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Overview of Channels

To distribute content to your device(s), you need to use Channel(s). This article covers everything you need to use the Channel features.

Drew Harding avatar
Written by Drew Harding
Updated over 6 months ago

Channels are where you specify which layouts show on which device(s). This article will go through how to set up a channel. With the further reading links below, you can find out how to use schedules and overrides.

Tutorial Video

Timestamps for jumping to section:

Create and Publish a Channel: 00:07
Schedules: 02:35
Overrides: 04:25
Schedule Publish: 06:17
Publish from a Layout: 07:08

Create Channel

Navigate to the channels section of your account by clicking 'Channels' from the left hand side, click 'New Channel' to create a new channel.

Configure Channel

When configuring a channel, there are two main options you need to edit. These are the channel settings and selecting the device(s).

Settings

Here you need to give your channel a name, used for your reference. Next you select your 'Default Layout' which will be the layout that will show on the device(s) selected if there aren't any schedules or overrides matched.

Devices

Choose the device(s) you want this channel to be pushed to. You can select multiple devices as a single channel can publish content to an unlimited amount of devices. Each device can only be assigned to one channel. Simply click 'Choose devices' and select the relevant devices from the ones registered to your account.

Save Channel

Once your channel has been completed, click 'Create Channel' to save and go back to the channels section of your account. Here you will see your channel with a summary of its settings and some options that can be carried out.

The summary of the channel will show:

  • Published state - Never published (red cross), Please publish (orange exclamation mark), Published (green tick)

  • Channel name

  • Last published date and time stamp

  • User who created the channel

  • The default layout

  • Number of devices assigned to the channel

  • Number of schedules and overrides set

The options available:

  • Edit channel (pencil icon)

  • Schedule channel to publish (two arrows forming a circle with a clock)

  • Publish channel (two arrows forming a circle)

  • Delete channel (trash can)

Publish Channel

To distribute your content to show on your device(s) you need to publish the channel by simply clicking the 'Publish channel' icon. The device will need to be online (connected to the internet) to download the channel information (default layout and any schedules/ overrides) published, it will then store this information locally for playback. When the channel has been published the date & time stamp will change, the published state will change to the green tick and the channel size will be displayed.

If your device is offline, the channel will still be published but the device won't download the changes. The device will use the channel information from the last time it downloaded it whilst online.

You can check the last time the device received the channel information, by navigating to the devices section of your account. Press the pencil icon on your relevant device and find the 'Channel Received' date and time stamp under the statistics for that device.

Schedule a channel publish

If you want to publish your content at a future time and date, you can schedule your channel to publish.

Hit the 'Schedule Publish Channel' Icon:
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Then you can configure the Time and Date you wish the channel to publish. You can also set the channel to publish on a daily or weekly basis automatically.

If you wish the channel to publish Daily or Weekly, change the recurring option from No to either Daily or Weekly, and ensure the Date and Time for the initial publish is set.

So, if you want to publish every day at 11pm, set the date to the current date and time to 23:00 and recurring to 'Daily'.

If you only want to publish once at a specific date and time, leave the 'recurring' setting as 'No' and configure the time and date you want the channel to publish.

NOTE: When using Recurring feature, Channels will only publish at the specified frequency if there have been changes to associated dynamic media, playlists, layouts, schedules or overrides.

Once you have confirmed the schedule, the published state will change to a calendar icon with the 'Will Publish' text. If you hover over this icon it will inform you when the channel is scheduled to publish as well as the date and time it was last published.

Publish from a layout

If your channel has previously been published with a layout, you can publish that channel from the layout itself. This is for ease of use, meaning you dont have to save the layout, navigate to your channels and publish.

In the layout builder, you get a few options when you click 'Save Changes'. Simply click 'Save & publish' then select the relevant channel(s). As mentioned before, only channels that have previously been published with this layout will be available.

Further Reading:

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