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Version: 11.x

RSS

The RSS data source can automatically fetch and display content from an RSS feed. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a web format used to distribute frequently updated content, such as news articles, blog posts, or announcements.

You can use an external feed (for example, from a news site) or use Feeds in Smartsign to publish messages directly on your screens. To use a Smartsign feed, open it under Management -> Feeds, copy the Link shown in its details and paste it into RSS link.

How it works​

  • Fetching Data - The Smartsign server retrieves content from a specified RSS feed URL, so the feed must be reachable from the internet. For on premise installations, the feed must be reachable from the on premise server instead.
  • Extracting Information - Key details such as headlines, summaries, images, and publication dates are pulled from the feed.
  • Displaying Content - The extracted data is formatted and shown on screens, updating automatically when the RSS feed is refreshed. If an update fails, screens keep showing the posts they already have.

In a template, you can bind text items to RSS - Headline, RSS - Description, RSS - Date, RSS - Creator, RSS - Event start, RSS - Event end, RSS - Place and Last update time, and image items to RSS - Image. RSS - Description has a Strip HTML tags option, which is on by default. RSS - Image uses the image or media attached to the post, or else the first image in the post's content. When Enable video is on, it can also be a video.

Requirements​

  • A configured RSS datasource.
  • An RSS-compatible template to fetch and display the data.

Set up the datasource​

The first step is to configure your data source with the RSS URL you want to use.

In this example we will use an RSS from European Space Agency with their top space news feed. (https://www.esa.int/rssfeed/TopNews)

  • Go to Templates and Datasources. alt text
  • Click Add datasource and select Create new. alt text
  • Browse available datasources and choose RSS. alt text
  • Configure the datasource by adding Name, Description and RSS link. alt text
  • Click Create to finish. alt text
  • Once created, you can confirm that data has been fetched.
    Datasource is now ready to be used. alt text

Use RSS template​

When the datasource is configured, you can use an RSS template to display the feed on your screens.

Smartsign offers a few default RSS templates available in the Marketplace and you can also design your own using the Template Creator.

Download template from Marketplace​

  • Go to Templates alt text
  • Select Get more templates. alt text
  • Browse or search for RSS templates. alt text
  • Select a template, click Get now! and then Next. alt text
  • In the Connect datasources step, choose your RSS datasource, or Connect later if you don't have one yet, and click Add. A datasource can otherwise be connected when the template is added to a booking or media library. alt text
  • Click Go to publisher, where the new template is available. alt text

Publish template​

Once the template is available, you can publish it to a channel and display it on your screens.

  • Open the channel calendar (Publishing - Channels) and create a new booking. alt text
  • Select Add media and Use template. alt text alt text
  • Choose the downloaded RSS template. alt text
  • Set a name and media library storage location if you want to keep it in a specific folder. alt text
  • In the Datasource box, you can adjust the settings for posts and duration, or switch to RSS datasource if needed. alt text
  • Save when done and template is now ready to be published. alt text

Your screens will now display live, automatically updating RSS content — such as news headlines, announcements, or other information directly from your chosen feed.

Technical information​

The expected encoding for RSS feeds is UTF-8.

RSS datasource configuration options​

RSS link is set on the datasource. The other settings are set per template, under Datasource settings for this template when you connect the datasource in Template Creator, or when you edit the media.

SettingDescriptionExample
RSS linkThe complete URL to the RSS data including protocolhttps://www.esa.int/rssfeed/TopNews
Data update timeTime in seconds between updates. Default 3600.3600 (updates every hour)
Time between postsTime in seconds to show each post. Default 10.10
Number of posts to showThe maximum number of posts to show, newest first. Default 10.10
Max post age in daysOnly show posts newer than this many days. Empty means no limit. If no post is recent enough, the first post in the feed is still shown.7
Show progressDisplay a visual progress indicator for posts. Off by default.Disabled
Enable videoAllow video in posts. On by default. Videos are streamed directly to the screen, which can require a lot of network bandwidth. Not available for on premise installations.Enabled