The display of information to the user works best on an iPad at the moment. If you have an old iPad which you can re-purpose, we recommend using that. If you do not own an iPad, then we suggest you buy a reconditioned iPad. The minimum iPad is the iPad2 which is able to support the minimum iOS of 9.3.5. All newer versions of iPAD will work but note that the screen is optimised for the 9.7 or 10.2 inch displays. Download our quick guide for Androids.

You can update news and photos from your computer, smartphone or tablet.

Download our 'setting up' instructions. You must have an iPad2 or later.

The Family Display is non-interactive, only showing information to the user of the Display. You control what is shown. Our first thoughts were to make this as simple as possible in the first version. We are considering how to add other features including some interactivity. Watch this space!

Once the Family Display is set up, keep it regularly updated with news and events. This helps the user to become familiar with the newsfeed – we have found that regular discussion about the newsfeed and then using it to back up eg information given over the phone or on visits can help with making it become an essential aid. Keep messages short - there is a 100 character limit. All Family Members can see what is on the newsfeed by clicking on Preview in the Family Display tab. We also find it helpful if the family assign a coordinator for the display whose job is to ensure it is up to date and looks good. The coordinator would naturally be the Account Holder but could be any Family Member. We have also found it good for Family Members to enter news either using the Rotating or Rotating with Photos text types. The job of the coordinator is then to promote some of the messages to Important and Regular. This approach prevents the newsfeed being overloaded with Important and Regular messages. Check out our blog about using colour for more tips!

It is important to make all visitors to the user’s home or room aware of the purpose of the tablet or iPad Display and how it can be interacted with. Leave instructions near the tablet so that, if the newsfeed fails, the user can get help to re-access FamilyNewsNow. Download our template for visitors or carers.

Yes – if you go the Family Display tab, you can click on Preview to see a representation of the newsfeed. This is useful to check that the newsfeed is up to date and that the text page is well set out with relevant family news. Note that within the Family Display page you can also see when the newsfeed was last updated. If this is more than a few hours, it is possible that the newsfeed is not working. Download our 'setting up' instructions for more information.

The Family Display is intended to be left running with no other applications on the tablet or iPad getting in the way. However, if you need to log out of the application, just press in the area of the Date and Time on the newsfeed and the log out screen will appear.

Download our quick guide on Androids.

FamilyNewsNow caters for loved ones who are not confident using applications such as WhatsApp or Facetime which require full interactivity. On WhatsApp, information is lost quickly as people add messages, whereas in FNN the user can keep important messages always shown on their loved one's newsfeed. FamilyNewsNow needs no input from your loved one. It means that family news is immediately available. The newsfeed is intended to be the first stage in getting information to your loved one. We will develop it further to make it possible to support various levels of interactivity matched to the capabilities of your loved one.

Loved One: This is the person your family wishes to support by sending reminders, news and photos. We also refer in our documentation to your Loved One as a “Family Display user”. Newsfeed: The collection of messages, photos and reminders posted by family and friends. Family Display: This is the iPad or tablet on which your Loved One’s newsfeed is displayed. ​ Family Member: This is any member of the group of people in the immediate or wider family (or simply good friends) of the Loved One who have access to FamilyNewsNow to enter reminders, news and photos. ​ Account Holder: This is a Family Member who also takes responsibility for the family’s account. They would have set up the account originally and will deal with subscriptions etc. Account Coordinator: This is one of the Family Members who is assigned the job of keeping the display looking good by coordinating the entries of the other Family Members. It can be any Family Member and the responsibility could be shared. This is not a formal role but we believe it is a sensible thing to do to get the best out of FamilyNewsNow.

To set up the Family Display, simply type into safari app.familynewsnow.com and log-in using the Family Display username and password. If you don’t know these, log in first using your own Family Account username and password. You can find the Family Display username and password under the Family Display tab. Download our full 'setting up' instructions.

If you cannot see a full preview of your loved one's display simply double tap on the screen and it should re-size.