gathering.
- MT Showcase client (also called the player). A MultiTaction Cornerstone application that displays apps on the screen and handles touch. It gets its data from the server over a local control channel.
- MT Showcase Editor. A web application that the server hosts at
https://<application-computer>/editor/. Designers use it from any modern browser, and nothing is installed on their own computers. See the Editor guide.
Deployment layout
In a standard deployment every component runs on a single application computer, which is connected to the Cells in your video wall or to your touch screen.
| Ubuntu and Windows | macOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Editor address | https://<application-computer> (port 443) |
https://<application-computer>:8443 |
| Server runs as | Ubuntu: a system service. Windows: a task that starts when an operator signs in | Part of the MT Showcase app |
| Control channel between client and server | TCP 9299, local to the application computer | TCP 9299, local to the application computer |
Designers sign in to the Editor with their own user accounts. Any app can be edited by any designer whose role allows it.
Server and client on separate computers
The MT Showcase server and client must run on the same application computer. The client reads the database file and the media library directly from the server's folders, and by default the control channel between them accepts connections from the application computer only. Running the client on a different computer from the server is not supported.
To develop apps away from the wall, install MT Showcase on a laptop or desktop computer and move finished apps to the wall with the Editor's Import & Export page.
For architecture diagrams, all network ports, the outbound connections MT Showcase can make, and its security posture, see Showcase technical information.
Supported platforms
- Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (x86-64)
- Windows 10 or later (x64)
- macOS 13 (Ventura) or later on Apple Silicon. The macOS version is available from MT Showcase 26.09.1.
Installation steps
If you are installing MT Showcase for the first time, work through these pages in order:
- Plan the application computer. Check the hardware, and connect the computer to the Cells and the network.
- Install MT Showcase on Ubuntu, Windows or macOS.
- First-run setup. Create the first administrator account in the setup wizard.
- Licensing. Activate the license that lets the MT Showcase client run.
- Network, HTTPS and email. Set the server's public address, install a certificate and set up email for invitations and password resets.
- Users and security. Invite your designers and set the security policy.
After that, see Start and stop MT Showcase for daily operation, and the Maintain pages for backups, upgrades and recovery.
MultiTaction support
If you need technical assistance, contact MultiTaction Support: https://www.multitaction.com/support-services