Release Highlights

CMS 8.21 - Release highlights

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Release schedule

The release of Pangea CMS 8.21 is scheduled for February 13th 2023 at the times specified below:

  • Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.: 06:00 - 07:30 Prague time / 00:00 - 01:30 DC time
  • LibertyNet: 07:30 - 08:30 Prague time / 01:30 - 02:30 DC time
  • Voice of America (VOA): 08:30 - 10:00 Prague time / 02:30 - 04:00 DC time
  • Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB): 10:00 - 11:00 Prague time / 04:00 - 05:00 DC time


What's new?



CMS 8 Widget library

Pangea CMS 8.21 includes an improved Widget library screen in the latest CMS 8 design. Widget library is available via Sections > Widget Library.

The Widget library lists all the library widgets that are available for your website. Library widgets work as follows:

  • All library widgets are stored in the Widget library.
  • A single library widget might be used on multiple website items (or it might be used nowhere).
  • Whenever you edit a library widget, the changes are applied automatically for all instances of the widget.

The CMS 8 Widget library offers the following new functionality:

  • Filter search results according to widget type and location.
  • Check where a widget is displayed and immediately open the relevant Editor screen.

For detailed information about the Widget library, see the following article:




CMS 8 Multimedia widget

Pangea CMS 8.21 includes an improved workflow for creating Multimedia widgets. The new Multimedia widget edit screen uses the latest CMS 8 design.

Access the new edit screen via the Editor for any website item:

  • Drag and drop the Multimedia box from the Widgets list to create a new widget.
  • Hit ≡ (three lines) > Edit to edit an existing Multimedia widget.

For detailed information about creating a Multimedia widget, see the following article:




CMS 8 Users list

Pangea CMS 8.21 includes an improved Users list in the latest CMS 8 design. Access the new Users list via Administration > User Management > Manage Users.

The Users list lets you review all users from your site. If you have sufficient rights, you can also review users from a different site or users from all sites.

The CMS 8 Users list offers the following new functionality:

  • Status: Filter search results according to status and easily check the status for each user via the left-side icon.
  • Show deleted: Enable the Show deleted slider to see and restore deleted users.



Support for Serial and Episodic podcasts

With the 8.21 release, we are bringing support for Serial and Episodic podcasts. This means podcasts and episodes can be properly labeled via third-party distributors (such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify).

On the Edit Category (Zone) screen for all podcast Categories, the new Podcast Type drop-down menu is available. Select the appropriate option for each podcast:

  • Episodic (selected by default): Episodes are stand-alone units that can be played in any order.
  • Serial: Episodes are part of a continuous narrative that is told chronologically. Episodes are assigned season and episode numbers.

On the Audio clip edit screen, select Podcast in the left panel to assign labels for individual episodes. The following options are available:

  • Full (selected by default): Intended for complete episodes of the podcast.
  • Bonus: Intended for extra podcast content, such as behind-the-scenes information and interviews with the cast.
  • Trailer: Intended for short promotional content, which provides a preview of the podcast.

If Serial is selected as the Podcast Type, it is also required to provide a season number and episode number for Full episodes.


NOTE: Episode labels are only available if the Primary category for the Audio clip is configured for podcast distribution. More information is available here:

If you change an existing podcast from Episodic to Serial, we recommend reviewing recent episodes of the podcast to assign the correct season and episode numbers. However, this is not necessary for all previous episodes.

For detailed information about configuring a Category for podcast distribution, see the following article:

For detailed information about adding episode labels, see the following article:




Loop video available via Widget teaser settings

When you are creating or editing a Content widget, it is now possible to add a Loop video to an item preview directly via the Teaser settings.

Select Add teaser / Edit teaser on the item box. The Loop video option is now available for attaching a Loop video.


NOTE: Teaser settings are only available when you edit a Content widget if Manual / Semi auto mode is enabled in the widget settings.

To apply the changes, choose your preferred option below:

  • Save as widget teaser: Update the Widget teaser settings for the item that are visible on the current widget only.
  • Save as website teaser: Update the universal Website teaser settings for the item that apply everywhere on the public website where the item is previewed.

For detailed information about Widget teaser and Website teaser settings, see the articles below:




'Image preview' available on edit screens

The Image preview button is now available in more places when you manually attach an image on edit screens. This includes:

  • The Main image on the Editor screen
  • The Main image in the General settings
  • The Website teaser images
  • The Social media image
  • Images added on a Photo gallery / Slider gallery

The following details are available via Image preview:

  • (A): A larger version of the image
  • (B): The image Caption / Title
  • (C): The internal image Description
  • (D): Additional image Metadata

On the Slider gallery edit screen, the internal Description and Metadata for the first image are no longer visible by default. Select the Image preview icon on either image to review this information.




Change of text color for Podcast widgets

For VOA and OCB, the text on Podcast widgets will change from red to blue in the 8.21 release. Blue text is better unified with overall website design and stops the widget looking like an alert.




Bug fix: Trends widget settings revert to original value

Several services reported that changes made in the Trends widget settings were removed after a certain time period. We've identified the cause of this issue, and it should be fixed in the 8.21 release.




Bug fix: Custom URL does not accept derivatives of reserved URLs

Certain strings are reserved for special website pages and cannot be set as a Custom URL. This applies for the following strings:

  • mobapp
  • api
  • rss
  • podcast
  • staticreport

However, it should be possible to create Custom URLs that are derivatives of reserved URLS (such as podcastok and podcast-patsany). In the 8.21 release, we've fixed the issue that was blocking the creation of such URLs.




Bug fix: 'Image taken is not valid' for image upload

Some users reported seeing the 'Image Taken is not valid' error when saving new images in Pangea CMS. The problem mostly affected images downloaded from Reuters. We've identified the cause of the problem, and it should be fixed in the 8.21 release.




Bug fix: Scheduler uses system time rather than local time

Some services reported that Scheduler & Template week was using the system time from the device rather than the local website time. We've identified the cause of the problem, and it should be fixed in the 8.21 release.