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About Scinage
Scinage is a free digital solution created by Science Computing, which allows users to create digital signage by using the available widgets, or by using pre-made image files, to develop slides. Users can transform those slides into a collective slideshow that can be displayed on physical screens across the University of Waterloo campus.
Scinage was originally a side-project that has grown across Science and into many other departments. Students, staff and faculty members within the University of Waterloo community can access Scinage by using their ADFS login to claim their account on the Scinage website.
Deployment:
If you’re just interested in deploying some screens and looking for hardware solutions, check out our Devices/Deployment page.
1. Home Page
Once logged in, users will be prompted to the Scinage home page. Within the Scinage home page, users can access content by clicking on the blue arrow beside the content name, located inside their individual content card. Each piece of content on Scinage has their own individual colour-coded card, that provides a significant amount of information about that the specific content.
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The following objects can be accessed through the menu/navigation bar:
Groups
Screens
Slideshows
Slides
Widgets
Images
Videos
Trashbin
1.2 New and Updated Card
Within the Scinage home page, the New and Updated card notifies users when a new widget has been added, or when a current widget has been updated or tested.
The New and Updated card provides users the following information:
The title of the widget that was either recently updated, tested, or added.
The specific date and time of when the action was completed.
The user who completed the update or creation.
Comments regarding that specific update.
If you currently have a widget within a slide and discover that widget to be listed under the New and Updated section, users should immediately click on the blue and white update button, within the slide editor, for that particular slide. Scinage does not provide a list of slides that contain a specific widget; therefore, users will need to remember which of their slides contains which widgets.
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Within the screens card, Scinage provides the following information:
How many screens a user has created and owns.
How many screens a user has access to within the groups they are a part of.
How many screens are "off".
A screen will appear as "off" if the digital screen has not been viewed on a device within the last five minutes. Users should note that the power status of a physical screen (Television screen, computer monitor, etc.), will not determine if your screen is "off" in Scinage.
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Within the slides card, Scinage provides the following information:
The amount of slides the user has created.
How many other slides a user has access to within their groups.
1.5 Slideshows Card
Slideshows are represented by the slideshow icon. The slideshows card can be found within the Scinage home page, where users can click on the blue arrow button beside the object name, to access all their slideshows.
Within the slideshows card, Scinage provides the following information:
The amount of slideshows the user has created.
How many other slideshows a user has access to within their groups.
1.6 Widgets Card
Widgets are represented by the widget icon. The widgets card can be found within the Scinage home page, where users can click on the blue arrow button beside the object name, to access all the available widgets on Scinage.
Within the widgets card, Scinage provides the following information:
The amount of widgets the user has created.
How many widgets the user has listed as a favourite.
How many other widgets a user has access to within their groups.
How many of your widgets have been shared.
How many of your shared widgets have been used in slides.
2. Object Cards, Card Icons and Card Buttons
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Each card will provide the following information:
The title of the object.
Who it was created by.
A description of that object, if there is one.
Different object cards have some additional information:
Screens only:
When the screen was last seen.
The IP Address where the screen was last seen.
The URL for viewing the screen.
Slideshows and slides only:
The date of when the object was last updated, and who it was updated by.
Widgets only:
When the latest version was saved.
Public widget specific information:
Official status (true or false).
The number of times the widget has been used in slides.
The number of times the widget has been favourited by all users.
Any search tags for the widget.
2.2 Card Icons
Slideshows, slides and widgets have icons along the top, typically the top-right, allowing a variety of actions:
Slideshows, slides, and widgets:
The clone icon allows users to easy clone existing content.
Slides and widgets:
The preview, or eye, icon allows users to quickly view the slide or widget without having to navigate away from the page their on.
Widgets only:
The official icon shows whether or not a widget is considered "official", or supported, by Scinage developers (no function).
The favourite, or heart, icon allows users to favourite widgets allowing for quick access.
The rating, or star, icon shows the overall rating of a widget next to the icon itself. Users can rate widgets by hovering over the rating icon or value, and then clicking on the star that appears corresponding to their desired rating (1 through 5 stars). Note user can change their ratings at anytime.
2.3 Card Buttons
Within each card, there are card buttons allowing a variety of actions:
Share
Edit
View
Transfer
Delete
If you would like to edit the content for a specific object, for example a slide, the edit button will prompt you to the slide editor. Within the editing page, you can make additional edits from updating the title, to having the ability to remove or add content.
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Once you have entered a userID, you can assign the following permissions to that user by selecting the appropriate box:
Can add users
Can remove users
Can use items
Can add items
Can remove items
Can edit items
Users can be removed from a group by selecting the delete field, and saving the group.
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The "My Groups" tab displays the list of groups a user has created or has full ownership of. If a user has ownership, they have access to the following card buttons:
View
Edit
Transfer
The view button allows the user to view the list of members within the group as well as any screens, slideshows, slides and widgets that are shared amongst the group. The edit button allows the creator/owner, and users with appropriate permissions, to edit the current roles of each user within the group as well as add and remove users. The transfer button allows the creator/owner of the group to transfer ownership of the group to another Scinage user by entering the eight-character WatIAM userID.
