How-To Embed Catalog Data

We have several widgets that can be added to your pages which will automate the process of bringing in content from the Campus Catalog.  Direct hyperlinks into the catalog will become outdated as each new catalog is released.

Current Campus Catalog Information

Each of these widget types will pull the latest version of the catalog automatically.  When the catalog updates your widget will automatically bring in the updated version. 

Link to specific catalogs:

If you need to target content from a specific catalog year, just use a hyperlink from the campus catalog.  Catalogs have a unique URL for their content for each catalog version.  Anything that is from a prior year will be stable when new versions are published.

The best widget for your content

There are two different types of widgets that can bring data into your pages either by course or by program.  You can choose specific courses or if you want the whole program it will display all courses within it.

Basic course title example

The data under the bar below will link into the current catalog for biology 101. It will automatically load after the page loads.

---

Build a catalog widget

Set up any of the widgets below using the page properties.  This is the same type of set up for using things like info blocks, hours, or even RSS.    

Set the Data Object to Events, Hours, RSS, or Javascript.

In the Data Source to write ShowCatalog() - the capitalization is important.

In the Filter / Extra Data you will construct the widget parameters.  Below we'll walk you through the process of how to create it and the available options to you.  The basic format just follows a simple label:value; structure. 

While there is no forced order in which these values appear in the string, you must remember to use a semi-colon ";" to separate each item.  The same label can appear multiple times for some items but a semi-colon is required between them. 

When adding titles to the filter, the order in which items are written dictates the order on the page.  

Widget Types

The widget will be one of the types below

• List - create link, or list of links to the catalog items
• Content - bring in the text from the catalog and put it right on your page.  This can be whole program data or individual courses

Data Type

The widget will be one of the types below

• Courses - pull data from individual course(s) and display either a link to the catalog, or the summary data on the page
• Programs - requires the program's full name (including B.A., etc) and will show the courses required for that program. 

Use Dynamic Data

When checked, it will automatically pull content from the catalog directly to the page rather than link to the catalog.

If pulling in program data then each course under the program will load the course data when clicked.  Otherwise the course will link into the catalog directly.

Try the widget

Use the options below to see some of the different display types.  

Filter/Extra Data code

Below you will find the code required to display this widget on your pages.  The code is placed into the page properties section for the Filter / Extra Data field.  Refer to the setup instructions at the top of this page for details.

Interactive Example

As you update the various widget options above the example will generate below.  If you get a blank space, the word "None" appears, or a link to the catalog displays, then the parameters you entered did not find any matchings data.  Be as specific as you can with program and course names.  If they are not exact then it will not find the data you want.