What are Gadgets?

Gadgets are dynamic web content that can be embedded in just about any HTML page. We use them as one of an endless number of means to capture and share content in Presentations. They are a portable and open standard that allows us, and other developers, to create content for the web and for Presentations. They can contain just about anything - images, text, videos, live data, slideshows, RSS, Twitter, music, and pretty much anything else that you could imagine being published on the web.

You can classify your Gadgets in one of two ways; Your Gadgets and Shared Gadgets. Your Gadgets are those that you create for your own Company’s use. They’re private and no one else can use them. Shared Gadgets are those that a Network Operator has shared with you or you, as a Network Operator, have chosen to share with your client Companies. If a Network Operator chooses to share a Gadget, than that Gadget is available automatically to all Companies in their network.

Anyone can create a Gadget with basic web technologies such as XML and JavaScript using the Google Gadgets API, and our extensions of that API as well as our shared Gadgets are all available here. All Gadgets that we have created and shared are available under open source licenses and we encourage you to take, use, copy and customize them as you see fit. Some Gadgets can also be added to your personalized iGoogle page, which is a great way to test or try out new Gadgets.

How do I create a Gadget?

1. Make sure you are familiar with the Google Gadget API and you or your developers are well versed in basic web technologies such as  XML and JavaScript. Click here if you are looking for a great tutorial on creating Gadgets.
2. Read the Rise Vision Gadget API which extends the Google Gadget API to include a few enhancements designed to make Gadgets shine in a digital signage setting. While any Google Gadget can be used as part of a Presentation, only Gadgets that support the extensions detailed in our Rise Vision Gadget API can communicate with the Viewer (i.e. send events and receive commands).
3. Because Gadgets are just XML files, they can be stored anywhere accessible via a URL – on a server somewhere, at Amazon, Rackspace – whatever is easier and most accessible for you and your developers.
4. A really simple way to build a Gadget is to use any embed code you find on the web. Click here to view a 2 minute video on exactly how it’s done.

How do I add my Gadget to my Gadget library?

1. Click the Gadgets link from the menu bar.
2. On the Gadgets page, click Add.
3. In the Name field, enter a name for the Gadget.
4. In the URL field enter the URL path to the Gadget.
5. If you’re a Network Operator and want to share this Gadget with your client Companies, click the Shared checkbox. When not checked, it will only be available to users within your immediate Company.
6. In the Author field, enter the name or email address of the person who created the Gadget. Give credit where it’s due!
7. In the Author URL field, enter the URL for the author’s website. Promote their (or your) services!
8. In the Screenshot URL field, enter the URL to a screenshot of the Gadget. Lets others see what it looks like.
9. In the Thumbnail URL field, enter the URL to a thumbnail image of the Gadget.
10. Click Save to save your changes.

Searching and Sorting Gadgets

There are a number of ways you can search and arrange data on the Gadgets page. You can search for a single character, which will retrieve all Gadgets that start with that character, or you can search where the term is found in the middle of the name; For example searching for “gadget” will retrieve “Bob’s Gadget”. Searches are not case sensitive, and you can search by Gadget Name, URL, Description, Author, Author URL, Thumbnail URL or Screenshot URL. Press Search or hit the Enter key on your keyboard to start the search, and pressing the “x” button will clear the search box. The list of Gadgets is sortable by the up/down arrow next to each column header, and if you have more than 50 Gadgets, scroll to the bottom of the page, and more Gadgets will be displayed. By default, 50 results are displayed at a time, and older results are kept within the list when new ones are loaded.

All that is left to do is to put your Gadget into a Presentation. Not sure what all this Presentation talk is about? Click here to learn more.

Some Gadgets can be customized by using your own XML Layout and CSS Style files. Check out this page to see some customization examples.

Here are the help files for all of our Shared Gadgets:

• Rise Vision Clock
• Rise Vision Dashboard Activity Log
• Rise Vision Dashboard Display Map
• Rise Vision Dashboard Failed Displays Count
• Rise Vision Dashboard Failed Displays List
• Rise Vision Dashboard Growth Analysis
• Rise Vision Dashboard Registration Activity
• Rise Vision Directory
• Rise Vision Events
• Rise Vision Financial
• Rise Vision Flash
• Rise Vision Foursquare
• Rise Vision Google Spreadsheet
• Rise Vision Nearby
• Rise Vision Photo Album
• Rise Vision RSS
• Rise Vision RSS List
• Rise Vision Sports
• Rise Vision Twitter Branch
• Rise Vision Twitter List
• Rise Vision URL
• Rise Vision Vimeo
• Rise Vision Weather
• Rise Vision YouTube