The Categories window is used to create and modify Categories and Category Groups. It is also used to adjust relative demand between Songs in Categories and Categories in Groups. This window displays Category and Category Group rotation, for any selected Daypart (see Selecting a Daypart). Once the setting have been made for one Daypart, those settings can optionally be copied to other Dayparts. The window offers three display options: it can display Category Groups, or Groups and Categories, or Groups, Categories, and Songs. Fields in the browse can also be sized and appearances assigned; see the Working with GSelector Browses notes for full details.
Click the Goals tab, then Categories, to access a window similar to the illustration below.
Click any area in the Categories image for help
Click any area in the Categories image above for help
Categories window content display options
View options in Child stations
The Daypart Selection box accesses the different Dayparts, in which different balance settings can be made. The window opens with the default Daypart, defined in the Dayparts Definition window. Click the drop-down arrow in the Daypart selection box to select another Daypart.
TIP: The demand figures shown in this window show demand for one selected Daypart at a time. To view demand by one or more Dayparts combined, or all Dayparts together, use the Cross-Daypart Analysis window, accessed from this window.
Where multiple Clock Assignment grids are used, this drop-down allows the user to select any grid and adjust settings for that grid.
Click any toolbar icon for help
From the Toolbar, you can Add a Category, Add a Category Group, access the Category Group Settings window to apply a range of settings, Edit a Category or Group, Delete a Category or Delete a Group, Save or Cancel Changes, select View options, Copy Settings to another Daypart, access Category Analysis windows, assign Appearances to a category Group or Category and view the Projected Turnover for a Category. Toolbar buttons may vary in color based on the Appearance Style selected.
Categories are created and organized into Groups in this window (see the working section). A Group of Categories generally contains Songs that are similar in nature or function. Many stations organize their Gold Categories into one or more groups, according to age or their relevance to the audience. Category Groups are used in scheduling, in that they are ranked in order of scheduling importance in the Category Group Settings window. A group does not have to contain multiple Categories.
TIP: The sequence in which Category Groups are displayed in this and other windows is set in the Category Group Settings window.
When creating or editing a Category, GSelector asks you for a Short and a Long Category Name. The Long Name field can be used to describe the Category and its contents. The Short Name is a one or two digit Alphanumeric ID, used to save space in browses, and also when copying a schedule to another station.
The Default Category, Z-Hold on initial installation, is marked in the Category and Link Goals windows with the words [Default Category] as part of the Long Category name. It can be assigned or reassigned when creating or editing a Category. The Default Category is optionally assigned Songs or Links copied from one station to another in the Copy Schedule window, and to Songs during the reconciliation process, where reconciled Songs in the Target or Reconciliation Station are inactive. In the Edit Category and Create New Category windows, the Default Category status is assigned to a Category by selecting the Default Category box. If a Default Category is already assigned, checking the box when creating or editing a Default Category will reassign Default status to that Category. When working in the Multi-Song Changer, if an inactive Song is activated, it is assigned the Default Category when no Category has been assigned.
These three toolbar buttons Categories Goals, Cross Daypart Analysis and Clock Request are used to access three different Categories Window views. The first button returns the user to the default Categories Goals view and is only available when viewing the Cross Daypart Analysis and Clock Request windows. The second is used to obtain figures for any combination of Dayparts in the Cross-Daypart Analysis view. The third button opens the Clock Requests view, and by clicking the associated drop-down button at right, lets the user select any Category Group to view in the Analysis Pane.
These three buttons in the Categories window allow the user to view Category Group content in detail. The tree control in the Categories window is expanded by clicking these buttons.
Alternately click the 
icon to left of a selected Category Group or a selected Category to expand that section and the 
icon to close it again. Click the left 
button to view just the Category Groups.
Click the middle 
button to expand the Groups to show the Category Groups and the Categories in these Groups. Note that the Song count and active/inactive Category fields are now accessible.
Click the right-most 
button to expand the Categories to show the Songs.
In the Child Station, when the Dayparts is set to inherit the Song/Link Category Groups and Categories that are Inherited from the Parent are marked with a check in the left-most column. Category Groups and Categories created in the Child Station will not show the inheritance check mark. When the Category is expanded to the Song/Link level, then the inheritance is the same as described for the Child Station Song Demand window.
This means that if Dayparts is set to inherit, all categories will inherit the Balance settings and Rotation Rules from the Parent and the user will not be able to change these settings in the Child station. Only locally added categories in the child station will not inherit the settings. If Dayparts is set to Ignore or Copy, all categories will not inherit the Balance settings and Rotation Rules from the parent and the user will be able to change these settings in the Child station.
