WidgetAvenue

WidgetPublisher:Facebook

Facebook is a free-access social networking website that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. Users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. The website's name refers to the paper facebooks depicting members of a campus community that some US colleges and preparatory schools give to incoming students, faculty, and staff as a way to get to know other people on campus.(Source: Wikipedia).The website currently has more than 400 million users worldwide.

Creation of a specific app

In order to make the widget installable on Facebook, a specific "app" has to be created.The creation of an "app" is very simple:

  • Install the developer application
  • Create a new app and enter the following elements on the settings page:
    • Callback URL: http://www.widgetavenue.com/wdg/loaders/fbk.php?[Encoded list of args]&
    • Canvas Page URL: short name of your choice
    • "Use fbml" radio button
    • Side Nav URL: http://apps.facebook.com/[short name you have chosen]
  • After creating the App, copy the API Key
  • Create or open your metadata file, and add the following elements:
	<div class="fbk">		<div class="app_name">[short name you have chosen]</div>		<div class="app_key">[API Key provided by Facebook</div>	</div>

DO NOT ENTER YOUR SECRET KEY IN THE METADATA FILE, E-MAIL IT TO WIDGETAVENUE. The app will be ready to run when the secret key has been entered in the system by WidgetAvenue.

Installation method

Once the application has been created, the widget can be installed using a simple link:

http://apps.facebook.com/[short name you have chosen]

Features

  • Once installed, the widget is displayed on 2 surfaces:
    • On the canvas page.
    • On the profile page of the user, or in the box tab. The user needs to click on the "Add to profile button" displayed on the canvas page so that the widget is displayed on his profile.
  • Storing Custom Preferences is supported on the canvas page



Issues

  • waJS is not supported on the profile. A waHTML only version is displayed. Furthermore, this version is cached until the user opens his canvas page.
  • Flash widgets are not directly displayed on the profile, due to Facebook policies. Instead, a preview image is displayed.
  • Do not forget to append a "&" sign at the end of the application URL on the canvas profile, otherwise some errors will occur

Loader code

  • The code of the loader used on the canvas page is "fbk"
  • The code of the loader used in the profile and box tabs is "fbk-p"

Links