How to Use Helperbird in Locked Mode on Chromebooks
The admin setup that lets Helperbird run inside a locked mode quiz on a managed Chromebook, and how students reach it once the shelf and toolbar are hidden.
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- admin
This page is for the admin who manages the Chromebooks. It answers one question: does Helperbird run inside a locked assessment, and can a student still reach it once the screen is locked down.
Two sibling pages carry the rest. For deciding which features each student gets, see how to assign Helperbird accommodations to students. For what the student does in the room, send them how to use Helperbird during Google Forms locked quizzes.
What Locked Mode Does to Extensions
Locked mode belongs to Google Forms, not to Helperbird. When a teacher turns it on for a quiz on a managed Chromebook, the quiz takes the whole screen, the shelf is hidden, and most extensions and keyboard shortcuts stop. Accessibility extensions that your organization force-installs are the exception.
Google's documentation is the authority on that exception and is linked under References. Locked mode also only exists on managed Chromebooks, not on personal devices, iPads, Macs or Windows PCs.
Force Install Is the Requirement
Helperbird has to arrive from your policy. A copy a student added themselves from the Chrome Web Store is treated like any other extension and stops when the quiz locks.
The Chrome extension ID is ahmapmilbkfamljbpgphfndeemhnajme. The click path, and the IDs for other browsers, are on force install Helperbird.
Force install on its own gives students Helperbird Free. Pro comes from two policy keys, and both have to be right.
| Key | Set it to | What it does |
|---|---|---|
isAdminControl | true | Applies your managed settings and locks them from student editing. Set it to false and every managed value is removed, subKey included. |
subKey | Your subscription key | Turns on Helperbird Pro without the student signing in. Ignored while isAdminControl is false. |
Where to paste them: how to set Helperbird JSON policy in Google Admin.
Reaching Helperbird When the Toolbar Is Hidden
This is the part that catches schools out. Locked mode hides the shelf, and if your Chrome setup also hides extension icons there is nothing left for a student to click.
Helperbird ships a Floating Toolbar for this. It is a Helperbird button drawn on the page itself, not in the browser chrome, so it does not depend on the toolbar being visible. Clicking it opens a bar of accessibility tools.
It is off by default. Set floatingButton to true alongside isAdminControl, and floatingButtonPosition to "left" or "right" if you want to move it. The policy walkthrough is on how to enable the Helperbird floating button, and what each button does is on how to use the Helperbird accessibility toolbar.
Two limits to know before you promise it to a department. Five of its buttons need Helperbird Pro: Dictionary, Immersive Reader, Word prediction, Voice typing and Screenshot Reader. And reading a whole page aloud from the toolbar stops at 5,000 characters on a free account.
To keep it away from a group, add FloatingButton to that group's disabledFeatures list.
Third-Party Lockdown Browsers
Respondus LockDown Browser, Securly and similar products are not Google locked mode. They launch their own window or kiosk app and block other applications, and whether a force-installed accessibility extension survives is decided by that product, not by us or by Google.
Ask the vendor before test day. Google Forms locked mode is the setup we can support end to end, so prefer it where you have the choice.
Check It Before Test Day
- Sign into a student account on a managed Chromebook. Your admin account may sit in a different organizational unit.
- Confirm the policy arrived. See verify a Helperbird managed deployment.
- Open a real locked mode quiz and check that Helperbird opens and that Pro features work.
- If you turned on the Floating Toolbar, check the button appears on the quiz page itself.
Troubleshooting
Helperbird does not appear at all. Confirm it is force-installed rather than added by hand, that the device is managed by your district, and that the student sits in the organizational unit the policy is set on.
Helperbird opens but Pro features are locked. You need subKey and isAdminControl set to true together. Either one alone does nothing.
A student cannot find Helperbird once the quiz starts. There is no toolbar to click. Turn on the Floating Toolbar.
Some features are missing and others work. That is your disabledFeatures list, not locked mode. See how to assign Helperbird accommodations to students.
Related Guides
- How to Assign Helperbird Accommodations to Students
- How to Use Helperbird During Google Forms Locked Quizzes
- How to Enable the Helperbird Floating Button
- How to Use the Helperbird Accessibility Toolbar
- Force Install Helperbird Extension
- How to Set Helperbird JSON Policy in Google Admin
- How to Deploy Helperbird in ChromeOS Kiosk Mode
- How to Verify and Troubleshoot a Helperbird Managed Deployment
References
Printed from the Helperbird Help Center · Updated August 13th, 2026
Questions? We are happy to help — helperbird.com/support