News

The News module allows you to deliver informative articles about any topic of interest through your app. You can write and publish your own articles or provide a selection of RSS feeds to existing articles on the web.

Creating a News Article

1. Select NEWS from the menu on the left.
   
2. Select CREATE in the top-right corner.
   
3. This will lead to the page in which you can enter the contents of your news article:
   a. Enter a title and an optional subtitle in the appropriate boxes.
   b. Write your article directly in the BODY section or paste in your content. Use the tools on top of the text box to change the font style, add bulleted or numbered lists, insert links, photos or videos, and more.
   
   c. Insert your image by dragging and dropping your image file into the COVER IMAGE box. Accepted files are PNG, JPG, or GIF. A high-resolution image that is at least 700 px wide with a 4:3 ratio is recommended.
   d. Choose how you would like your cover image to look on users’ devices by selecting the appropriate box.
   
   e. You can also add a photo credit and caption to your image in the appropriate boxes. This text will display underneath the image in the app.
   f. Add any relevant keywords in the TAGS text box to help users search and find articles based on certain words. Add a keyword, then click on the + CREATE TAG option that appears in the drop-down. Do this for each new keyword.
   Click on the corresponding “x” to delete a keyword.
   
4. If you would like users to receive a notification when this article is published, slide the button in the SEND A PUSH NOTIFICATION section to the right. Then, select whether you want to send it to all users (SEND TO ALL) or just a select few within a specific geographic location (ZIP CODE & GEO LOCATION).
   Note: You can see the number of devices that will receive your push notification at the right of each option and above the map.a. If you select ZIP CODE & GEO LOCATION, set the location by using the tools on the left of the map. Refer to the MAPS documentation for step-by-step guidance on using these functions.b. Decide whether you want this notification to be received only by users who have subscribed to the specific location or by all users (which might be the case in a disaster or emergency situation).c. If you do not want to send a push notification, do not slide the button.
5. In the SCHEDULE PUBLISHING section, set the exact date and time this article will be published on the app by sliding the button to the right and selecting the appropriate date/time.If you don’t need to schedule publishing, do not slide the button.
   
6. Click PUBLISH in the top-right corner of the page to make it live on users’ devices (or click on SAVE AS DRAFT if you’d like to continue working on it at a later time).
   
   a. Select PUBLISH in the pop-up window to confirm.

And you’re done!
Your article has been published and is accessible by app users. It will instantly appear in the NEWS module of your app like so:

Note: In the main Articles menu, right-click on the item and select MOBILE PREVIEW from the drop-down to get a look at how the article will appear on users’ devices.

Publishing a Saved Draft

1. Within the item’s Create page, click the THREE DOTS in the top-right corner and select PUBLISH from the drop-down list. Then, follow STEP 6 above.

Note: Drafts can also be published by right-clicking on the item in the main News menu, and selecting PUBLISH from the list. Then, follow STEP 6 above.

Editing a News Article

1. Within the item’s Create page, select the EDIT button in the top-right corner, edit your text in the new window, and click PUBLISH (like in STEP 6 above).

Note: Articles can also be edited by right-clicking on the item in the main News menu, and selecting EDIT from the list. Then, follow the steps outlined above.

Deleting or Archiving an Article

Within the item’s Create page, click the THREE DOTS in the top-right corner.

Note: Articles can also be deleted or archived by right-clicking on the item in the main News menu, and selecting the appropriate action from the list. Then, follow the steps outlined below.

To DELETE an article:

1. Select DELETE from the drop-down list.

2. Click DELETE in the pop-up window to confirm.

To ARCHIVE an article:

Note: Archiving an article will remove it from all users’ devices.

1. Select ARCHIVE from the drop-down list.

2. Click ARCHIVE in the pop-up window to confirm.

Note: To edit and republish the archived item and make it accessible on users’ devices once again, click on the THREE DOTS in the main News menu, click VIEW ARCHIVES from the drop-down list, and select the appropriate article. Follow the steps outlined in the EDITING A NEWS ARTICLE section above.

(The CONFIGURATION option allows you to edit the article’s scheduled publishing date and tags.)

Sending a Push Notification for a Published Article

1. In the main News menu, right-click on the published article for which you want to create a push notification, and choose SEND PUSH NOTIFICATION from the drop-down list.

2. Click SEND in the pop-up window to confirm your selection.

You will automatically receive confirmation that the push notification has been sent to app users.

Creating an RSS Feed

An RSS feed gives users access to updated website content in a single place. You can easily provide app users with relevant news and current information on specific topics of interest through this module’s RSS feed.

1. In the main News menu, select the FEEDS tab.
2. Select CREATE in the top-right corner of the tab.
3. Enter the title of the feed and its specific RSS URL link in the appropriate boxes (please note only RSS URLs will work here).
   
4. Click on PUBLISH in the top-right corner to save the new RSS feed.
   
5. Click PUBLISH in the pop-up window to confirm your selection.

And you’re done!
Your RSS feed has been published and is accessible by app users. It will instantly appear in the RSS section of the NEWS module like so:

Editing or Deleting an RSS Feed

In the FEEDS tab, select the published feed you want to edit or delete.

Note: Articles can also be edited or deleted by right-clicking on the item in the FEEDS tab within the main News menu, and selecting the appropriate action from the list. Then, follow the steps outlined below.

To EDIT an RSS feed:

1. Within the item’s Create page, select EDIT in the top-right corner.
   
2. Follow STEPS 3-5 in the Creating an RSS Feed section above.

To DELETE an RSS feed:

1. Within the item’s Create page, select the THREE DOTS in the top-right corner, and then choose DELETE.
   
2. Click DELETE in the pop-up window to confirm your selection.
   

Archiving an RSS Feed

1. In the FEEDS tab, right-click on the published feed you want to archive and select ARCHIVE from the drop-down list.

2. Select ARCHIVE in the pop-window to confirm.

Note: To edit and republish the archived RSS Feed and make it accessible on users’ devices once again, click on the THREE DOTS in the FEEDS tab within the main News menu, click VIEW ARCHIVES from the drop-down list, and select the appropriate feed. Follow the steps outlined in the TO EDIT AN RSS FEED section above.