Use Explore Builder to set a custom Slideshow URL based on specified search strings.  This allows you to build Slideshows for holidays, seasons, famous people or any other topic. It's a fun and dynamic way to present new and exciting books to your patrons!

1. Log in

Go to Tools > Explore Builder, or enter /explorebuilder at the end of your Alexandria login URL.

2. Select

a pane

On the left is a list of the Explore panes you can modify. Select the pane you want to add a slideshow to, or click Image Added to add a new pane.

3. Add an image

On your computer, open a File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) window.

Locate the image or icon you wish to add to Explorer, then drag that icon into an empty pane. 

Click Save.

Image Added

4. Configure the button

Now you need to configure the icon to point to your Slideshow URL.

Select the pane you just added the image to, then configure the settings below.

• • Label. Enter the name of the slideshow. This will also be the name of the button.
    
  • Action. Select Open URL.
  
  

5. Add the URL

In the box below, paste the complete URL of a previously created slideshow, or create a new one. If you don't have a URL yet, build a new slideshow in Slideshow Preferences, then click View Slideshow to open it in another tab or window. Copy the complete URL from your browser window, and paste it in this box.

Now you can set custom search string variables for topic, style, and speed.

• Search. This is the subject your Slideshow will cover, i.e. "Space" or "Egyptology". Within this, you can use specific Search Strings!
• Style. With Alexandria's new [Styles] feature, you can select from one of four different schemes for your Slideshow URL! (Classic, Seafoam, Professional, Mosaic)
• Speed. This is the amount of time, in seconds, each title will display before moving to the next title.

Here is an example of a URL Slideshow string:

Here's an example:

https://yourlibrary.com/slideshow?search=((Smart::space))&

layout=

preview&speed=5

You can also edit the URL to set custom search string variables for topic, layout, and speed.

• • Search. The subject or topic your Slideshow will cover, i.e. "Space" or "Egyptology". You can use more complicated or specific search strings here.

• • Layout. Set it to Split or Preview.

• Speed. The number of seconds each slide will be displayed before rotating to the next one.

Image Added

6. Save

When you're done, hit Save in the top corner of the window.

Your Explore window will now feature the icon you chose. Click on it to open the slideshow!