Welcome < Modules < Hot Keys Module

Hot Keys^® Module

The Hot Keys Module is used to configure a “bank” of events that can be quickly executed without having to add events to a station log. This window can be used to add, copy, edit or delete a Hot Keys bank. The Hot Keys can be played On Air or in Audition mode. To change the Font colors and sizes see the Theme Management configuration section of this guide. In addition to the Title, Artist, and Duration of the Asset, the Hot Key button will display details about the Asset, such as the Type of Asset, if it has a Hook, and if it has a Split Behavior defined. When a Hot Key is played, it will also display the Stream being used and the play progress of the asset. Using the right-click menu the user can also set the color of the Hot Key button(s) and lock the Hot Key to play from a set play stream. Right-clicking a disabled hook icon will enable the asset as a hook, right-click it again to disable the hook and switch back to the entire audio for the asset. Hot Keys can also be used to Execute Commands such as the LiveMetadata.Send command.

An Asset can be auditioned from the Hot Keys module by simply middle-clicking the desired Hot Key containing an asset, changing to the Audition mode using the toolbar button or by clicking a desired play action or play position from the right-click menu.

The Access of a Hot Key bank can be Private for a single user, Public for all users or Public - Read Only for all users.

Note: Users with the 'View Configuration' Admin Right can edit, delete any Hot Key bank. Any banks owned by other users that are set to an Access of Private will be listed in the 'Public Hot Keys Banks' for this user with the 'View Configuration' Admin Right. Users without the 'View Configuration' Admin Right will not see these Private Hot Keys banks. Upon upgrade, all banks will be Public and owned by Supervisor. Users can create copies of these banks for their 'Private' use.

Click any area in this image for help

Click any area in this image for help

In this Topic: show/hideshow/hide

Hot Keys Toolbar

The functions in the toolbar of this Module include:

Playback Mode – The Playback Mode button can be used to switch between the Audition Stream Group for the computer and the Hot Keys Stream Group for the station selected or the Computer Hot Keys Stream Group if one is defined. The default mode is On-Air; however, this can be changed using the Default Computer Role option in the Details tab of the Computer Configuration window. Hot Keys with Control Events, such as Macros or Execute Commands will be disabled in Audition mode. However, the Load Bank (HotKeys.OpenBank) can be executed in both On-Air and Audition. The disabled Hot Keys cannot be played (executed) however, the Hot Key can still be copied or cleared. If an asset that has a Split Behavior and/or Tag is played, a Split command will not be sent when playing in Audition mode. The Mode is persisted when changing Hot Keys banks. This Mode button can be controlled with the Hot Keys Change Playback Mode user right. The Mode button can also be controlled using a GPIO device with the HotKeys.TogglePlaybackMode Zetta Command. Hot Keys are locked in Audition mode when the Site Replication Site Status is 'Armed' or 'Reconcile' for the station.

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Lock/Unlock Hot Keys bank - The Lock and Unlock buttons are only visible if the Hot Keys Bank Locking option, in the User Preferences is set to Unlocked by default or Locked by default. When the Lock icon is shown the Hot Keys bank is Locked. In the Locked state the user cannot move a new asset from Library or any other module to a Hot Keys bank. The user cannot move an event within the Hot Keys bank. The user cannot use the right-click context menu for Paste and Clear Key operation. The user cannot delete or paste using keyboard shortcuts. The user cannot open the Edit hot key window by clicking and empty hot key button (the Edit Hot Key window can still be accessed using the right-click context menu). The HotKeys.ToggleBankLock Command can be set to a keyboard shortcut to allow for easy toggle of the Lock and Unlock state.

The toolbar adjusts with the window size giving a drop-down button for toolbar button selection.

New Hot Keys bank window

The Create new Hot Keys bank toolbar button will open the New Hot Keys bank window. The New Hot Keys bank window is used to identify and configure the number of Hot Keys contained in a single bank by specifying the number of Rows and Columns. For example, if the desired configuration is 5 Rows and 5 Columns, 25 Hot Keys will be displayed on the selected Hot Keys bank. (The maximum configuration is 50 rows by 50 columns.) By default the new Hot Keys bank will be available to all stations (Global). However, if station(s) or Station Group(s) is selected in this window the Hot Keys bank will be specific to the station(s) or Station Group(s) selected.

