Welcome < Modules < Stacks Module

Stacks Module

The Stacks Module is used to create a series of events. Stacks can be used to pre-program a series of events without having to manually add them to the log or program them into a scheduler. Stacks can be controlled using Command Mappings, see the Stacks Module table in the Zetta Commands section for more information on these commands.

An Asset can be auditioned from the Stacks module by simply middle-clicking the desired asset event in the Stack, 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 Stack 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 Stack bank. Any banks owned by other users that are set to an Access of Private will be listed in the 'Public Stacks Banks' for this user with the 'View Configuration' Admin Right. Users without the 'View Configuration' Admin Right will not see these Private Stacks banks. Upon upgrade, all Stack banks will be Public and owned by the Supervisor user. 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

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Stacks Toolbar

The toolbar of the Stacks Module includes:

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Lock/Unlock Stacks bank - The Lock and Unlock buttons are only visible if the Stacks Bank Locking option, in the User Preferences is set to Unlocked by default or Locked by default. When the Lock icon is shown the Stacks bank is Locked. In the Locked state the user cannot move a new asset from Library or any other module into Stack. The user cannot move an event within the Stacks bank. The user cannot eject an event. The user cannot delete or paste using keyboard shortcuts. The Stacks.ToggleBankLock Zetta Command can be set to a keyboard shortcut to allow for easy toggle of the Lock and Unlock state.

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Auto Scroll – When pressed, the 'Auto Scroll' button will toggle between On and Off. When the Stacks module is open, the Auto Scroll will default to On. When Auto Scroll is On, the Stack will always display the current playing position in the Stack. When Off, clicking Auto Scroll On, will return to the current play position and stay in the current play position as the Stack plays.

	Create new Stacks bank – The 'Create new Stacks bank' button will allow the user to create a new Stack. The Create new Stacks bank button will open the New Stacks bank window.
	Copy current Stacks bank – The 'Copy current Stacks bank' will allow the user to create a new duplicate Stacks bank based on the current Stacks bank selected. The user can change the Name and set the Access of the copied bank.
	Edit current Stacks bank - The 'Edit current Stacks bank' button will open the Edit Stacks bank window. All users with the 'View Configuration' Admin Right in the Accounts or Roles can edit any Stacks bank.
	Delete current Stacks bank – The 'Delete current Stacks bank' button will delete the current Stack selected. Before Zetta deletes the Stack; it will prompt the user to confirm the deletion of the Stack. All users with the 'View Configuration' Admin Right in the Accounts or Roles can delete any Stacks bank.
	ZCast current Stacks bank - The 'ZCast current Stacks bank' button is used to send or request a stack using a ZCast Connection that has the permission to Allow Sending Stacks or Allow Requesting Stacks. Stacks banks that are received via ZCast will be set to an Access of Public and owned by the Supervisor account.
	Distribute current Stacks bank via Site Replication - The 'Distribute current Stacks bank via Site Replication' button is used to publish any changes to the current Stack to the configured site replication servers. This button is only visible when Site Replication is configured.

Select Stacks bank – The 'Select Stacks bank' drop-down allows the user to select which Stacks bank to display. Note, the username in brackets to the right of the Stacks name , this is shown when the logged in user has the 'View Configuration' Admin Right. The username is not shown if the logged in user does not have this security right. Click the drop-down to view the list of Stacks visible to this user. The top section of the menu 'My Stack Banks' shows the public and private Stacks that are owned by the current user. The bottom section shows the 'Public Stack Banks' that are visible to the current user. These public banks belong to other Zetta users. See the Access section of this topic for more details on Public and Private Stacks banks. Simply start typing in this field to filter the list of Stacks. Using the left and right arrows next to this select Stacks drop-down, will scroll through the available banks. This field is disabled when the Stack is playing On-Air.

Previous Stacks bank - The 'Previous Stacks bank' button will open the Stack listed before the current Stack. This field is disabled when the Stack is playing On-Air.

Next Stacks bank - The 'Next Stacks bank' button will open the Stack listed after the current Stack. This field is disabled when the Stack is playing On-Air.

