TABLE OF CONTENTS

Why the Editor and Your Display Can Differ
Fonts Look Different on the Display
Video Does Not Play in the Editor
Embedded Pages and Widgets Are Blank in the Editor
Scheduled Content Shows Differently in the Editor
Album Art Shows in the Editor but Not on the Display
Photos Are Rotated the Wrong Way
Custom CSS Stopped Working
Screen Does Not Fit or Looks Different on a Tablet
Helpful Articles

Use this guide if your Screen looks different on your Display than it does in the Custom Screen Editor: the layout does not fit, fonts or photos look wrong, or some content only shows in one place. Start with the first section, which explains why the editor and your Display can differ, then find what you see below.

If content is missing or not updating on the Display itself, see Screen Troubleshooting: Content Not Updating or Missing. If you see an error message, see Screen Troubleshooting: Errors and Pages That Will Not Load. For a list of every issue we cover, start at DAKboard Troubleshooting: Start Here.

Why the Editor and Your Display Can Differ:

The Custom Screen Editor shows an approximation of how your Screen will look; it is not an exact match for your Display. Monitors, TVs and the device running the Screen (a DAKOS device or a browser) all play a part in the final resolution. Some Monitor or TV resolutions do not exactly match the device's or the Screen's resolution, and some sources, like Smart TVs, tablets, and the Fire TV, limit the maximum resolution their browser will support (the Fire TV browser is limited to 960x540). So your Screen can look different on the Display even when the editor and the Display are both set up correctly.

Here is how to get your Screen as close as possible to your Display:

Use Automatic Screen Scaling (Custom Screens on a Paid Subscription). In the Custom Screen Editor, click the Gear icon at the upper right, set Screen Scaling to Automatic, and save. Automatic sets the Screen to the highest resolution for the selected Aspect Ratio (4K, 3840x2160, for 16:9) and scales it to fit your browser or DAKOS Display. New Screens created after February 24, 2026 use Automatic by default; older Screens stay on Manual until you change them.
Exception: a non-DAKOS Display rotated with Custom CSS. If your non-DAKOS Display hangs in Portrait and you use the Custom CSS from Display Rotation for non-DAKOS Devices to rotate it, Automatic scaling will not work, because the browser is still in Landscape. Use Manual instead. Tablets and smartphones that turn to Portrait on their own work with Automatic.
Manual on a non-DAKOS device: open howbigismybrowser.com in the browser on your device to find its maximum size. Then in the Screen settings (Gear icon), set Aspect Ratio to Custom, enter that resolution, save, and design your Screen around it.
Manual on a DAKOS device: three resolutions should match: your Monitor/TV's maximum resolution (check its manual; you cannot exceed it), your DAKOS resolution (set it as close as possible to that maximum, see Set DAKOS Display Resolution), and your Screen's resolution. The Auto DAKOS resolution works with most Monitors and TVs that support CEC, but may fail on older ones, so it is better to pick a resolution from the list.
Adjust font sizes. To fit a Screen into a smaller resolution, change the font size of each Block in the Block Editor under the Formatting tab. You can type a custom size, but some Displays may not recognize every custom size. A Predefined Screen cannot be set to a resolution: reduce the font size on its Defaults tab until it fits.

NOTE: The Orientation setting in the Screen settings only changes how the editor looks; it does not rotate your Display. To rotate the Display, see Rotate a Display to Portrait or Landscape (DAKOS) or Display Rotation for non-DAKOS Devices (non-DAKOS).

For details, see How to Get Your Screen to Fit Your Display.

Fonts Look Different on the Display:

Why this happens: The fonts in the Font Selector come from Google Fonts and are downloaded by your Display when it loads your Screen. If the Display's browser or operating system cannot load the font you picked, it quietly shows one of its own fonts instead, so the text looks different. This happens most often on your own devices (BYOD), like Smart TVs and older tablets. Bold text can also look a little different from device to device.

How to fix it:

Check the result on the Display itself. If the font does not look right, select a different font and check again until you find one your Display supports.
If no font displays correctly, use a DAKOS device (a DAKboard CPU or Wall Display) or an external PC to show your Screen instead of the device's own browser.
Custom font sizes can also behave differently: some Displays do not recognize every custom size, so use one of the preset sizes if text looks wrong.

For details, see Font Selector and Custom Fonts (Why do my Fonts look Different on my Display than in my Screen Editor?).

Video Does Not Play in the Editor:

Why this happens: The Custom Screen Editor does not contain a video player, so a Video Block can never play there. Instead, the editor shows a placeholder message such as "video content will display here" to mark where the video will be.

How to fix it: To see the video playing, open the Screen with View Screen: in the Custom Screen Editor, it is under the Share and Export Screen Configuration button, or on the Screens page, click the three dots below the Screen's thumbnail and select View. This shows the Screen in your browser the same way it will appear on your Display. You can also click Refresh Displays (to the right of the Assign To button) to push your changes to your Display while you design.