Click any area in this image for help

Click any area in this image for help

Name

Use the Name field to give a Name to the bank so it can be identified in the Select Hot Keys bank drop-down.

Description

A description can be entered to give detailed information about the bank (optional).

Rows

The number of Rows specified indicates the number of Hot Keys displayed horizontally on a single bank (maximum number of rows = 50)

Columns

The number of Columns entered indicates how many Hot Keys should be placed vertically on a single bank (maximum number of columns = 50).

Stations

The Stations drop-down can be used to select the station(s) that can select the Hot Keys bank. When a Station is selected, the Hot Keys bank will only be shown in the Select Hot Keys Bank drop-down of the toolbar for that selected Station(s). This is an optional field. Click the drop-down arrow to the right of the field to select a configured station. If the Stations / Stations Groups field is left blank the new bank is visible to all stations. If the user preference 'Assign current Station / Station Group for newly created Hot Keys banks' is enabled in the user preferences, if a 'specific station' is selected in the toolbar, the station selected will be used to populate the 'Stations' field.

Station Groups

The Station Groups drop-down can be used to select a configured Station Group(s). When a Station Group(s) is selected the Hot Keys bank will only be displayed for the Station(s) within the selected Station Group(s) in the Select Hot Keys Bank drop-down of the toolbar. This is an optional field. Click the drop-down arrow to the right of the field to select a configured Station Group. If the user preference 'Assign current Station / Station Group for newly created Hot Keys banks' is enabled in user preferences, if 'All banks' is selected in the toolbar, the 'Station Groups' field will be populated with Station Group(s) derived from the current user's Station Group assignments (under Configuration | Accounts | Roles).

Access

The Access option allows the user to set their Hot Key bank to Private, Public or Public - Read Only. This field defaults to Public when adding a new Hot Key bank. Any user with the 'View Configuration' Admin Right can modify the Access field regardless of the state of this setting. If the user does not have the 'View Configuration' Admin Right, the Access field is hidden for 'Public' and 'Public - Read Only' banks if the user does not own the bank. When a Zetta user account is deleted, any 'Public' and 'Public - Read Only' Hot Key banks for that user will remain and "[Account Deleted]" will be shown in the Hot Key bank selection drop-down next to the name of the bank. 

Private - The 'Private' option sets the bank so only the user that created the bank can see the Hot Key bank in the bank selection drop-down. Only the owner of the private Hot Keys bank can view, execute, edit, copy or delete the bank. If the Zetta user account for this user is deleted, any 'Private' Hot Key banks for the user will also be deleted.

Public - The 'Public' option sets the bank so any logged in user can select the Hot Keys bank. Any logged in user can view, execute, edit, copy and delete a 'Public' Hot Keys bank. The user will be warned when deleting a 'Public' Hot Keys bank. Hot Key banks that are sent, via ZCast by any user, will be set to Public and owned by the Supervisor account on the receiving site. 

Public - Read Only - The 'Public - Read Only' option sets the bank to any logged in user can select the bank. Any logged in user can view, copy and execute a 'Public - Read Only' Hot Keys bank. The user will be warned when deleting a 'Public - Read Only' Hot Keys bank.

Note: Upon upgrade, all banks will be Public and owned by supervisor. Users can create copies of these banks for their 'Private' use. This Access setting is not observed in Zetta2GO.

Edit Hot Keys bank window

The Edit current Hot Keys bank toolbar button will open the Edit Hot Keys bank window. If the user does not have the View Configuration Admin Right, the user will not have an Edit button if a Hot Keys bank is selected that is owned by another user and the Access of the bank is set to 'Public - Read Only'.

