Release schedule:
The Pangea CMS 8.27 release is scheduled for October 24th 2023 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:
- Features to CMS 8:
- Site updates:
- Bug fixes:
Copy a mirror URL from the main Search screen
As part of continuous efforts to bypass censorship in selected target markets, we've added Copy Mirror URL to the available options on the main Search screen. This new feature has been developed in close cooperation with the third-party vendor that provides the web mirror solution for Pangea sites.
When you click this icon, the mirror URL for the content page is copied to your clipboard. Previously, services needed to use a third-party application to retrieve the mirror URL.
The Copy Mirror URL option is available for each content page that was published by a service with a mirror site. If your service doesn't have a mirror site, you can still use this option for content from other sites. Copy Mirror URL is only available for pages with the Published status.
This feature works on all major web browsers. However, because the Safari browser does not allow direct copying, an additional step is required for users who access CMS via Safari. On Safari, click the Copy Mirror URL icon, then click Copy to manually copy the URL to your clipboard.
All SEO configuration keys in one place
You can now access all configuration keys that impact SEO from the same screen in CMS. Just go to Settings > SEO (Search Engine Optimization) .
Previously, this screen only included the main SEO configuration keys. Now, we've brought together all keys that impact SEO. This means all text that might be visible on search engine results pages and is included in the metadata for your pages. With this update, we aim to make it easier for services to review current SEO practices and make any necessary optimizations.
As part of this update, we've reviewed each key individually to determine its purpose and whether it is still needed. The following redundant keys have been removed from CMS:
- Common.SiteService
- Common.PageMetaKeywords
- Common.PageMetaDescription
We've also updated the help text for every key. To open the help text, hover over the ? icon.
We've not added any new keys to CMS as part of this update. All extra keys in the SEO settings were previously available via the Site localization tool. Now, these keys are available via the SEO settings (as well as via Site localization).
Separate descriptions for videos sent to YouTube and Facebook
An additional description is shared automatically when you send on-demand video content from CMS to YouTube / Facebook. The additional description is visible below the main description for the video.
It's now possible to create two separate versions of the additional description. One version will be shared via YouTube, and the other will be shared via Facebook. Previously, services could create just one version of the additional description that was shared via both platforms.
Contact Pangea Customer Care to set the additional descriptions for your service.
Simplified workflow for adding multiple tags
If you need to add multiple tags to a content item, you can now enter a list of tags separated by commas. It's no longer necessary to type and confirm every tag individually.
For example, if you enter cat,dog,parrot, and then press the enter key on your keyboard, cat, dog, and parrot are added as three separate tags. This functionality is especially useful if you need to quickly paste a list of tags from an external document.
Podcast widget edit screen to CMS 8
We've migrated to Podcast widget edit screen to CMS 8. The new version of the edit screen offers improved speed and usability with no major changes to functionality. The look and feel matches other CMS 8 widget edit screens.
The Podcast widget is optimized for sharing and promoting podcasts. To learn more, see the following article:
Custom URL to CMS 8
We've migrated the Custom URL tool to CMS 8. The new version of the tool offers improved speed and usability with no major changes to functionality.
Via the Custom URL tool, you can create descriptive, human-readable URLs for the following page types:
- Sections
- Infopages
- Category pages
For detailed information, see the following article:
Categories distribution to CMS 8
We've migrated the Categories distribution tool to CMS 8. The new version of the tool offers improved speed and usability. You can also look forward to a new feature that makes it easier for services to manage podcasts.
We've added the Podcast property in the Category property drop-down menu. With Podcast selected, you can can perform the following actions:
- Check which Categories are set up for podcast distribution.
- Add an existing TV or Radio Category to the list of podcasts.
- Remove an existing TV or Radio Category from the list of podcasts.
Categories distribution lets you check and update how the content from different Categories is shared across a variety of platforms. For detailed information, see the following article:
Add Viber to sharing navigation
Sites can now add the Viber icon to the sharing navigation that is visible on content pages. The Viber icon only appears when your site is accessed on a mobile device.
To add the Viber icon, contact Pangea Customer Care.
Sites can localize the alt text for the Viber icon. Use the following configuration key:
- Responsive.Social.ShareViber
This configuration key will be available via the Site localization tool after the 8.27 release.
Bug fix: Videos cannot be sent to YouTube playlists
Several services reported that it was not possible to send a video to a specific YouTube playlist using the Multimedia distribution tool. This problem will be fixed after the 8.27 release. We apologize for any inconvenience caused for the affected services.
