Learn how to manage an RSS Viewer widget in a Multizone Signage Channel. This article is for Communicators who show one feed item at a time in a zone. After you read this article, you can add the widget, add a feed, and set how items appear.
For: Communicators — RSS Viewer Widgets
In this article:
Prerequisites
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You must be a Publisher for the selected location, channel, or channel group, or have another role that allows you to manage the channel.
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Create a Multizone Signage Channel with at least one layout and one zone. See Create a Multizone Signage Channel.
Add an RSS Viewer Widget
Add RSS Viewer to a zone from the channel Edit tab. Follow the Add Widgets to a Zone steps in Create a Multizone Signage Channel, then select RSS Viewer from New widgets.
The widget appears in the content list for the selected zone. RSS Viewer shows one feed item at a time. RSS Ticker shows a scrolling or fading ticker.
Note: RSS Viewer and RSS Ticker support RSS 1.0, RSS 2.0, mRSS, and Atom 1.0.
Add an RSS Feed
Feeds are on the Content tab. An empty widget shows No RSS feeds. Click Add Feed. When the widget already has feeds, click Add.
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Open the layout editor and select the RSS Viewer widget.
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Select the Content tab.
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Click Add Feed.
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In URL, enter an http or https feed address.
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Set Refresh Rate. A new feed uses Every 4 hours.
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Set Display Duration. A new feed uses 1 week.
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Set Max Items Per Feed. A new feed uses 100 items.
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Click Save.
The feed appears in the list with Provider, URL, and Updated. The Provider name comes from the feed address. Drag a feed to change its order. Select a feed to edit it, turn it off, or delete it.
Refresh Rate can be Every 15 minutes, Every 30 minutes, Every 45 minutes, Every hour, Every 2 hours, Every 4 hours, Every 8 hours, or Everyday. Display Duration on this form can be 1 week, 1 month, or Never expires. Max Items Per Feed can be 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, or 100 items.
Turn on Requires Authentication to enter Username and Password. Save is available when the URL is a valid http or https address. With authentication on, a username is required, and a password is required for a new feed.
An invalid address shows Please enter a valid URL after you leave the URL field. The sidebar also shows a notice that Appspace can display third-party data.
Note: Display Duration on the feed form is how long items stay in the feed. Display Duration in Properties is how many seconds each item stays on screen.
Configure RSS Viewer Settings
Item layout is on the layout editor Edit tab, in the Properties accordion.
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Select Channels from the Appspace menu.
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Open the Multizone Signage Channel.
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Select the Edit tab.
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Select the layout that contains the RSS Viewer widget.
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Select Edit from the layout more options menu.
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Select the RSS Viewer widget.
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Select the Edit tab.
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Expand Properties.
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Set the fields you need.
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Click Save on the layout editor header.
| Setting | What you set |
|---|---|
| Display Duration | Seconds each item stays on screen. The field shows secs. New widgets use 10. |
| Display Layout | Which parts appear, and their order: Date, Title, Text, and Media. Check a part to show it, and drag it to change the order. New widgets show Date, Title, and Text. |
| Docking Layout | Where media sits: Media on the left, Media in the middle, or Media on the right. New widgets use Media on the left. |
| Media Stretch | Fill or Uniform. New widgets use Fill. |
| Media Alignment | Top left, Center, or Bottom right. New widgets use Top left. |
| Media Size | 10% through 100%, in steps of 10. New widgets use 50%. |
| Media Duration | Seconds media stays in view. The field shows secs. New widgets use 30. |
| Border | Border color and width in px. New widgets use a black border at 1 px. |
Style the Text
Select the widget. The formatting toolbar has Date, Title, and Text. For the part you select, set the font, size, text color, Bold, Italic, Underline, and alignment (Align left, Align center, or Align right). New text uses Arial, size 96, left alignment, and white.
Use the other Edit accordions for placement and style:
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General — Name, Size, Position, Opacity, Animation In, and Animation Out.
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Appearance — Background, Background Image, Border, and Margins.
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Code — Widget GUID and Custom CSS.
The Permissions tab lists Publishers and Editors.
Tip: To open the layout editor from the channel Edit tab, select Edit from the layout more options menu, or click the + button on the widget and select Open editor.
Use RSS Viewer Actions
On the Actions tab, set the source to this RSS Viewer widget and choose a method or the Item Loaded event. Build the action in Configure Signage Channel Widget Actions.
Item Loaded exposes Item Name, Item Title, Item Image, and Item Description.
| Method | Fields |
|---|---|
| Load Source Feed By Index | Source Index |
| Load Source Feed By Name | Source Name |
| Next | No fields |
| Previous | No fields |
| Load Item | Offset |