For details, see How to Add a Video Block to your DAKboard Screen (Why does the Video Block not play in my Custom Screen Editor?).

Embedded Pages and Widgets Are Blank in the Editor:

Why this happens: For security reasons, the Website/iFrame Block and Widget Blocks no longer load their content in the editor. This keeps your account and our systems secure. The editor shows a placeholder where the content will load.

How to fix it: To see the embedded page or widget, open the Screen with View Screen: in the Custom Screen Editor, it is under the Share and Export Screen Configuration button, or on the Screens page, click the three dots below the Screen's thumbnail and select View. This shows the Screen in your browser the same way it will appear on your Display. Use Refresh Displays to push your changes to your Display while you design.

For details, see Website/iframe Embed (Why can't I see my Embedded Page on my Custom Screen Editor?) and Widget Blocks (Beta) (Why can I no longer see my Content in the Custom Screen Editor?).

Scheduled Content Shows Differently in the Editor:

Scheduled content behaves differently in the editor depending on what is scheduled. Find what you see in the table below.

What you see	Why	How to fix it
A Block with a Schedule shows in the Live Editor but not on the Display	A Block with a Schedule always stays visible in the editor so you can keep editing it, even when the Schedule has it turned off on the Display.	Check that the Block's Schedule is set to the correct day and time. See Content Scheduling (Why can I see the Block in the Live Editor, but not on my Display?).
Scheduled Text does not show in the editor	Each Scheduled Text entry only shows, in the editor and on the Screen, during its scheduled ON time. This stops entries from stacking on top of each other while you build the Block.	To preview an entry, set its schedule to include the time you are editing, then set it back. See How to use the Text and Scheduled Text Blocks (Why can't I see my Scheduled Text on my Custom Screen Editor page?).

Album Art Shows in the Editor but Not on the Display:

Why this happens: If you are logged in to your Sonos or Spotify account on the computer you are using, that computer may be able to show album art from a local source. The Screen view or editor then shows the art, but it is not shared with your Display. DAKboard can only show album art that Sonos or Spotify shares with us, which is mostly art from web sources rather than a locally hosted music player.

How to fix it: Check what your Display itself shows. Make sure Show Artwork is selected; art that Sonos or Spotify does not share (for example, from a local player, or music uploaded without art) cannot appear on the Display.

For details, see Sonos and Spotify FAQ (Why does the Album art show when I view the Screen or in the Screen Editor, but still does not show on my Display?).

Photos Are Rotated the Wrong Way:

Why this happens: Photos store their orientation in their EXIF data. Dropbox shows photos the way the camera was held rather than rotating them, and a DAKOS device rotates Media Library photos to match their EXIF data, even when the Media Library thumbnail looks correct.

How to fix it:

Dropbox photos: correct the orientation stored in the photo's EXIF data. A web tool such as theXifer.net can link to your Dropbox account and update it.
Media Library photos: remove the affected photos from your Media Library, fix their orientation on your computer, then upload them again.

For details, see How to Add Photos from Dropbox (Why are my Photos in the Incorrect Orientation?) and How to use the Media Library Photo Block (Why do some of my images rotate when they are displayed on my DAKOS device?).

Custom CSS Stopped Working:

Why this happens: As we update DAKboard, the underlying structure of a Screen can occasionally change, which may affect existing custom styles. We work to keep things backward-compatible, but a rule that targeted the old structure may stop matching.

How to fix it:

Make sure the CSS matches the Block you are using. Many snippets are written for one Block type and calendar type (Monthly, Big Monthly, Agenda, and so on).
Confirm you saved the CSS changes, then click Refresh Displays.
If you target one Block among several of the same type, check that the Block has the correct Block Title and that your CSS uses the matching .block--YourBlockName selector.
If it still does not apply, review your CSS rules to make sure they still work with the current Screen structure.

For details, see Applying Custom Styles to Screens (Why has my Custom CSS suddenly stopped working?) and Ready-to-Use Custom CSS Styles (Why isn't this snippet working on my Screen?).

Screen Does Not Fit or Looks Different on a Tablet:

Why this happens: Most tablets, smartphones, and Smart TVs limit the maximum resolution their browser supports, and DAKboard cannot change that limit. A Screen designed for a larger resolution will not fit, or will look different, on these devices.

How to fix it: Use Automatic Screen Scaling, or set the Screen's resolution to match your device's browser size and adjust font sizes, as described in Why the Editor and Your Display Can Differ above.

For details, see Using a Tablet as a DAKboard Display (Why does my screen look different on my Tablet than it does in my Screen Editor?) and How to Get Your Screen to Fit Your Display.

Still stuck? Click the Chat icon at the bottom right of the page and type Create Support Ticket, or see Report a Bug, Request a Feature, or View DAKOS Release Notes to report the issue to our team.