Twitter Reader is a utility that runs in the background on the data server, such as TweetOut or Super Ticker. The Twitter Reader utility connects directly to the TweetOut or Super Ticker database. This utility reaches out to Twitter and returns valid content based on your topic searches created in Flow. | Note |
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Important: This utility must be running in order to receive new content. If you are troubleshooting a lack of new content, ensure that the Twitter Reader utility is running and functional using the Utility Status. |
Customers using a cloud instance of TweetOut or Super Ticker do not need to manage the Twitter Reader themselves; Bannister Lake manages it for you. For assistance with your instance of Twitter Reader, contact Bannister Lake Support. Customers using a local instance of TweetOut or Super Ticker can access and manage their own instance of Twitter Reader. - In a standard installation, Twitter Reader is available on the server, also known as the Flow Server or database server.
- In a custom installation, Twitter Reader may be located elsewhere. See your local system administrator for details.
To access the Twitter Reader utility, run the utility from its desktop icon on the server. 
When the utility opens, you can configure the following options. | Option | Description |
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| Rate Limit | Twitter only allows clients like Twitter Reader to make a limited number of calls for new data in a given hour to protect against querying for Tweets too frequently and to control abuse. If the rate limit reaches zero (0) no new tweets will be retrieved.
To avoid exceeding Twitter’s limits, remove any unnecessary TweetOut topics in Flow. See Twitter Topic Control module for details. | | Topics | You can review all of the Twitter topics configured via Flow, and review whether or not they are currently enabled. | | New Tweets | Review the number of new Tweets added on the last data retrieval. | | Countdown For Next Read | By default, Twitter Reader attempts to retrieve data every two (2) minutes. The countdown frequency can be adjusted via File > Preferences; however, the minimum value must be one (1) minute or more. | | Read Now | Trigger an immediate data retrieval by clicking Read Now to bypass the countdown clock. | | File > Preferences | The Twitter Reader utility must be configured to connect to your database. Connection and user authentication values would have been correctly configured by your system administrator initially during installation. Use caution when modifying these values. 
From this dialog you also: - Test your connection to your database by clicking Test Connection. This can be a handy troubleshooting step.
- Control whether Tweets returned include hypertext links or not using the Remove Links From Tweets option.
- Configure the reader for a single user or a pool of users that all TweetOut Readers share between them using the User Pool option. When configuring the user pool option you need to restart the Twitter Reader for your changes to take effect.
- Enable or disable the automatic black list content validation using the Filter on Black List words option.
- Configure how often Tweets are read using the Read Tweets Every value. You will not be able to set this value lower than 60 seconds.
| | Help > Open Today’s Log | Twitter Reader generates a log file of its activities while it’s running.
You can review this log file. Using the date and time, you can confirm that Twitter Reader is connecting and returning Tweets successfully. |
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