Widget: RSS Viewer
Overview
This widget displays live information from public or custom RSS feeds in a playlist of feed items. All RSS components such as headlines, media and body content can be displayed in various layouts with extensive formatting options.
Note
This widget differs from the RSS Ticker widget in that it sequentially displays individual text content from the RSS feeds, one after another. This enables users to digest the information more thoroughly rather than in one continuous stream.
An RSS Viewer widget is commonly used for:
- Displaying the latest news feeds and/or headlines from online media broadcasts including news sites
- Providing the latest updates from users on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook
- Sharing of new content from blogs and organizations with regularly maintained websites
Editing an RSS Viewer Widget
Step 1
From an existing application, click on the widget from the selected layout or select it from the list of widgets on the right. To edit the widget in the Visual Editor, click on the Properties button at the bottom right. This will bring up the widget properties dialog.
Step 2
On the APPEARANCE tab, you will be able to view the layout of the widget. The right hand side of the page contains all the editable properties of the widget itself. In this tab, you are able to edit the properties in the COMMON section, as well as specific properties in the PROPERTIES and FONT sections.
Step 3
In the PROPERTIES section, you can alter the behavior of the text being displayed. To change the Display Layout, click on the [+] sign.
Note
Display behaviors that can be altered:
- Display Duration – how long each feed item displayed in the playlist
- Display Layout – the arrangement of feed item elements
- Docking Layout – the positioning of the media content in the feed item relative to the textual elements
Step 4
In the Layout Display window, click and drag any of the elements from the Available Element column and drop it into the Display Element column in order to display it in the RSS Viewer, and vice-versa to hide it. You may also re-order any of the elements in the Display Element using the drag and drop method. Click OK to complete your layout selection.
Note
The Media element in the Layout Display refers to the embedded media within the RSS Feed (usually a logo or website icon), whereas the Date, Title, and Text elements are the textual component of an RSS feed item.
Step 5
In the FONT section, you can utilize the tabs for customizing the look of the TITLE, DATE, TEXT and MEDIA using a variety of formatting options, including font type, size, alignment and color. Click on Apply to confirm the changes you have made.
The following tables describe the properties within each tab.
Title, Date, and Text Tab
| Property Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Font | Provides the options to select the font from the dropdown list |
| Size | Assigns a selection of sizes for the designated text (from 8 to 120) |
| Align | Designates the positioning of the text in the layout (Left Align, Right Align or Center Align) |
| Color | Customizes the color of the text to be displayed |
| Bold | Toggles the text to be formatted in BOLD |
Media Tab
For the MEDIA tab, the customization involves the physical attributes and behavior of media (usually photos) retrieved from the RSS feed:
| Property Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Media Stretch | Provides the options to either to stretch and Fill the entire allocated space with the media, or to scale it in a Uniform manner, based on the Media Size setting |
| Media Alignment | Designates the positioning of the media in the layout (TopLeft, BottomRight and Center) |
| Media Size | Assigns a selection of sizes for the media to be displayed (from 10% to 100%) |
| Media Duration | Indicates the length of time allocated for the display of individual media item (when there are multiple media content associated with an RSS feed item). |
| Media Border | Refers to the thickness of the border around the media (numeric value, where 0 means no border) |
| Media Border Color | Denotes the color of the border around the media |
Adding an RSS Feed
Step 1
Click the CONTENT tab. You will be able to view the list of RSS feeds you have uploaded (if any). Click either the Add RSS button or link.
Step 2
In the RSS Feed window, choose the Common Feeds option to quickly and easily add web feeds based on freely available feed channels, including Industry, World, Sports and Entertainment news.
Step 3
If you choose the Custom Feeds option, you can assign your own tailor-made web feed based on the URL you provide. Select the Custom Feeds option and enter the web address into the URL box.
Step 4
Set the refresh rate, max age and max items per feed.
Note
For both Common Feeds and Custom Feeds, you are able to choose from the following options:
- Refresh Rate (Every 15 minutes to Every day) – determines how frequently the system will search for new content from the web feed.
- Max Age (Never expires, 1 week, 1 month) – designates the expiration date of the oldest updated content from the web feed.
- Max Items Per Feed (1 to Unlimited) – configures the maximum number of content (items) to be displayed for each individual web feed.
Editing An RSS Feed
Step 1
Click the CONTENT tab. Click the date link of the designated RSS feed under the Updated column.
Step 2
In the RSS Feed window, make the changes to the Refresh Rate, Max Age and/or Max Items Per Feed options. Click Apply to confirm the changes made.
Removing an RSS Feed
Step 1
Click the CONTENT tab. Click the Remove link in line with the RSS feed to be deleted.
Step 2
Click OK in the Confirmation dialog box. The entry will no longer be displayed in the list of RSS feeds.
