Last updated on July 14, 2015

Introduction to Widgets

Widgets are little applets that Appspace provides to represent dynamic data and visual elements in your Signs apps. Widgets, added to an application’s layout, define both the visual presentation and live data sources, such as weather information, news tickers, and event calendars for real-time updates.

The Appspace Widget Library contains a standard set of widgets, and customized widgets in categories such as Background Themes, Banners, Slide Shows, Content Holders, Clocks, Tickers, and Weather, to provide you with more options and flexibility. You can add single or multiple widgets to each layout, to both passive and interactive applications.

Standard Widgets

The below are the Standard Widgets currently available in Appspace:

• Media Zone

  

  Build the visual foundation of any application with media content, with the Media Zone widget. From backgrounds and interface elements to video playlists, the media widget is highly flexible and can be layered to form rich media interfaces.

• Clock

  

  Display the current date and time with a wide range of formatting options using the Clock widget. You can also display single or multiple clocks with different time zone offsets in an application.

• Media Container

  

  Create and manage multi-level menus containing media content and data for interactive apps with the Media Container widget. Link menu items to custom layouts and functions, or sync with external data sources for automated updates.

• Plain Text

  

  Display static or dynamic text with a wide variety of formatting options including font styles, color, position, and rotation, with the Plain Text widget. The widget also supports scrolling text tickers.

• Table Listing

  

  Create table listings to display any type of tabular information such as event timetables, currency exchange rates or stock indices. Bind to external data sources for automated updates.

• Flash Container

  

  Embed Flash SWF files with extended scripting abilities with the Flash Container widget. Create custom functions by passing variables between the Flash Container and the application for custom interaction and data communication.

• Weather Widgets

  

  Display live weather information for any location with the Weather Widgets. Find locations by city, state, country, or ZIP code. Different formatting options allow for the display of single or multiple day forecasts.

• Event Calendar

  

  Display scheduled information by hour, day, week, or month with recurrence options using the Event Calendar widget. External information can also be imported from third-party services such as Microsoft Exchange.

• Ticker

  

  Create scrolling or fading tickers with text or media elements, while customizing the ticker direction and spacing, with the Ticker widget.

• RSS Viewer

  

  Display live information from public or custom RSS feeds with the RSS Viewer widget. The widget has extensive formatting options, and all RSS components such as headlines, media, and body content can be displayed in various layouts.

• RSS Ticker

  

  Create scrolling or fading tickers for RSS feeds with the RSS Ticker widget. Formatting options such as ticker direction and spacing can be customized.

• Remote Control

  

  Create interactive applications that are controlled by the Cisco DMP remote control. The remote control widget turns any application into an intuitive interactive TV experience.

• SIP Call

  

  The SIP Call widget lets you connect to the Cisco Unified Call Manager and perform video calls directly from an app.

Note

For more information on how to use these widgets, please refer to articles in the Widgets section.

Widget Properties

When editing a widget, the tabs and property sections that are displayed in the Widget Properties window vary depending on the type of widget being edited. However, the APPEARANCE tab and the COMMON section are displayed for every widget type. Other sections below or above this section may vary based on the widget type.

The following table describes the tabs that may be available in the Widget Properties window:

Tabs	Description
APPEARANCE	Describes the common and widget specific properties that affect its appearance.
CONTENT	If the widget displays content, the CONTENT tab allows users to manage the content.
ACTIONS	Allows users to create basic and advanced scripting actions.
PROPERTIES	Allows users to perform advanced editing to Key-Value pairs within the widget.
PERMISSIONS	Allows Administrators to set per user access permissions for the widget.
DATA PROVIDER	Allows database information to be sent via a provider (e.g. MySQL Server) into the widget target sheet.

Note

For more information on configuring widget properties please refer to articles in the Configuring Widget Properties section.

Widget and Player Support

The table below lists the widgets and the supported digital media players/PC players.

Widgets	Edge		DMP		PC Player
	340	300	4310	4400	Direct X	Flash
Media Zone	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Plain Text	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Rich Text	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Text Ticker	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
RSS Ticker	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
RSS Viewer	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Clock	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Weather	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Calender	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Media Container	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔ 1	✔
Flash Container	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Wayfinder	✔	✔	✘	✔	✔ 2	✔
SIP Call	✔	✔	✘	✘	✔	✔
Table Listing	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔

Note

• 1 - Custom widget using infomenu data component.
• 2 - Custom widget using wayfinder data component.