TIP: Most of the fields in the Categories window can be sorted in ascending or descending order by clicking on the relevant field header. See the notes on Working with Browses for more information.
The Name field displays the name for Category Group, and also Category Names, and Song Title and Artist details when these are displayed using the view options. Click the column header to sort by the contents of the column, in ascending or descending order. The Category Group order in the Categories window is set in the Categories Importance window .
These two fields display Active Song and total station Song counts for each Category, for each Daypart. These fields cannot be edited. The totals for active Songs and station Songs are shown at the bottom of the browse pane. There is also a field displaying active totals for the selected Daypart at top right of the browse.
This column shows each Category and Song's Play status - that is, if it can be played in the selected daypart. Click this field to Activate or Ban the Category or Song.
|
|
Active: Categories and Songs that can play in the Daypart are shown with an Active symbol. By default all Categories and Songs, when created, are Active for all Dayparts. |
|
|
Explicitly Banned: A Category or Song that is directly Banned for the Daypart is shown with a Banned symbol. Banned Songs cannot be scheduled. If Clocks call for Songs from that Category Group, GSelector will first look for a Clock Fallback Category Group, if defined and assigned to the Fallback column in the Clock Definition window to schedule a song. If fallback is not defined the position will be left unscheduled. NOTE: When you slot or kick a Category Group in the Category Group Settings window, you disable bans made on Songs or Categories in this Category Group. A slotted Category Group ignores all balance settings and schedules in strict sequence. |
|
|
Implicitly Banned: There is a third Play status for Categories or Songs that cannot play by being indirectly prevented from playing. These are shown with an Implicitly Banned symbol. When an item is Implicitly Banned, this is due to one of three reasons: In Clocks, there are no requests for the Category Group in Clocks in this daypart. To fix this, add requests to the Clock. Attributes conflicts: A specific Attribute assigned to a Song might be banned. To fix this, adjust the Attribute Goal or the Attribute assignment in the Song. In the Categories window, the Play field could be set to banned, or the Share could be 0 if there’s more than one category in the category group. To fix this, activate the Category Group or assign a Share of more than 0. |
This field displays, for Categories, the share of plays allocated to this Category within the Category Group. Values in this field can be directly edited. If you have 3 clock requests for Category Group "Currents" and Categories A, B, and C are in the Currents Group, then setting the share values for each Category to a 1/1/1 (A/B/C) share would yield 1 A, 1 B, and 1 C on average per hour. A share setting of 4/1/1 (A/B/C), would on average deliver 2 As each hour with B and C alternating in the other position every hour.
NOTE: Setting a share value of zero (no share) for all Categories in a Category group will prevent Songs in those Categories from scheduling. If Clocks call for Songs from that Category Group, you will get unscheduled positions. If the Category Spread Goal is implemented in the Priorities window, this Goal is disabled if there is only one Category allocated a share (that is, the other Categories in the group have a zero share value) in any Daypart.
The Share/Shift field displays, when the window is expanded, showing Songs, any Shifts that have been applied to individual Songs for this Daypart.
The Platoon feature will move assets between two categories automatically. Assets that are most played, in the category, will move out of the category and will be replaced with assets that are most rested from a selected Hold Category. These most played assets are moved into the Hold Category. Platooning will require two categories for the configuration; the main or configured category that contains the assets that are playing and the Hold Category that holds the assets that will replace the assets being moved from this main category. After the two categories are created and populated with assets, click the ellipse 
button in the Platoon column for the main category; the Platoon configuration window will open.
Criteria - Use the Criteria drop-down to select how the asset is selected for move from the Hold Category to this configured main category. The options are None or Most Rested. None can be used to disable Platooning for the category. Most Rested is selected to move the most rested assets from the Hold Category selected.
Hold Category - The Hold Category is the category that holds the assets that will replace the assets that are moved from the primary category.
Frequency - The Frequency is how often the assets will be moved. There are two options for the Frequency; Weekly or Monthly.
Day - The Day field depends on the Frequency selected. If Weekly is selected, the user can then select the day of the week in which to move the assets. If Monthly is selected, the user can then select the day of the month to move the assets.
Selection - The Selection field can be used to select how the assets are selected. The assets can be selected by Count Percentage where a percentage of the assets in the category are moved or the assets can be selected by Count where a specific number of assets from the category are moved.
Count - The Count depends on the Selection type selected. Select the Percentage or Number of assets to move.
Note: Platooning changes will occur on the selected Day at 12:01am.
When a Category Group is slotted or kicked in the Category Group Settings, any Shifts or Bans made on Attributes, Participants, Songs or Categories are disabled for the selected Category Group. Categories in a Slotted Category Group ignores all balance settings and schedules in strict sequence. This sequence can be edited and viewed in the Kick Override Order window.