Select Station – The 'Select Station' drop-down allows the user to select the station that the Stack will play on. Select the All Stacks option to view all the stacks in the Select Stack drop-down. When the Station selection drop-down is clicked a cursor is made available allowing the user to type and quickly locate the desired station. This field is disabled when the Stack is playing On-Air.

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

New Stacks bank window

The Create new Stacks bank toolbar button will open the New Stacks bank window. The New Stacks bank window is used to identify and configure the Stack. By default the new Stack will be available to all stations (Global). However, if station(s) or Station Group(s) is selected in this window the Stack 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 Stack so it can be identified in the Select Stack drop-down.

Description

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

Stations

The Stations drop-down can be used to select the station(s) that can select the Stack. When a Station is selected, the Stack will only be shown in the Select Stack 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 Stacks banks' is enabled in 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 Stack will only be displayed for the Station(s) within the selected Station Group(s) in the Select Stack 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 Stacks banks' is enabled in the 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 Stacks bank to Private, Public or Public - Read Only. This field defaults to Public when adding a new Stacks 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' Stacks banks for that user will remain and "[Account Deleted]" will be shown in the Stacks 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 Stacks bank in the bank selection drop-down. Only the owner of the private Stacks bank can view, execute, edit, copy or delete the bank. If the Zetta user account for this user is deleted, any 'Private' Stacks banks for the user will also be deleted.

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

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

Edit Stacks bank window

The Edit current Stacks bank toolbar button will open the Edit Stacks bank window. If the user does not have the View Configuration Admin Right, the user will not have an Edit button if a Stacks 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' Stacks banks if the user does not own the Stacks bank.

Click any area in this image for help

Stacks Events List

The Stacks Event List shows the status information for a Stack.

Default Stacks Columns

Additional Stacks Columns

Default Stacks Columns

Status - The status column shows a blue arrow when the event is playing.

Stream column displays the ID of the stream being used. When the station is configured as a Master Splits station the stream number will reflect the color selected in Themes & Appearances for the splits behavior of the event.

Split Behavior column shows an icon when a split behavior is selected for the scheduled asset. The Split Behavior column is visible when Splits are enable in the System Configuration | General tab. 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.

• Master Audio - A Split Behavior of Master Audio tells the Master station to play the audio and send a signal to the subscribing Split Clients to play a tagged asset on the client station. If the asset is not in a tagged group the Split Client station will play the same asset as the Master Station, if the asset is active on the subscribing station. When an asset's Split Behavior is set to Master Audio a Master Audio icon will be visible in the Split Behavior column.
• Master Silent - A Split Behavior of Master Silent tells the master station to be silent and send a signal to the subscribing Splits Clients to play a tagged asset on the client station. If the asset is not in a tagged group the Split Client station will play the asset scheduled on the Master station, if the asset is active on the subscribing station. When an asset's Split Behavior is set to Master Silent a Master Silent icon will be visible in the Split Behavior column.
• Master Monitor - A Split Behavior of Master Monitor will route the audio for the asset to the configured Monitor streams of the Player for the Master Station and send a signal to the subscribing Splits Clients to play a tagged asset on the client station. If the asset is not in a tagged group the client station will play the same audio asset that is scheduled on the Master Station, if the asset is active on the subscribing station. Master Monitor allows the user to hear the audio locally for the Master Station even though nothing is playing over the air for the Master Station. When an asset's Split Behavior is set to Master Monitor a Master Monitor icon will be visible in the Split Behavior column.

Event column shows the events in the log and the progress position. The colors of the progress bars can be changed in the Progress Bars section of the Log Editor section of the Themes & Appearances Configuration.

• The event list allows the user to see the currently playing event and the next events to play contained in the Stacks Player. As events play, the progress of the event shows in the background of the event description.
  
• If an intro is set, the intro of the event will be shown in yellow and the time display will show the time of the intro and/or the time to the end of the intro. The color will increase with intensity with each intro set in the Song.
  
