Where do your apps get their data?

Szenera fetches the data for your apps itself. It calls each source once for all displays, and your scenes show what it fetched last. You set up a connection and a source once, and keys and sign-ins never go to a display.

Source, connection, and dataset#

A source is a place your organization regularly gets data from. It can be the news of your intranet, a table, the Google reviews of a location, a dashboard, or warnings.

A connection is the access to an account or service such as Microsoft 365, Google, or Grafana. Several sources can use the same connection. News feeds, warnings, Looker Studio reports, and posts on X need none.

A dataset is what a source delivers: the result of its latest fetch. It has one of eight forms: posts, reviews, table, metrics, events, media, view, or warning. The sources you can create today deliver posts, tables, reviews, views, events, and warnings. An app asks for a form, not for a provider. That is why the Table app shows an Excel sheet and a Google sheet alike.

One fetch for all displays#

Szenera calls each source once and sends the result to every display that shows it. A display never calls a source itself. The same source can sit in many widgets and scenes and is still fetched only once.

If a fetch fails, or the network is down, the displays keep showing the data they already have. The apps Posts, Table, Reviews, Dashboard, and Warning read the source you choose in the widget under Source. The Calendar app does too, once you choose Microsoft or Google as its origin.

The Data sources page#

The page shows, from top to bottom:

• Three key figures: Sources, Current, and Needs attention. The last one says “all good” or what to do. If a provider limits fetches, a figure such as Fetches at Google or Fetches at the provider joins them.
• The Connections block with one card per connection. A card names the connection, its access (Account, Service account, or Service account key), and what it reaches, such as “Account · OneDrive, Excel”. On the right it says connected or the number of notes.
• The list of sources with the columns Source, Form, Interval, Status, and Used. A click on a row opens the source.
• Set up connection and Create source at the top right.

The kinds of sources#

What each kind delivers, which connection it needs, and what you choose are in the reference.

Limits#

• Each source is fetched once, not per display and not per widget. New data appears after the next fetch.
• The interval has fixed steps. Every minute exists only for official warnings.
• Google reviews are fetched once an hour at most, because Google limits fetches.
• Grafana, Power BI, and Looker Studio arrive as an image. The shortest interval is 5 minutes for Grafana and 15 minutes for the others. Nobody can operate them at the display.
• Calendars deliver the events from yesterday to eight days ahead. Private events arrive without title and location.
• Posts on X exist only with the booked app and have a fetch limit per month.
• Official warnings apply to locations with a position. The position comes from the postal code of the address or from a position you enter at the location.
• Sources only read. Szenera writes nothing into your files, tables, websites, or profiles.
• A connection belongs to the organization and stays when someone leaves the team.
• Warnings on displays replace neither a warning system nor an official notice. We give no guarantee for correctness and timely arrival.

What follows#

• Connect your accounts first: Connect Microsoft 365, Google, or Grafana.
• Then create a data source and show it in a widget.
• For your own alarm system and the emergency scene, see Own warnings and the emergency override.
• Look up options, intervals, and states in the reference.