News

The "News" feature in Pulse is a solution designed to enhance internal communication within companies by fetching and beautifully displaying Confluence blogs. Recognizing blogs as an important communication channel for companies, Pulse takes this to the next level by providing an engaging and visually appealing overviews.

This feature simplifies access to company news and ensures that these important messages are presented in an attractive format that captures the audience's attention.

How to use

Please follow these steps to insert a News widget on a Confluence page:

Navigate to the Confluence page you wish to edit or create a new page.
Once in edit mode, either click the plus icon in the navigation bar (insert elements) or press '/' on your keyboard to bring up the macro list.
Type "Pulse" in the search bar, then choose the Pulse macro from the options displayed.
When the configuration dialog appears, simply click on the "News" tab to see the News widget.

Configuration options

When opening the News widget dialogue, the live preview displays the latest blogs from the Confluence instance, ready for customization to fit the use case.

For each news item displayed, the background image is automatically set to the page's header image, ensuring a cohesive and relevant visual experience. In instances where a specific page lacks a header image, the app selects and displays a random image from Unsplash. This fallback mechanism guarantees that every news card remains visually attractive and engaging, enhancing the overall user experience by maintaining a consistent and appealing aesthetic across all news content.

Layout

The Layout configuration tab helps you define the presentation of your news, allowing you to choose the view type and how the news items are displayed on your page.

View → Choose from several view types to best match your content's presentation style. Options include magazine, grid, card, highlight, list, short list, and compact list, each offering a unique way to display your news. For grid and card views, the layout can be customized by selecting the number of columns, with an option to include up to 4 columns. This allows better content presentation, adapting the visual arrangement to specific preferences.
Elements to display → Full control is provided over the information displayed within each news card. Depending on the needs, specific elements, such as the author's name, can be enabled or disabled to ensure the content aligns with the intended use case.
Group blogs in tabs → This feature enhances the organization of news by topics, enabling the creation of separate tabs for different subjects. Each tab can be configured with its own settings, simplifying navigation and making it easier to locate relevant information.
Pagination → Customization of news pagination is available, including the ability to set the maximum number of news items displayed per page and the total number of news items visible. This feature aids in managing content volume and ensuring a user-friendly experience.

Content

The Content tab focuses on determining the source of the news and specifying which content will be showcased. You can set up the content in two ways: Dynamic or Manual.

Dynamic → By setting filters, the widget automatically updates to display new publications that meet the defined criteria. This approach ensures that your news feed remains up-to-date without manual intervention, reflecting the latest content as soon as it's published. Content creators can filter news by labels, spaces and creators.
Manual → This method allows for the manual selection of specific blogs to display. While it offers precise control over the content presented, it requires updates to include new blogs, making it less automated but more curated.

Content Personalization

The personalization feature, powered by Cosmos, the Intranet for Confluence app, allows for targeted customization of your macro. With tabs, customize each one for specific themes; without tabs, tailor the entire macro for a unified focus.

For more on customization, visit our Personalization powered by Cosmos page.

Design

The Design tab, powered by Optics, is accessible for users holding a valid Optics license and offers a suite of options to make the news overview more captivating.

Adapt image size → Customize the dimensions of images within news cards to fit the overall design aesthetic, ensuring visual consistency and impact.
Padding → Adjust the padding around news items for a cleaner, more spaced-out look, enhancing readability and focus on the content.
Border radius → Modify the border radius for a softer or more defined edge to the news cards, allowing for customization that matches your brand or style preferences.
Color for spaces and labels → Leverage colors associated with specific spaces or labels to bring a colorful, organized visual cue to the news overview, making it easier for viewers to identify topics or categories at a glance.