• This progress bar will change color twice during the event:
  • When 10 seconds remain in the event, the progress bar will display the following color:
    
  • When 5 seconds remain, the progress bar will switch to another color:
    
• If the Show Progress for Live Events is enabled in the Playback tab on the Station Configuration and the event is a Live Event, the progress bar will display in Purple when using Manual or Live Assist mode. Once the Live Event gets to 10s and 5s left it will change to the 10s left and 5s left progress bars shown above (just like normal Assets). The colors of the progress bars can be changed in the Progress Bars section of the Log Editor section of the Themes & Appearances Configuration.
• To the left of the event description, the ID of the play stream assigned to play the event is displayed. When the station is configured as a Master Splits station the stream number will reflect the color selected in Themes & Appearances for the splits behavior of the event.
  
• To the right of the event description, the time elapsed and the time remaining in the event is displayed. Double-Clicking the time will toggle the display to show just the time remaining to the end…
  
  …Or the time elapsed and the total time of the song or spot.
  
• The event list also displays an icon signifying the type of media event that is scheduled to play. The color of these icons will vary based on the Themes & Appearances Configuration. The following is a list of these icons:
  Song, Spot, Link, Hook, Tags, Mini-Log, Rotation, Imaging Custom Asset Types,  Asset with Note, Asset with Script, Live Event, Live Event with Confirmation, Marked as Read, Bed with Auto-Fade, Bed No Fade (Donut), Voice Track and Quick Record

Additional Stacks Columns

Additional information can be displayed in the Logs Module to customize the view. The following are the columns of information that can be added to the Logs Module:

Artist/Owner – Artist/Owner shows the artist or owner of the event.

Asset - Asset expands to another menu allowing the user to choose a field associated with a library asset.

Description – The Description is used for adding a description to the event as it is in the log.

LogEventId - The LogEventId column will show an Id number for the event.

PlayerStreamId – The Player Stream Id gives the Player Stream ID number that was used to play the element.

Progress Counter –The Progress Counter shows the progress information for the event that is playing.

Runtime – Runtime gives the run time length in seconds for the event.

Skip – Skip allows the user to skip or unskip an event in the Stack. When an event is marked as skipped it can still be played using the small play button. Skipped items will not Play when segueing from the current playing event into the next event. If Play Next is pressed (Big Play button) stacks will not play skipped events.

Status – Status gives the event status code in alphanumeric format.

Title – Title is used to show only the title of the element in the column.

Title/Artist/Sponsor – Title/Artist/Sponsor is used to show the Title, Artist and Sponsor in one column.

Stacks Play Controls

The Play Controls sections of the Stacks Module controls the playback of events.

/	Play / Pause - To start events; press the Play icon located on the event to play. To temporarily stop playback while retaining the current position in the audio event, click the Pause icon. When an event is marked as skipped it can still be played using this button.

	Stop - The Stop button is shown in the place of the Eject button when the event is played. The Stop button allows the user to stop the playback of the event located in the same line as the stop button.
	Eject - The Eject button is used to remove an event from the Stack list.

Chain Type – The Chain Type column shows the action that is performed when the current event ends. Only Stop and Segue are supported in Stacks. Stop - Stop will stop the playback of the stack after the event plays. Segue - Segue will segue the current event into the next event. A default chain type can be set for events that are inserted/dropped into Stacks for each user using the Event chain when inserting into Stacks setting in the User Preferences. The color of these chain icons can be changed in the in the Log Editor section of the Theme & Appearances window.

Play Next - The large play button located at the far right of the Stacks Module is used to start the next cued event.

Stacks right-click context menu

Using the mouse to right-click an event in the Stack, a menu of the following additional options are displayed. 

Audition Options

Hook Enabled

Edit Audio

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 option 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 position 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.

Hook Enabled

A hook is a musical or lyrical phrase that stands out and is easily remembered which is used to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". If the event has a hook, selecting 'Hook Enabled' from the right-click menu will tell Zetta to play only the hook instead of the entire asset.

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.

Stacks Step-by-Step Topics

This section provides step-by-step instructions for common tasks performed in the Stacks Module.

