Data Triggers to have Real Time Data Effect Layout Elements

Written By Ed Kinne

Last updated 11 months ago

Data Triggers allow designers to embed reactive logic and macros into a Layout or Message.
This is done by using the UI to select an element, configure a trigger, and then the desired response.

Data Triggers will require that you have already create your Data Adapters and Subscribed the Layout or Message to the Date. For more details see:

Data Integration and Data Adapters

How To Add Data To A Layout Or Message

Common Examples:

  • Highlighting a data level through color changes and highlights at certain thresholds

  • Showing / Hiding elements, such as changing the design to a red background image when attention is needed

To Open Quick Actions

  • In the Builder Tool, select the Advanced tab of the control panel

  • Click on the Lightning Bolt icon to open the Quick Actions and Data Triggers panel

    Signage quick action data trigger
  • Data Triggers are in the middle

  • Click the + to the right to build a new Quick Action

  • Any Triggers already created will be listed and can be edited

  • To add a new trigger, click on the +Bell icon to the right

  • The first section of the Trigger is the Data Rule

    • Selecting the Subscription

    • The Specific Column/Data Point to be evaluated

    • The Logical operation (equal, not equal, greater than, or Range …)

    • The value to be evaluated against

  • The Bottom section controls the result

    • Color Options (Shown above)

      • Target Element – The layout element that will be adjusted based on the data

        • If the target element is a data table, it will ask which, if an,y specific column should be targeted

      • Background and text color

      • Font weight and size

    • URL Options

    • Visibility Options

      • Selecting which elements should be shown or hidden based on the rule being triggered.

Note on Visibility Toggles

If it is intended that an item be hidden unless some action is taken, then it needs to be toggled as hidden in the Element Layer list when the design is published.
This is done by manually toggling the visibility with the eyeball icon

From my previous example, if the controls are intended to be hidden until someone clicks the playlist, I would need to hide the control elements in the layers before publishing.

You can have multiple triggers built into a single design, shifting the visual as needed based on the data provided through the subscription.

Viewing Data Triggers in Action

While in the Builder Tool and activly editing the Layout or Message the triggers will not be activly changing the visual you see.

You can preview the result of the triggers by opening the preview window