Dynamic Content- Dashboard extensions
Release Note- 15th February 2021
In this release we've introduced Dashboard extensions: simple web apps that extend the functionality of the Dynamic Content dashboard. From within a dashboard extension you can access the features of the Dynamic Content Management API and third party services, opening up a range of potential uses. With our updated extensions SDK, you can create all kinds of dashboard extensions, such as a customized view of your content and editions, or online help specific to a particular project. We've also released some sample extensions to help get you started.
There are now two kinds of extensions: content field extensions that are used to extend the content editing form, and the new dashboard extensions. We've improved the extensions registration user interface to make it easy to register both content field and dashboard extensions and updated the extensions SDK.
Note that existing content field extensions will continue to work without any changes, but if you want to make use of the features in the new version of the extensions SDK, then you will need to update your extension.
On this page we'll provide you with an overview of the new features. For more details about extensions see the extensions overview and registering an extension pages.
Introducing Dashboard extensionsLink copied!
Dashboard extensions are web apps that are loaded into an iFrame and displayed in a full window under a tab on the dashboard. An example dashboard extension is shown in the image below. This extension uses Google Analytics to provide information about the performance of your content, including links to your top performing content and editions.
This extension is one of the samples included on the Amplience GitHub, together with a kanban extension that uses content item statuses to help you visualize content in progress. You can use these dashboard extensions without modification, or use them as the the basis for your own extensions.
You create dashboard extensions using the new version (2.0.0) of the extensions SDK which includes features to make it easier to access the Dynamic Content Management API and navigate the user to locations in Dynamic Content such as the Content Library, the calendar and individual content items, events and editions.
Updated extension registration user interfaceLink copied!
Dashboard extensions must be registered on a hub and we've improved the registration user interface to support both content field and dashboard extensions.
To register a dashboard extension you need to enter "dashboard" as the extension category, provide a label that will be shown in the dashboard and enter the URL where the extension is stored.
Permissions allow the user to configure the features that an extension can access. The extension permissions are now shown under a separate tab and the same permissions are available for both content field and dashboard extensions.
There's also another tab for installation parameters, so you can include any credentials required by any third party services that your extension uses, or any other information that you want to apply to an extension each time it's used.
The image below shows the registration window for a dashboard extension.
When you register a Dashboard extension, the extension is added to the Dashboard, with a tab name the same as its label. In the example below, the Google Analytics extension has been registered and is now shown in the Dashboard. Click the "Google Analytics" tab to show the extension.
Extensions can now be hosted locally, so you can include "localhost" in the URL. This makes it easier to develop an extension because you no longer have to host it externally during testing. Note that localhost extensions will only be displayed to users who have the Developer permissions.
Content field extension samples- now easier to configureLink copied!
We've made the content field extension examples, such as the rich text extension and the image transformation extension easier to set up by hosting them. For example, the rich text extension is now hosted at: https://rich-text.extensions.content.amplience.net/ so you just need to enter this URL in the registration window rather than hosting the extension yourself.
If you want to modify any of the example extensions, then you can still build and host them yourself.