Release schedule
The release of Pangea CMS 8.14 is scheduled for April 18 / April 19 2022 at the times specified below:
- Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.:
- Tue, 19th April 2022 05:00 am Prague time (Mon, 18th April 2022 23:00 D.C. time)
- Voice of America:
- Tue, 19th April 2022 00:30 am D.C. time (06:30 am Prague time)
- Office of Cuba Broadcasting:
- Mon, 18th April 2022 22:00 D.C. time (Tue, 19th April 2022 04:00 am Prague time)
- LibertyNet:
- Tue, 19th April 2022 06:30 am Prague time (00:30 am D.C. time)
What's new?
- Live Blog - New website layout
- Live Blog - New Live Blog BETA
- Live Blog - New Highlights tool
- Photo Gallery - New Photo Gallery BETA
- Static Infographics - New Static Infographics BETA
- Video - Removal of old Video edit / upload pages
- Video - New tools for editing
- Video - Auto Thumbnail improvements
- Video - Clone a Video or Loop Video
- Video - Upload improvements
- Article - Copy an article
- All content - Default 'Draft' status
We've also made a number of other fixes and improvements.
Live Blog - New website layout
After some deep-level analysis and multiple user interviews, we’ve created a cleaner and more accessible website layout for all Live Blogs:
- The central part of the page is now dedicated entirely to the most important content - the Live Blog posts.
- The main image is now smaller and we've moved it to the left panel, along with other less crucial content (such as the title and introduction).
- It’s no longer possible to add Regions (Related content etc.) to a Live Blog. This removes clutter and should improve loading speeds.
- The new Highlights section appears in the left panel and is sticky, meaning it remains visible as you scroll.
Live Blog - New Live Blog BETA
We've created the brand-new Live Blog BETA edit screens to make managing Live Blogs easier and more intuitive.
Create a new Live Blog by clicking New > Content > Live Blog BETA in the top menu.
Alternatively, to edit an existing Live Blog, click Edit (BETA) (the pencil icon) in the relevant box on the search results page.
Some of the new and improved edit screens are described below:
- Editor: Access a preview of the Live Blog page that is ready to edit.
- Posts: View all Live Blog posts, or search for and edit a specific post.
- Highlights: Set up Highlights to provide readers with an at-a-glance summary of key Live Blog developments with links to the relevant posts.
- Preview: Preview how the Live Blog page will look on devices with different screen sizes (desktop, tablet, or mobile).
For more information, see our dedicated support article.
Live Blog - New Highlights tool
We've added the new Highlights tool in Live Blog BETA, which is a more advanced version of the classic Summary tool. Using Highlights, you can provide readers with an at-a-glance summary of key Live Blog developments with links to the relevant posts.
To add Highlights in Live Blog BETA, click Highlights under Settings in the left panel. You can choose between two modes for setting up Highlights:
- Manual highlights: Lets you control exactly which posts are included, as well as the order they appear in. You can also add custom posts that appear in the Highlights section but not on the main Live Blog feed.
- Automated highlights: Automatically includes the most recent posts that have a title. The list is displayed chronologically and updates automatically when new posts are added to the Live Blog.
For more information, see our dedicated support article.
Photo Gallery - New Photo Gallery BETA
After conducting multiple user interviews and testing several different prototypes, we've created the brand-new Photo Gallery BETA edit screens.
Create a new Photo Gallery by clicking New > Multimedia > Photo Gallery BETA in the top menu.
Alternatively, to edit an existing Photo Gallery, click Edit (BETA) (the white pencil icon) in the relevant box on the search results page.
Some of the main improvements that we've made in Photo Gallery BETA are listed below:
- Search: It's now easier to search for and add images to a Photo Gallery. Click Select content to open a new search window, then conveniently search for and add multiple images simultaneously.
- External images: It is now possible to add both internal images that were uploaded by Pangea CMS users, as well as external images from third-party agencies (Reuters or AP).
- Caption: After you add an image, the image title is now pre-filled in the Caption box to save you time. You can then edit the caption if necessary.
- Description and metadata: After you add an image, you see the internal description and other metadata directly on the edit screen. You can optionally copy / paste this data while editing the caption.
- Preview: You can now preview how the Photo Gallery page will look on devices with different screen sizes (desktop, tablet, or mobile). Just click Preview in the left panel.
For more information about Photo Gallery BETA, see our dedicated support article.
To access the classic edit screens, click Edit (the blue pencil icon) in the relevant box on the search results page.
Static Infographics - New Static Infographics BETA
After conducting multiple user interviews and testing several different prototypes, we've created the brand-new Static Infographics BETA edit screens.
Create a new Static Infographics page by clicking New > Interactive > Static Infographics BETA in the top menu.
Alternatively, to edit an existing Static Infographics page, click Edit (BETA) (the white pencil icon) in the relevant box on the search results page.
The improvements made in Static Infographics BETA match the changes made in Photo Gallery BETA.
For more information about Static Infographics BETA, see our dedicated support article.
