Create Tab

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Last updated: Aug 12, 2024Version comment
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The Create tab allows you to create Dynamic Playlists, Live Media Feeds, and Live Text Feeds. You can include Dynamic Playlists in presentations created in the WebUI; you can use both Dynamic Playlists and feeds in BrightAuthor presentations.

Creating Dynamic Playlists 

General Managers, Creators

Dynamic Playlists allow you to easily update and share content across multiple presentations. For example, if you have daily announcements that need to be published to all of your networked players, you can update a single Dynamic Playlist rather than having to update every different presentation on your network. When you add content to a Dynamic Playlist via the WebUI, every presentation that includes the Dynamic Playlist receives this new content. This means that a single update can reach multiple presentations. 

  1. Click the Create tab. The Dynamic Playlist subgroup will already be selected.

  2. Click the Add New Dynamic Playlist button.

  3. Enter a Name for the new Dynamic Playlist.

  4. Determine whether you want to create an Image/Video Dynamic Playlist or an Audio Dynamic Playlist, then click Create.

  5. Click the Edit Title button if you would like to rename the Dynamic Playlist at any time.

  6. Drag the desired images/video files or audio files from the Library and drop them into the playlist field.

  7. Edit the ordering of the playlist by dragging a thumbnail to a desired position or by entering the position number of a media item in the Position field and clicking Set.

  8. Change the time on screen of an image file by entering the value (in seconds) in the Duration field.

  9. Assign a validity date to the selected video, image, or audio file by clicking the purple button. If the Enable Validity Date box is checked, the media file will only be included in the Dynamic Playlist between the specified Start Date and End Date. A Dynamic Playlist item with a validity date will have a graphic in the top left to indicate its current status.

    1. The yellow pause button indicates that the item is not currently included in the Dynamic Playlist because the validity Start Date begins in the future.

    2. The green play button indicates that the item is currently included in the Dynamic Playlist.

    3. The red stop button indicates that the item is not currently included in the Dynamic Playlist because the validity End Date has passed.

  10. Click the Save button to save the Dynamic Playlist, or click the Save Playlist As... button to create a duplicate copy of the Dynamic Playlist.

Using the Dynamic Playlist Library

General Managers, Creators

The Library portion of the Dynamic Playlist edit page contains many options for viewing, searching, and changing the media stored on the BrightSign Network.

  1. Access content folders using the directory on the left. By default, all content uploaded using BrightAuthor is placed in the Incoming folder.

  2. Use the Search function to find media files contained within all folders and sub-folders.

  3. Click the X in the corner of an image or video thumbnail to remove that media file from the BrightSign Network. A media file with a lock symbol cannot be deleted because it is currently being used in another networked presentation.

  4. Click the Add Files button to add images or video to the Incoming folder. You will then be able move these media files to other folders and add them to the Dynamic Playlist:

    1. Once the Add/Upload File window opens, click Add File and select the desired image or video file(s). You can add multiple files to the upload queue using this method.

    2. Click the Start Upload button once you have added all the files you wish to upload.

    3. Click Close when the upload process is completed.

  5. Click the Sort By dropdown menu to change the list order of the media files contained in the folder. You can organize the files using the following criteria:

    1. File Name: Alphabetical

    2. File Type: Alphabetical (by extension)

    3. File Size: Smallest to largest

    4. Upload Date: Oldest to newest

  6. Click the thumbnail dropdown menu to choose between Small Icons, Medium Icons, and Large Icons. This will affect how many icons are displayed on each page.

  7. Select the Video tab or Images tab to limit the folder contents based on file type.

Dynamic Playlist Properties

General Managers, Creators, Viewers

Click the Properties link to view additional information about a Dynamic Playlist:

  • File Name: The name of the Dynamic Playlist

  • Type: The Dynamic Playlist type. This value can be either Image/Video Dynamic Playlist or Audio Dynamic Playlist.

  • File Size: The size of the Dynamic Playlist playfile (not including the media content), in bytes or kilobytes

  • Upload Date: The date and time when the Dynamic Playlist was created in the WebUI or uploaded to the BrightSign Network from BrightAuthor.

  • Uploaded By: The user account that originally uploaded or created the Dynamic Playlist.

  • URL: The download URL of the MRSS file associated with the Dynamic Playlist.

  • Related Presentations: A list of all networked presentations that are currently using the Dynamic Playlist.

Creating Tagged Playlists 

General Managers, Creators

Tagged Playlists allow you to create playlists based on customizable media tags. You can use this feature to define a flexible set of rules to dynamically build a playlist based on a wide range of intuitive conditions.

Example

You are managing networked BrightSign players at a dozen different retail locations. Each player requires some unique media to match its retail location, and some locations, depending on the region, have more media files in common than others. Instead of creating a dozen different presentations (and managing each presentation separately), you can create a single Tagged Playlist with location, region, and event tags (or any other tags you need; they're completely customizable) to ensure the right media gets played in the right place at the right time.

You may want to tag media files before creating a Tagged Playlist. This will allow you to view which media files are included in the Tagged Playlist while you define the tagging rules.