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In addition, each group card will provide the following information:
The title of the group.
The creator of the group.
A description of the group.
If a user does not have the primary role of ownership, that user can only view the list of members within the group as well as any screens, slideshows, slides and widgets, that are shared amongst the group, unless given permissions by the group's owner.
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Users can adjust the following settings:
You can adjust the display length of each individual slide according to how long you would like your slide to appear on the screen, in seconds.
Choose a start date of when you would like that specific slide to appear on the physical screen.
Choose an end date of when you would like the slide to stop appearing on the physical screen.
Selecting the box "Remove after end date?" will remove the slide from the slideshow after the specified end date, but will not delete the slide.
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Within the "Insert" tab on PowerPoint, select the SmartArt icon to access the list of pre-made templates. SmartArt has a lot of templates that you can choose from:
Process
Cycle
Hierarchy
Relationship
Matrix
Pyramid
Picture
Office.com templates
Click once on a template to preview that SmartArt graphic and to learn more about that specific template. Click the "OK" button to add the template onto your slide. Users can expand or minimize the size of the graphic by clicking and dragging the corners of the frame.
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To save a PowerPoint slide as an image file on a PC, use the following instructions:
Open the PowerPoint file you wish to save.
Click on the "File" tab on the top left corner of the PowerPoint program.
Click "Save As" and then "Browse".
A dialogue box will open and select the folder you wish to save your file in.
Give your file a name.
Within "Save as type", click on the drop down arrow and find the option "JPEG File Interchange Format" or "PNG Portable Network Graphics" and click save.
The dialogue box will close and a smaller dialogue box will pop up asking, "Which Slides do you want to export?" Users can choose to export all slides or just this one (the current slide).
Users also have the option to export their PowerPoint slide by following the export method. To export a PowerPoint, use the following instructions:
Open the PowerPoint file you wish to save.
Click on the "File" tab on the top left corner of the PowerPoint program.
Click "Export".
Click the last option "Change File Type".
Double click either "PNG Portable Network Graphics" or "JPEG File Interchange Format".
A dialogue box will open, select the folder you wish to save your file in.
Give your file a name and click save.
The dialogue box will close and a smaller dialogue box will pop up asking, "Which Slides do you want to export?" Users can choose to export all slides or just this one (the current slide).
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To export a PowerPoint slide on a Mac, use the following instructions:
Open the PowerPoint file you wish to save.
Click on the "File" option within the menu bar at the top of your Mac screen.
Click "Export" and a dialogue box will appear.
Give your file a name and select the folder you wish to save your file.
Within the "File Format" section, click on the drop down arrow and select either the JPEG or PNG option.
Both options will prompt additional setting such as:
Selecting the option to "Save Every Slide" or "Save Current Slide Only".
Setting the width and height dimensions of your PowerPoint file. It is highly recommended to use the dimensions 1920 x 1080 to achieve the full screen look.
Click the "Export Button".
Once you export your PowerPoint slide(s) into an image file, read section 8.1 How to Upload an External Image onto a Slide.
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Each widget has its own individual card that provides information for that specific widget. Within the "Public Widgets" tab, the following information can be found within within each widget card:
The creator of the widget
If it's an official or non-official widget
Latest update
A description, if there is one
Within each widgets card, there are icons that you as a user should know about. A the top of each widget card, there are icons users should note (from left to right):
Star icon and number (allows for rating widgets, when hovered over, and displays the widget's average rating beside it)
Check-circle icon (also shows official status)
Clone icon (allows you to duplicate the widget)
Eye icon (allows you to preview how the widget looks like)
Heart icon (allows you to favourite the widget)
These icons are also on all other tabs.
On the bottom left corner of each public widget card, there are additional icons users should note:
Plus box icon and number (indicates how many times this widget has been used)
Heart icon and number (indicates how many times this widget has been favorited)
Tags (indicates the searchable tag names associated with this widget)
At the top of the widgets landing page, there is a "search for widget title" box, where users can search specific tag or widget names to narrow down the list of widgets.
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Faculties and UWaterloo associated schools and satellites campuses, can find their colour bar palette on the University of Waterloo Brand Brand website.
To create a Faculty Color Bar, use the following instructions:
Create a new slide and click on the "Add Widget" button.
The widget dialogue box will open. Select the "Colour bar" widget by clicking on the "Add" button within the widget card. The "Colour bar" widget will be added onto the middle of your workspace, automatically set in the SCI colour palette.
To change the colour palette to represent your faculty, go under the "Faculty colour palette" on the right column, click on the tab, and choose your faculty.
To change the dimensions of the colour bar, there are size options for the width and height on the right column.
If you want to have the colour bar across the top of the screen, click and drag "Colour bar" widget to the top left corner of the screen. Then go to the right column and adjust the width size to 100. Then adjust the length of the colour bar according to your preference.
7.5.3 UWCMS Banner Page
Scinage allows users to add a WCMS banner onto their slide by using the "UWCMS Banner Page" widget. Use the following instructions to have a UWCMS banner on your slideshow:
Create a new slide and click on the "Add Widget" button.
