The Data Feed Manager


The Data Feed Manager is where you add, configure and remove data feeds.


QL supports the following types of data sources:


*Support for JSON data feeds is currently available on QL SaaS. Simply use the RSS/XML option to add a JSON data feed.


Click here for the Data Feed Manager video tutorial.


Click here for the Using Data Feeds video tutorial.



You can access the Data Feed Manager from the Content Library, the Template Designer or the Ticker Designer:

***IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT DISPLAYING DATA FEEDS ON YOUR SCREENS***


You must configure each data feed using QL Server's Data Feed Manager. Once each feed has been configured, the data feed's link will be sent to each player that needs to display the information. It's important to remember that each player must be able to access the data feeds source from their network location. In some instances, this may require configuration of a proxy server or other method to let players connect to the data feed's source.

Accessing the Data Feed Manager from the Content Library (NEW in v2.8)


  1. Click the DATAFEED tab on the left side of the Content Library. All existing data feeds will appear on the right.
  2. Click the +DATAFEED button at the top of the Content Library window to open the Data Feed Manager in new feed mode.



Accessing the Data Feed Manager from the Template Designer


With the Template Designer open, click the DATA FEED MANAGER tab on the right. Click the Data Feed Manager button to open the DFM window:


Accessing the Data Feed Manager from the Ticker Designer


With the Ticker Designer open, click the DATA FEED MANAGER tab on the right. Click the Data Feed Manager button to open the DFM window:


Accessing the Data Feed Manager from the Content Properties (via Play If conditional playback)


In any content or template properties (3rd screen), click the Data Feed Manager button:


Data Feed Manager Tour

Accessing the Data Feed Manager from the +DATAFEED button (configuring a new data feed):



  1. New Feed Type: Select the type of data feed you are configuring. Options are: RSS-XML, Server feed, Twitter / X, Facebook, Google Calendar, Microsoft Exchange.
  2. Data Feed name: Enter a descriptive name for the new data feed.
  3. Options menu: Paste or type the URL of the data feed source (note: not required for server data feeds)
  4. Save your data feed's parameters. The data feed will be synchronized and its contents will be shown in the empty pane on the right.



  5. Save the current data feed so you can use it later.


Accessing the Data Feed Manager from any other location (configuring a new data feed, or editing an existing data feed) :



  1. Left tabs: New feed, display options, preview, columns.
  2. Data Feed selector: lists any data feeds currently registered in the software.
  3. Options menu: New feed, Edit, Remove, Refresh
  4. Save changes, Cancel changes
  5. Data feed view: Shows currently selected data feed.


Creating a new data feed from within a template, ticker or conditional play/trigger rule


Click on the NEW FEED tab on the left, or select New feed in the Options menu.


The menu will open.



Type: Select the type of data feed you want to create from the pull down menu.



Name: Provide a name for the data feed.


URL: Enter the URL of the data feed, including http:// or https:// prefix. For Twitter / X,  enter your handle (user name). Be sure to include the @ sign. 


NOTE: There is no URL to enter for for QL server data feeds.


Display options



URL: Shows the URL for the currently selected feed.


Referent: Each data record will be displayed on screen based on the number of characters in the column listed as Referent. Always pick a referent column that has the most text. For example, most publicly available news RSS feeds feature a title and a description column. Title is almost always a single line of text, while description is a complete paragraph. By default, QL always selects the first column in any data feed as the referent so it’s important to check and make sure the referent points to the column with the most text. Otherwise the news will cycle too quickly and viewers won’t have time to read the information on the screen. 


NOTE: You can adjust the pause between data records in the Template and Ticker designers, by modifying the Reading Speed value, under “DATAFEED“.


Refresh: The refresh value is set to 30 minutes by default. Changing this setting will vary the frequency at which the player will connect to the data source to refresh the data.

Restrict scope: By default, all the records in the data feed will be shown.  By changing the start and end values, you can restrict the number of records for any data feed. For example, start on line 5 and stop on line 10. 


NOTE: This setting can also be modified in the Template and Ticker designers.


Restrict scope: By default, all the records in the data feed will be shown.  By changing the start and end values, you can restrict the number of records for any data feed. For example, start on line 5 and stop on line 10.  NOTE: This setting can also be modified in the Template designer.

Lookup (Columns/Operator/Value settings)


Use the lookup feature when you only want to show some information contained in any QL supported data feed.


Lookups are essentially filters that you create for the currently selected data feed. For example, you can create a filter that will only show news items that contain a specific word (ex. "Chicago"). All other items will be ignored.



  • The value "None" is the default. When this value is selected, there are no filters and all the data will be shown according to the parameters you decide (for example, restrict scope).
  • When you click on this field, you can select any of the columns in your data feed. This will be the column on which we will apply the filter. In the illustration above, we selected the Title column.
  • Two more fields will appear.
    • Operator: Select one of the following operators.
      • Contains
      • Contains data
      • Does not contain data
      • Ends with
      • Starts with
      • Greater than
      • Greater or equal to
      • Lower than
      • Equals
    • Value: Enter the value for this operator. In this example, selecting "Contains", "Chicago" would exclude any record that does not have the word "Chicago" in its Title column. Note, this will not change the information you see in the Data Feed Manager. Only the information shown on your screens will be filtered.


  • You can edit previously configured filters by clicking the Edit button.



  • Click this button to open the Lookup assignment window. 
  • You can modify an existing filter or create more complex filters with multiple conditions using the And/Or operators.
  • Click Add to add additional conditions to fine-tune your results.



Image within a cell: This selection indicates that URLs pointing to images stored on a web server will be interpreted as images. If you deselect this option, images embedded within your media RSS feeds will no longer be displayed.  This option is always selected by default.


Ignore HTML code: Sometimes RSS and XML data feeds include HTML code which can alter the way the text is displayed. When you select this option, HTML codes will no longer be interpreted as code.  They will be displayed as text.



Columns: By default, all the columns in data feeds are selected so they all appear in the Field list in the Template and Ticker designers. You can deselect fields to filter column names you don’t want to see the list.



Preview

The area where you can preview data feed images.  Click on any image URL cell to see the preview on the left.



Columns

  1. Type: Assign the type of data this column will contain (for QL Server feeds).  Options are: text or image. To change this selection, double-click a QL server feed header to select the column.  Select the type of information the column will store.  You can leave the column name as a letter (default value) or enter a descriptive name, like “price” or “photo”.




  1. Data Feed selector: Select a feed from the pull-down list.

(Note: the Data Feed selector is only visible when the DFM is accessed via the Template Designer, Ticker Designer, Play If or Conditional Triggering)



  1. Data Feed options: New feed, edit, remove, refresh data.

(Note: the Data Feed options are only visible when the DFM is accessed via the Template Designer, Ticker Designer, Play If or Conditional Triggering)




  • Click the New feed option to create a new data feed.
  • Click the Edit option to edit the currently selected feed's Display Options.
  • Click the Remove option to delete a data feed from the list.
  • Click the Refresh option to refresh the data shown in the table.


  1. Save / Cancel: Click Save to record your changes, Cancel exits.


  1. Table area: This is where you review the contents of external data feeds or edit the contents of QL Server hosted feeds. 
    Click on any cell to edit its content (QL server hosted feed only).  Double-click cells that contain image links.