Release Highlights

CMS 8.26 - Release highlights

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Release schedule:

The Pangea CMS 8.26 release is scheduled for September 12th 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?


Custom alt text for embedded images

When you embed an image, you can now define custom alt text for the image under Alt text. Previously, the caption for the embedded image was automatically applied as the alt text.

The alt text (or 'alternative text') for an image is not directly visible on the site. Alt text is applied in the page's source code in the alt tag for the individual image.

Alt text serves the following purposes:

  • Read aloud by screen readers for visually impaired visitors to your site and visitors who are otherwise unable to see the screen
  • Displayed on the site if the image fails to load
  • Helps search engines index the image so it ranks more highly in image searches

Providing custom alt text is optional, but strongly recommended for better site accessibility. For information about best practice, see the following article:

NOTE: Currently, custom alt text is only available for embedded images. In future releases, we plan to bring this option for more images, including main images and video thumbnails.



New time picker

We're happy to announce that the clock-style time picker in CMS (shown below) has been retired. This change was implemented in response to feedback from CMS users, who told us that this time picker is frustrating and difficult to use.

The new time picker is available next to the date picker. Simply scroll and select the correct number of hours then minutes.

You can hit Today to automatically select the current day and time (according to the local time for your site).

The minute values are defined at 5-minute intervals. To select a more precise value, manually type directly in the relevant box.



Search for 'scheduled' content

CMS lets you schedule publication of a content item for a specific time and date in the future. The item is published automatically at the specified time.

On the main Search screen, you can now quickly find all content that is scheduled for publication. Follow these steps:

  1. Select Scheduled under Publication date.
  2. Under Status, either leave nothing selected or select Published.
  3. Hit Search.

The results include only items that are scheduled for publication (marked with the Scheduled icon).

For detailed information about scheduling publication and managing scheduled content, see the following article:



Notifications about on-demand video distribution

We've added the following event in the Notifications section of your user account:

  • My video is distributed

If this option is ticked, you are notified about the status of your requests for on-demand video distribution. This means requests that you set up and confirmed in the Multimedia distribution settings for a video.

By default, you receive a notification when:

  • A video is successfully distributed.
  • Distribution of a video fails.

In your user account, specify if you want to be notified via Pangea message, email, or both. You can also totally disable these notifications. For details, see the following article:

IMPORTANT: Any changes made in the the Notifications section of your user account are not applied until you log out of CMS and then log back in.

To learn about on-demand video distribution to social media, see the following article:



Improved search options for YMAL and Regions

On the Regions and You Might Also Like (YMAL) list pages, it's now easier to see exactly where different items are used on the site.

We've added the following options:

  • (A): Under Categories (Zones), quickly check which Categories each item is assigned to.
  • (B): Use the Categories drop-down menu to set which items appear on the list. Choose from:
    • All items
    • Only items that are assigned to at least one Category
    • Only items that are not yet assigned to any Categories

Access the Regions and YMAL list pages via Sections in the top menu.



Edit author to CMS 8

The Edit author screen in CMS has been refactored and redesigned according to our latest CMS 8 strategy.

This screen lets you create a new author for your site, or update the settings for an existing author. For details, see the following article:

NOTE: If you're curious to learn more about our CMS 8 strategy, see the following article:



Merge authors to CMS 8

The Merge authors screen in CMS has been refactored and redesigned according to our latest CMS 8 strategy.

This screen lets you merge a group of authors. For details, see the following article:



Embed vertical YouTube shorts

To create a better experience for visitors on Pangea sites, embedded YouTube shorts are now displayed in fullsize with vertical orientation. Previously, YouTube shorts were displayed inside a standard horizontal box (same as YouTube videos).

To embed the fullsize YouTube short, you need to use the sharing URL (not the embed code). Get this by clicking the Share button next to the short in YouTube.

For general information about embedding external media items (including YouTube shorts), see the following article:



New icon for X (Twitter) in 'Share on' and 'Follow us' navigation

Twitter has re-branded. It's now called X and has a new logo. To reflect this change, we've updated the 'Share on' and 'Follow us' navigation across Pangea sites.

Sites can optionally update the following configuration keys:

  • Responsive.Social.FollowOnTwitter: Sets the visible text when you hover over the 'Follow us on' button.
  • Responsive.Social.ShareOnTwitter: Sets the visible text when you hover over the 'Share on' button.

Both keys are available via the Site localization tool in CMS.



Add Threads to 'Follow us' navigation

After the 8.26 release, sites will have the option to add the Threads icon in the Follow us navigation that is visible in the footer and primary navigation menu on the public site.

To add the Threads icon, contact Pangea Customer Care. In your request, include the URL for your Threads channel.

Sites can localize the text that is visible when a visitor hovers over the 'Follow us on Threads' icon.

Use the following configuration key:

  • Responsive.Social.FollowOnThreads

After the 8.26 release, this configuration key will be available via the Site localization tool in CMS.



Bug fix: An external image can't be uploaded by more than one entity

Currently, only one entity can upload an external image. If you try to upload an external image that has already been uploaded by another entity, the upload fails. We've now fixed this bug. After the 8.26 release, you should be able to upload any external image (even if it was previously uploaded by another entity).



Bug fix: Categories are displayed in reverse order

We found that the order of child categories on the Categories (Zones) list is not currently respected in the Categories drop-down menu when you assign content to a category. In the Categories drop-down menu, the child categories are actually displayed in reverse order compared to the Categories (Zones) list.

After the 8.26 release, this issue will be fixed. This means the order of child categories in CMS will always match the order defined on the Categories (Zones) list.



Bug fix: It's not possible to remove an audio clip from related content

We'd like to thank the CMS user who reported that it was not possible to delete an audio clip from related content. We've identified the cause of this frustrating bug. After the 8.26 release, CMS users will once more have the power to delete audio clips from related content.