  1. Click the Create tab.

  2. Select Tagged Playlist in the secondary task bar.

  3. Click the Add New Tagged Playlist button.

  4. Enter a Name for the new Tagged Playlist and click Create.

  5. Click the Edit Name button if you would like to rename the Tagged Playlist at any time.

  6. Use the Source Folder tree on the left to define where tagged media can originate from: Only media located in the selected folder will be included in the tagged playlist.

  7. Under Media Rules, select whether you want the playlist to match ALL tags or ANY tag:

    1. ALL: For a media file to be included in this Tagged Playlist, it must match all conditions you define in the Media Rules section. The more conditions you add, the more exclusive the playlist will tend to be.

    2. ANY: For a media file to be included in this Tagged Playlist, it only needs to match one of the conditions you define in the Media Rules section. The more conditions you add, the more inclusive the playlist will tend to be.

  8. Add as many tagging conditions as desired:

    1. Tag Name: Select a tag from the dropdown menu. The list includes all media tags you've defined in the Library tab, as well as a set of default media attribute tags (FileName, FileSize, UploadDate, etc.) that apply to all media files in your content library. 

    2. Condition: Select a rule to match media with the specified tag: 

      1. Is: Tagged media values that equal the specified Value will be matched. Use the Is condition and leave the Value field blank to match any media file that has the specified tag but no tag value. 

      2. IsNot: Tagged media values that do not equal the specified Value will be matched.

      3. ContainsAll: Tagged media values containing the specified case-insensitive substrings will be matched. For example, specifying a Value of "Appliance,Red" will match "RedAppliance" and "newappliance-red" values, but will not match the "appliance" value. Separate each tag value using a comma without spaces (e.g. "NewDeals,DailyDeals,Promotions").

      4. ContainsAny: Tagged media values containing any of the specified case-insensitive substrings will be matched. For example, specifying a Value of "Appliance,Red" will match both "Red-Car" and "appliance" values. Separate each tag value using a comma without spaces (e.g. "appetizers,drinks,specials").

      5. Contains: Tagged media values containing the specified case-insensitive substring will be matched: For example, specifying a Value of "deal" will match "deals", "Deals", and "New_Deals" values.

      6. DoesNotContain: Tagged media values that do not contain the specified case-insensitive substring will be matched: For example, specifying a Value of "day" will exclude "DayOfWeek", "Monday", and "0days" values.

      7. BeginsWith: Tagged media values beginning with the specified sequence of (case-insensitive) characters will be matched: For example, specifying a Value of "day" will match "DayOfWeek", but not "Monday".

      8. EndsWith: Tagged media values ending with the specified sequence of (case-insensitive) characters will be matched: For example, specifying a Value of "day" will match "Monday", but not "DayOfWeek".

      9. IsIn: Tagged media values that equal any value in the specified list will be matched. Separate each tag value in the list using a comma without spaces (e.g. "appetizers,drinks,specials").

      10. IsNotIn: Tagged media values that do not equal any value in the specified list will be matched. Separate each tag value in the list using a comma without spaces (e.g. "appetizers,drinks,specials").

      11. IsLessThan:(FileSize only) Media with a file size (in bytes) smaller than the specified value will be matched.

      12. IsGreaterThan:(FileSize only) Media with a file size (in bytes) larger than the specified value will be matched.

      13. IsInTheRange:(FileSize, FileDate, FileLastModifiedDate only) Media with a file size (in bytes), upload date, or last modified date within the range of values will be matched.

      14. IsNotInTheRange:(FileSize, FileDate, FileLastModifiedDate only) Media with a file size (in bytes), upload date, or last modified date outside the range of values will be matched.

      15. IsAfter:(FileDate, FileLastModifiedDate only) Media that was uploaded or last modified after the specified date will be matched.

      16. IsBefore:(FileDate, FileLastModifiedDate only) Media that was uploaded or last modified before the specified date will be matched.

      17. InTheLast:(FileDate, FileLastModifiedDate only) Media that was uploaded or last modified in the amount of time before the specified date will be matched. Specify an amount of time (in days, months, or years), along with the target date.

      18. NotInTheLast:(FileDate, FileLastModifiedDate only) Media that was not uploaded or last modified in the amount of time before the specified date will be matched. Specify an amount of time (in days, months, or years), along with the target date.

    3. Value: Enter a value to match with the tag value using one of the above conditions. If you are not using values with tags, use the Is condition and leave this field blank to match all media files with a certain tag.

  9. Configure the Settings of the Tagged Playlist:

    1. Content Order Tag: Determine how media files should be automatically ordered in the playlist. Use the first dropdown menu to select a tag: The values of this tag will be used as the ordering criteria. Use the second dropdown menu to determine if the order should be ascending (ASC) or descending (DESC) alphabetically/numerically. 

    2. TTL: Specify how often (in seconds) players will query BSN to determine if there is any new tagged media to include/exclude in the Tagged Playlist.

