Integrating Twitter in Enterprise Server 9

Info: This feature requires Enterprise Server version 9.1 or higher.

The functionality of publishing content to Twitter is provided through an Enterprise Server plug-in. The plug-in provides a Publish Form template with which a Tweet with an optional hyperlink can be posted.

This article describes how to integrate Twitter in Enterprise to make it possible to publish from Enterprise to Twitter.

Configuration steps to perform

Steps in Twitter

1. Setting up a Twitter app

Steps in Enterprise Server

2. Installing the Twitter Server plug-in

3. Setting up a Publication Channel

4. Registering the Publication Channel

5. Importing the Publish Form

6. Testing Enterprise Server

7. Setting Twitter settings

1. Setting up a Twitter app

Communication between Twitter and Enterprise is done through a Twitter app.

Step 1. Log in to https://apps.twitter.com using the Twitter account to which you want to post messages.

Step 2. Set up a Twitter application by using one of the following methods:

2. Installing the Twitter Server plug-in

The Twitter Server plug-in allows Enterprise Server to communicate with Twitter and provides the Publish Form template that is used for creating the Publish Form with which the Tweet is created.

Step 1. Download the Enterprise Server plug-in named Enterprise Twitter Integration from the software download page.

Step 2. Unzip the file.

A folder named "Twitter" is created.

Step 3. Place the folder in the following location:

<your Enterprise Server installation>/config/plugins

Step 4. In Enterprise Server, click Server Plug-ins in the Maintenance menu or on the Home page.

The Server Plug-ins page appears and any installed plug-ins will be automatically registered.

Note: Because the plug-ins are registered while the page is opened, the process of opening the page can take a few moments.

Step 5. Make sure that the plug-in named Twitter Publishing Connector is enabled (as indicated by the green icon in front of the name). If needed, resolve any conflicts.

3. Setting up a Publication Channel

In Enterprise, publishing content to Twitter is done through a Publication Channel.

Step 1. In Enterprise, create a new Publication Channel for a Brand:

Step 1a. In the Name field, enter a name.

Step 1b. (Optional) In the Description field, enter a description.

Step 1c. From the Publication Channel Type list, choose Web.

Step 1d. From the Publish System list, choose Twitter Publishing Connector.

Step 1e. (Optional, only when tags should be automatically suggested. See About adding tags to Web articles). From the Suggestion Provider list, choose the provider for suggesting tags.

Note: The default Suggestion Provider in Enterprise is the one from OpenCalais but needs to have been installed in order to appear in the list.

Step 2. Click Create.

The Issues section appears.

Step 3. Create an Issue by clicking the Add Issue button and entering at least a name for the Issue.

Step 4. In the Twitter Account section, enter the Consumer Key and Consumer Secret.

Note: To obtain the Consumer Key and Consumer Secret, access the Keys and Access Tokens tab for your app on https://apps.twitter.com.

Step 5. Click Update.

4. Registering the Publication Channel

This step will register the Issue in Enterprise Server with the Twitter app.

Step 1. Log in to Twitter with a Web browser, using the account for the created app.

Step 2. Access the Twitter Maintenance page in Enterprise Server.

Step 3. For the Issue that needs to be connected to its defined Twitter app, click Register.

The Twitter page appears, asking to authorize the app.

Step 4. Follow the steps on screen.

When the process is successful, the Twitter Maintenance page in Enterprise will appear showing that the Issue is now registered with Twitter.

5. Importing the Publish Form

Publishing to Twitter is done by entering the content in a Publish Form. This Publish Form is based on a Publish Form template which is defined in the Twitter Server plug-in. Importing the data from the Server plug-in creates the Publish Form template in Enterprise Server.

Step 1. Access the Twitter Maintenance page in Enterprise Server.

Figure: The Twitter Maintenance page.

Step 2. Click Import.

The Publish Form is imported and the result of the import action is displayed.

6. Testing Enterprise Server

Step 1. In Enterprise Server, access the Health Check page.

Step 2. At the bottom of the page, click Clear All.

Step 3. Only select the Publish To Twitter test.

Step 4. Click Test.

The test is executed and the result is displayed next to the test. It should display “OK”.

Note: If the test fails, an error is displayed together with instructions for solving it. Follow the instructions and then run the test once more.

7. Setting Twitter settings

By default, the URL that a user enters in the Publish Form is validated by Enterprise Server in the following ways:

• The entered text is checked to see if it is in a valid URL format
• The URL is accessed over the Internet

Note: For this to work, Enterprise Server needs to have a working Internet connection.

If either validation fails, a message is shown to the user.

To turn off the URL validation (for example when Enterprise Server does not have a connection to the Internet), follow these steps:

Step 1. Access the Twitter Maintenance page in Enterprise Server.

Step 2. Clear the check-box for the option named Enable URL validation by Enterprise Server (requires an Internet connection).

Step 3. Click Save.