The Categories window Share/Shift field setting is used with Category Groups with more than one Category. There are two choices: Song Turnover and Category Exposure. These govern the share of spins for Songs within the Group. The setting can be made for each Category Group in the Share/Shift column, or when creating or editing a category Group.
When Share/Shift is set to Song Turnover, Songs are rotated within the context of the entire Song Category Group. In the above Share/Shift example, Songs in Categories C1 and D1 will get roughly equal play; while Songs in B will get about three times, and Songs in A about twice the plays of Songs in C1 and D1. The advantage of this option is that as you change the number of Songs or links, the system automatically adjusts to give the Song turnover you ask for.
When Share/Shift is set to Category Exposure, Songs are rotated within the context of Categories, and the Categories are then rotated within the context of the Category Group. In the above Share/Shift example, when the 'Gold' Category Group is scheduled, Category G Songs will be used three times for every two Category H Songs, and once for Categories I, J and K.
The shift demand buttons are displayed when you open a Category Group. Click the up or down shift button for any Category to shift Category demand within its Group.
NOTE: You cannot give a Category a Negative share. The least share you can give a Category within its Group is a zero share, which will mean it will not schedule in that Daypart. All Songs are effectively banned for that Daypart.
This field in the Goals Category Browse displays two values in both the Categories the individual Song views. The values in this field cannot be directly edited, but they are affected by shifts in demand. In Categories, the first figure is the average turnover for all Songs in the Category for the selected Daypart; the second figure is the average number of Dayparts that Songs will be scheduled in before repeating in the selected Daypart. For individual Songs, these figures represent the actual turnover and actual number of Dayparts the Song will be scheduled in before repeating in this Daypart.
This field displays Percentage Demand for all the Category Groups, Categories and Songs, depending on the view option selected. The values in this field cannot be edited, but are directly affected by shifts in demand. Click the column header to sort by the contents of the column, in ascending or descending order.
This field displays an approximate figure for the frequency of this Category Group, Category or Song , depending on the view option selected. The values in this field cannot be edited, but are directly affected by shifts in demand. Click the column header to sort by the contents of the column, in ascending or descending order.
This field displays the number of spins per Category Group, Category, or Song , depending on the view option selected, per week. The values in this field cannot be edited, but are directly affected by shifts in demand. Click the column header to sort by the contents of the column, in ascending or descending order.
 |
Toggling this setting to Banned for any Category means GSelector will ignore non-Song attribute shifts and adjustments; however, Song Daypart boosts, cuts or bans are still respected. When this happens, the Balance for the Category returns to its 'natural' state. In most situations, this setting is left at the default On setting, shown by the check mark. However, in exceptional cases (for example: very small rapid turnover Categories where the content is refreshed frequently, where the content and rotation overrides any other scheduling consideration), this tool can be used. |
This bar reflects overall Demand for all items in a Bar Graph display. This field reflects changes made using the Demand shift buttons. Click the column header to sort by the contents of the column, in ascending or descending order.
Defining Categories And Category Groups
Assigning Categories to Groups
Edit a Category, including changing the Category Name and Short Name and Category Group
Copy Settings to other Dayparts
Set the Relative Demand between Categories in a Category Group for the selected Daypart.
Assign Appearances to Categories or Category Groups
Change Category or Song Play Status
View and edit settings for any Daypart
View the contents of any Category Group or Category
View settings for any combination of multiple Dayparts
Selecting a Daypart or a Clock Assignment Grid
Allow or Disable Adjustments to Attribute Goals in any Category
Review Category Turnover figures according to your settings, and
See also the notes on Slotted Category status.
You may already have a clear idea about the Categories you want to define in this window. But if you're new to music scheduling, you might be wondering just what to do. The answer is that there is no one way to do this. But a good way to start is to sort your music into different areas, either by history or type. Or you could use a combination of both. Let's say you're working on a small station library that plays contemporary music and has a large oldie catalog, going back 25 years. You might choose to set up your Categories like this:
|
A - Power currents |
|
B - Secondary currents |
|
R - Major recurrents |
|
T - Minor recurrents |
|
G - Major 00s hits |
|
H - Minor 00s hits |
|
I - Major 90s hits |
|
J - Minor 90s hits |
|
K - Major 80s hits |
|
L - Minor 80s hits |
Once you have an idea of your Categories, you're ready to define Category Groups. These are the building blocks for your Clocks. The above list can be split into several groups, in different ways. Here's one way:
|
Currents |
|
A - Power currents |
|
B - Secondary currents |
|
Recurrents |
|
R - Major recurrents |
|
T - Minor recurrents |
|
Gold |
|
G - Major 00s hits |
|
H - Minor 00s hits |
|
I - Major 90s hits |
|
J - Minor 90s hits |
|
K - Major 80s hits |
|
L - Minor 80s hits |
Category Groups are more than just a way to organize your thinking about your Categories. Category Groups are a powerful tool to ensure balance and proportion in clocks. Working in the Clocks Definition window, you specify the number of plays for each Category Group in the Clocks you build. The balance that you have already set between Categories, working in the Categories window, is carried through to your scheduling by the Category Group structure in each clock.
