Display Spotlight messages for users on the Home Screen

Note: This article is about the new beta Admin App, which is still in development. Changes may occur. Please provide feedback directly in the beta app. 

When a user logs in to the Showpad platform, the first thing they see is the Home Screen. As an admin, you can bring their attention to particular content and important messages using Spotlights. Different from Announcements, which send a notification to users, Spotlight messages allow you to passively draw attention by featuring content or messaging up above the fold.

This type of announcement lets you display up to 14 messages on the Home Screen in a carousel style that users can click and swipe through at their own pace. The most recent message is shown first.

Note: Spotlight messages work on regular Homepages that are not customized.

See how it looks

Key features

• Highlight content and announcements on the Home Screen with Spotlights
• Target users with up to 14 Spotlights on the Web app and Windows Desktop app and 7 Spotlights on iOS and Android. The last message is shown first.
• Use up to 256 characters in a Spotlight message
• Link to an Experience from a Spotlight message

You need this to succeed

• The beta Admin App enabled
• Feature availability depends on your subscription package
• Admin role or promoted user with Manage Spotlights and Announcement permissions

The quick way

1. Navigate to the Collaboration tab in the Admin App
2. Create a new Spotlight
3. Include an image and attach assets
4. Publish for your users to see on their home screen

Do this step by step

Create a Spotlight Message

1. On the Collaboration tab, select Spotlights.
2. Click New Spotlight.
3. Add a subject and write a message.
4. Content or Platform customers can include content in their Spotlight. To do so, click Add Content within the message box. Use the search field to find content or browse your Experiences. Check the boxes for the content you wish to include, then click Insert Items.
5. To add a link to the Spotlight, copy the link you wish to share. This can be a link to an Experience, an external website, etc. Highlight the text in the Spotlight you wish to hyperlink, then click the link icon. Paste the link, then click Save. If you add a link to an Experience, ensure the users receiving the Spotlight have access to it.

   Note: To add a link to an Experience, go to the Experience Builder, open your experience, and copy the Experience App Link from the settings tab.

6. To add an image, scroll down to the Upload Image section and drag and drop your image into the box, or click Browse to upload your image. The max image size is 10MB.
   This image is visible in a 300px by 200px frame and will keep its aspect ratio after uploading.
   You can remove the image by clicking on the trash can.
7. Click the Show to dropdown menu, and choose All Users, Selected Experiences, or Selected User Groups.
8. Type into the Select Experiences or Selected User Groups field and select from the list the Experiences or user groups you want to see this Spotlight message. If you select Experiences, anyone assigned to that Experience will see the Spotlight.
9. Check the box for Publish later if you wish to select a day and time the Spotlight message will be published. Leaving this box unchecked will publish the Spotlight upon clicking Publish.

   Note: The timezone of your system is used when creating a Spotlight message. If you configure a Spotlight message to appear at 10 am tomorrow, it shows up at 10 am, relative to your system settings.

10. Choose an optional Expiry date.
11. Choose to Save as Draft or click Publish.

Managing Spotlight Messages

Within the Spotlights tab of the Collaboration page, you will see all the Spotlights you have access to. Using the left side menu choose to view Published, Scheduled, Drafts, or Archived Spotlights.

This is where you can edit or archive existing Spotlights.

Promoted users who have permission to manage Spotlights will see any Spotlight assigned to an Experience or user group within the Division(s) they are promoted in. Any Spotlight sent by the promoted user will be visible here, even if they no longer manage the user groups or Divisions that received it.

Spotlights sent to all users by another promoted member or admin will not appear in everyone's Spotlight dashboard.

To edit or archive a Spotlight, click its row to select it, then scroll to the right. Choose Edit or Archive. Archived Spotlights will be moved to the Archived tab, and from there, they can be deleted.

You can also consult the percentage of users who have seen the message.

Learn how this feature works in the current Online Platform.