Configuring Widget Messages

Widget messages are the text elements for a widget. This can include the headings, labels, insight message, long form text, and all other text elements displayed to customers that are interacting with a widget. Error messages are also available for configuration through a widget's message options.

While completing widget message configuration, be aware of Syntax Standards for Messages.

Understanding Messages

The Opower Configuration Tool can be used to understand the messages available for widgets. The simplest first step is to navigate to the options for a widget and review the message titles, help text, and widget preview.

Be aware that not all configuration changes will impact the widget preview. Modifying particular functionality may not impact the customer state used for the preview or it may impact another screen or area of the widget not available on the preview. In this scenario, user acceptance testing may be required to confirm configuration changes. For information on publishing changes to an environment for testing purposes, see Publishing Configurations.

In addition to a simple review of a message name, help text provides additional insight and explanation for messages.

Note: The steps below provide general steps to review message options. For an example scenario of widget configuration, see Example Widget Configuration.

To Review Messages

  1. From the Opower Configuration Tool, select Widgets, select the widget to configure, and then select Text [locale], where [locale] is the language locale to configure. The message options for that locale and widget are displayed. For more information on message locales, see Localizing Messages.
  2. Select a tab to review the available messages. The titles along with the widget preview provide insights into each message .
  3. Hover over the information icon for a message to display the help text for that option. This information gives important details about the configuration such as where the message is located, special considerations for the message such as code inclusion, and the resulting user experience.
  4. To preview how a message change impacts a widget, update a configuration value and select Save Changes. The widget preview updates to reflect the change. An example of a Bill Comparison preview is shown below.


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Localizing Messages

If your web portal supports multiple locales, each widget includes a copy of the message configurations for each applicable locale. These locale specific messages can then be customized to meet the customer demands and expectations for that locale.

To Define Widget Messages for a Locale

  1. From within the Opower Configuration Tool, ensure that the locale is enabled for your web portal. For information on this process, see Locales.
  2. Select Widgets, select the widget to configure, and then select Text [locale], where [locale] is the language locale to configure. The message options for that locale and widget are displayed. For example, select Text es-US to localize messages for the United States Spanish locale.
  3. Modify each widget message as required in the applicable language for the locale. These messages are displayed for the widget for customers that have their web portal preferences or web browser defined to display content for that locale.

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