Howto: Using Variables with Generic Templates

Here's a requirement we see a lot of, the need to utilize a common template across a display network but with small location specific changes. The simple solution would be to just copy and customize the template for each location. Managing this solution however does not scale well since it requires not only keeping track of multiple templates but also scheduling each template to it's respective player. A better solution is to use template variables.

A variable is just that, a placeholder for a value which can change. A variable can be used just about anywhere in your template, including scripting, and allows you to inject values from outside of the template. This means you can now create a single generic template which automatically gets customized to the device once deployed.

We provide an example of creating a generic template playlist which uses the device tags to define the variable. The variable in this example is the device location which is then used to populate the weather gadget. In most cases you would just use Merge Tags to populate the weather, but this example is specifically about using variables which is a more generic approach.

For more information please check out KB article here:
http://support.reveldigital.com/kb/advanced-topics/variables-and-generic-templates