In the Goals Categories window, click the Category Group 
Toolbar button in the Goals Categories window to open the Category Group window.
Enter the name of the new Category Group, and select a Demand Type for the Category Group. Then click OK. Song Category Groups cannot have the same name as Link Category groups, a duplicate message will be displayed when clicking OK if the name is already used.
button in the Categories window toolbar to open the Create New Category window.
button.
In the Goals Categories window, click the Category Group Settings 
button to open the Category Group Settings window, to set the order for Category Groups and other elements, ranking them by importance in scheduling. This also sets the sequence in which Category Groups are displayed in this and other GSelector windows. You can also set search depths, select a stack scheduling method, apply slotted and kick status and specify a research cutoff period for each Category Group.
button to access the Edit Category window below or the Edit Category Group window.You cannot create a Category Group in this dialog box; you have to create a new Group first, with the Create Category Group dialog box, and then move the Category to this Group. You can also edit the Short Name or full Name of the Category. All changes take effect immediately. To assign this Category as the Default Category, check the Default Category box.
In the Goals Categories window, first delete the Category (if empty) or move all Categories from the Category Group, using the Edit Category tool. Then select the Group and click the toolbar Delete 
button to delete the empty Group. You cannot delete a Category Group that contains Categories.
A Category cannot be deleted if it still contains Songs, or if its Group is assigned in a clock. Before deleting a Category, you must move all the Songs from that Category, and ensure that the Category Group is not assigned in clocks.
button.TIP: To reorganize Categories, work in the Edit Category pane. This allows you to move empty or redundant Categories to a different Category Group.
Keyboard Shortcuts can also be used to initiate the play of a single audio event or a list of audio events. Ctrl+F11 will play a single element. In a list, it will play the element having focus. Alt+F11 will play elements in a list consecutively. In a list, Alt+F11 will play the element having focus. When that element finishes playing, the next element lower in the list will play. This process will continue until the bottom of the list is reached. In a non-list context, such as in the song editing window, Ctrl+F11 and Alt+F11 will play only the current element. See the Using Audio in GSelector topic for more information on playing audio.
You can jump to the Song window from any Song listed in the Goals Categories window by selecting the Category Song view, and then double-clicking or entering on the Song. In the Song window, change the Category assignment, and then click the back navigation button at top right of the screen to get back to the Goals Categories window.
If you make any changes working in this window, the Save 
button is activated. Click to confirm your changes. if you leave the window without saving your changes, you are prompted to confirm or discard your changes.
Click the Cancel 
button to re-read the original settings and return to the window to its last saved state.
 |
In the Goals Categories toolbar, click this button to access the Copy Daypart Dialog Box. This allows you to copy any Goal setting including the settings made in this window, to another Daypart. When copying settings from one Daypart to another, Daypart Inclusion or Exclusion settings for individual Songs, set in the Song window station coding pane, are ignored. The Copy Daypart Dialog box is also accessed from the Goals Balance windows and Dayparts Definition windows. |
Note: Limit balance settings do not get copied to other dayparts.
The Daypart selection and Clock Assignment Grid selection fields allow selection of any Daypart and Clock Assignment grid. Click on either field's drop-down arrow and the display automatically updates to show and allow editing of, the current settings for the selected Daypart.
TIP: Shifts in any Daypart are applied across all Clock Grids. The window will display demand for the Clocks in the selected grid, but any shift applied is carried over globally.
 |
This toolbar button is used to assign a predefined Appearance to a selected Category or Category Group. Select the item, and click the button to open a drop-down menu to select from existing Appearances. See the notes on Appearances definition and Using Color. This button is only visible if the user has rights to access the Appearances tab in the Global Settings window. |
To assign Appearances to any Category or Category group working in the browse.
NOTE: When you assign field-specific Appearances to Song Category Groups, the Appearance is displayed in the Clock Browse Description field, and in the Clock Mockup pane for each Song Position. The right-click Appearances are only visible if the user has rights to access the Appearances tab in the Global Settings window.