Video - Removal of old Video edit / upload screens
The redesigned Video BETA edit / upload screens now offer the same tools and functionality as the classic Video edit / upload screens. Because of this, in Pangea CMS 8.14, the classic screens have been removed and fully replaced by the redesigned screens.
This means the following changes:
- Video BETA is renamed to Video throughout the Pangea CMS user interface.
- Video (previously Video BETA) now offers improved functionality and additional tools for editing.
- The classic upload / edit screens are no longer available.
- When you upload a new video, the redesigned upload screens open by default.
- When you edit an existing video, the redesigned edit screens open by default.
Video - New tools for editing
We've added the following tools to the redesigned Video edit screens (previously Video BETA):
- Trim: Cut unnecessary content from the start and / or the end of a video. Click Trim on the main Video screen.
- Related content: Add a widget to the video page with links to other content that visitors may find interesting. Click Related content in the left panel.
- Preview: Preview how the video will look on devices with different screen sizes (desktop, tablet, or mobile). Click Preview in the left panel.
- Notes: Add internal notes that are visible to anybody with the rights to access the video edit screens. Notes are not searchable in Pangea CMS and are not visible on the public website. Click Settings > Miscellaneous in the left panel to add notes.
For more information about editing videos, see our dedicated support article.
Video - Auto Thumbnail improvements
We've improved the way that automatic Thumbnails are generated for videos in a format other than 16x9. This includes the following non-standard formats:
- 1x1 videos
- 3x4 videos
- Vertical videos
The improved Thumbnails for these non-standard video formats keep the original screenshot ratio, but include black strips on either side of the screenshot. This ensures that the Thumbnail is properly displayed via widgets and other content pages on the public website.
To add this functionality to your website, you need to contact us.
Video - Clone a Video or Loop Video
In Pangea CMS 8.14, we've added the option to make a clone of a Video or Loop Video that was published by a different website. You can then edit, save, and publish the clone on your own website.
Find the Video or Loop Video that you want to clone using the Pangea CMS Search tool. Then, click the Make a clone of item icon in the relevant box from the search results page.
Certain settings are fully adjustable in the clone of a video, while other settings need to match the original version. You cannot perform the following actions in the clone of a video:
- Add or remove a Watermark
- Adjust the Thumbnail settings
- Replace the video by uploading a new file
The clone inherits future updates to the settings listed above from the original video. For example, if a watermark is added to the original video, it is also added to the clone.
The remaining settings (such as the Title and Introduction) are fully adjustable and do not need to match the original.
For more information about cloning content in Pangea CMS, see our dedicated support article.
Video - Upload improvements
Pangea CMS now supports parallel uploads for up to four videos or loop videos. This means that you can immediately access the Video edit screens after you start uploading a batch of videos. Just click Edit (the pencil icon) next to the video file in the Upload manager.
For more information about uploading videos, see our dedicated support article.
Article - Copy an article
You can make a copy of an article that was created by a different website or your own website. You can then edit, save, and publish the copy on your own website.
Find the article that you want to copy using the Pangea CMS Search tool. Then, click the Make a copy of item icon in the relevant box from the search results page.
When you create a copy of an article in Pangea CMS 8.14, you can immediately start editing the copy using the redesigned CMS 8 article edit screens. The title of the copy includes the prefix [COPY] - to ensure unique naming.
For more information about copying content in Pangea CMS, see our dedicated support article.
All content - Default 'Draft' status
When you create any new content in Pangea CMS, the status is now always Draft by default. Previously, the default status was Published (except for services that already requested the Draft status as default).
Other fixes and improvements
As well as the major changes listed above, we've also made the following smaller fixes and improvements:
- Cleanup of image Source list
- 'Edited' status added to Search filter
- 'Display introduction' setting added to more edit screens
- Manually define the Footer link text for a Content widget
- Reorganization of menus and Search filters
- Use the English version of a name when searching for an author
- New information banner on login screen
Cleanup of image Source list
We've removed duplicated and unused entries from the Source list for images. The list is now shorter, so you can find the entry you need more easily.
'Edited' status added to Search filter
You can now use the Pangea CMS Search tool to find only content with the status Edited. Just select Edited under Status in the search filter. On the search results page, edited content is displayed with the Edited icon.
'Display introduction' setting added to more edit screens
We've added the Display introduction setting on the following edit screens:
- Live Blog BETA
- Photo Gallery BETA
- Static Infographics BETA
- Video
This allows you to choose whether or not to display the introduction on the public website. If you want to display the introduction, you need to tick the Display introduction box. Otherwise, leave the box unticked.
Manually define the Footer link text for a Content widget
When editing a Content widget using the Content BETA edit screens, you can now manually define the text that is used for the Footer link. Enter your preferred text under Link text on the Settings screen.
Reorganization of menus and Search filters
Items are now listed alphabetically via the menus in the top panel and also in the Content type search filter.
Use the English version of a name when searching for an author
When adding an author to any content item in Pangea CMS, you can now always find the author you need by searching for the English version of their name. This is useful for names that have an English version as well as a version in another language.
New information banner on login screen
We've added a new information banner to the login screen for Voice of America (VOA) and Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) users. This banner is required to comply with Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) regulations.