Click any area in this image for help

If the user does not have the 'View Configuration' Admin Right, the Access field is hidden for 'Public' Hot Keys banks if the user does not own the Hot Keys bank.

Click any area in this image for help

Hot Keys Command Mappings

The following tasks can be assigned in the Command Mappings or as an Execute Command Control Event to work with the Hot Keys Module. All these commands require that the Hot Keys module be open. HotKeys.OpenBank will open the requested Hot Keys bank in an existing Hot Keys window. Some of the Hot Keys commands require the Play Stream be defined in the Module Stream field when using multiple Hot Keys modules. Enter the Stream Name to use into the Module Stream field.

For Example: If two Hot Keys modules were open at the same time, one using the stream named A and the other using stream named B and a mapping was desired to start playing the Hot Keys module using stream A then the letter A would be placed in the Module Stream field for the mapping.

Leaving the Module Stream field blank will set the play stream to the default <Any Stream>.

Execute a Hot Key

To execute a Hot Key media event, simply click the Hot Key. The Hot Key works like a button. The Hot Key will have an outline while playing, this color can be changed in the Theme Management Configuration | Log Editor | General: Playing Item Border. The progress bar will show the event progress, similar to the On-Air and Logs modules, and the timing will show the event countdown. The colors of the progress bars can be changed in the Progress Bars section of the Log Editor section of the Themes & Appearances Configuration.

If the Apply Fade Out Value on Stop is enabled for the Stations Hot Keys, the Hot Key will show the fade progression when it is stopped. See the Playback tab in Station Configuration for more details.

The default action when a Hot Key is clicked is to play/stop. However the Hot Key can play/stop, play/pause or play/restart depending on the Override Stream mode set in the database. To setup the Override Stream mode contact RCS Support. The Hot Key that was last played will be outlined with a line.

Move/Copy a Hot Key in a bank

To move a Hot Key within a bank simply click and hold then drag to another Hot Key and drop. To copy via drag and drop hold the CTRL key while clicking and dragging the Hot Key to another Hot Key within the bank.

Hot Keys right-click context menu options

Right-click any Hot Key button to view the Right-click Context Menu options. The user may see a lock icon next to the Paste and Clear key options if the Hot Keys bank is Locked. See the Hot Keys Bank Locking option, in the User Preferences for more details.

Click any area in this image for help

Click any area in this image for help

Hot Keys right-click topics: show/hideshow/hide

Audition Options

The Audition options are typically in the first two sections of the right-click context menu. These audition options are configured in the Context Menu Customization section of the Auditioning tab in the Preferences Configuration window. The audition section of this menu is used to play the audio on an audition play stream. The default options in this menu are Audition, Go To Start, Stop, Play-Pause, Opening, Segue and Closing. The top options are used for playback of the audio and the bottom options are used to select the marking point at which the audio will play. Clicking a marking point from the menu will play the audio from the point selected. The By Default Audition from option is the checked option in the list of marking points. This means when middle-click on an asset event is made, the default action is to audition the asset from this checked marking point. If the default marker is not set for the selected asset the audio will start from the Opening. This default can be changed temporarily by right-clicking on the context menu option that is to be set as default. This will change the default for ALL of the Audition context menus in Zetta for this users Zetta session. Optionally, the user can use the Audition Mode toolbar button to play the asset using the audition streams. See the Audition Module section of the guide for more information on auditioning assets.

Edit key

Select Edit key from the right-click menu of a Hot Key to open the Edit Hot Key window. Optionally, if the Hot Key bank is unlocked, simply click on an empty Hot Key to open the Edit Hot Key window. All users with the View Configuration right can edit any Public - Read Only Hot Key or Hot Key bank.

Tip: To quickly close the opened Edit Hot Key window without making changes press the ESC keyboard key.

Select an Event type to see additional configuration options based on the event type selected. Optionally, drag and drop the Asset/Execute Command/Macro/Comment to the window. The Edit Hot Key window is automatically populated with the event data.

