Macros
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Welcome < Configuration < Macro Configuration

Macros

This topic explains how to use macros in Zetta® to execute several events as if they were one event. There is no limit to the number of events that can be added to a macro and there is no limit to the number of macros that can be assigned to a station. Once a macro is created, it can be played an unlimited number of times. Macros can be played from the On-Air Module, Hot Key or added to a Station or Recorder Log/Clock. When the macro is played, the event list executes. Use the Macro section of the Themes & Appearances Configuration window to give the Macros in the log an appearance.

The macro configuration window is divided into three panes. The left side displays a list of events in the macro and the right side is divided in two sections; the top section is the consideration window which is used to select the event to add to the macro and the bottom section is the properties window which is for configuring the properties of the event to be added.

An Asset can be auditioned from the Macro Configuration window by simply middle-clicking the desired asset, clicking the Audition toolbar button or by clicking a desired play action or play position from the right-click menu.

Click any area in this image for help

Click any area in this image for help

In this Topic: show/hide show/hide

Macro Configuration Toolbar

Macro Event List

Macro right-click context menu

Consideration Window

Properties Window

Macro Configuration Step-by-Step Topics

Create a Macro

Edit a Macro

Copy a Macro

Publish Macro Control Events to GSelector

Delete Events in the Macro

Delete a Macro

Add a Macro To a Log or Clock

Assign a Macro to a Command Mapping

 

Macro Configuration Toolbar

The Macro Configuration toolbar allows the user to add, delete, view and edit macros using the following toolbar options:

Refresh current Macro - The 'Refresh current Macro' button is used to refresh the macro window to the last saved state, discarding any unsaved changes.

Create new Macro - The 'Create new Macro' button allows the user to create a new Macro. The New Macro window will open.

Copy current Macro - The 'Copy current Macro' button will copy a selected Macro to the same station or to a different station in the database. A Copy Macro window will open for the user to give the macro a new name and to select a station.

Edit current Macro - The 'Edit current Macro' button opens the Edit Macro window allowing the user to edit the Name, Description and method of execution.

Delete current Macro - The 'Delete current Macro' button allows the user to remove a selected macro configuration from the database. The user will be prompt to confirm the deletion. This will remove the Macro from all areas where is is used such as, Logs, Clocks, Hot Keys, etc.

Audition – The 'Audition' button will allow the user to listen to a selected piece of audio in the log locally without it going over the air. Using the arrow drop-down, the user can select the play action or the marking point of the audio to start playing based on the preferences specified in the Auditioning tab of the Preferences Configuration window. An Audition Stream Group and stream must be defined and an audio event must be selected in the log. Optionally, simply middle-click the title of the asset in the log to be auditioned and the asset will be auditioned based on the default marking point (shown on the button). If the default marker is not set for the selected asset the audio will start from the Opening. To stop the play of the audio simply middle-click the same asset or click the Audition button again. See the Audition Options section of this topic and the Audition Module topic of this guide for more information on auditioning assets.

Publish Macro through Site Replication - The Publish Macro through site replication button is used to publish the macro to the configured site replication servers. This button is only visible when Site Replication is configured.

Cycle Filter - The 'Cycle Filter' is used in Logs, Clocks and Macros to Filter based on Asset Type or Custom type. See the Logs Module topic for additional information on the Cycle Filter.

 

Select Macro - The 'Select Macro' drop-down is used to select an existing Macro to view, edit or delete. When the Macro selection drop-down is clicked a cursor is made available allowing the user to type and quickly locate the desired macro.

 

Select Station - The 'Select Station' drop-down is used to select a Station that the macro will be assigned. When the Station selection drop-down is clicked a cursor is made available allowing the user to type and quickly locate the desired station.

 

Macro Event List

The left side of the macro screen displays the events in the macro. Control Events, Songs, Spots or Links can be added to a Macro.