In this section: show/hideshow/hide

Create a Stack

1. From the Modules Menu, click Stacks.
2. In the Stacks Module toolbar, click the Create new Stacks bank button.
   
3. Enter a Name to identify the Stack. 
4. Optionally, enter a Description for the bank.
5. Optionally, select Station(s) that can select this Stack.
6. Optionally, select Station Group(s) that can select this Stack.
7. Optionally, select the Access of the Stacks bank for other users.
8. Click OK to close the New Stacks bank window and open the new Stack in the Stacks module.

Adding and Deleting Events of a Stack

1. Select the Stack to which events will be added.
2. Open the Library Module and select the event(s) to add to the Stack.
3. Click and drag the event to the desired location in the Stack. To choose multiple events use the Shift or CTRL keys and click the events to add.
   
4. Drop the event(s) into the Stack; a guide is displayed showing the location the event(s) will be inserted.
5. To delete event(s) from the current Stack, select the event(s) to remove and press the DELETE key on the keyboard or use the Eject button. To choose multiple events use the Shift or CTRL keys and click the events to delete.

Chaining Events in a Stack

The events in a Stack can be set with different chain types to control how the events play. By default, all new events added are set to segue into the next event until the end of the list is reached. If the last event has a chain type of segue, Zetta will segue into the first song in the Stack creating a loop of events.

1. Select the Stack to modify.
2. Locate the event to modify. Click the Segue  icon.
   
3. Select the chain type to be used for the event
    Stop to stop play after the current event.
    Segue into the next event in the Stack list.
4. Repeat this process for any additional events to be modified.

Edit a Stack

1. From the Modules Menu, click Stacks.
2. Select the Stack to edit.
3. In the Stacks Module toolbar, click the Edit current Stacks bank button. If the user does not have the View Configuration Admin Right, the user will not have an Edit button if a Stacks bank is selected that is owned by another user and the Access of the bank is set to 'Public - Read Only'.
   
4. Change the Name of the Stack.
5. Optionally, enter a Description for the bank.
6. Optionally, select Station(s) that can select this Stack.
7. Optionally, select Station Group(s) that can select this Stack.
8. Optionally, select the Access of the Stacks bank for other users. If the user does not have the 'View Configuration' Admin Right, the Access field is hidden for 'Public' Stacks banks if the user does not own the Stacks bank.
9. Click OK to close the Edit Stacks bank window and open the Stack in the Stacks module.

Copy a Stack

Stacks can be copied to create a new or duplicate Stack with the same events.

1. Select the Stack to copy.
2. Click the Copy current Stacks bank  icon
   
3. Enter a Name for the new duplicate Stack
4. Optionally, select the Access of the Stacks bank for other users.
5. Click OK.

Play a Stack

1. In the Stacks Module, locate the event to execute.
2. In the right side of the event list, click Play .

As the event plays, the status is displayed. The Stack Player will use the settings configured to segue into the next event or stop after the event is complete.

ZCast a Stacks bank

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

1. Create a Site to Site ZCast Connection, at the sending site select Allow Sending Stacks for the station. Select Auto Send to allow changes to Stacks banks to be automatically sent to remote stations. If the Auto send audio is selected and a Stacks bank is changed, then this change will be sent to the remote station automatically. At the remote site select Allow Receiving Stacks from the sending station.  
2. Open the Stacks module from the Modules menu.
3. Select the bank to ZCast
4. Select the ZCast current Stacks bank button.
5. This will open the ZCast Stacks 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 Stacks bank. Stacks banks that are sent by any user will be owned by the Supervisor account on the recieving site.

Changing the Stacks Module Layout

The following sections will show ways to change the look of the Stacks Module.

Stacks Layout topics: show/hideshow/hide

Add Columns to Stacks

1. Right-click the column heading where the new column is to be added
2. From the displayed menu, click Insert and choose the item from the list to be added.
   

Replace Columns in Stacks

1. Right-click the column heading to be replaced
2. From the displayed menu, click Replace
3. Choose an item from the list to be added.

Remove Columns in Stacks

1. Right-click the column heading to be removed
2. Click Remove.

Move Columns in Stacks

1. Click and Drag the column to be moved to the location desired.
2. Drop the column in the desired location. As the column is dragged, a ghost image of the column is displayed that outlines the column’s position.

Save Stacks to a Layout

1. Click Layout in the Application Menu.
2. Click Save Layout

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