Edit Hot Key window toolbar

	Save - The Save button is used to Save any changes to the Hot Key(s).
	Discard Changes - The Discard Changes button will refresh the window to its lasted saved state.
	Apply to Key - The Apply to Key button when highlighted will show a blue boarder around the key being edited. Any additions or changes will be applied to only the key highlighted in the bank.
	Apply to Row - The Apply to Row button when highlighted will show a blue boarder around the row of keys being edited. The Edit Hot Key window will also show a Modify checkbox next to each setting. Any additions or changes with the Modify checked will be applied to only the row of keys highlighted in the bank.
	Apply to Column - The Apply to Column button when highlighted will show a blue boarder around the column of keys being edited. The Edit Hot Key window will also show a Modify checkbox next to each setting. Any additions or changes with the Modify checked will be applied to only the column of keys highlighted in the bank.
	Apply to Bank - The Apply to Bank button when highlighted will show a blue boarder around the column of keys being edited. The Edit Hot Key window will also show a Modify checkbox next to each setting. Any additions or changes with the Modify checked will be applied to the entire bank.

Label

The Label field can be used to give the hot key a friendly custom name. An Event type must be selected before this field can be edited. If a Label is not added for an asset then the Title of the asset is used. This custom name can be themed in the Custom Name section of User Interface section in the Themes tab of the Themes & Appearances window.

Color

The Color field can be used to set the color of the key, row, column or bank. Use the drop-down to select a color from the color picker. An Event type must be selected before this field can be edited.

Event

The Event field is used to select an event type for the Hot key(s) the event types are Asset, Comment, Execute Commend, Load Bank or Macro. Additional parameters maybe required based on the Event selected.

Edit Audio

The Edit audio option is used to choose an available audio editor, the user can select the Zetta Multitrack Editor, Zetta Single Track Editor or a configured External Editor. See the External Editors section of this guide for more details on adding editors.

Hot Keys Module Step-by-Step Topics

This section provides step-by-step instructions to perform common tasks related to the Hot Keys Module.

In this section: show/hideshow/hide

Create a New Hot Keys Bank from the Hot Keys Module

1. From the Modules Menu, click Hot Keys
2. Click the Create new Hot Keys bank  button
   
3. Enter a Name
4. Optionally, enter a Description for the bank.
5. Enter the number of Rows to have across the Hot Keys bank. (max rows = 50)
6. Enter the number of Columns to have down the Hot Keys bank. (max columns = 50)
7. Optionally, select Station(s) that can select this Hot Keys bank.
8. Optionally, select Station Group(s) that can select this Hot Keys bank.
9. Optionally, select the Access of the Hot Keys bank for other users.
10. Click OK to close the New Hot Key Bank window.
11. Add Assets to the Hot Keys bank.

Copy a Hot Keys Bank

1. Select the bank to copy.
2. Click the Copy current Hot Keys bank  button
   
3. Enter Name for the Hot Keys bank
4. Optionally, select the Access of the Hot Keys bank for other users.
5. Click OK to close the window.

Adjusting the Number of Hot Keys Buttons per Bank

1. Select the Hot Keys bank to modify from the Select Hot Keys Bank drop-down in the toolbar.
2. Click the Edit current Hot Keys bank button in the toolbar. If this button is not visible contact your system administrator.
3. Enter the number of Rows and Columns up to 50 each.
4. Click the Save  button to save changes.

Delete a Hot Keys Bank

1. Select a bank from the Select Hot Keys Bank drop-down in the toolbar.
2. Click the Delete current Hot Keys bank button. If this button is not visible contact your system administrator.
3. If the Hot Keys bank is a Public bank the user will be warned of is Access status before deleting.
   
4. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.

Add Asset to a Hot Key using Edit key

1. Select a bank from the Select Hot Keys Bank drop-down in the toolbar.
2. Right-click the desired hot key to select Edit key from the resulting menu. Optionally, simply click an empty hot key.
3. Select Asset as the Event.
4. Open the Library Module.
5. Drag and drop an asset to the Drop asset to assign field.
6. Optionally, enter a Label for the hot key.
7. Optionally select a Color for the hot key.
8. Optionally, select the Stream to use for the hot key.
   
