🖥️ DiKAS Windows Client (Second POS)¶

The client is the POS interface for every additional Windows workstation in the business. It does not store any data itself but works on a central VM/ISO appliance. The direct full Windows installation is a single-station version and is not used as a server for clients.

Several workstations need the VM/ISO appliance

The appliance is the main POS with database and services. On additional Windows PCs dikas-client-setup.exe runs. dikas-setup.exe is intended exclusively for a single Windows POS without further clients.

Setup¶

Download dikas-client-setup.exe and run it as administrator on the second PC.
On first start, the program asks for the address of the main POS — name or IP address, for example 192.168.1.50.
Done: the client remembers the address and connects automatically in future.

Via the menu "Connect…" the address can be changed at any time; "Disconnect" forgets it again.

The client needs the main POS

If the main POS is off or the network is disturbed, no checkout is possible at this workstation.

Automatic Updates¶

The client keeps itself up to date. When the computer starts, the message "DiKAS is being updated…" appears briefly — the POS then starts normally in the new version. You do not have to do anything.

Settings¶

In the Connect dialog, "Settings of this workstation" leads to everything that can be set on the client — full screen, amount display and card reader. You no longer have to touch a file for this.

Setting	Takes effect
Full screen (kiosk mode)	after a restart — the dialog offers a button for this
Amount display on second screen	after a restart in full screen/kiosk mode
Card reader port	immediately, the reader is searched again right away

You can reach the dialog at any time via the menu "DiKAS Client → Connect…".

When the amount display is offered

The setting is only available in full screen/kiosk mode and with a second monitor detected at program start. In normal window mode there stays one POS window even with two monitors.

The Same Values as a File¶

If you want to prepare many workstations identically, you can also write the file directly:

%APPDATA%\dikas-client\config.json

The quickest way to reach the folder is to enter %APPDATA%\dikas-client in the address bar of Explorer. The file belongs to the logged-in Windows user — if you start the client under a second user account, set it up again there.

{
  "server": "192.168.1.50",
  "kiosk": true,
  "betragsanzeige": true,
  "baltechComPort": "COM3"
}

Entry	Meaning
`server`	Address of the main POS. Entered automatically when connecting.
`kiosk`	`true` = full screen without frame, `false` = normal window. If the entry is missing, the client starts as a window under Windows.
`betragsanzeige`	`true` = customer display filling the second monitor, provided `kiosk` is also active.
`baltechComPort`	Fixed COM port for a Baltech card reader. If the entry is missing, the client searches for the reader itself.

Restart after changing by hand

The client reads the file at program start. Values changed via the settings dialog take effect immediately or with the next connection.

If the file is missing or unreadable, the client starts with the default values and asks for the address of the main POS — nothing can break.

Full Screen Instead of Window¶

On the office PC a normal window is practical; at a POS station with a touch screen it is disruptive. For full-screen operation — borderless, without title and menu bar, as on the DiKAS appliance — tick Full screen (kiosk mode) in the settings dialog and restart the client; the dialog offers a button for this directly. In the file this corresponds to "kiosk": true.

Without the tick the client runs as a window (1440 × 900, freely resizable). There is deliberately no key to switch: at a POS station nobody should accidentally fall out of full screen.

Older installations

Client installations from before this setting read the full screen from C:\ProgramData\dikasarch\shell.json. This file continues to work unchanged and also still applies to the main POS. If kiosk is in both files, the client's own config.json wins.

Amount Display on the Second Screen¶

There are two ways to the guest screen: automatically at client start (full-screen mode required, no pairing) or via the shortcut DiKAS Betragsanzeige (any time, pair once).

If a second monitor for the guest is connected at the POS station at program start and the client runs in full screen/kiosk mode, it can open the amount display on it — filling the screen, without frame. In the settings dialog, activate full screen and amount display and restart the client. The main screen remains the POS; the second screen shows exclusively the amount display.

Pairing with code entry is not required for this: the client opens POS and display with the same key, so they find each other by themselves. The key is reassigned at every start.

Connect the monitor before starting the program

A monitor connected only later is not taken into account for this assignment. Connect it, activate it in Windows and then restart the client.

Second monitor under Windows

How the second screen is arranged is set by Windows itself (Settings → System → Display). The client adopts the arrangement there and places the display on the monitor that is not the main screen.

What the Client Opens¶

On the second screen, the client calls up the same page a tablet would show — it assembles the address itself. It detects whether the POS of the main POS is at the root or under /admin:

https://<Adresse der Hauptkasse>/display
https://<Adresse der Hauptkasse>/admin/display

Nothing has to be entered by hand. The addresses are only interesting if you want to operate the guest screen without the client — see below.

Without Full Screen: the Shortcut "DiKAS Betragsanzeige"¶

The automatic way above requires full-screen mode. If the client runs as a window — the default under Windows —, the shortcut DiKAS Betragsanzeige gets you there. It is located in the Start menu and on the desktop and opens only the customer screen, filling the second monitor:

Start DiKAS Betragsanzeige — the second monitor shows a six-digit code.
At the POS, in the main menu open Settings (page Local settings), in the section Customer display tap Pair display and select the code (tick Customer display under Admin → Settings → Operations → Operations required).

Esc closes the display. For daily operation, put the shortcut into the Autostart folder (Windows+R, shell:startup), then it starts by itself at login.

The display fetches its data from the main POS to which this client is connected — you do not have to enter an address anywhere.

Better a Separate Device as Guest Screen¶

A tablet, a TV stick or a small second computer at the guest position is independent of whether the client is currently running at the POS station, and it can be placed freely. A browser is enough: open the address, pair the displayed code at the POS. The complete guide is under Setting Up the Customer Display.

On the POS computer of the main POS

The same shortcut DiKAS Betragsanzeige exists there — see DiKAS on Windows. It runs against the POS of the same computer and therefore needs no network share.

Card Reader (Staff Cards)¶

The client reads staff cards itself — so the reader is plugged in at the POS station, not at the main POS.

Reader type	Connection	Note
Baltech	serial (USB-COM)	detected automatically
PC/SC	USB	uses the Windows smart card interface
Keyboard wedge	USB	works without setup, the reader types in the number

Baltech Reader: Setting the COM Port by Hand¶

If the reader is not found despite being plugged in — for example because another serial adapter interferes —, the port can be selected permanently: open the settings dialog, under Card reader select the port from the list and save. The client then searches for the reader again immediately, no restart is needed. Detected Baltech readers are marked in the list; if the reader is not currently plugged in, the port can be set by hand via "Enter another port…" (the name is shown by the Windows Device Manager under Ports (COM & LPT)). In the file this corresponds to "baltechComPort": "COM3".

If Something Does Not Work¶

The Client Cannot Find the Main POS¶

Check whether the VM/ISO appliance is running and connected to the local network.
From the client, open https://<IP-der-Hauptkasse> in the browser. If the POS appears there, the network is not the cause.
The client always connects encrypted via https — a port in the address is neither necessary nor possible.

"No DiKAS server is running at this address"¶

Before connecting, the client checks whether a DiKAS main POS really answers at the other end. The message appears when something else is running there — for example a router menu or another application on the same computer. Check the address and make sure the main POS has been started.

The Card Reader Is Not Detected¶

Unplug the reader, wait ten seconds, plug it in again. Windows starts its smart card service only when a reader is plugged in; DiKAS checks regularly and then puts it into operation by itself. If that does not help, enter the COM port permanently.

Related pages: DiKAS on Windows · Hardware · Backup & Restore