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Answered: Discussion Open

Media Tile Data Reload Questions

Willis 6 years ago in Media Tiles updated by Terry (ActionTiles) (Co-Founder) 6 years ago 1

Since Google has started charging for the use of the Maps API, I've changed the way I'm using the Shield.io call for real-time travel time and I want to make sure I understand how/when the Media Tile makes data calls.  Here are the specific questions:

1.  If the "Refresh rate for still images or GIFs" parameter is left blank, for a "still image or GIF" then will the url will only be called or updated when the panel is loaded, reloaded, or the media tile is clicked?

2.  If the "Refresh rate" is set to something else (say 600 seconds), is the url called every 600 seconds regardless of if the media tile is on an active panel, or does it get called regardless?

3.  If I have ActionTiles running on multiple devices simultaneously, does each device make independent update calls or is there a single update call shared by the devices? 

4.  Finally, is there a way to set media refresh rates to be more frequent during the day and less frequent during the evening?


I know that Google is offering the first $200 of use for free, but five minute traffic updates for three travel locations exceeds the 20,000 API calls that that $200 covers.


Answered: Discussion Open

1.  If the "Refresh rate for still images or GIFs" parameter is left blank, for a "still image or GIF" then will the url will only be called or updated when the panel is loaded, reloaded, or the media tile is clicked?
Yes.

2.  If the "Refresh rate" is set to something else (say 600 seconds), is the url called every 600 seconds regardless of if the media tile is on an active panel, or does it get called regardless?
Media Tiles are run entirely on the front-end in any browser displaying your Panel. This includes dimmed Panels, but probably not browsers in the background or on sleeping tablets.

3.  If I have ActionTiles running on multiple devices simultaneously, does each device make independent update calls or is there a single update call shared by the devices?
Each displaying browser is completely independent. Media Tiles do not share any data with other Media Tiles, whether on the same tablet or others (well, actually, within the same Panel, you might find equivalent Media Tiles loading once from the internet and once from cache, but that's an unusual case, since you're unlikely to have the same Media Tile more than once on the same Panel).

4.  Finally, is there a way to set media refresh rates to be more frequent during the day and less frequent during the evening?

No.