9. If there is a Hook marked for the asset the Hook option is shown. Click the Off button to enable the hook for the hot key.
10. Click the Save button to save the hot key.

Drag and drop an Asset to a Hot Key

1. Select a bank from the Select Hot Keys Bank drop-down in the toolbar.
2. Locate the event to add in the Library Module. 
3. Click and Drag the event from the Library Module to a Hot Key in the bank chosen.
4. Drop it on the Hot Key.
   

Add Hook to a Hot Key using Edit key

1. Select a bank from the Select Hot Keys Bank drop-down in the toolbar.
2. Right-click the desired hot key to select Edit key from the resulting menu. Optionally, simply click an empty hot key.
3. Select Asset as the Event.
4. Open the Library Module.
5. Drag and drop an asset with a hook to the Drop asset to assign field.
6. Optionally, enter a Label for the hot key.
7. Optionally select a Color for the hot key.
8. Optionally, select the Stream to use for the hot key.
9. Click the Off button to enable the hook for the hot key.
   
10. Click the Save button to save the hot key.

Enable a Hook for a Hot Key

1. Select a bank from the Select Hot Keys Bank drop-down in the toolbar.
2. Right-click the disabled hook icon or right-click the Hot Key and select Hook OFF from the drop-down menu.
   
3. The Hook icon on the Hot Key will be enabled.

Add an Execute Command to a Hot Key (LiveMetadata.Send)

1. Select a bank from the Select Hot Keys Bank drop-down in the toolbar.
2. Right-click the desired hot key to select Edit key from the resulting menu. Optionally, simply click an empty hot key.
3. Select Execute Command as the Event.
4. Select the Task Type of the Execute Command. In this example we will use LiveMetadata.Send
5. Select the Parameters of the Execute Command.
6. Optionally, enter a Label for the hot key.
7. Optionally select a Color for the hot key.
   
8. Click the Save button to save the hot key.
9. Click the Hot Key to execute the LiveMetadata.Send command.

Add a Comment to a Hot Key

1. Select a bank from the Select Hot Keys Bank drop-down in the toolbar.
2. Right-click the desired hot key to select Edit key from the resulting menu. Optionally, simply click an empty hot key.
3. Select Comment as the Event.
4. Optionally, enter a Label for the hot key.
5. Optionally select a Color for the hot key. Optionally, choose the Apply to Row button to Modify the Color for the row. Note: Only the Modify is checked for Color.
   
6. Click the Save button to save the hot key.

Add a Load Bank command to a Hot Key

The Load Bank event can be used to load another bank allowing the user to nest a hot keys bank in another bank.

1. Select a bank from the Select Hot Keys Bank drop-down in the toolbar.
2. Right-click the desired hot key to select Edit key from the resulting menu. Optionally, simply click an empty hot key.
3. Select Load Bank as the Event.
4. Select the Bank to load from the Bank drop-down.
5. Optionally, enter a Label for the hot key.
6. Optionally select a Color for the hot key.
   
7. Click the Save button to save the hot key.
8. Click the Hot Key to execute the Load Bank (HotKeys.OpenBank) command.

Tip: To allow the user to go back to the original bank add another load bank hot key in the nested bank.

Add a Macro to a Hot Key

1. Select a bank from the Select Hot Keys Bank drop-down in the toolbar.
2. Right-click the desired hot key to select Edit key from the resulting menu. Optionally, simply click an empty hot key.
3. Select Macro as the Event.
4. Select the Macro to use from the Macro drop-down.
5. Optionally, enter a Label for the hot key.
6. Optionally select a Color for the hot key.
   
7. Click the Save button to save the hot key.
8. Click the Hot Key to execute the LiveMetadata.Send command.

ZCast a Hot Keys bank

The ZCast button in the Hot Keys toolbar is used to send the selected Hot Keys bank to an Outbound ZCast Connection.