Macro Control Events - The following control events can be added to a macro by simple dragging and dropping the event from the consideration window to the Event List.

Total Runtime - The Total Runtime is displayed at the bottom of the window and is the calculated length of the events in the macro.

Important Note!

The Execute Commands are executed by the selected stations sequencer. Therefore if a command is chosen that will open a module such as the Library module, then this event will occur on the machine running the sequencer for the selected station.

 

Macro right-click context menu

This menu is similar to the options in the context menu of a Log or Clock. Using the mouse to right click an event in a Macro, a context menu of the following additional options is displayed.

Context Menu: show/hideshow/hide

Audition options

Delete Event

Replace Event

Juggle Events

Insert options

Insert Song

Insert Link

Insert Spot

Insert Other Audio

Insert Tag

Insert Rotation

Insert Imaging

Insert Control Event

Properties

 

Consideration Window

The Consideration window lists various assets the user will consider for use in the macro. From the Consideration window a user can select an asset or control event using the Event Type drop-down menu. When selecting a Song or Link asset the user can use the Category Group drop-down menu to select from a configured category group.

 

Properties Window

The properties window displays the details about the Asset or Control Event. The information about the asset is pulled from the Metadata card for the asset.

 

New/Edit Macro window

The Create new Macro and Edit current Macro buttons open a window allowing the user to create or edit a Macro's Name, Description or how it is Executed.

Name - The 'Name' is a short description of the macro and is used elsewhere in the application to recognize the Macro.

Description - The 'Description' expands further on the Name to describe the function of the Macro. The Description field is optional.

Macro Execution - The 'Macro Execution' drop-down is used to select how the Macro will be executed when played by the Sequencer. The choices are Synchronously (Default) or Asynchronous & play through Macro.

Synchronously (Default) – When a macro is executed synchronously, the sequencer will wait for the macro to finish before moving on to the next event.

Asynchronous & play through Macro - A Macro may contain commands that affect execution of the upcoming events. For that reason we do not automatically transition to the next event until the Macro has completed.  Based on the type of commands and the Macro's complexity, this may introduce a minor delay between the events.  If you are certain it's safe to trigger the upcoming event without waiting for the Macro to finish, selecting this option will instruct Zetta to "play through" the Macro without any interruptions. When using Asynchronously & play through the Macro there will be a Stream Trigger between the Log Event before the Macro and the one after:

Log Event 1 >>> Stream Trigger Log Event 2

Macro

Log Event 2

 

Macro Configuration Step-by-Step Topics

This section will provide step-by-step instructions for tasks in the Macros window of the Configuration menu.

In this section: show/hideshow/hide

Create a Macro

Edit a Macro

Copy a Macro

Publish Macro Control Events to GSelector

Delete Events in the Macro

Delete a Macro

Add a Macro To a Log or Clock

Assign a Macro to a Command Mapping

Add a Macro to a Hot Key

 

Create a Macro

To create a Macro in Zetta, perform the following steps:
  1. From the Configuration menu select Macros
  2. Select a Station from the Select Station drop-down
  3. Click the Create new Macro button
  4. Enter a Name for the new Macro
  5. Optionally, enter a Description of the macro.
  6. Optionally, change the execution method using the Execute this Macro drop-down
  7. Click OK
  8. Using the consideration window select the events to add to the macro.
  9. Use the Properties window to configure the properties for the event
  10. Drag and drop the desired event into the Event window from the consideration window. See the Publish Macro Control Events to GSelector section for systems integrated with GSelector.

 

Edit a Macro

To create a Macro in Zetta, perform the following steps:
  1. From the Configuration menu select Macros
  2. Select a Station from the Select Station drop-down
  3. Click the Edit current Macro button
  4. Edit the Name
  5. Optionally, enter a Description of the macro.
  6. Optionally, change the execution method using the Execute this Macro drop-down
  7. Click OK

 

Edit a Macro's Content

To Edit a Macro in Zetta, perform the following steps:
  1. From the Configuration Menu select Macro Configuration
  2. Select the Station from the Select Station drop-down.
  3. Select the Macro to edit from the Select Macro drop-down.
  4. Drag and drop new commands
  5. Select existing events to edit using the properties pane.
  6. Select the Save button in the properties pane.

