Release schedule:
The Pangea CMS 8.31 release is scheduled for April 23rd 2024 at the times listed below:
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
- Prague time: 06:00 am - 07:30 am
- DC / Miami time: 00:00 am - 01:30 am
Voice of America
- DC / Miami time: 02:30 am - 04:00 am
- Prague time: 08:30 am - 10:00 am
Office of Cuba Broadcasting
- DC / Miami time: 04:00 am - 05:00 am
- Prague time: 10:00 am - 11:00 am
LibertyNet
- Prague time: 07:30 am - 08:30 am
- DC / Miami time: 01:30 am - 02:30 am
What's new?
- CMS updates:
- Retired features:
- Bug fixes:
The return of the Editorial bar
The Editorial bar will return to Pangea sites after the 8.31 release. The Editorial bar recently disappeared because of the new limitations on third-party cookie sharing introduced by Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox (the Editorial bar depends on third-party cookies to communicate with Pangea CMS).
After the 8.31 release, you will need to manually launch the Editorial bar from Pangea CMS. Just hit the new Launch Editorial bar button in the primary navigation. This action generates a temporary cookie, which enables communication between your site and Pangea CMS.
After you hit the Launch Editorial bar button, your homepage opens in a new tab. The Editorial bar is available at the top of the page and remains available as you navigate the site.
Please be aware that the Editorial bar will disappear:
- If you manually clear cookies from your browser.
- If your browser automatically clears cookies.
- When the temporary cookie expires (after 90 days).
- If you manually hide the Editorial bar.
When the Editorial bar disappears, you can easily launch it again. Just go to Pangea CMS and hit the Launch Editorial bar button.
If you need to manually hide the Editorial bar, go to the avatar in the Editorial bar and select Hide Editorial bar.
Stealth publication for videos
When you edit a video in Pangea CMS, the Stealth published status is now available.
After you save a video with the Stealth published status:
- A standalone content page is not created for the video.
- The video does not have a public URL and is not automatically accessible on the web.
- The video is not indexed by search engines and does not appear on search engine results pages.
Stealth publication has two possible purposes:
- Create a video for use only as an embed
- Send a video to a third-party CMS without publishing it on the web
Create a video for use only as an embed
You can directly embed a stealth video on a text content page using the inline embed functionality in Pangea CMS (same as a regularly published video).
Stealth publication is useful if a video will be embedded on a content page, but the video is not suitable for sharing as a piece of standalone content. For example, your service might create a short video to play a supporting role in an article.
For detailed information about stealth publication, see the following article:
Send a video to a third-party CMS without publishing it on the web
A limited number of Pangea services (including Votvot) use a third-party CMS to maintain an OTT (Over-The-Top) app for mobile / smart TV. For these services, a special API is configured that delivers content from Pangea CMS to the relevant third-party CMS. A stealth video is automatically delivered to the third-party CMS through the API. However, the video is not published on the web.
IMPORTANT: This functionality applies only for OTT apps that are maintained using a third-party CMS (not Pangea CMS). Stealth videos are not sent automatically to Pangea mobile apps.
For detailed information about stealth publication, see the following article:
Alt text for gallery pages
You can now create custom alt text for images on the following gallery pages:
Alt text is a simple description of what is directly visible in an image. Alt text has many purposes. Most importantly, it is read aloud by screen readers for visually impaired visitors to your site. By adding effective alt text for images, you help make your site more accessible. For details, see the following article:
Improvements to the Sub navigation settings
You can now choose where a Sub navigation is displayed directly from the Sub navigation settings in Pangea CMS. Under Displayed on, select each Section or Infopage where you want to display the Sub navigation.
On the Sub navigation list, you can also check where each Sub navigation is currently displayed in the new Displayed on column.
Previously, to display a Sub navigation on a Section / Infopage, it was necessary to go to the separate builder for the Section / Infopage.
Improvements to the Region builder
The Region builder in Pangea CMS has a fresh new look, which better represents how Regions are displayed on the public site. When you open the Region builder on desktop, widgets and layout blocks are now organized in one column on the right side of the page.
Additionally, the preview now shows more precisely how the Region is displayed on devices with different screen sizes.
For more information about Regions, including how Regions are displayed on the public site, see the following article:
Unified date format
We have unified the format for entering dates across Pangea CMS. With this change, we aim to minimize potential confusion and errors while entering dates. Whenever you enter date information, you will now need to use the following format:
- DD.MM.YYYY
NOTE: This change does not impact how dates are displayed on the public site. Dates on the public site are displayed according to your individual site configuration.
If desired, individual services can customize the date format in Pangea CMS. The following options are available:
- Change the order of elements (for example, MM.DD.YYYY).
- Change the separator between elements (for example, MM/DD/YYYY).
Contact Pangea Customer Care to customize the date format in Pangea CMS. Your desired format will be applied across Pangea CMS (customizations for individual features are not possible).
CMS users can hit the Time and date button in the primary navigation to verify which date format is used for the current service.
Maximum length for alt text
We are introducing a new limit on the length of alt text for images. If the alt text is longer than 400 characters, you will not be able to save the content.
If the alt text is longer than 150 characters, you are informed that 150 characters is the recommended maximum length for alt text. However, you will still be able to save the content, as long as the alt text does not reach 400 characters.
Retired feature: Live blog widget
We have retired the Live blog widget after discussion and agreement with all Pangea entities. This widget type is not widely used, and the design does not currently meet the needs of our services. For promoting Live blog pages, we suggest that services use the Content widget.
Bug fix: Issues with generating automatic social media images
Services reported that in some cases, only one or two automatic social media images are generated for an article. We're happy to announce that this issue is fixed in the 8.31 release, so you should always be able to choose from at least four images.
Bug fix: Slide-in widgets are unlinked from Categories
Services reported that after a Slide-in widget is edited, the Slide-in widget is unlinked from the connected Categories. We're happy to announce that this issue is fixed in the 8.31 release, so you can freely edit your Slide-in widgets without any unwanted effects.