1. Create a Site to Site ZCast Connection, at the sending site select Allow Sending Hot Keys for the station. Select Auto Send to allow changes to Hot Keys banks to be automatically sent to remote stations. If the Auto send audio is selected and a hot key bank is changed, then this change will be sent to the remote station automatically. At the remote site select Allow Receiving Hot Keys from the sending station.  
2. Open the Hot Keys module from the Modules menu.
3. Select the bank to ZCast
4. Select the ZCast current Hot Keys bank button.
5. This will open the ZCast Hot Keys bank window, select the ZCast Connection to use.
6. Use the action drop-down to select the allowed action. This is based on the Connection Permissions selected during the configuration of the ZCast Connection.

7. Click the Go button at the bottom to send the Hot Keys bank. Hot Key banks that are sent by any user will be Public and owned by the Supervisor account on the receiving site.

Set Hot Key Play Stream

A Hot Key, Row, Column or Bank can have a Set Stream assigned. A stream must first be assigned as a Hot Keys play stream for a Stream Group that is assigned as Hot Keys Stream Group for the Station or the Hot Keys Stream Group for the Computer. The Hot Key can be assigned a Splits stream based on the Split behavior of the audio. When the split behavior is silent, the only option is <Any Stream> because audio is not actually played out of the master stations play device. If the Split behavior is Master Audio, then the streams set as splits streams will be displayed in the list of streams available to select. If the split behavior is master monitor, then the streams set as monitor streams will be displayed in the list of streams available to select. The Stream selected will remain with the selected Hot Key, Row, Column or Bank until changed or cleared. The Stream can also be set in the Edit key window when the asset is assigned as the Event.

1. From the Modules Menu, click Hot Keys
2. Select a bank from the Select Hot Keys Bank drop-down menu
3. Right-Click on the desired Hot Key
4. Click the Set Stream option.
   
5. Click the desired Stream number, the number selected is displayed in the Hot Key.
   
6. Optionally, select <Any Stream> to let Zetta choose the stream to use.

Set Hot Key Color

1. Right-Click on an existing Hot Key. The Hot Key must have an Event to set the Color.
2. Click the Edit key option.
3. Select the drop-down next to the Color option.
   
4. Select a color. Use the Advanced button to adjust an existing color.
5. The color selected can be applied to a single Hot Key , a row of Hot Keys, a column of Hot Keys or an entire bank of Hot Keys.
6. Check the Modify field for Color when applying color to a row , column or entire bank of Hot Keys.
7. Click the Save button to save the hot key(s).

Set a Custom Name for a Hot Key

A Custom Name can be set for a Hot Key using the Label field in the Edit key window.

1. Right-Click on the desired Hot Key
2. Select Edit key from the resulting menu.
3. Enter a Label for the hot key. (To simply label a key, select Comment as the Event type and enter a Label.)
   
4. Click the Save button to save the hot key.
   
5. The font appearance of the Label can be set using the Custom Name section of the User Interface section of the Themes and Appearances window.

Audition Hot Key Events

1. Right-Click on the desired Hot Key
2. Click one of the Audition options, the audio will play from the configured Audition Stream Group for the local computer.
3. Optionally, simply middle-click the Hot Key and the asset will be auditioned or switch to Audition using the Mode button in the toolbar before selecting a Hot Key to play.

Clear Hot Key Events

The Clear Key will clear the hot key of the event and any custom name that was applied. If the Hot Key bank is Public Read - Only and the user does not have the 'View Configuration' Admin Right the hot key cannot be cleared.

1. Right-Click a Hot Key
2. Click Clear Key

Copy/Paste Hot Key Events

1. Right-Click a Hot Key
2. Click Copy or CTRL + C from the keyboard
3. Right-Click on a different Hot Key in the current Hot Keys bank or from a different Hot Keys bank
4. Click Paste or CTRL + V from the keyboard

Edit a Hot Key Asset

1. Right-Click the Hot Key to edit
2. Click Edit Asset
3. Edit Asset will open the Metadata card of the asset for editing. For additional editing details, see the Audio Marks topic.

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