  10. Reorder the playlist if needed by dragging and dropping media files. If newly tagged media is included in the playlist later on, it will be added to the end of the playlist using the Content Order Tag settings outlined above.

  11. Click the Save button to save the Tagged Playlist, or click the Save Playlist As... button to create a duplicate copy of the Tagged Playlist.

By default, media files will not be automatically added to or removed from a Tagged Playlist when edits are made to media tags. A BSN user with appropriate credentials will need to open the Tagged Playlist and click Approve for changes to be applied. Administrators can alter this default behavior by going to the Account page and checking the Allow Automatic Changes To Tagged Playlists box.

Tagged Playlist Properties

General Managers, Creators, Viewers

Click the properties link below a Tagged Playlist to view additional information about it:

  • File Name: The name of the Tagged Playlist

  • Creation Date: The date and time when the Tagged Playlist was created in the WebUI.

  • Last Modified Date: The date and time when the Tagged Playlist was last changed.

  • Uploaded By: The user account that originally uploaded the Tagged Playlist from BrightAuthor.

  • Related Presentations: A list of all networked presentations that are currently using the Tagged Playlist.

Creating Live Data Feeds 

General Managers, Creators

The Live Data Feed feature allows you to create and update fully functional RSS feeds using a simple user interface. You can use Live Data Feeds when creating Live Text states and Ticker Zones in BrightAuthor. 

  1. Select the Create tab and click Live Data in the secondary task bar.

  2. Click the Add New Feed button.

  3. Enter a Name for the new Live Data feed and click Create.

  4. Click the Edit Name button if you would like to rename the Live Data feed at any time.

  5. Enter a Title and Value for the first entry. Like most RSS parsers, the Live Text state in BrightAuthor uses either the index number or Title to determine which entry to display.

  6. Create additional entries by clicking on the grayed-out field under the last entry.

  7. Change the order of the Live Data feed by dragging and dropping individual entries

  8. Click the purple button to assign a validity date to the entry or to change the order of the entry via index number. If the Enable Validity Date box is checked, the entry will be part of the feed between the specified Start Date and End Date. An entry with a validity date will have a graphic next to its title to indicate its current status:

    1. The yellow pause button indicates that the entry is not currently included in the feed because the validity Start Date begins in the future.

    2. The green play button indicates that the entry is currently included in the feed.

    3. The red stop button indicates that the entry is not currently included in the feed because the validity End Date has passed.

  9. Click the Delete button to remove an entry from the feed.

  10. Click the Save button to save the Live Data feed, or click the Save Feed As... button to create a duplicate copy of the Live Data feed.

Live Data Feed Properties

General Managers, Creators, Viewers

Click the Properties link below a Live Data feed to view additional information about it:

  • Name: The name of the Live Data feed

  • Creation Date: The date and time when the Data feed was created in the WebUI

  • Date Modified: The date and time when the Live Data feed was last changed.

  • File Size: The size of the Live Data feed in bytes or kilobytes

  • URL: The RSS feed URL. You can use this URL with any application or device that parses RSS feeds.

  • Presentations: A list of all networked presentations that are currently using the Live Data feed.

Creating Live Media Feeds 

General Managers, Creators

The Live Media feature allows you to create and update fully functional media RSS (MRSS) feeds using a simple user interface. You can use Live Media feeds when creating Media RSS Feed states and defining Live Data feeds in BrightAuthor. To learn more about using MRSS feeds in presentations.

  1. Select the Create tab and click Live Media in the secondary task bar.

  2. Click the Add New Feed button.

  3. Enter a Name for the new Live Media feed and click Create.

  4. Click the Edit Name button if you would like to rename the Live Media feed at any time.

  5. Click the Edit TTL button to specify how long the feed should last (in minutes) before it is refreshed using the source URL.

  6. Click a field in the first item to add a media element to the feed.

  7. Click the empty thumbnail image, select a media element (image, video, or audio) in the Library window, and click Add.

  8. Enter a Title and Description for the media element.

  9. Click the  Add Custom Field button to add an optional descriptive tag to the media element. You can add multiple custom fields to a single item. Custom fields added to one media element will also be included with subsequent media elements added to the Live Media feed.

  10. Click the purple button to assign a validity date to the media item or to change the order of the media item via index number. If the media item is an image, you will also be able to specify its display Duration (in seconds).If the Enable Validity Date box is checked, the media item will be part of the feed between the specified Start Date and End Date. An item with a validity date will have a graphic in the top left corner of the thumbnail to indicate its status:

    1. The yellow pause stop button indicates that tThe media item is not currently included in the feed because the validity Start Date begins in the future.

    2. The green play button indicates that the media item is currently included in the feed.

    3. The red stop button indicates that the media item is not currently included in the feed because the validity End Date has passed.

  11. Click the Delete button to remove an entry from the feed.

  12. Click the Save button to save the Live Media feed, or click the Save Feed As... button to create a duplicate copy of the Live Media feed. You will not be allowed to save the Live Media feed if there are incomplete media items (i.e. one or more required fields are not filled out). Use the Delete button to remove incomplete items before saving.