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VikingTools · Practical guides / Praktiske veiledninger

From an idea to something you can use

Three worked examples, with the decisions, checks and limitations that matter along the way. Try the public examples first, then make your own.

These guides are available in English and Norwegian. / Veiledningene finnes på norsk og engelsk.

01 · Restaurant menus

One café menu, two screens and a QR sign

Imagine a café with a lunch monitor and a drinks monitor. Keep the dishes in one menu, give each monitor its own view, and let guests browse the same menu on their phones.

The example

Add a Lunch section with “Tomato pasta — 149 NOK” and a Drinks section with “Filter coffee — 35 NOK”. Describe what is actually served. These are example prices, not a recommended pricing strategy.

  1. Create the menu. Open the menu maker and sign in. Create a menu called “Harbour Café”. Sample dishes can help you explore, but replace them before sharing a real menu.
  2. Enter each dish once. In Dishes, add its name, price and short description. Include the correct allergens and availability. Set the original language in Settings. Visitors can request automatic translations; names and descriptions may need checking, especially for ingredients. Translation is not an allergen safety check.
  3. Give each screen a job. In Screens, create “Lunch” and “Drinks”. Select the relevant sections for each. A full-screen photo is useful for a promotional image but does not display the dish list.
  4. Check the design from a distance. Use Design to choose the screen's layout, background and text size. Keep prices and names easy to distinguish. Open its dedicated link on the monitor, choose Full screen and check readability from where customers stand.
  5. Save before testing the QR code. “Save and update screens” publishes the menu changes. Open “QR code & orders”, then “Print menu / QR sign”. Scan the printed sign with a phone and check that it opens the correct customer menu, not the owner editor.
  6. Decide whether guests can order. Leave ordering off for a browse-only menu. To receive orders without online payment, choose no online payment and enable phone orders. Keep the verified sign-in requirement, or allow guests if that suits your restaurant. Save these ordering settings separately.
  7. Test with your staff. For a real menu, place one clearly identified test order, confirm its number in the staff queue and cancel or finish it deliberately. Do not confuse the public demonstration with a real restaurant order. Explain where and how guests pay.
The screen or QR menu does not look right
  • Old prices: save changes, then refresh the screen. An editor preview does not update the public menu by itself.
  • Missing dishes: check availability and the sections assigned to that screen. A photo-only layout intentionally hides the dish list.
  • No order buttons: check that phone ordering is enabled and its settings are saved. Required online payment also needs ready payments. A sign-in requirement should show a customer sign-in route.
  • Wrong translation: keep the original dish wording clear and check the result. Do not rely on an automatic translation to communicate a severe allergy.

Make a restaurant menu →Explore the restaurant example →

02 · PDF flipbooks

Turn a six-page brochure into a book people can browse

Use a PDF you own or have permission to share. A short brochure is a useful first test: cover, introduction, three content pages and a back cover.

  1. Choose the source. Open Flipbook and choose or drag in your PDF. Start with Balanced quality. The PDF is processed in your browser; choosing a file does not send the source PDF to VikingTools.
  2. Inspect the converted pages. Read the smallest text and compare page order with the original. A wide landscape document may work better in single-page mode; facing pages can suit a portrait brochure. Conversion creates page images, so selectable PDF text, forms and links are not retained as PDF features.
  3. Set the appearance. Choose a background theme and compare the cover against it. Check zoom, page navigation and full screen. A theme changes the reader interface, not the contents of the pages.
  4. Keep a local copy. Download the standalone ZIP reader without signing in. Extract the ZIP before opening its viewer. Keep the original PDF too. The image-only PDF download is a different export; it is not guaranteed to be smaller than your original.
  5. Share only when you mean to. Sign in if you want a hosted link. Publishing uploads converted JPEG pages, not the source PDF. Anyone with a published link can read it, so avoid private documents. In My flipbooks, set availability dates or unpublish it when appropriate.
  6. Check the actual link. Open it in another browser or private window. If you share a theme-specific URL, keep its theme parameter. Test any website embed on the page where you intend to use it.

Which quality should I choose?

Small text: try Sharper and check the preview at reading size. Mostly large photos: Balanced is a reasonable starting point. A sharing-limit warning: try Smaller file, then verify that captions remain readable. Higher quality needs more browser memory and hosted storage.

Conversion or sharing stops
  • A protected or damaged PDF: use a readable, unencrypted copy you are entitled to export. Check that it opens correctly in a PDF reader.
  • Browser memory: close other heavy tabs, choose Smaller file, or export a shorter part from your PDF editor.
  • Storage full: check My flipbooks for unused books and incomplete uploads. Deleting a book breaks its shared link.
  • A link is unavailable: check whether the book is published and within its dates. Unpublishing keeps the book but stops public viewing; it cannot recall copies already downloaded by readers.

Create a flipbook →Browse the sample book →

03 · Knitting patterns

Design a small colourwork swatch and print useful instructions

Begin with a 20-stitch, 20-row practice chart rather than a whole garment. The tool helps you record your design; it does not check whether a garment will fit or automatically turn a chart into written instructions.

  1. Set up the chart. Open Knitting patterns, set 20 stitches and 20 rows, then Apply size. Choose flat knitting or in the round. Row 1 is at the bottom. Flat knitting alternates reading direction; rounds read right to left.
  2. Try two yarn colours. Choose a light background and a darker motif colour. Try a diamond, or paint your own. Use arrow keys and Space with the chart focused if you prefer the keyboard. On touch screens, switch between painting and moving around the chart.
  3. Record what the symbols mean. For this colourwork exercise, keep knit symbols and change colours. If you add yarn overs or decreases, check the stitch count yourself. Right-side decrease symbols need the corresponding purl decrease on wrong-side rows.
  4. Write a matching pattern. Add a title, yarn, needles, measured gauge and finishing notes. Write the cast-on and row instructions separately. The chart and written text are independent: editing one does not rewrite the other.
  5. Measure a washed swatch. If 20 stitches measure 10 cm, a 30 cm width starts with an estimate of 60 stitches. If 28 rows measure 10 cm, 40 cm needs about 112 rows. These are estimates from your entered measurements; shaping, repeats and edge stitches still need planning.
  6. Preview before printing. Open Preview pattern. Check the chart, colour key and written information together, then Print pattern. Use your browser's print preview to choose paper size and check page breaks. Saving as PDF depends on the browser or operating system.
  7. Download a backup. Browser saving is convenient but tied to this device and browser. Clearing site data or using private browsing can remove it. Download the JSON backup and use Open backup to restore it. The SVG chart download is an image of the chart, not a full editable pattern backup.

A yarn calculation you can check

Your pattern needs 500 metres. Each ball has 120 metres. With 10% extra, the calculation is 500 × 1.10 ÷ 120 = 4.58, rounded up to 5 balls. The calculator needs a yarn length you already know; it cannot infer yarn consumption from a painted chart.

The chart and printout disagree
  • Different stitch counts: count the increases and decreases and check each row against the written instructions.
  • Wrong reading direction: verify flat versus in-the-round mode before interpreting row numbers.
  • Hard-to-read colours: choose colours with different lightness and inspect the printed key, especially on a black-and-white printer.
  • Missing saved work: reopen a downloaded backup in the tool. Browser data is not a substitute for a separate copy.

Design a knitting pattern →View the sample pattern →

Written for the current VikingTools tools, October 2026. Limits and availability can change. Try a small example and keep a backup before relying on a tool for important work.

Examples / Eksempler →