Display Editor
If you have a display connected to your Pi, you can put custom content on it -- live sensor readings, text, graphics, and even animations. Palpable supports any display technology (OLED, LCD, e-ink, and more).
How it works
The display editor in the Palpable app lets you design what appears on your screen using drag-and-drop blocks. When you save your design, it's instantly sent to your physical display.
When you save a design, it gets deployed to your Pi within a couple of seconds. After that, live updates are near-instant -- when a sensor value changes, the display refreshes immediately on the hardware.
Getting started with the display editor
- Make sure you have an OLED display connected to your Pi via Qwiic cable
- Open your project in the Palpable app
- You'll see a display preview thumbnail -- tap it to open the editor
Display not showing up? The Pi scans for new hardware every 30 seconds. If you just plugged in your display, wait a moment and refresh the app. If it still doesn't appear, check the cable connection.
What you can put on the display
Text
Add labels, headings, or any text you want. You can control the size and position.
Live sensor values
The most useful feature -- show real-time data from your sensors directly on the display. The values update automatically as sensors report new readings.
For example, you could show:
- Current temperature and humidity
- Distance reading
- A counter that tracks knob turns
Shapes and layout
Arrange content in grids, add dividers, or create structured layouts to organize your display.
Display compatibility
Palpable works with any display -- OLEDs, LCDs, e-ink, round, rectangular, any resolution. The display editor automatically adapts to your display's actual size and shape. Just connect it and Palpable detects it.
Some popular options:
| Display | Resolution | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SSD1306 OLED | 128 x 32 or 128 x 64 | Tiny, low-power, great for status info |
| SH1107 OLED | 128 x 128 | Larger square display |
| Round OLEDs | Various | Circular masking handled automatically |
| LCD / TFT | Various | Color displays for richer content |
| E-ink | Various | Low-power, great for persistent info |
The display editor and rendering pipeline adapt to whatever resolution, shape, and technology the hardware reports.
Live updates
Your display content can react to sensor changes in real time. When a sensor reading changes, the display re-renders with the new value. You don't need to set up any behaviors for this -- it happens automatically when you include sensor data blocks in your design.
Tips
- Keep it simple. Small displays work best with one or two pieces of information per screen.
- High contrast works best. Bold text and simple graphics look great on all display types.
- Use PAL to set up display content. You can tell PAL something like "Show the temperature and humidity on my display" and it will create the display layout for you.