Preview plays one playlist from start to finish, with your graphics shown over the vision. Use it every time you build or change a playlist, so you can check the order, timing and look before a real match.
[VIDEO PLACEHOLDER: Automation_16_Preview_a_Playlist_v1.0.mp4]
Before you start
The playlist has at least one item on its timeline, such as an overlay graphic, an action, multimedia or an ad.
You've saved your latest changes to the playlist.
Preview a playlist
Go to Automation and open your game plan.
Find the playlist on the Pre/Post Match & Breaks or In Game (Live) tab. Expanding it lets you see its timeline while it plays.
Click Preview on the playlist.
The Playlist Preview opens and plays the playlist through, with your graphics over the vision.
To see it in a different look, choose another skin.
When you're done, click Hide Preview to close it.
What you're seeing
The preview runs the playlist exactly as it's built:
Overlay graphics animate in at their start time, stay on for their duration, then animate out. Looping graphics keep running.
Actions such as Hide All clear the screen at the moment they're placed.
Multimedia appears in the position you set on the canvas, above or behind your graphics.
Advertisements and ad templates show in their positions for their set times.
Graphics are filled with sample data in the preview, so team names, scores and players may not match a real fixture. The point is to check the running order, timing, position and style.
Choose a skin
A skin is a different visual look for the same theme. If your theme offers more than one, pick a skin in the preview to see how the playlist looks in that style. This is useful when the same game plan is used by competitions that run different looks, or when you're deciding which look to use.
What to check
Order. Does each item appear in the order you expect?
Gaps. Is there enough time for one graphic to animate out before the next comes in?
Durations. Does each graphic stay on long enough to read, but not so long it gets in the way?
Positions. Do multimedia and ads sit clear of the scorebug and lower thirds?
The finish. Does the playlist end cleanly, for example with Hide All or Show Scorebug?
Tips and common mistakes
Leave a small gap between graphics. Graphics animate in and out, so back-to-back timings can cut an animation short. A gap of a second or two usually fixes it.
Preview checks one playlist. It doesn't test triggers, priority or guards. To see how all your playlists work together across a real match, use Review Match.
Refresh open overlays. After you save changes to a game plan, refresh any overlay that's already loaded so it picks them up.
Next: Review a match