Open source / free scrolling web part that does not require code modification

Question

Does there exist a free scrolling announcements web part that does not need custom code in a content editor web part to function?

I am designing a site template for use within my company. My manager would like a web part that scrolls an announcement list across the top of the page (vertically or horizontally, does not matter).

I could easily find JQuery code and place it into a content editor web part that would cause the Announcements list to scroll.

The problem there is that when these web parts are saved to a site template and the template is reapplied, all the GUIDs for the lists and web parts are changed. This breaks the scrolling functionality and requires modification of the code each time. I will not be an on-site administrator of this site and will not be present to change the code.

I need a solution that is configurable through the GUI, or always stays focused on a list named "announcements" within the current web (current site).

Answer 1

I think you can do this just by enhancing your jQuery code and including SPServices.

With SPServices, you can use the 'GetListCollection' operation to dynamically get the names and GUIDs for all lists in the current site. Then, you can identify the exact guid for the Announcements list and use that.

Here is a generalized example of what that call would look like:

  $().SPServices({     
   operation: "GetListCollection",
   completefunc: function (xData, Status) {
    $("#appendXML").val(xData.responseXML.xml);
    $(xData.responseXML).find("[nodeName=List]").each(function() {
     var img_URL = $(this).attr("ImageUrl");
     var list_Title = $(this).attr("Title");
     var list_URL = $(this).attr("DefaultViewUrl");
     var list_Desc = $(this).attr("Description");
     var list_Created = $(this).attr("Created");
     var list_Modified = $(this).attr("Modified");
     var list_ItemCount = $(this).attr("ItemCount");
     /////etc.......

   }
  });