Documentation

A Personal Note from Daz

Welcome to the Handi Homepage. My name is Daz, I'm a data privacy advocate and Web Developer from Cork City, Ireland. The vision behind this project is to reclaim the Web as a platform for personal data privacy and user control. By installing the Handi Homepage and using our features (and the platforms with which we integrate eg. Matrix Chat, Streaming Radio, Mastodon Social Network etc.). We can help protect you from unwanted tracking and data collection by third parties eg. Ad Networks, Tech Companies and others.

A quick note on the features. Some of the News websites linked, charge for access to their articles. Think of this as a way to support journalism and democracy. Support your favourite news sources! The Handi Homepage plays music files stored on your device. Visit the homepage of your favourite artists to download digital copies of their music. Music aggregation websites often harvest your data and pay music artists very little. Support your favourite artists.

We integrate with the free & open (no algorithm) Mastodon social network. Join your local free mastodon server. Requests to integrate with other big tech social networking platforms will go unanswered and will not be considered. Make sure to download the Element App to join the Matrix Chat network. Set your details in Settings and share your private Matrix Room ID with your local community and friends.

Finally, elements like Chat, News, Social, Radio etc. are all provided by third-parties. We are not responsible for the content you find on these platforms. Simply choose another platform in Settings or disable the element altogether if you prefer not to use it. Thanks for using the Handi Homepage!

📌 Getting Started

The dashboard is made up of elements (boxes) arranged in a grid. Each element has a title bar with pin (📌) and lock (🔒/🔓) buttons to control its position and interactivity.

NB: On mobile devices, often the app will stop functioning when the device is locked or in the background. If you wish to - for example: play music or talk on the phone, while the device is locked. You may need to allow the app to run in the background or unlock the device. Update your browser app optimization settings on your device or do a Web search for: 'allow my browser to run in the background' for step-by-step instructions.

Friendly Phone

One‑tap calling to your saved contacts. Your phone contacts are displayed as large, colourful buttons inside the element.

Controls

• Tap a contact button – initiates a call to that person via your device's built‑in SIM.
• Lock – when locked (🔒), tapping contacts is disabled. Prevents accidental calls.
• Pin – keeps the Phone element at the top of the dashboard.

Settings (⚙️ → Phone Contacts)

• Add Contact – enter a name and phone number. Contacts appear immediately.
• Edit Contact – tap the pencil icon next to any contact to change name or number.
• Delete Contact – tap the trash icon to remove a contact.
• Reorder – drag contacts up or down to set their order on the dashboard.

Music Player

Load your own music files and play them with a built‑in audio visualiser. Supports MP3 and other common audio formats.

Controls

• ▶ Play / ⏸ Pause – start and stop playback.
• ⏮ Previous / ⏭ Next – skip between tracks.
• 🔀 Shuffle – randomise the playback order.
• 🔁 Repeat – loop the current track or entire playlist.
• Progress bar – click anywhere on the bar to jump to that position.
• Visualiser – animated bars that dance to the music.
• Lock – when locked, playback controls are disabled so music plays uninterrupted.

Settings (⚙️ → Music Player)

• Load Music – choose MP3 files from your computer. They load instantly.
• Delete Tracks – remove individual songs you no longer want.
• Clear All – remove every track at once.

Radio

Stream live Irish radio stations with a built‑in sound synthesiser that lets you layer ambient noise on top.

Controls

• Station buttons – tap any station name to start streaming. Tap again or choose another to switch.
• Volume slider – adjust the radio volume independently from the music player.
• Sound Synthesiser – mix in ambient sounds (rain, waves, birdsong, etc.) alongside the radio.
• Lock – when locked, station buttons are disabled to avoid accidental channel changes.

Settings (⚙️ → Radio)

• Station List – enable or disable individual stations. Only enabled stations appear on the dashboard.
• Default Station – choose which station plays when you first open the page.

Bus Tracker

Real‑time bus arrival information for Irish public transport. Uses your location to show the nearest stops and upcoming buses.

Controls

• 📍 Use My Location – the element automatically detects your position and shows nearby stops.
• Stop selector – choose a specific bus stop from a dropdown list.
• Arrival times – lists the next several buses with their route number, destination, and due time (in minutes).
• Refresh – updates the arrival times manually.

Settings (⚙️ → Bus Tracker)

• Favourite Stops – save up to 5 stops for quick access.
• Auto‑Refresh – toggle automatic updates every 30 seconds.

Gallery

A slideshow of your family photos. Images rotate automatically and can be viewed full‑screen.

