eXo Add-ons: Build an Animated News Slider in 5 Minutes

One of the most important strengths of the eXo Platform is the user experience. The end user can create new content using the content management system. Today, I’ll show you how easy it is to add a News Slider in only five simple steps. It’ll take only five minutes of your time. Follow the tutorial below and enjoy!

Tutorial (5 minutes)

eXo Addons | News Slider from Esslem GHODBANE on Vimeo.

Installation in five steps

1. Cloning a project

• Go to the GitHub repository exo-addons/news-slider and clone the project.

2. Adding resources

• Go to the back office of the eXo Platform (using File Explorer).
• Add a content folder (NewsFolder for example) to store the news items (for example under /shared). You can add news using the Free Layout Webcontent template. Add an image and a summary, which will be displayed as the preview in your News Slider. For testing, we will use NewsFolder.xml, so import it into your file system.
• Upload the CSS file NewsSlider.css into any location (for example, under /shared/css) and copy its path [1].
• Upload the JS filesjquery.easing.min.js and jquery.min.js (which are the jQuery libraries) to any location (for example, under /shared/js) and copy the path [2].

3. Update the resource paths

• • Go to the template file NewsSliderCLVTemplate.gtmpl and update the paths of the resources, that is the JS and CSS files (already saved in [1] and [2]). Paste the exact paths into the src parameter:

link href=”/rest/jcr/repository/collaboration/sites content/live/shared/css/NewsSlider.css” media=”all” rel=”stylesheet” type=”text/css”>
and
script type=”text/javascript” src=”/rest/jcr/repository/collaboration/sites content/live/shared/js/jquery.easing.1.3.js”>

• If you haven’t copied the paths, then go back to the files in /shared/js and /shared/css, right click on a file, select the final menu entry Copy URL to clipboard and then paste them as above.
• Ensure that the path is not a private link so that the news can be viewed by guests (if it is private delete /private from the path).

4. Add the template via the IDE

• Go to the IDE, select the dms-system workspace and navigate to exo:ecm > views > templates > content-list-viewer > list.
• Add a new template.
• Copy and paste the content of the GTMPL file NewsSliderCLVTemplate.gtmpl into this template and save it as NewsSliderCLVTemplate.

5. Add the CLV and configure it

• Now we are ready to add our News Slider to a website.
• Go to a website, ACME for example, edit the layout and add a new portlet (content > content list) to a page.
• Edit this content list portlet. Configure it by selecting the news folder path (in our case /shared/NewsFolder) and select the new CLV template created above: NewsSliderCLVTemplate.
• It’s possible to configure the slider depending on the amount of news and whether it is broken into pages.

Enjoy!

Brahim Jaouane

I am a Digital Marketing specialist specialized in SEO at eXo Platform. Passionate about new technologies and Digital Marketing. With 10 years' experience, I support companies in their digital communication strategies and implement the tools necessary for their success. My approach combines the use of different traffic acquisition levers and an optimization of the user experience to convert visitors into customers. After various digital experiences in communication agencies as well as in B2B company, I have a wide range of skills and I am able to manage the digital marketing strategy of small and medium-sized companies.