This article addresses common questions and troubleshooting solutions related to the App Newsfeed feature in your Edlio Mobile App.

General questions

Post limits, permissions, and metrics

Q: How many posts can I create in the App Newsfeed?
A: There is no set limit to the number of posts you can create. However, for an optimal mobile user experience and speedy feed loading, we recommend keeping your active feed focused. The default visibility setting (configured in App News Settings) determines how many days posts remain visible before automatically archiving.

Q: Can I control who sees specific posts?
A: Yes, if your school or district utilizes Secured Access (requiring users to log in to the app), you can restrict visibility to specific Roles (Students, Parents/Guardians, Teachers, Administrators) or custom Groups. If your school uses an open app without login, all newsfeed posts are public to anyone with the app.

Q: How do I know if users are reading my posts?
A: The App Newsfeed management interface includes a "Viewed by" metric for each post, reflecting how many devices have received that news item.

Q: Can I edit a post after it has been published?
A: Yes. Click the edit (pencil) icon on the post. When saving your edits, choose Apply to save silently without buzzing users' phones, or choose Save & Reset if you made critical corrections (such as a rescheduled event time or emergency notice) and need to resend a push notification.

Q: Can I keep an important announcement at the top of the feed?
A: Yes. Use the Pin toggle icon in your post list to anchor high-priority alerts to the top of the mobile newsfeed. Click the pin icon again once the announcement is no longer urgent to return it to standard chronological order.

Q: What file types can I attach to posts?
A: You can attach images (JPG, PNG, GIF), documents (PDF, DOC/DOCX, XLS/XLSX), audio files (MP3), and video files (MP4). For mobile viewing, PDF documents and MP4 videos are strongly recommended.

Organization and category questions

Category setup and post retention

Q: How should I organize news categories?
A: Create intuitive, distinct categories that reflect your school's primary communication streams (e.g., Athletics, Academics, Arts, District Alerts, Counseling). Aim for 6–10 total categories so mobile filtering remains straightforward for families.

Q: What are teacher "My Categories," and how should teachers use them?
A: In addition to global site categories created by administrators, teachers and staff with publishing privileges can create their own personal channels under Features > App Newsfeed > Categories > My Categories. Parents and students can then opt in to follow specific classes, clubs, sports teams, or grade-level updates to receive targeted push notifications.

Q: What are best practices for naming teacher and staff categories?
A: When teachers create categories without school-wide guidelines, parents frequently see confusing or duplicate labels (such as multiple teachers naming their channel simply "Homework", "Period 1", or "Grade 4"). To ensure families subscribe to the correct channel, administrators should establish and enforce consistent naming conventions across all staff, such as:
• [Teacher Last Name] - [Grade Level or Subject] (e.g., "Smith - 4th Grade General" or "Rodriguez - AP Biology")
• [Activity/Sport] - [Level] - [Coach/Advisor] (e.g., "Varsity Girls Soccer - Coach Miller" or "Robotics Club - Johnson")
• [Grade/Department] Updates (e.g., "Class of 2028 Announcements")
Clear naming ensures parents immediately identify their student's teachers when browsing the app notification options.

Q: How long do posts stay visible in the mobile app?
A: By default, posts remain visible for the duration configured in App News Settings > Limit Visibility (days) (typically 30–45 days). You can override this for any individual post by specifying an exact Expiration Date when creating or editing it.

Common issues and solutions

Content formatting and media display

Issue: Text formatting or layout looks distorted on phones
Solution: Mobile screens require clean, straightforward formatting. Avoid pasting complex HTML tables or nested columns. Use clear headings, bulleted lists, and bold text sparingly.

Issue: Images appear awkwardly cropped
Solution: Use landscape-oriented images (16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio). Keep file sizes under 5MB to ensure fast loading on mobile cellular networks.

Issue: Videos will not play smoothly
Solution: Ensure uploaded videos are MP4 format, compressed for mobile streaming (720p resolution is ideal), and under 100MB.

Access and publishing troubleshooting

Issue: Users report they cannot see an announcement
Solution:

Check the post's Access Permissions. If set to specific Roles or Groups, verify that the user has logged in and has that role assigned in their People profile.
Verify whether your app requires login (Secured Access). Open apps without login cannot display role-restricted posts.
Ensure the post's scheduled publish date has arrived and that it has not reached its expiration date.
Have the user swipe down on their mobile app screen to refresh the newsfeed.

Issue: Scheduled posts do not display on time
Solution: Confirm the time zone set in your account profile matches your local school time zone, and check whether AM/PM was selected properly.

Best practices to avoid common issues

Recommended publishing habits

Establish school-wide naming conventions for teacher categories: Provide teachers with a standardized format (e.g., "[Last Name] - [Class/Subject]") before they create channels in My Categories, preventing duplicate and vague labels in the parent notification directory.
Create consistent templates for recurring post types to maintain high visual standards across team members.
Optimize all media before uploading to prevent slow cellular loading.
Establish clear naming conventions for post headlines so parents immediately recognize urgent updates.
Regularly audit and archive content to keep the active feed clean and relevant.
Document your category structure and access permission guidelines for all contributing staff.
Test posts across iOS and Android devices before broadcasting major school-wide announcements.

🔒 Important Note on Secured Access ("Visible only to"): In the Edlio Mobile App, "Secured Access" and audience permissions ("Visible only to" specific Roles or Lists) strictly require users to log in to the app with an authenticated account. If your school uses an open app (where users skip login), the app displays public information only. Features like audience-restricted news categories/posts, "Visible to" permissions, and Conversations cannot function on open, non-authenticated apps.

App Newsfeed: Troubleshooting and FAQs