Controls

• Automatic slideshow – images change every few seconds.
• ⏸ Pause / ▶ Play – stop or resume the slideshow.
• ◀ Previous / ▶ Next – manually browse images.
• Click any image – opens a full‑screen lightbox view.
• Screen Wake – optionally keeps the screen on while the gallery is visible (great for digital photo frames).
• Lock – when locked, navigation buttons are hidden. Slideshow continues automatically.

Settings (⚙️ → Gallery)

• Load Images – add photos from your computer. Supports JPG, PNG, and WebP.
• Delete Images – remove individual photos.
• Slideshow Speed – set how fast images rotate (slow / normal / fast).
• Order – shuffle or keep images in load order.

Location Share

Sends your exact location to trusted contacts via SMS in an emergency or when you want someone to know where you are.

Controls

• Press the red button – sends a text message to all your trusted contacts with your current location and an OpenStreetMap link.
• Lock – when locked (🔒), the button is disabled. Prevents accidental emergency alerts. Unlock (🔓) when needed.

Settings (⚙️ → Location Share)

• Trusted Contacts – add phone numbers of people who should receive your location.
• Custom Message – personalise the SMS text that accompanies the map link.
• Test Button – send a test message to yourself first to confirm it works.

⚠️ Always test with your own number first to ensure everything works correctly.

News

Latest headlines from Irish and international news sources. Scroll through stories using the arrow buttons.

Controls

• ▲ Scroll Up / ▼ Scroll Down – browse through headlines one at a time.
• Tap a headline – opens the full article in a new tab.
• Auto‑scroll – headlines advance automatically after a few seconds (pause by tapping).

Settings (⚙️ → News)

• RSS Feeds – choose which news sources to include. Enable or disable individual feeds.
• Max Headlines – set how many stories to show (5, 10, 15, or 20).
• Auto‑Scroll Speed – slow, normal, or fast.

Mastodon Social

Trending posts from the Mastodon social network – a friendly, ad‑free alternative to X (Twitter).

Controls

• ▲ Scroll Up / ▼ Scroll Down – browse through posts one at a time.
• Tap a post – opens the full conversation on Mastodon.
• Auto‑scroll – posts advance automatically (pause by tapping).

Settings (⚙️ → Mastodon)

• Server – choose which Mastodon server to pull posts from (default: mastodon.social).
• Max Posts – set how many posts to show (5, 10, or 15).
• Auto‑Scroll Speed – slow, normal, or fast.

Common Element Controls

Every elemnet has two buttons in its title bar:

🔒 Lock / 🔓 Unlock

The lock button toggles between locked (red 🔒) and unlocked (green 🔓). When locked, the element's interactive elements are disabled – preventing accidental taps. This is especially useful for the Phone, Location Share, and Music Player elements.

📌 Pin / 📌 Unpin

The pin button sticks an element to the top of the dashboard. Pinned elements always appear first and stay in place, even after you reload the page. Click the pin again to unpin.

Global Settings

Open Settings by clicking the ⚙️ icon in the footer bar. The Settings panel has tabs for each element:

📋 Element Visibility

Toggle each element on or off. Elements you don't use can be hidden to keep your dashboard clean and simple. Only the elements you need will appear.

🖼 Gallery

Load, delete, and reorder images. Set slideshow speed and choose between shuffle or sequential order.

🎵 Music Player

Load MP3 files, delete tracks individually, or clear the entire playlist.

📞 Phone Contacts

Add, edit, delete, and reorder your contacts. Changes appear instantly on the Friendly Phone element.

📍 Location Share

Manage your trusted contacts list and customise the emergency SMS message. Always use the test button before relying on it.

📻 Radio

Choose which radio stations appear and set your default station.

📰 News

Pick your RSS feeds, set the number of headlines, and adjust scroll speed.

🐘 Mastodon

Choose a server, set post count, and adjust scroll speed.

🚌 Bus Tracker

Save favourite stops and toggle auto‑refresh.

Footer Bar

The footer bar sits at the bottom of every page and gives you quick access to important controls:

• / Global Mute – silences all audio (radio and music) without stopping playback. Tap again to unmute.
• / Screen Wake Lock – Sun keeps your screen awake (ideal for slideshows or bus tracking). Bed allows normal screen sleep. Your browser will ask permission the first time.
• Settings – opens the settings panel.

Touch & Mobile

On touchscreens, drag‑and‑drop is disabled to avoid accidental element moves. Elements still arrange themselves automatically using Packery – on wide screens (tablets in landscape) they form multiple columns; on narrow phones they stack in a single column.

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