Creating and managing lists

This article explains how to create new lists from your ingested assets, and how to organize and manage list content.

Compatibility notes: The hover overlay and send to top list features are supported by AXIS 8.2 and above. Send to bottom, the ability to add trailer assets directly to lists, and the list item count, were introduced in AXIS 9.3. The duplicate list function is available from AXIS 9.4. To add notes to a list, you need to be on AXIS 9.5 or later. Alternate list titles and the batch delete function are delivered in AXIS 9.7. ID and Slug fields are delivered in AXIS 10.0.

Each list in the catalog consists of previously ingested and grouped assets, for example, a list of recently released movies, comedy TV shows, or competition events. List creation typically happens as part of the ingestion process; however, you have the option to create lists manually.

Once you've saved your lists in Presentation Manager, you can view and manage them in the list catalog. Lists that have been linked to rows and published display content to your end-users via your apps. 

How to create a new list

You can add a list by either creating a new one or (AXIS 9.4 onwards) duplicating and then editing an existing list.

Create a new list from scratch

To create a new list, navigate to DISPLAY, select Lists, and then click the button.

Enter list metadata

Enter information into the required fields (data entered can be edited at a later stage if required):

Compatibility notes: From AXIS 9.7, we have added the List name. This is in addition the the existing Title.

• List name (mandatory): an internal name for a list that needs to be unique. This list name is not displayed in the apps, but is used to identify the list within Presentation Manager. Once the list has been created, this is displayed in the top section of the Metadata tab, above the language variants.

The rest of the details, once the List has been created, are held in the default language variant. Subsequent language variants can be created in which different details can be used.

• Title (mandatory): the title of the list (it need not be unique). This is displayed in the apps.

• Tagline: the subtitle of the list, which displays on some pages (85-character limit).

• Description: the summary of the list.

• Custom Properties: any custom properties that are known to be needed for the list.

To save information, click the button. You've now created your new list.

Create a new list by duplicating an existing one

To duplicate an existing list, find it in the list catalog, then click on the list dropdown. You'll see a Duplicate option in the menu. Click on this to create a copy of the current list, which is identified by the word copy in its title.

The copy will contain exactly the same assets and metadata as the original, and you can go ahead and modify it in the same way you would any other list.

You can also access the Duplicate function from the More menu on the list's detail page.

Once you've created your list, the next step is to add the list content (assets).

Compatibility notes: From AXIS 10.0 onwards, once a list has been created (whether from scratch or by duplication), an ID and a Slug are automatically assigned to it. These are displayed in the Metadata tab, beneath the List name, are unique to the list and are not available to edit. Each field has a copy icon to the right of it, to make it easier to paste the information elsewhere.

Adding content to your list

The Content tab is automatically selected in your newly created list. At the top of the tab page, you'll find information about the list, including title, status, and last modified information. The list metadata you previously entered can be found in the Metadata tab.

Note: Lists that are not yet published have a status of Draft. Published lists display as Live. 

You can add assets to a list manually, using list rules, or through a combination of both.

• Manual curation: Start typing in the Add an asset... field to display a list of suggestions. The asset type filter defaults to ANY. To narrow down your search, select one or more asset types beforehand by clicking on the relevant icon below.

• Using list rules: To add a new list rule, select the   link. This opens the list rules panel where you can select parameters that will automatically populate your list with relevant assets. Our using list rules article covers this process in more detail.

Note: From AXIS 9.9, we exclude assets with Linear offers only from the search results in lists, pages, rows, and menus. This ensures that you can only select assets that are available for end users. 

How long is my list?

The item count below the preview tells you how many items you've manually added to your list. This feature, introduced in AXIS 9.3.1, helps you keep track of the size of your list, avoiding potential performance issues.

Items added dynamically through a list rule are excluded from the count, so if a list is fully rule-driven, with no manually added content, the count will show 0 items.

Can I see more asset information?

If you want to see more information about an asset before you add it to your list, hover over the asset in the autocomplete dropdown. This feature was introduced in the AXIS 8.2 release.

Adding language variants

Manually curated lists can support multiple languages. To set this up, follow these steps:

1. Within the List metadata, select the  button to create a new language variant.
   

2. Select from the available language options. The language selected automatically populates the variant title.
   

3. Specify the list title as per the language type selected (the default title can be overwritten).

4. Select the Auto option on the row title when adding the list to a page/row. This automatically surfaces the specified language list title in the Reference apps.
    

5. The row title displayed depends on the language used in the Reference apps.
   
   English list title example:
   
   
   German list title example:
   

Adding notes to your list

From AXIS 9.5 onwards, you can use the Notes feature to add notes, comments or any relevant information about your list in a free text field.

To add a note: 

• Find the Notes icon   on the top right-hand side of the page.

• Select this to open the Notes panel. This slides out from the right-hand side of the page.

• Type your note. When you're done, click the   button.

• Your notes are saved. To close the panel, click on the x.

You can add more notes, or edit existing list notes, by simply clicking on the Notes icon to open the panel again, making your changes and re-saving. Any added notes will show a timestamp and the name of the person who added them.

If you delete a list, any associated notes are also deleted.

Ordering and managing list content

You can remove and reorder items once you've added them to your list. Hover over an asset in the list and select the icon to display available options. Select Remove or, if the asset isn't already at the top or bottom of the list, Send to top or Send to bottom.

Alternatively, select an asset and drag and drop it into position.

AXIS 9.7 introduces a batch delete function, which allows you to multi-select assets for deletion. Use the checkboxes to select one or more individual assets (or use Select all), then click on Remove. You'll see a message asking for confirmation that you want to delete the selected items. Once you've confirmed the deletion, you'll need to save and publish the page to remove the items from the list.

Note: The Advanced view shows the XML of the rules used to generate lists. To avoid problems with your list display, we recommend caution when making changes in this view.

Saving and publishing your list

When you've finished curating your list, click thebutton. This publishes the list, making it available for your end users to view and interact with when added to a page row in their app.

Need to make additional changes before going live?

No problem, save your list without publishing by selecting the More button, followed by Save. This action saves your changes but the list remains in a draft state until manually published.

Alternatively, from the More menu, you have the option to Archive or Delete the list.

In addition, Lists has the ability to Duplicate the object in the drop down list.