Creating and Managing Playlists

Playlists group slides into an ordered sequence for playback. A playlist defines what plays and in what order. This article covers all playlist operations available on the Playlists tab of the Slideshow Manager.

Creating a Playlist

To create a new playlist:

1. Go to the Playlists tab in the Slideshow Manager.
2. Click New Playlist.
3. Enter a descriptive name for the playlist (e.g., "Morning Specials", "Weekend Promotions").
4. The new playlist appears in the playlist list on the left panel.

Playlists start empty. After creating one, add slides to it using the Add Slide button.

Playlist Properties

Each playlist has the following properties:

• Name — The display name of the playlist.
• Loop — When enabled, the playlist restarts from the first slide after the last slide finishes. When disabled, the player stops after the last slide. For continuous signage, always enable looping.
• Global — When checked, the playlist is available at all locations. When unchecked, it is only available at the location where it was created.

To edit playlist properties, select the playlist and click Edit Playlist.

Adding Slides to a Playlist

With a playlist selected in the left panel:

1. Click Add Slide.
2. A picker dialog shows all available slides.
3. Select one or more slides and confirm.
4. The selected slides are added to the end of the playlist.

A slide can be added to multiple playlists. Adding a slide to a playlist creates a link — it does not move or copy the slide. Changes to the slide (editing its content, background, or overlays) are reflected everywhere the slide is used.

Removing Slides from a Playlist

To remove a slide from a playlist:

1. Select the slide in the playlist detail grid (right panel).
2. Click Remove Slide.

This removes the slide from the playlist only. The slide itself is not deleted and remains available for use in other playlists.

Duration Override

Each slide has a default duration set in the Slide Editor. When a slide is added to a playlist, the playlist uses the slide's default duration. However, you can override the duration for a specific playlist entry.

This is useful when the same slide should display for different durations in different playlists. For example, a "Welcome" slide might show for 5 seconds in a fast-rotation playlist and 15 seconds in a slow-rotation lobby display.

Total Duration

The Playlists tab displays the total duration of the selected playlist at the bottom of the detail panel. This is the sum of all slide durations (including any overrides) in the playlist.

Use the total duration to estimate how long one complete cycle of the playlist takes. A 10-slide playlist with 10-second slides runs for about 100 seconds (plus transition time) per cycle.

Deleting a Playlist

To delete a playlist, select it and click Delete Playlist. A confirmation dialog appears. Deleting a playlist removes all its slide associations and any schedules that reference it.

Deleting a playlist does not delete the slides themselves. The slides remain in the Slides tab and can be added to other playlists.

What to Read Next

• Organizing Slide Order and Sharing Playlists Across Locations for reordering and multi-location strategies.
• Understanding Schedule Modes for connecting playlists to schedules.