I modified the desktop auto-start to display Chromium in full screen mode after pointing a series of Raspberry Pi* units towards PRTG maps for some of our labs to display on televisions.

This was done by modifying the configuration directory, autostart, which for these particular units was accessed via: sudo mousepad /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart

Next, a new line was added to start the browser and have it automatically load your chosen URL like so: @/usr/bin/chromium-browser --start-fullscreen --incognito https://www.website.com

Notes: You must make sure that the Chromium command and URL are both on the same line (no new line). I also added the incognito tag to prevent browser caching and circumvent “Chromium did not shut down properly/do you want to restore” message upon crash or loss of power.

Television Display/Pi Reimaging Process

Download Raspberry Pi Imager (Raspberry Pi Imager)

Under choose OS, Select Raspberry Pi OS 32 bit (A port of Debian with the Raspberry Pi desktop)

Choose storage → SD card

Click write.

Install SD card into Pi and follow setup instructions.

Default Settings:User- pi

Password- raspberry

As always, it is highly recommended to change the default password to something more secure.

Setting a Static IP

Must edit dhcpcd.conf file as follows:

1. Open terminal and type sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf
2. Edit following portion as appropriate:

interface NETWORK

static ip_address=STATIC_IP/24

static router=ROUTER_IP

static domain_name_servers=DNS_IP

Example:

interface eth0

static ip_address=192.168.26.31

static router=192.168.26.1

static domain_name_servers=8.8.8.8

Enable SSH and VNC

Using Raspberry Pi OS GUI:

1. Click the Raspberry Pi logo in the top left corner
2. Select preferences → Raspberry Pi configuration
3. Navigate to the interfaces tab
4. Select enabled for SSH and VNC

Using terminal:

1. Open terminal and type sudo raspi-config
2. Select interfacing options P2 and P3 for SSH and VNC respectively
3. Select yes for both prompts
4. Navigate down and hit enter on the Raspberry PI config utility to finish
5. PI must restart for changes to be effective

Notes

This setup expects credentials for the Pi’s own VNC client. To set this up, click on the top right VNC viewer.

• Set encryption to “prefer off”
• Set authentication to “VNC password” and hit apply
  • Use password of your choice
  • Click OK

*Raspberry Pi is a trademark of Raspberry Pi Ltd

DisplayPiReimaging