PARSLEY AUTOMATION
Ignition module · Perspective

Company News

Digital signage that runs inside Ignition. Slides are uploaded, scoped to a department, and played full-screen on plant displays through a Perspective component. An emergency notice can take over every screen automatically when a tag goes true.

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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.

↓Requires Ignition 8.3 or later. This module does not run on 8.1.

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 typeBehavior across many screens
Tag bindingLargely coalesces at the tag provider. Many screens reading the same tag is roughly one read.
Named queryDoes not coalesce. Executes once per view instance, per refresh. Twenty screens on a view with a SQL binding produce twenty queries per refresh.
Database bindingSame 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.

ComponentPurpose
pa.display.newsslideshowThe full-screen player for a display. Set screenKey to a department key, or All for a screen that shows every department.
pa.input.newseditorThe 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

Ignition

8.3 or later

Modules

Perspective

Screens

Any modern browser

Module

Signed .modl

No database, internet connection, or cloud account is required. The gateway needs free disk space outside the Ignition data directory for image storage.

How licensing works

Buying is simple and the module runs entirely on your own gateway:

1

Free

install from GitHub and build your slide library. Every feature runs — scheduling, view slides, ticker, emergency takeover and export — and the gateway plays the first two slides in the library.

2

Paid

check out, then send us the gateway id from the configuration page. Keys are emailed within one business day of receiving it.

3

Activation

paste the key on the Gateway configuration page and every configured slide resumes immediately. No restart, no reinstall, and nothing was deleted while the gateway was unlicensed. Validated offline, with no telemetry.

4

Redundancy

each node in a redundant pair mints its own gateway id, so the backup needs its own key — issued free with the primary purchase. Development and test gateways are licensed free too.

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$0Pro$1,950
2 slides per gateway · no time limit/gateway · perpetual
Two slides across the gatewayUnlimited slides and departments
Every feature includedOne Ignition gateway
No license key requiredEverything in Free
Download freeBuy now — $1,950

Install the free module first and confirm it works on your own gateway — that is what the free tier is for. Pro is a one-time purchase for the major version you buy, per gateway, with no recurring fee, and the backup node of a redundant pair is licensed free alongside it. Card or US bank transfer. Need a PO, or buying more than one module? Request an invoice instead — Net 30, and we reply with a quote. Terms of Sale.

Frequently asked questions

What do the TVs need to run?
A browser. The player is an ordinary Perspective view, so a smart TV browser, Chromebox, thin client, or Raspberry Pi all work. The device is pointed at the view URL in kiosk mode. There is no player application to install or update on the displays.
How does the emergency slide get triggered?
The gateway subscribes to a nominated tag. When that tag goes true, the emergency slide takes over every screen, with no script, button, or operator action involved. Bad tag quality is treated as not firing, so a failed subscription does not produce a false alarm on every display.
Do uploaded images bloat the gateway backup?
No. Media is written to the gateway filesystem outside the Ignition data directory, so a .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?
Screens sharing a 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?
Yes, in two ways. The ticker along the bottom accepts tag references in its message text, so a line rate or percentage of target can scroll beneath whatever else is playing. A view slide renders a Perspective view built in the Designer by path, so charts, tables, and gauges can appear in the rotation.
What does a view slide cost in gateway load?
Each screen showing a view slide runs its own view instance. Tag bindings largely coalesce at the tag provider, so many screens reading the same tag is roughly one read. Named-query and database bindings do not coalesce and execute once per view instance per refresh. Only the slide currently on screen is mounted, so a rotation with ten view slides still runs at most one view instance per screen.
Which Ignition versions are supported?
Ignition 8.3 or later, with Perspective. This module does not run on 8.1. The module is signed, so it installs on a standard production gateway without developer mode.
What exactly does the free tier limit?
The number of slides that play, not what can be configured. An unlicensed gateway serves the first two slides in the library across the whole gateway, not two per department, followed by a Parsley Automation notice slide. Nothing is deleted and nothing is blocked from being saved, so entering a key later restores every slide already configured.
We run a redundant pair. Do we need two licenses?
No, but two keys are required. Ignition does not sync module data directories between redundancy nodes, so each node generates its own gateway ID, and a key bound to the master will not validate on the backup. The key for the backup node is issued free with the primary purchase. Both gateway IDs should be sent with the order.
Does licensing require internet access?
No. Keys are validated entirely offline. The module contacts no server and sends no telemetry, so it works on air-gapped networks. A key is bound to one gateway installation. If a key expires, the module returns to unlicensed behavior and screens continue playing.

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.

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