Google sheets importxml Facebook views not working - facebook

I've been having issues with this for a while. Basically I want to grab the view count from a Facebook video posts. I successfully did it with YouTube and it auto updates as views come in.
I've been using this code for the Facebook(video is an example)
=IMPORTXML("https://www.facebook.com/greatbigstory/videos/1727744637527962/","//div[#class='_1vx9']")
and this gives me the views and the video name and the account it was posted under, which is what I want!
But my issue is that after 10 minutes, it randomly stops workings and gives me
Error, imported content is empty
I have to then delete the code. Click off the cell than paste it again and it will re-load properly. But than quickly goes "offline" again.
If there's anybody out there that could help me that would be greatly appreciated! thank you!

Related

How do i track clicks using facebook pixels?

I've been re-reading this page and it just seems so vague on how to help me. I have a newsletter button I am trying to track clicks on through facebook pixels but facebooks documentation and lack of proper testing is frustrating me.
Here is the documentation I am reading
https://developers.facebook.com/docs/facebook-pixel/events-advanced-use-cases/v2.8
If I read this correctly, to track a single button I have to install code in three different sections? They don't specify the sections either, so I'm assuming they go in the order they displayed it (viewContent goes in the header, button id goes in the body of the page, and the final fbq tracking goes in the footer).
If anyone has a more simple approach to this or can explain this in a better way I would greatly appreciate it. Adding code in three different sections and creating multiple heads just to track different things on different pages seems like a lot more work than I need to be doing.
Thanks in advance

Cannot find custom application

This is going to sound like a really dumb question, but we had a developer who created a Facebook web application for us.
He has left the company and is not being very co operative. We have the log in details of the account he used to created the app, but when we log in and try to view the app, it does not appear in our list of custom apps.
In the graph explorer, when trying to debug the key and URL, the app does appear in the drop down though, but we need to change some other custom settings.
Can anyone direct me in which direction I need to go to look for this?
Thanks
Finally. got him to let us log in and that is where it was. All that time wasted for nothing.

Facebook Comments - Loading Graphic While Waiting

I'm using the Facebook Comments plugin for a local travel website in an area with poor internet. When the net is slow often the comments plugin takes forever or does not load at all. When it doesn't load it is just blank space instead which makes the page look odd. I want users to know that there should be content there.
Any ideas for how I could display a LOADING graphic while waiting for the Facebook Comments plugin to load? And then maybe if it hasn't after 10 or 15 seconds it returns an error message in that space instead.
I think a possibility might lie in the #Comments value that Facebook returns. Maybe a graphic could be loaded until that value is returned?
Found a solution elsewhere - maybe it will help someone else with a similar problem:
Just replace this snippet with the current one you have where you want the count to appear,
Place the gif image in the same folder as the html file. Or change the path in the src="" to the correct path on your server.
You should see a loading animation while the count of comments from facebook updates.

Open MWPhotoBrowser with a link and loop

I'm fairly new at iOS development so please forgive my ignorance.
I have web view with a search form, sending request to display different pages depending on the search query. When displaying a selected page I want to have a normal html link at the top which will give the user the possibility to display all images available using the very nice MWPhotoBrowser.
So somehow I need to tell Xcode to open MWPhotoBrowser using a link and when this link is pressed send a variable to MWPhotoBrowser and in that viewController somehow loop through a my url.com/variable.
Is this the best way to do this and is it even possible? I have searched as much as possible but I'm not sure what to look for so I would really appreciate if you could point me in the right direction.
Judging from this link at github project it should be fine.

Up to date instructions for September 2011 onwards for beginners

Sorry for this basic question but all attempts at Googling and using facebook help only provide out of date information.
I am attempting to make my first fb app. Just an html page saying hello. From what I understand the app (or webpage) is stored on my server and I set up a facebook app that basically points to the URL of the app (or webpage) on my server.
Is this basically correct.
Where do I enter this URL information in my edit app screen. I have followed the latest fb instructions and all I see when I view the app is the admin page in fb for the app.
Does it take a long time for the page to appear.
Is there a current idiots guide. The app design is not a problem for me loading it in to facebook is the problem.
Unfortunately this wasn't very helpful, not because of what you posted but due to the fact that it appears that Facebook has updated the way in which pages are linked to again.
The pages you suggested I look at were well laid out with lots of information on them but they are already out of date and do not seem to correspond with the layout of the Facebook 'dev app' and even the fields in the form seem to have been either dropped added to renamed.
Thanks for trying to help me and I hope that FB may produce some up to date information soon and not keep changing the interface.
I can completely understand your confusion - the Facebook docs give very little information for the complete beginner. The 'Getting Started' section makes some massive assumptions and completely ignores huge key areas you need to know to get your first application up and running.
So to address your points:
Yes, this is basically correct. Apps on Facebook are served up to the user in one of two ways. Either as a 'Canvas App' or a 'Tab App'. A Tab App is an application you can install as a tab on a profile page. A Canvas App can operate on it's own page and has more room as there's no left menu as you would have on a profile page. You can configure a single app to work in both ways.
To edit your application settings, go to your own Facebook home page. Use the search bar to search for the 'Developer App'. Typing in 'developer' should do it - it should be the first result in the App section with around 830,000 monthly users. This Developer app is the window into your own app settings. You need to install it if you haven't already. It's a hub where all the apps you create will be available for you to edit. Whenever you want to edit one of your app settings in future, you click the Developer bookmark that will now be in the left menu on your own Facebook home page.
No. Apps are basically an iframe onto your code. There should be very little if any wait at all. Start with something very simple like spitting out some straight html so you can easily tell if things are set up correctly.
Yes. I found thinkdiff.net to be massively useful in the early days to get my head round the basics and then more advanced concepts. There's tons of examples ranging from very simple to quite advanced. I've just had a quick look around and found this page which should give you a decent head start in getting things moving. Note: I have no affiliation with thinkdiff.net at all - I just found them helpful in the past.
Finally, a request from me; this whole stack overflow thing is new for Facebook developers and very few people are voting up answers they consider helpful. This means new users to SO but experienced FB developers can't vote up good answers and vote down bad ones as we need enough Reputation Points to do so. If this has helped you, please ensure you vote up the answer. Of course if it was rubbish and you're just as lost, dont :D
Hope I've helped in some small way; I know I was completely lost for the first few weeks with FB development and even now there are things that make me tear my hair out! In the end it's very rewarding, but you have to put in the time. Good luck :)