Live triggers decide when an In Game (Live) playlist plays during a match. This article explains every event in the Trigger event dropdown, what fires it, how milestone and time triggers work, and when to use each one.
How live triggers work
Every playlist in the In Game (Live) tab of your Automated Game Plan, except the Default playlist, needs at least one trigger. When the trigger fires, the playlist plays. When it finishes, the game plan hands back to the Default playlist.
There are three kinds of live trigger:
Event triggers fire when something is recorded in live scoring, such as a goal, a card or a substitution.
Milestone triggers fire every Nth time something happens for a team, such as every third corner.
Time triggers fire when a set amount of time has elapsed in the live match.
Triggers only run the graphics when the overlay uses the theme instance linked to your game plan and Manual is turned off in the Control Room. Then the game plan runs the graphics automatically. See Switch between Manual and Auto in the Control Room.
Where the Default playlist fits in
The Default playlist (shown as Scorebug ... Default) has no trigger. It holds one default graphic, nearly always the scorebug, and stays on during live play whenever no other playlist is running.
Your triggered playlists play over the top of it and then hand back to it. That is why a live playlist should end by returning to the scorebug, with a Show scorebug or Hide all except scorebug action as its final step. The app gives advice when a live playlist doesn't do this: "A live playlist should end by returning to the scorebug."
On Rive themes, a game plan needs a default scorebug for in-play automation to work. See The Default playlist: your scorebug during play.
Add a live trigger
Open your game plan in the Automation tab and go to In Game (Live).
Open the playlist and select Configure, then Trigger Playlists.
Click Add Live Trigger.
Choose an option from the Trigger event dropdown.
Add more triggers if you want the same playlist to respond to several events.
For the general trigger steps, see Add triggers to a playlist.
Event triggers
Event triggers fire from live scoring. That can be a scorer using the LiveScore app or an external data provider. If the event isn't recorded, the playlist won't play.
Event graphics take the incoming fact through their Event variable, so they fill in the player and team automatically.
Goals
Goal: fires when a goal is recorded. Use it for your main goal playlist.
Own Goal: fires when an own goal is recorded.
Penalty Goal: fires when a penalty goal is recorded.
Each goal type is a separate entry in the dropdown. A playlist can have several triggers, so you can add each goal type you want your goal playlist to respond to. Goal playlists usually get the highest priority. See Setting up goal playlists.
Cards
Yellow Card: fires when a yellow card is recorded.
Second Yellow Card: fires when a player's second yellow card is recorded.
Red Card: fires when a red card is recorded.
You can put several card triggers on one playlist, for example Red Card and Yellow Card together. Card playlists usually get a high priority. See Setting up card and substitution playlists.
Substitutions
Substitution: fires when a substitution is recorded. Use it to show the substitution graphic, then return to the scorebug.
Penalty shootouts
Shootout Goal: fires when a shootout penalty is scored.
Shootout Miss: fires when a shootout penalty is missed.
Use these for matches that can go to penalties. Playlists you don't want during a shootout can use the isNotPenaltyShootout guard.
Milestone triggers
A milestone trigger fires every Nth time something happens for a team, for example every third yellow card, every three corners or every five shots on target.
Use milestones to mix things up during play. A common example is a team stats lower third every few corners, shown as an Update so the scorebug stays up. Give milestone playlists a lower priority than goals and cards. See Using milestone triggers.
Time triggers
Choose Time trigger (Time elapsed) to play a playlist after a set amount of time has elapsed in the live match.
Enter a time in mm:ss.
Click + Add time trigger to add more times to the same trigger, for example a sponsor every 5 minutes.
A yellow note explains that this trigger defaults to priority 4 with the guards isLive and isNotPenaltyShootout. Attaching the trigger doesn't change the playlist's own priority or guards, so set those in Configure > Advanced options.
Use time triggers for sponsor content, promos and stats at regular points. See Run a playlist at a set time with time triggers and Show sponsor ads during play without the scoreboard.
When two triggers fire together
Priority decides which playlist wins. Priority 1 is the highest and 4 is the lowest, and 2 is the default. A higher priority playlist can take over one that is already running.
A typical setup is goals highest, cards high, milestone and stats playlists lower, and time-triggered sponsor playlists at 4. That way a goal always beats a sponsor. See Playlist priority and guards explained.
Which trigger should I use?
To react to something that just happened, such as a goal, card or sub, use an event trigger.
To add variety based on how a team is playing, use a milestone trigger.
To show something at set points in the match, such as sponsors, use a time trigger.
For the graphic that sits on screen the rest of the time, use the Default playlist. It needs no trigger.
Tips and common mistakes
Event triggers depend on live scoring. Make sure your scorer or data provider records each event you've set a trigger for.
End every live playlist with Show scorebug or Hide all except scorebug so the scorebug comes back.
Keep event graphics on screen for 8 to 10 seconds, and leave about 2 seconds between items so animations finish cleanly.
Give every item its own start second. Two transitions on one second can wipe each other. See Playlist warnings and timing tips.
Use Preview a playlist to check how a playlist looks over the vision.
Check your triggers with Review a match against your game plan. It shows which trigger fired at each moment, and you can filter by Facts, Period, Timed or Milestone.