Create a PressReader showcase

Libraries can create home screen showcases that display PressReader content directly on the app home screen, helping patrons discover and access newspapers and magazines.

The following guide uses an Animals & Pets showcase as an example. The showcase items are being pulled from this URL https://www.PressReader.com/catalog/animals-pets. It has been configured to use the Showcase Display / Standard - Slider: Huge with the Link to all not being enabled.

To create a PressReader showcase:

  1. Access the Content Management System (CMS) and navigate to the Mobile Apps section in the left-side menu.

  2. Select the app or template you wish to create a PressReader showcase for.

  3. In Tab Manager, select Home Screen, and then select Edit Tab: Home Screen.
    The Homescreen Settings page is opened.

  4. Navigate to the Homescreen Showcases section, and select an available feed (Feed 1 in this example).

    • Feed 1 is typically used for showcases displayed on the home screen, at the top of the app.

    • Feeds 2-10 are additional showcases that can be configured to be displayed in different locations of the app's home screen.

    If you don't have the classic home screen showcase configured, you can use Feed 1.

  5. Note the feed number you're configuring.

    This number is used later when configuring the tab.

  6. In Title, enter a name for the showcase.

    Example: Animals & Pets

  7. In Type, select one of the following options:

    • PressReader Featured displays a curated selection of highlighted or promoted PressReader content. Use this option to showcase a broad mix of popular or recommended titles.

    • PressReader Category displays content from a specific category, such as News, Business, Lifestyle, or Sports.

  8. In Items, enter the ID that corresponds to the type selected in the previous step.

    To find the correct PressReader ID:

    1. PressReader Featured

      Featured showcases use predefined collection IDs that represent curated sets of content.

      Example ID: newspaper_featured

      Example ID: magazine_latest

      Take either of the IDs above and enter a single one into the Items field.

    2. PressReader Category

      1. Open https://www.PressReader.com/catalog in your browser.

      2. Navigate to the Categories section at the bottom of the page

        Categories to choose from include Animals & Pets, Aviation, Home & Garden or Sports.

        If you select Animals & Pets, it will load this URL: https://www.PressReader.com/catalog/animals-pets.

      3. Copy everything after catalog/.

        In the example URL above, the ID would be animals-pets.

  9. Click Save at the bottom of the page to save the changes.

    This action will direct you back to the Edit Mobile App screen.

    Next, you need to create a tab so the PressReader Showcases can display on your home screen

To create a tab for the showcase

  1. Decide where you want your PressReader Showcases to be created.

    In the provided example, the Animals & Pets Showcases has been created under the Home Screen tab, so it appears on the home screen of the app.

  2. Select Create at the top of the Tab Manager.

    This is the option on the left that has a folder with a yellow star at the top.

  3. Provide a name for the new tab in the New Tab pop-up window.

    In the provided example, this tab is named Animals & Pets. The name should match the one set in step 6 of the previous procedure.

  4. Select Create.

    The new tab is generated.

  5. Select the new tab, then select Edit Tab.

  6. In Title, enter the tab title.

    The title should match the showcase title configured earlier.

  7. (Optional) Enable Custom Color if you want the title to be displayed in a different color than the configured UI colors.

    • Select a color from the Web Palette pop-up window or enter a hexadecimal value in the HSV tab, then select Apply.

    Any custom color configured here applies to the title, subtitle, and the More button.

  8. Provide a subtitle for the tab in the Subtitle field.

    The subtitle helps explain the purpose of the tab and supports accessibility for patrons who use screen readers.

    The example configuration doesn't include a subtitle.

  9. Skip the Icon settings.

    PressReader showcases don't display icons on the home screen.

  10. Configure the visibility of the Animals & Pets tab:

    • Always displays the tab whether a patron is logged in or not.

    • Pre-Login displays the tab only before a patron signs in.

    • Post-Login displays the tab only after a patron signs in.

    • Staff Only displays the tabv only for staff users.

      Staff-only visibility may not be supported by all ILS/LMS systems because some systems don't distinguish between staff and patron accounts.

  11. (Optional) Enable Pinned Notification to keep the tab at the top of the app home screen.

    When enabled, patrons can't change the tab order in app preferences. If multiple tabs are pinned, they appear in the order shown in Tab Manager.

  12. In Tab Type, select Showcases Display.

  13. In the second drop-down list, select Standard for this example.

    Standard pulls the showcase items configured on the Home Screen tab.

  14. In Style, select how the showcase will be displayed. For this example, select Huge.

    Available styles include:

    • Slider: 1 Row: Displays a single horizontally scrollable row.

    • Slider: 2 Row: Displays two horizontally scrollable rows.

    • Slider: 1 Large, 4 Small: Displays one larger item, followed by four smaller items. This pattern repeats, with every sixth item appearing larger.

    • Slider: Huge: Displays showcase items in a larger format.

    • List: Displays Showcases items in a list-style format, showing only the first four items initially.

    • Button: 3 Items: Displays the showcases in a defined "box" layout, showing the first three items initially.

    • Button: 3 Items with Step: Similar to the standard three-item button layout but with a staggered display for added visual variation.

    • Button: 6 Items: Displays the showcases in a "box" layout, showing six items initially in a staggered format.

    • Button: 6 Items (Angled): Displays the showcases in a "box" layout, showing six items initially in an angled format for a unique visual effect.

    • Large Button: Displays the showcases in a larger button format, showing the first four items initially in the bottom half of the tab.

    • Large Button: Left: Displays the showcases in a larger button format, showing the first three items aligned to the left side of the tab.

    • Large Button: Right: Displays the showcases in a larger button format, showing the first three items aligned to the right side of the tab.

    • Large Button: Fan: Displays the showcases in a "fan" layout, showing the first three items arranged in a visually dynamic style.

  15. In Feed ID, enter the number of the feed where your PressReader carousel was configured in the first procedure.

  16. Select Save at the bottom of the page to apply your updates.

  17. Reload the app to view the changes.

    This can be done by navigating to the hamburger menu in the top right corner, selecting Preferences, and then selecting Reload.

    The app refreshes and displays the configured PressReader showcase.