Using Stack Selection Buttons to load a show pool

Q: I would like to have a stack which should display the content of the show pool of my show. It should be used for displaying the prepared elements to have a drag&drop interface to my rundown.

A: Yes, but you would need a macro to be able selecting a show pool.

You can use stack windows even if they will not be used for playout. In this case the parameter PreloadedElements for the stack must be set to -1 to use it without blocking a MultiPlayer slot.

Local Settings \ TurboPlayer \ RundownLists \ Stack 1 : PreloadedElements = -1

There are different ways to load something into a stack. If you press the right mouse button on the right part of the header of the stack window then there is a context menu where you can select to load a show or pool but it does not offer to load the Show Pool or Day Pool.

Therefore a new type of buttons were developed called Stack Selection Button. These buttons come with 3 different operation modes:

- Track mode (needs a specific track number)
- Free selection (allows to select and define a fixed node to be loaded when pressed)
- Parameterset switching (will enable the usage of macros)

As track mode and free selection do not offer loading a Show Pool or Day Pool a macro need to be created:

Local Settings \ TurboPlayer \ EventsOut \ ... :

Command = TP_LoadNode ( Stack1, Show, "0/0/Pool" )
Name = Load Show Pool
Program = *
RundownListType = Stack1

It is possible having multiple of these events. The parameter RundownListType takes care that it can be selected inside the Stack Selection Button by pressing the "\/" gadget.

The macro TP_LoadNode comes with very useful options to choose what to load. See TurboPlayerTechManual for a full list.

Examples:

TP_LoadNode ( Stack1, Show, "0/0/0" ) = Loads current show of the day
TP_LoadNode ( Stack1, DayPool, 0 ) = Loads Day Pool of the day
TP_LoadNode ( Stack1, Jingles, "Kulturradio" ) = Loads a jingle bank
TP_LoadNode ( Stack1, Show, "0/0/Pool" ) = Loads the Show Pool of the current show

It is even possible to create a macro for a user button to force TurboPlayer loading the corresponding show pool of the loaded show. This feature can be used to have a manual selection of the show pool into the stack whenever you do not want to use the parameter TracksFollowShow = TRUE

To enable such macro you must be sure that each show of the day has an unique name.

The macro for such user button would look like this:

Local Settings \ TurboPlayer \ EventsOut \ StackFollowsMainShow :

Command =
$ShowName = "0/"+DataOfRundown ( Show, Name )+"/Pool"
TP_LoadNode ( Stack1, Show, $ShowName )

Name = Load corresponding Show Pool
Program = *
RundownListType = Stack1

This macro will read the name of the loaded main show and put it into the variable called ShowName. Additional the syntax for TP_LoadNode of the show pool is added to the variable. Afterwards TP_LoadNode is called using this variable.

This macro requires that the Kernel has full data:

Global Settings \ TurboPlayer : KernelHasFullData=TRUE

Please note that this macro is limited to the shows of the current date.

If you want to work with e.g. a free showlist with shows of past and future days you can force the macro to detect the date of the element set to be next played element. This will only work in case of an existing element of such show. If an empty show is loaded the macro won't be able finding the corresponding pool.

The cursor must be set to the show which should be loaded. Sometimes it is required to start the first element of the show to make the macro work.

Local Settings \ TurboPlayer \ EventsOut \ StackFollowsMainShow :

Command =
$DateOfNextElement = DataOfElement ( Show, Next, StartDate )
$DateOfShow = ( substr ( $DateOfNextElement, 0, 4 ) + "-" + substr ( $DateOfNextElement, 4, 2 ) + "-" + substr ( $DateOfNextElement, 6, 2 ) )
$ShowName = ( $DateOfShow+"/"+DataOfRundown ( Show, Name )+"/Pool" )
TP_LoadNode ( Stack1, Show, $ShowName )

Name = Load corresponding Show Pool
Program = *
RundownListType = Stack1