Scheduling Playlists - advanced


Playlists can be programmed in various ways depending on your needs.


Here are a few scenarios with detailed, step-by-step instructions.

Continuous programming


In some cases, you may only want to program a content loop that plays over and over, 24/7.


Start by creating a playlist and then add content to it by following these instructions.


Make sure the playlist start time is set to 12:00:00 AM and the end time is 11:59:59 PM. This will create a 24 hour program for a single day.



Next, duplicate this single day program into the future.


Right click on the day containing the 24 hour time slot and select Duplicate > Current Day.



Enter the start date (should be the date after the currently selected day) and next, enter the end date. Make sure you leave the “Overwrite” option selected otherwise your new schedule will add itself to any existing program for the period.  See the Merging playlist page for details.



You can type the date in the field or click the calendar symbol to select the date.



The playlist time slot will be replicated according to your settings. You can navigate forward and you will see the playlist has been programmed until your end date.



You are ready to publish your programming to your player(s). From this point forward, simply add or remove content from the programmed playlist to make changes, and remember to publish to your player(s) so they receive their updates.

Sequential Time Slot Programming


Sequential time slot programming happens when you schedule more than one playlist to play concurrently. This is something we see often with restaurant menu programs where the content must change over time (breakfast in the morning, lunch at noon, dinner later in the day).


Start by creating a playlist and then add content to it as per these instructions.


Repeat the process for each time slot (let’s call them breakfast, lunch and dinner).


Make sure the first playlist start time is set to when your restaurant starts serving breakfast, say 6:00:00 AM and you set the end time to 11:00:00 AM so you can switch to the lunch menu.



Repeat the process for lunch and dinner, making sure the start and end times don’t overlap. For example, if one time slot ends at 11:00:00 AM, set the next one to start at 11:00:01 AM.


Note: You don’t need to keep dragging and dropping playlists into the scheduling grid to add new time slots.  When in the Time Slot window, click the Add link located to the upper right corner of the table to create an empty time slot. Select one of the available playlists and set the start and end times until you complete your schedule.



Click OK when you are finished and see the results in the Scheduling Grid.



To schedule the same daily program 24/7 over many days, weeks or months, duplicate the current day by right clicking the white area under the time slots and select > Duplicate > Current day.



If you want different programming on weekdays and weekends, or even different daily programming, build your entire week and then duplicate the entire week instead of the current day.  This way, the weekly program will be replicated for as long as you require (you can duplicate programming up to a year in the future). 


There are many options available to build your daily programs. 


  • You can drag different playlists into each day and adjust their start/end times via the Time Slot settings..



  • You can right click on any day and select New to add new programming.




  • You can copy and paste daily programs by right clicking on a day and selecting Copy.



Then you right click on the target day and select Paste to duplicate the day's time slots.


The day's programming will appear in the grid. Repeat as necessary.



  • You can use the Duplicate > Current Day menu.


USEFUL TIP!


You can manipulate individual time slots. 


Right-click on a time slot and select Copy then right click on any day and select Paste and only the selected time slot will be duplicated.



You can use any of the techniques above to create customized weekly/weekend programming for your screens.



To replicate your weekly program, right-click on any day and select Duplicate > Current Week.



Next, select the start/end dates or the number of weeks you wish to duplicate the program for.


NOTE: Your program will be extended for the period you defined. Any future program will be replaced by your new program.