Mashups, Gadgets and Widgets

You can currently "mash up" the virtual tour photo-site viewer onto external sites using an IFRAME in your HTML or using one of the supported gadget or widget technologies: Google gadget, Microsoft Windows Live gadget, Netvibes Mini Module, Widgetbox widget or Snipperoo widget.

Note:  All the following methods currently require the IFRAME/gadget/widget to be visible when the viewer is first rendered, so do not set the style display:none.

IFRAME in your HTML

Use the following viewer code to show a random publicly available photo-site, as above:
<iframe src="http://www.spacebrowse.com/gadget/SpaceBrowseViewer.aspx" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="border:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;width:100%;height:240px;"> </iframe>

You can optionally add the following URL parameters to the call to SpaceBrowseViewer.aspx:

  • SiteNo: the site number integer
  • ShowMode: "random" or "recent"
  • UserName: the username
  • Search: a word to search for in the photo-site name (but not description)
  • Width: the desired viewer width
  • Height: the desired viewer height (default:240px)

If a "SiteNo" is given then that photo-site is shown. Otherwise the "ShowMode", "UserName" and "Search" parameters are used to find a photo-site to show.

The viewer uses the aspect ratio of the photo-site and fits within the bounds given by the "Width" and "Height". If the width available to the viewer is smaller than this, then the viewer is shrunk to fit. The viewer cannot detect the given height, so make sure that the IFRAME height matches the "Height" parameter.

Google gadget

You can add the Space Browse Google gadget to show virtual tours on:

  • a personalised Google home page
  • a Google Pages site with Experimental features enabled, eg jchriscant.googlepages.com
  • the Google Desktop Sidebar
  • your own web page(s)

The Space Browse gadget appears here in Google content directory and here in Google Gadgets For Your Webpage The gadget definition is here: http://www.spacebrowse.com/gadget/SpaceBrowse.xml.

  • To add the Space Browse virtual tour viewer to your Google personalised home page:
    • Either click on the "Add it now" button in the Google directory listing.
    • Or simply click on this button: Add to Google.

    Note: If you close your browser while the gadget is collapsed then it will not display correctly when expanded unless you refresh the page.

  • In the Google Pages Page Creator:
    • You must first enable "Experimental features": go to the Page Manager, click on "Site Settings", then "Enable experimental features" and finally "Yes".
    • Return to the Page Manager and choose a page.
    • Click in an editable field then press "More".
    • With "Standard gadgets" selected, search for "space browse". Click on "Space Browse virtual tour", then "Add Gadget >>" and agree "OK". [Alternatively, select "Third party gadget" and enter the URL to the gadget definition XML file.]
    • Amend the gadget settings if need be and click "OK".
  • In the Google Desktop Sidebar:
    • Click on "Add+"
    • In the box, enter the gadget definition XML file http://www.spacebrowse.com/gadget/SpaceBrowse.xml and click "Search Gadgets"
    • "Space Browse virtual tour" should be shown. Click Add
    • The Space Browse gadget can be undocked and have its options configured

By default, the Space Browse gadget displays a random publicly visible photo-site by any user. When in use, you can edit the gadget preferences as follows:

  • Either: Enter a Space Browse virtual tour SiteNo
  • Or:
    • Select either a random gadget or the most recent gadget
    • Enter a Space Browse username
    • Enter a Search word

You can also add the Space Browse gadget to your own web page(s). Simply click on this button Add Google gadget to your web page to configure the gadget and "Get the Code" to put on your web page. A width of 300 pixels and a height of 260 pixels works well for Space Browse.

There is one current issue with this approach:

  1. In the code supplied by Google, you may need to change the & ampersand characters to &amp;

Microsoft Windows Live gadget

You can add the Space Browse Microsoft gadget to show virtual tours on:

Note that this is not a Windows Vista Sidebar gadget.

To get the Space Browse gadget, the simplest option is to go the Windows Live Gallery listing for Space Browse. Then click on "Add to Live.com" or "Add to your space". If you "Add to Live.com" this message box appears first:

Screenshot: OK to Add to Live.com?

For both Live.com and Live Spaces you are warned to "Only install Gadgets from trusted sites" and so you have to agree to "Install Gadget" after selecting "Remember my preference"

Screenshot: Only install Gadgets from trusted sites

That should be it. You should be able to move or collapse the gadget as normal. If you close your browser while the gadget is collapsed then it will not display correctly when expanded unless you refresh the page. There are no preferences that you can set currently.

Alternatively, you can add the Space Browse virtual tour viewer to your personalised Microsoft Windows live.com page by clicking on this button: Add to Windows live.com

Alternatively again, you can also add the viewer "by hand" at www.live.com by clicking on Add Stuff then Advanced Options. After "Add a Gadget by URL", enter the gadget manifest XML URL: http://www.spacebrowse.com/gadget/gadget.xml and click on "Subscribe".

Netvibes Mini Module

You can add the Space Browse viewer to show virtual tours on your netvibes.com page by clicking here Add to Netvibes  The viewer is also listed in the Netvibes ecosystem. You will be asked to confirm that you want to add this: "You are about to add the following api on a netvibes page".

Alternatively, you can add it manually by clicking on "Add content" then "Add my feed". Enter this URL: http://www.spacebrowse.com/gadget/SpaceBrowseNetvibes.aspx and click "Add".

By default, the Space Browse viewer displays a random publicly visible photo-site by any user. When in use, you can edit the preferences as follows:

  • Either: Enter a Space Browse virtual tour SiteNo
  • Or:
    • Select either a random gadget or the most recent gadget
    • Enter a Space Browse username
    • Enter a Search word
  • The viewer width and height

Widgetbox widget

The Space Browse gadget viewer is also available as a widget at widgetbox.com in the Media / Photo Sharing category Subscribe to the Space Browse viewer at widgetbox  You have to register there and subscribe to the "Space Browse virtual tour" widget. The Widgetbox site lists the HTML required to put on your site/blog.

You can set various Space Browse parameters that correspond to those listed in the IFRAME section above. The "Search" parameter is 'tag-aware'. It detects if an appropriate tag appears elsewhere on the page. Chris Cant's blog shows this tag-aware widget in action. More configuration options are listed at Widgetbox.

Snipperoo widget

You can make the Space Browse viewer into a Snipperoo widget which can then be placed in a blog or other web site. An example of this, along with basic instructions, can be seen in Chris Cant's blog.

To make you own widget, copy the IFRAME code at the top of this page as the widget code. You can add in SiteNo, ShowMode, UserName, Search, Width and Height parameters by appending the appropriate values to the IFRAME src URL.

ALPHA: All photo-sites are visible to everyone. Not all features available.