TweetOut with InfoCaster

Owned by Carrie Warner (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Apr 24, 2013Version comment
4 min read

Integrating TweetOut with InfoCaster involves 3 steps:

  1. In TweetOut, use BLADE to generate an RSS Query String URL for a Twitter or Facebook playlist or topic.
  2. In InfoCaster, link data tags to the TweetOut External Data Source.
  3. Configure the content using the Data Source Wizard.

Note: This section details the specific integration required between Harris' Infocaster and BL TweetOut. See the Harris InfoCaster Online Help system for complete details on working with InfoCaster, creating and managing regions, adding data tags, and complete details on the options available via the Data Source Wizard.

Link Data Tags to External Data Source

In InfoCaster, when you draw regions, you can create data tags and link those data tags to external data sources, such as an RSS feed from TweetOut, using InfoCaster's Data Source Wizard and TweetOut's BLADE module. Maintaining your data in an external file allows you to update information automatically, without needing to edit the items.

  1. Draw a region.
  2. Double-click on the region.
  3. Select a Quick Editor for that region and click Add.
  4. Add one or more data tag(s) for the region.
  5. Select the External Data Source option and click Setup to open the Data Source Wizard.
  6. Select the Create New RSS/XML Data Source option and click Next.

  7. In the URL/XML File Path field, copy and paste the RSS Query String URL from the TweetOut BLADE module.
  8. Enter a unique Data Source Name to identify this data source.

    Note: You can have multiple regions connecting to the same RSS external data feed for a single page of your InfoCast. However, when you have different pages or different InfoCasts that all connect to the same feed, you must create a new data source with a unique name for every InfoCast page.

  9. Specify whether only the current Windows user is allowed access to this data or all users can access the data by selecting the appropriate option.
  10. Click Next.
  11. When prompted for Source Authentication, select No authentication and click Commit.

Configure Content Using the Data Source Wizard 

  1. Expand the Data File Structure, including rss and channel, until you reach the first item. Expand that item and select description.
  2. Add Description to the Selected Data Source list.
  3. Ensure that you see expected content in the Data Preview area. If you don't see the content you are expecting to broadcast, then the correct data file structure element hasn't yet been added to the Selected Data Source list.
  4. Click Next.
  5. Specify data parameters including Column Header and Data Type and click Next.

     
  6. Set the data source to the field and click Next. The key here is to ensure that the correct Column is selected. The content is numbered per row, and by default, Column is set to F1. You need to change Column to ensure that the content you want to connect externally is configured.

     
  7.  Specify when InfoCaster checks for new TweetOut content by setting the Data Playback option to retrieve updates at a particular interval. You do not want this retrieval value to be smaller than 30 seconds.

  8. Click Finished. The configured data tag now shows "From External Source". When you move to your InfoCast and review regions, the region will also indicate that it is configured for an external data source.


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