Easily display birthdays with templates available in the App Library.

The name and date information can com from a Google Sheet or a Data Feed. There is one Birthday App which can be fed with a Google Sheet alone, several other designs take data from a Data Feed.

Birthday Announcement App with data from a Google Sheet

To starter, we show you the common Birthday Announcement App which takes input from a Google Sheet. Changes in the Google Sheet are automatically updated on your signage. We start with the instructions on how to create the Google Sheet (A), then how to set up the app (B).

(A) Birthday Spreadsheet

We list all birthdays in the Google Spreadsheet and share it with the web platform. Note, that the document must be shared with "Anyone with the link" so data can be fetched by the platform. Viewing permissions are enough.

1. In your Google Drive, click on "New" in the top-left corner, then select "Google Sheets" from the drop-down menu.
2. In the new Sheet, enter the names and birthdates in separate columns. No specific order necessary.
   

   

3. The date should follow one of these formats:
   • MM/DD/YYYY
   • DD/MM/YYYY
   • YYYY-MM-DD
4. When you are done inserting the birthdates, share the document. Click on the "Share" button in the top-right corner. Another route is the "File" menu on the top-left > “Share” > "Share with others".
5. Change the General access from "Restricted" to "Anyone with the link".
   

   

6. The Drive provides a URL by clicking on the button "Copy link".

(B) Creating the App

Now, we will leave the Google Drive aside and go back to your OnSign TV account.

1. On your Content page, click on "New" and choose "App" from the drop-down menu.
2. From the sidebar menu, select the "Meeting Room & Calendar" category. Here you find all Birthday Apps. The Birthday Announcement App is the one you can use with just a Google Sheet. The other templates are Data Feed enabled. They work in similar ways, but you have more options to provide your data to the App.
   The Birthday Announcement App contains the text "Birthday Announcement" on one half of the App. Next to it, you see a list of names and birthdates.
   
3. Name the app and paste the Google Sheets URL from earlier.
4. Select how long each birthday will be displayed on screen and also limit the amount of dates you want to display. It can be today's, this week's, or this month's birthdays.
5. Make sure to fill the following fields according to the Sheet you have just created:
   • Date Format: MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD
   • Names Column: In the example above, we inserted all names in column A.
   • Birthday Column: In our example, all dates are in column B.
   • Rows to Fetch: We wrote down only 7 birthdays, but we will request the App to look at 20 rows for when we add more birthdays in the future. This way, the new info will be synchronized with the screens, even if we don't adjust the row settings in the App.
6. Customize the App to your preference, like changing background and font color, and modifying animations. In the Language tab you can change the Birthday Announcement title.

Data Feed enabled Birthday Apps

The same Birthday Announcement App design is also available in a Data Feed enabled version.

Further designs you can use with Data Feeds are the three Birthday Apps: Happy Birthday has a similar look as the Birthday Announcement App, but it shows the text "Happy Birthday!" on one half of the App and one birthday at a time with a cake icon and an optional image on the other side.  Then, there are the Apps Happy Birthday - Elegant and Happy Birthday - Enterprise. For Happy Birthday - Elegant the image is optional, for Happy Birthday - Enterprise you need an image because it is part of the design. 

OnSign TV Academy - Apps