External Datasources

External data sources are helpful when you want to pull in data from outside platforms—such as Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. This can be useful for displaying dynamic content like a restaurant menu or a contact list of your colleagues.

Create External Datasource

• Navigate to Settings > Datasources menu
• Select External Datasources
• Click on the button next to the External Datasources header
• Select the Datasource type you wish to use from the list
• Fill the necessary settings fields in the datasource editor modal
  • Each type of data source comes with its own specific set of configuration options
• After you finished the datasource configuration, click on the Save to create the datasource

After saving, your new datasource will appear in the list.

Datasource type selection

Upon creation, the type selector interface displays available data source types for selection.

External datasource types

• Calendar
• CAP
• File from URL
• Google Sheet
• JDBC
• JSON
• Microsoft Excel
• RSS
• Screenshot
• Sharepoint lists
• Toast
• User Active Directory
• Weather
• XML
• Other (Custom integrations)
• Web scraper
• PowerBI

Datasource editing modal

After selecting the data source type, the configuration modal opens.

Datasource specific settings

Settings are specific to each data source type and typically include URLs, credentials, and source-specific configuration options.

Advanced settings

These settings are available for most data source types with minor variations and control data source behavior and management rather than source configuration.

Learn more: Advanced Datasource Settings

Preview

Preview data source output as structured JSON with applied query filters.

Header

• Datasource name: Change the datasource's name
• Refresh datasource: Manually refresh the datasource
• Help: A list of hotkeys available
• Status indicators Two indicator types display here:
• Activation status
  • Active
  • Inactive
• Auto-deactivation
  • Auto-deactivation enabled
  • Auto-deactivation disabled
• Settings: There are general settings available clicking the icon

• Name: Change the datasource's name
• Active: Change the activation status
• Disable auto-deactivation: Change the auto-disable functionality
• Teams: In the Team management modal you can assign teams to manage and see the datasource.

Datasource state

Datasources can exist in several states that indicate whether they are currently in use or not:

• Active: The datasource is currently active and in use
• Inactive: The datasource has been manually deactivated
• Automatically Deactivated: The system has automatically disabled the datasource. This typically happens if the datasource is not used in any content, or if the content it’s linked to hasn’t been displayed on any screen for more than a week

You can manually change datasource state by:

• Navigating to a datasource
• Click on the more button
• Select the Edit option
• Find the icon in the upper right corner of the datasource editing modal
• Change the Active option

Data Source Auto-Deactivation

Wallboard automatically stops refreshing data sources that aren't in use, preserving performance. All configuration and data are retained — nothing is deleted.

Two Types of Deactivation

Type	Trigger	Disable With
Usage-based	30 days of no device usage	"Prevent auto-deactivation"
Error-based	25 consecutive refresh failures	"Ignore Error counter"

note

Both settings are independent — enable both to prevent all auto-deactivation.

What Counts as "In Use"?

A data source is active when all three conditions are met:

1. Bound to content (Slide or Playlist)
2. That content is assigned to a Channel
3. The Channel is playing on at least one online device

Usage-Based Deactivation

Data Source Type	Deactivation After	Created By
Standard (JSON, XML, RSS, etc.)	30 days	Users via Data Sources menu
Ad-hoc (Weather, RSS widgets)	Within days	Auto-created via Quick Editor

Use this for infrequent, seasonal, or critical data sources.

Error-Based Deactivation

Triggers after 25 consecutive refresh failures (unreachable URL, expired credentials, changed data format, etc.). Use this for on-prem services with planned downtime, flaky external APIs, or long-term outages.

You can reactivate a datasource by:

• Manually refreshing it

You can also disable error-based deactivation by:

• Click on the more button
• Select the Edit option
• Find the Continue refreshing despite errors toggle in the Refresh settings
• Change the option

Reactivation

• Automatic — happens instantly when content using the data source plays on a device. No action needed.
• Manual — click Refresh, assign content to a device, or open a content preview.

You can reactivate a datasource by:

• Manually refreshing it
• Assigning the content that uses it to a device, or by opening a preview of that content

You can also disable auto-deactivation by:

• Click on the more button
• Select the Edit option
• Find the icon in the upper right corner of the datasource editing modal
• Change the Disable auto-deactivation option

Quick Reference

Topic	Detail
Standard data source (usage)	30 days no usage
Ad-hoc data source (usage)	Within days
Error-based threshold	25 consecutive failures
Disable usage-based	"Prevent auto-deactivation"
Disable error-based	"Ignore Error counter"
Data preserved?	Yes
User notified?	No
Cron vs interval schedule impact	None (deactivation is usage-based, not schedule-based)

note

Internal data sources are not affected — they have no automatic refresh mechanism.