Elementi schedule

This page is about Elementi scheduling feature. For the built-in feature of DiVA, HMP350 and HMP300 devices, see "Content scheduling tool".

Introduction

An Elementi Schedule is used to plan when a certain content should be shown on the screen - like a placeholder for some media content that should only be shown during a precise period. It can be used just as any media layer, either covering the entire screen or just part of it. It can be included directly into the index file of the project or into an inner layout - for that, open the destination document within Elementi and simply drag & drop the schedule icon from the Browse panel into the Edit panel (or the Preview panel).

You can have any number of schedules inside a project, yet most commonly, only one schedule file is used, included into the index file of the project.

Notes:

Scheduling accuracy depends on the time settings of the HMP being correct.
It is not recommended to include a schedule into a playlist - for this case, use one of the soft scheduling widgets.
The schedule created within Elementi is actually a calendar file (*.ics), but optimized for content scheduling & synchronization. It can also be used for the other purposes as described on the "Calendar file usage" page.

Process

When a schedule is part of the content and it is played by the HMP / Elementi, the following happens:

The content of the schedule (.ics) is parsed and checked for the presence of a currently valid event.
- In case of overlapping events, the one with the highest priority (1 being the highest and 99 the lowest) is selected.
If such an event is found, then the media content specified within the URI field is displayed until the end of the event.
- The beginning time of the media is synchronized with the beginning of the event, thus it is not tided up to the time when the schedule is opened. This means that certain medias, like videos, might not start from their natural begin time.
- The media is displayed, and looped if necessary, until the ending time of the event. This means that a video file might be interrupted anywhere during playback.
When no valid event is present, then the HMP / Elementi tries to open and play a "calendar_default.svg" file within the same location as the schedule file. If the file exists, then it is displayed until the start time of the next event is found within the calendar.

How to

Create a schedule

To create a new schedule, follow these steps:

Click on the "New Project/Document" icon in the toolbar.
- Or click on the "Menu" icon in the toolbar, then select "File".
- Or right-click inside the Browse panel.
Select the "New Schedule..." option. The "New Schedule" window appears.
Enter the name of the schedule
Click on the "OK" button.

Note: Each time a schedule is created an .ics file is created.

Edit a schedule

Edit a scheduled event

To edit the content of a schedule (*.ics), double-click on its icon within the Browse panel to open it inside the Calendar panel. From there, you can manage the events of the schedule.

Once a schedule file is opened for editing within the Calendar panel, you can assign time slots (by simply using a drag & drop gesture) for the different medias within your project, so they are played at a particular date & time. You can also set custom recurrence rules for these events.

Preview the content

Time Simulator

Elementi allows previewing the scheduled content in real time (simply open the schedule file) and at any date / time from the future (or past) using the "Time Simulator" feature.

To preview the scheduled content with the Time Simulator, follow these steps:

Open the schedule file within Elementi (or the entire project). The currently scheduled content is displayed within the Preview panel.
Click on the "Menu" icon in the toolbar, then select "View".
Enable the Time Simulator option. This opens the "Time Simulator" dialog.
Select a time and / or a date. Whatever is scheduled for that time, is displayed within the Preview panel.
Close the Time Simulator dialog to return to the current time.

Show default content

When no event is found in the Schedule, the HMP / Elementi looks for a "calendar_default.svg" file within the same location as the Schedule - if that file exists, then it is played until the start time of the next event found within the calendar.

To create such a file, follow these steps:

Right-click inside the Browse panel.
Select the "New Layout..." option. The "New Layout" dialog appears.
Enter the name of the layout as "calendar_default".
Check the "Create a master layout" option to create a master layout.
Fill out the rest of the layout properties and click the "OK" button.
Add some content inside this layout.

Note:

The "calendar_default.svg" file should not be included into the content along with the Schedule as it is automatically played when there's no event in that schedule.