Data feed widgets
From SpinetiX Support Wiki
This page is about the advanced data-driven widgets included in X user-edition of Elementi 2017 and later. For previous Elementi versions, see the links below.
Introduction
The advanced data feed widgets can be used to display content extracted from data sources based on any type of text-based format - the most useful being JSON & XML data format, which are usually used by web services - although some might need to be processed through JavaScript parsers (like HTML). See more about Data feeds in general.
Common data formats like: RSS, Text, Spreadsheets, and Calendars, are also supported, though it's recommended to use the dedicated widgets instead - see data-driven widgets page for more details.
The "Data Feeds" widget folder is not present in Elementi S or Elementi M - these advanced widgets are available only for Elementi X users. The rationale for this is that the social media, spreadsheets and other widgets are pre-configured versions of the data feeds widgets. So, anything achievable with a data feed widget that is over-and-above what can be done with a pre-configured one, must require customization. Usually that customization is at a level which means understanding APIs, JSON syntax, all the rest of it.
Widgets
Elementi software comes with several advanced data feed widgets accessible from "Widgets" tab within the Browse panel:
- Text Bar
- Displays text content using a fixed number of lines and applying a bottom-to-top & line-by-line scrolling effect whenever the entire text doesn't fit into the widget area.
- Text Ticker
- Displays text content using a continuous horizontal scrolling effect. The font size is adjusted automatically for the text to fit into the widget area.
- Text Roll
- Displays text content using a continuous vertical scrolling effect. The font size is adjusted automatically for the selected number of lines to fit into the predefined area.
- Media Playlist
- Displays a playlist of media items (images, videos) included into the data feed.
- Media Crawler
- Displays the media items (images, videos) included into the data feed using a continuous scrolling effect.
- Animated Playlist
- Displays a media playlist using the Ken Burns effect animation.
- Slideshow
- Displays slides composed of text & media layers, which are automatically filled out with data retrieved from the data feed. The slides are displayed one after another, with or without a transition effect in between, similarly to a playlist.
- Table and Grouped Table
- Displays slides composed of multiple cells of text & media layers, which are automatically filled out with data retrieved from the data feed. The slides are displayed one after another, with or without a transition effect in between, similarly to a playlist.
Configuration
Each of the widgets above can be customized using the options provided under "Properties" tab - for more details go to the dedicated page of each widget type, linked above.
Data source setup
To edit the properties related to the data source, click on the 
button. This opens the Data Feed Properties dialog, which offers advanced options for more complex data processing.
Note:Data parsing
The parser(s) used by these widgets can be changed from the "Data Feed Properties" dialog; the following parsers are available: RSS, XML, JSON (default), CSV, RegExp, ICS, Script, Directory Listing and Query String. Additionally, a Date/Time parser is available for data formatting.
Data filtering
To allow filtering the resulted data based on some criteria, the following filters are available under the "Format" option within the "Data Feed Properties" dialog: Num. Filter, Date Filter, and String Filter.