# Is there a node to control Pi hdmi Monitor?

**URL:** <https://discourse.nodered.org/t/is-there-a-node-to-control-pi-hdmi-monitor/12799>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [2 July 2019 01:49 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/is-there-a-node-to-control-pi-hdmi-monitor/12799 "2019-07-02T01:49:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kenkoknz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@kenkoknz](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/kenkoknz)\
**Post date:** [2 July 2019 01:49 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/is-there-a-node-to-control-pi-hdmi-monitor/12799/1 "2019-07-02T01:49:57Z")

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Hi,  
Just wondering if there is a node to control the hdmi display on a pi, ie control what is being displayed, font size, color, timesquare scroll, image, pixels, etc? I guess one fiddle around and use Dashboard UI somehow, but I guess Dashboard is not specifically designed for this.  
Thanks,  
Ken

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**Author:** ![bakman2](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/bakman2/32/6207_2.png) [@bakman2](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/bakman2)\
**Post date:** [2 July 2019 05:47 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/is-there-a-node-to-control-pi-hdmi-monitor/12799/2 "2019-07-02T05:47:03Z")

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Can you elaborate a bit more on "control the hdmi display" ? What do you mean exactly ?

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**Author:** ![kenkoknz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@kenkoknz](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/kenkoknz)\
**Post date:** [2 July 2019 06:55 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/is-there-a-node-to-control-pi-hdmi-monitor/12799/3 "2019-07-02T06:55:00Z")

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Hi,  
I was inspired after playing around with "processing", where you can control what to display on the screen intricately i.e I can send either definable characters, or even address and light up pixles with x y coordinates.  
Just a thought.

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**Author:** ![afelix](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/afelix/32/9743_2.png) [@afelix](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/afelix)\
**Post date:** [2 July 2019 07:24 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/is-there-a-node-to-control-pi-hdmi-monitor/12799/4 "2019-07-02T07:24:11Z")

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So what you're looking for is like a dashboard node that adds an HTML `<canvas>` to the dashboard, which can be programmatically controlled? Where `<canvas>` gives you a playing field for all kinds of drawings. It might be possible to do something like that with a custom UI part through the Template Node (part of the `node-red-dashboard` nodes), and program the display using regular javascript.

Take a look at these links from the Mozilla Development Network:

> **[Canvas tutorial](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Canvas_API/Tutorial)**
>
> This tutorial describes how to use the canvas element to draw 2D graphics, starting with the basics. The examples provided should give you some clear ideas what you can do with canvas, and will provide code snippets that may get you started in...

  

> **[Canvas API](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Canvas_API)**
>
> The Canvas API provides a means for drawing graphics via JavaScript and the HTML canvas element. Among other things, it can be used for animation, game graphics, data visualization, photo manipulation, and real-time video processing.

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**Author:** ![dceejay](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/dceejay/32/38_2.png) [@dceejay](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/dceejay)\
**Post date:** [2 July 2019 07:51 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/is-there-a-node-to-control-pi-hdmi-monitor/12799/5 "2019-07-02T07:51:52Z")

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Or look at the UI Builder project/nodes - [https://flows.nodered.org/node/node-red-contrib-uibuilder](https://flows.nodered.org/node/node-red-contrib-uibuilder) that let you build your own dashboard however you like - so you can start with a completely clear canvas if required.