 

Copy a Macro

To Copy a Macro in Zetta, perform the following steps:
  1. From the Configuration Menu select Macro Configuration
  2. Select the Station from the Select Station drop-down.
  3. Select the Macro to copy from the Select Macro drop-down.
  4. Click Copy current Macro button
  5. Enter a New Macro Name.
  6. Optionally, enter a New Macro Description
  7. Optionally, change the execution method using the Execute this Macro drop-down
  8. Optionally, select a New Macro Station. This field allows the user to select the station from a list or type in the name of the station and filters the stations as the user types the name.
  9. Click OK

 

Publish Macro Control Events to GSelector

Once a macro has been created using the Macro Configuration option in the Configuration Menu of Zetta® the user can then Publish the Control Events to GSelector®.

To Publish a Macro Control Event to GSelector, perform the following steps:
  1. Select System from the Configuration menu
  2. Select the GSelector tab
  3. Select the Sync Categories and Control Events button
  4. Click OK to the Control Events Published Successful dialog.
  5. Click OK to the All Stations Categories Published Successful message.
  6. The Macros can now be scheduled in GSelector.

 

Delete Events in the Macro

To delete an event from a macro, follow these steps:
  1. Click Macros from the Configuration Menu.
  2. Select the Station
  3. Select the Macro
  4. Select the event to delete. To choose multiple events use the Shift or CTRL keys and click the events to delete.
  5. Right-click the event to delete
  6. Select Delete Event
  7. Optionally press the Delete key on the keyboard

 

Delete a Macro

To Delete a Macro in Zetta, perform the following steps:
  1. From the Configuration Menu select Macro Configuration
  2. Select the Station from the Select Station drop-down.
  3. Select the Macro to delete from the Select Macro drop-down.
  4. Click the Delete current Macro button
  5. Click Yes to confirm deletion of the macro.

Note: This will remove the Macro from all areas where is is used such as, Logs, Clocks, Hot Keys, etc.

 

Add a Macro To a Log or Clock

To Add a Macro to a Log or Clock in Zetta, perform the following steps:
  1. Select Logs/Clocks from the Modules menu
  2. Select the Station
  3. Select the Day or Date
  4. Right-click a location in the Log/Clock
  5. Select Insert Control Event
  6. Select Macro from the consideration window
  7. Select Hard Time in the properties window and enter a time if the Macro is to start at a specific time.
  8. Select the Macro from the properties window
  9. Double-click the Macro in the consideration window
  10. The selected Macro is inserted into the log/clock at the location selected.

 

Assign a Macro to a Command Mapping

To Assign a Macro to a Command Mapping in Zetta, perform the following steps:
  1. Create a Macro
  2. Add GPIO Devices for GPIO Command Mapping
  3. Select System from the Configuration menu
  4. Select the Command Mappings tab
  5. Select or create a GPIO or Keyboard Mapping
  6. Add a New Command Mapping
  7. Select the Context Global
  8. Select the GPI Trigger or type the Shortcutkey
  9. Select Sequencer.SynchronousMacro or Sequencer.AsynchronousMacro as the Execute Command
  10. Select the Station
  11. Select the Macro
  12. Click Save

 

Add a Macro to a Hot Key

To Add a Macro to a Hot Key in Zetta®, perform the following steps:
  1. Create a Macro
  2. After the Macro is created, select Macro from the Insert Control Event consideration window
  3. In the Properties window select the Macro just created.
  4. Drag and drop the Macro onto the desired Hot Key, from the Insert Control Event consideration window of the macro window.
  5. Click the Hot Key to execute the Macro.

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