The widget dialogue box will open up. Select the "UWCMS Banner Page" widget by clicking on the "Add" button within the widget card. The "UWCMS Banner Page" widget will be added onto the middle of your workspace.
Once you have chosen which UWCMS Banner you would like to use, copy the url of the home page. For example, to feature the Arts Computing Office banner on a slide, the URL will be copied -- https://uwaterloo.ca/arts-computing/
On the right hand column, within the white box under the "WCMS Event URL" section, paste the URL that you had copied and hit enter on your keyboard.
Scinage will refresh the widget and the banner should appear exactly how it looks on the website. Users may adjust the size settings of the banner according to their preference.
In addition, you can adjust the following settings:
Time to show (how long each slide appears)
Display time in seconds (How long to show each slide)
Scroll delay
7.5.4 Youtube Player
If you are inserting a YouTube video into Scinage, you will need to insert the YouTube videoID into the Youtube Player widget, which can be found in the link of the video you want to insert.
For instance, if you want to insert a YouTube video with the link link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ_JiJ1G3-E, the YouTube videoID is everything following the equal sign in the URL (see bolded text in the link above). Therefore, the videoID for this URL is LJ_JiJ1G3-E. Also, no matter what YouTube video you want to insert in Scinage, the videoID will be located in the same spot within the URL.
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Scinage users have the option to add a Twitter Feed onto their slide by using the "Embedded Twitter Feed" widget. Use the following instructions to add a Twitter feed onto your slide:
Create a new slide and click the "Add Widget" button.
The Widget dialogue box will open up. Select the "Embedded Twitter Feed" widget by clicking on the "Add" button. The widget will be added onto the middle of your workspace.
On the right hand column, within the "Twitter Feed" widget settings, enter the Twitter username inside the white box. Note: The "@" symbol is not required.
Therefore, if I were to added the University of Waterloo Arts twitter, I would enter "uwaterlooARTS", inside the white box. Scinage will automatically refresh the widget where the latest tweet/retweet (made by the selected user) will appear. You may adjust the size settings of the widget according to your preference.
There are multiple "Twitter" widgets available on Scinage, such as:
Twitter with images alternate layout
Twitter with images
Twitter with images, without text
WCMS-style Twitter
7.5.6 Image Slideshow Widget
The "Image Slideshow" widget allows you to display up to ten images in one slide. To add the "Image Slideshow" widget, use the following instructions:
Create a new slide and click on the "Add Widget" button.
The widget dialogue box will open up. Select the "Image Slideshow" widget by clicking on the "Add" button within the widget card. The "Image Slideshow" widget will be added onto the middle of your workspace.
On the right hand column, within the "Image Slideshow" widget settings, start adding your images by clicking each individual url box. The order of the images will appear according the image number, with "Image 1" as the first image, and "Image 10" to be the last image to appear on the slideshow.
The following are some tips for using this widget:
Ensure that when you add this widget that whatever the height setting is, the weight is the same. This ensures that the widget has the same aspect ratio as the slide; otherwise, the images will appear to be stretched.
You can change the duration of each slide. Ensure that the duration is not set to anything less than two otherwise the images go by too fast for viewers to clearly view the images.
Never use images that are shaped as a square, such as the images below, or your images will be stretched out.
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Only use images that are the same aspect ratio as your screen, such as the images below.
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There are ten image placements within the Widget settings. Therefore, you have to add ten images, otherwise a 
broken broken image icon will appear.
If you don't have ten images, take the images you have and put them in order based on how you want them to be displayed, then add each image multiple times, until you have added ten images to the slide.
For instance, If I were trying to make a photo slideshow using four images I will add the four images to this widget in the following order. See image figure below.
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This ensures that even though I don't have ten images, I can still create a photo slideshow out the four images I have.
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Images can be uploaded onto Scinage in two ways. The first method is to upload your image within the "Image" page on Scinage, use the following instructions:
Within the navigation bar, click on "Images", where you will be prompted to the "Images" landing page.
Then click the "Upload Image" button.
A dialogue box will open up, where you will be selecting your image file. Then click the "Open" button.
Your image will be automatically uploaded onto Scinage. Your latest image will appear at the top of the image list.
The second method is to upload the image via the Image widget, or similar, during slide creation/editing, use the following instructions:
Navigate to the slide editor.
Add the Image widget to your slide.
Click on the Image field under Widget settings.
A dialogue box will open up, where you will be selecting your image file. Then click the "Open" button.
Note that this is also where you can add previously uploaded images to slides.
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Note: there are no thumbnails but the file name is displayed so that you can still locate your video.
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9. Trashbin
When a slideshow, slide, or widget is deleted via their cards delete button they will be sent to the trashbin. Each content type has their own tab, and offer two actions: Restore or Delete. Restore will move the object out of the trashbin and back to where it was, whereas delete will permanently delete the object from Scinage. Note that objects in use (i.e. a slide being used in a slideshow, a widget in a slide, a slide or slideshow being used on a screen) cannot be permanently deleted to prevent content disappearing from others.