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Widgets
A widget enables you to create events once in Localist and publish everywhere with Widgets. Administrators and users can embed and display events or series of events on pages separate from the main calendar, such as the organization’s website homepage, partner organizations websites or other pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can create Widgets?
Any public site visitor can make a Widget — this means that your events can be promoted all over the web! For example, another department within your organization or a community partner can make a Widget of your events for their sites, which will ultimately drive traffic back to your calendar.
What is a Widget vs a Widget template?
Templates are the various Widget designs from which you can select in the Widget builder. While Widgets are the actual display of your events on another page.
Can I sort by Widget by Trending?
Once you’ve generated your Widget URL, you can add &sort=ranking to indicate that the Widget should sort events by the Trending algorithm.
Can I create a past events Widget?
You can have a rolling past events Widget — i.e. “the last 30 days”. For example, once you’ve generated your Widget URL you can replace the days parameter with &days=-30 to indicate that the Widget should pull events from the previous 30 days.
Why is the Localist logo only displaying, but no event content?
Most likely, the reason the Widget is not displaying on the website because of SSL protocol alignment issues. For context, SSL refers to when a website offers encryption, which is noted in the URL using https (secure) vs http (non-secure). When it comes to embedding content, you can embed content using https (like a Widget) on a non-secure/http page, but you cannot do the reverse and embed content using http on a secure/https page. This is often called upgrading security (allowed: posting https on an http site) or downgrading security (not allowed: posting http on an https site).
How long can it take for my Widget to update if an event’s content changes?
It can take anywhere between 15-20 mins for updates to be reflected in your Widget.
Does the “View All Events” redirect to the same results as outlined in the Widget?
At this time, the “View All Events” link on default Widgets links back to your calendar Homepage.
The Widget Builder
Public
The Widget Builder can be accessed by navigating to Content > Widgets > Public Widget Builder or by default it is publicly linked in the homepage’s Share Events box.
Widget Builder Fields
Field |
Details |
Template |
Select the default template or one of your custom Widget templates. |
Number of Results |
You can enter any number up to 50. |
Days Ahead |
You can enter any number up to 365. |
Groups/Departments |
The builder allows you to select one group. If you’d like to pull multiple groups’ or departments’ events you can tack on more groups or departments to the URL (&groups=group_a&groups=group_b OR &departments=department_a&departments=department_b). |
Places |
Select all that apply. |
Filters |
Select all that apply. |
Keywords and Tags |
Enter all applicable words. |
Show Only Featured |
When checked, only events flagged as a Featured Event will be included. |
Show Only Sponsored |
When checked, only events flagged as a Sponsored will be included. |
Include All Matching Instances |
If checked, the Widget will display all recurring instances. If not checked, the Widget will only display the first instance in the recurring chain. |
Hide Past Events |
Hide all events in the past. |
Content Must Match |
Select one of the following:
- At least one Place, Group, Keyword or Tag, and one Filter item
- Any Place, Group, Keyword, Tag, or Filter item
- At least one Place and Group, and all Keywords, Tags, and Filter items
- Any place or Group, and at least one Keyword or Tag, and one Filter item
|
Excluded Content |
Any Filters specified in these drop downs will not be included in the Widget. This is helpful in an “all, but one” situation. |
Display Options
Field |
Details |
Widget Type |
You have the option of a List Widget or a Mini Cal + List Widget.
- The List + Mini Cal Widget provides a drop down of all available Event Type Filters to narrow down what events the list displays. The mini cal and “today’s events”/”this week’s events” will change the list results accordingly. The mini calendar extends 12 months.
|
Style |
Localist provides three out-of-the-box styles to choose from:
|
Hide Descriptions |
Event descriptions will not be shown. |
Truncate Descriptions |
Description, location, and event image will be hidden upon page load, however, when an event is clicked this information will appear. |
Render HTML in Descriptions |
This allows any HTML entered in admin (bold, etc.) to be displayed automatically. |
Hide Event Images |
Photos will be completely hidden. |
Hide Event Times |
Times will be completely hidden. |
Hide ‘View All Events’ Link |
The view all events link will be completely hidden. |
Open Links in New Window |
If an event is selected, another window will open. |
Generating Your Widget
After you have made all necessary specifications, you will see two options to generate your Widget results.
Field |
Details |
Preview Widget |
This will open your Widget results in another tab. On this page you can confirm that the correct events are showing and that the output options are working as expected. |
Generate Embed Code |
This will display the embed code for your Widget to be included on your website. |
Custom Widget Templates
– HEADS UP –
Here are some helpful troubleshooting tips to try before you reach out to the support team!
- Widget is not displaying on the page: You will need to check the Widget’s URL — if you have SSL on your platform the URL should display ‘https’ and not ‘http’.
- Event is not being included in a Widget: Check the Classification, date range, number of Events, & that all is content matching.
- Widget is not displaying like the preview: The CSS on the page may be altering the Widget, so you’ll need to change the CSS on the containing page.