Explore Builder
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Slideshow URLs
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!
- Go to Tools > Explore Builder.
- From the list on the left side, click to add a new Explore pane or select the pane you want to add to.
- In the Explore Pane to the right, click an unused pane.
- Next, open a File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) window, and then locate the icon you wish to add to Explorer, then drag that icon into the empty pane.
- You can use virtually any image as an icon.
- The image should be roughly 128x128 pixels @ 72dpi.
- Almost any image file type will work; however, .jpg, .jpeg, .svg, .png or .tif are recommended.
- You can use virtually any image as an icon.
- Now you need to configure the icon to point to your Slideshow URL.
- Label. Enter the name you'd like to use for the new Slideshow.
- Action. Select Open URL.
In the box below the Action dropdown menu, enter your Slidshow URL. This is also where 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:
https://yourlibrary.com/slideshow?search=((Smart::space))&style=seafoam&speed=5
Here, the Search term is "Space"
, modified with a Smart Search. The Style is "Seafoam". And lastly, the Speed is set to "5", which is to say, the 'Slide' remains prominent for 5 seconds.
When you're done, hit Save in the top corner of the window. Your Explore window will now feature the icon you choose and clicking on it will activate the Slideshow feature!