SharingWidgetsHow to

Creating a widget

Build a widget: choose a topic, one record or a collection, its source and options, check the preview, and publish.

Applies toOwner · Admin

The widget builder asks what to show, then how to show it, and previews the real widget as you go. When you're done you'll have a draft with its own embed code, ready to publish.

To show a collection, make the saved view or list first — bills and lists in Legislation, meetings in the Calendar, legislators in Elected Officials — see Creating a saved view. The widget follows the view from then on.

The widget builder: controls on the left, a live preview of a bill list in a mock web page on the right — The builder previews the widget exactly as it will appear on your site.

Build it#

Go to Integration → Widgets and select New widget.
In Name, give it a name for your list of widgets. Viewers don't see it.
Under Topic, choose Bills, Events, Elected officials, Sessions or Scorecards.
For bills, events and officials, under Show, choose one record (Single bill, Single event or Single official) or a Collection.
Choose the source:
- A collection — pick one of the organization's saved views or lists. Each shows how many records it matches today. For bills or officials, Show as then offers List or Chart; for a chart, pick one under Chart.
- A single record — search for the bill (by number, such as "CA SB 52", or by title), the meeting, or the official.
- Sessions — tick the Jurisdictions to show, up to 12.
- Scorecards — pick the Scorecard.
Set the options for the type: panels, layout, table columns, how many records it shows. See Widget types and options.
Under When a reader clicks a link, leave Open details inside the widget on, or turn it off. See Opening details inside a widget.
Set its look: Heading, Subheading, your logo, Theme, Accent, Width and Density.
Select Save draft (or press ⌘S).

Until the widget has a name and a source, Save draft stays dimmed, and the bar beside it says what's missing.

Check the preview#

The preview is the widget itself, rendered from your unsaved settings inside a mock page. Switch between Phone, Column and Wide to see it at 360, 640 and 960 pixels: an Auto layout chooses cards or a table, or a schedule, week or month, from the width it's given, so a phone may get something different from your desktop. Click a bill or a legislator in it to try the details panel.

Publish it#

Select Publish….
Read Before you publish: what becomes visible, and to whom.
Select Publish widget — or Save and publish, if you have unsaved changes.

Then copy the embed code below the preview into your page — see Embedding a widget.

Change it later#

Open the widget from Integration → Widgets. A published widget's save button reads Save — goes live: saving updates it on every page it's embedded on.