Company News is a Perspective module for displaying safety metrics, shift notices, and production information on existing plant displays. Content is managed from the same gateway the site already runs.
Content is edited in a Perspective view, so editing access is governed by the project security that already protects that view. Licensing and backup are handled separately behind a gateway login, because those functions belong to the gateway administrator rather than the content editor.
What it does
Slides
Images with per-slide duration, transition, and department scoping. Start and end times are optional and support daily, weekly, or monthly recurrence.
View slides
A slide that renders a Perspective view built in the Designer, referenced by path. Charts, tables, gauges, and bindings appear in the rotation like any other slide.
Emergency slides
Held out of the normal rotation and shown on every screen when a trigger tag goes true. The gateway holds the subscription, and bad tag quality is treated as not firing.
Ticker
A scrolling bar along the bottom, scoped per department, supporting {[provider]Path/To/Tag} value templates and its own schedule. An unreadable tag displays -- rather than a gap.
Two-tier access
Slide editing is a Perspective component governed by project security. Licensing and full-library export are behind a gateway login, so a content editor cannot change either.
Screen sync
Slide position is derived from the wall clock rather than counted per browser, so screens sharing a key stay together and a rebooted display rejoins mid-rotation.
Where the images live
Media is stored on the gateway filesystem rather than inside the Ignition data directory. This keeps gateway backups from growing with every uploaded image. For example, a site adding a dozen 4K photos each month would otherwise carry the full size of those images through every future backup, restore, and transfer.
Because media is stored outside the data directory, it is not included in standard gateway backups. The module includes separate export and import tools for signage content. The export creates a single ZIP file containing the slide library and all images used by those slides; it can be downloaded from the Gateway configuration page and restored later through the corresponding import option.
Images are delivered using keyed-hash filenames and immutable cache headers. Once a display has loaded an image, it can reuse its cached copy instead of downloading it again during each slideshow cycle.
What a view slide costs
Most of this module has no per-screen cost. An image is a static file served with an immutable cache header. A ticker tag is a single gateway-scoped subscription shared by every screen, so one display and one hundred displays cost the same.
View slides are the exception, and they are the one element whose cost scales with screen count.
| Binding type | Behavior across many screens |
|---|---|
Tag binding | Largely coalesces at the tag provider. Many screens reading the same tag is roughly one read. |
Named query | Does not coalesce. Executes once per view instance, per refresh. Twenty screens on a view with a SQL binding produce twenty queries per refresh. |
Database binding | Same as named queries — one execution per screen, per refresh. |
Only the slide currently on screen is mounted, so a rotation containing ten view slides still runs at most one view instance per screen. Load therefore scales with the number of screens rather than the number of views authored. The editor states this at the point where a view slide is added.
This limit is not enforced by the module. Views are not inspected or rejected, because the appropriate screen count and database load depend on the site. Tag bindings are preferred, queries should be infrequent or omitted, and testing should be done at the screen count intended for deployment.
Setting up a screen
Two components are added to the Perspective palette. The player is placed on a view, one property is set, and a browser is pointed at the resulting URL.
| Component | Purpose |
|---|---|
cvi.display.newsslideshow | The full-screen player for a display. Set screenKey to a department key, or All for a screen that shows every department. |
cvi.input.newseditor | The administrative interface for slides, view slides, ticker, and clock. Place it on a view already protected by project security. |
# Open on the TV, in the browser's kiosk or full-screen mode http://gateway:8088/data/perspective/client/YourProject/signage
The screen runs an ordinary Perspective view, so any device with a modern browser works, including a smart TV, Chromebox, thin client, or Raspberry Pi. There is no player application to install on the displays and none to keep updated.
Requirements
No database, internet connection, or cloud account is required. The gateway needs free disk space outside the Ignition data directory for image storage.
Pricing
The free tier includes the complete module, limited to the first two slides across the entire gateway. The limit is not per department, so adding departments does not increase it. Every feature is present, including scheduling, view slides, ticker, emergency takeover, and export. Evaluation therefore establishes whether the module works on a given gateway rather than whether the paid version behaves differently.
Free
Evaluate on your own gateway.
- Two slides across the gateway
- Every feature included
- No license key required
Pro
One gateway, no slide limit.
- Unlimited slides and departments
- One Ignition gateway
- Everything in Free
Integrator
Deploy across any gateway.
- Unlimited slides and departments
- Any number of gateways
- Everything in Pro
The module is a free download from GitHub, so it can be installed and verified on a gateway before a key is purchased. A license key is entered on the Gateway configuration page and takes effect immediately, without a restart or a reinstall. Unlicensed gateways continue to play the first two slides in the library, followed by a Parsley Automation notice slide, and all configured slides resume as soon as a key is entered. Keys are validated offline and are bound to a single gateway installation. In a redundant pair, each node generates its own gateway ID, so the backup node requires a separate key; that key is issued free with the primary purchase. Development and test gateways are also licensed free. Pro and Integrator are one-time purchases for the major version bought, with no recurring fee. Checkout is by card or US bank transfer, and license keys are emailed within one business day. For a purchase order, or for more than one module, request an invoice instead: terms are Net 30, and a quote is returned by reply. Get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
What do the TVs need to run?
How does the emergency slide get triggered?
Do uploaded images bloat the gateway backup?
.gwbk stays the size it was. Because a gateway backup therefore does not contain the slides, the module provides its own export, which downloads the slide library and every image it references as a single ZIP file.Do several screens stay on the same slide?
screenKey do. Slide position is derived from the wall clock rather than counted per browser, so a display that reboots rejoins the rotation at the current position instead of restarting the loop.Can a slide show live process data?
What does a view slide cost in gateway load?
Which Ignition versions are supported?
What exactly does the free tier limit?
We run a redundant pair. Do we need two licenses?
Does licensing require internet access?
Want to see it on your own screens? Tell us how many departments and TVs you run and we’ll send the free module with setup notes.
Email Parsley about Company News