Documentation Center

Template Builder User Guide

Version 3.1 | Published June 26, 2024 ©

Creating and Managing Templates

Create and manage templates using Scene Manager and other features.

This section covers the following topics:

Creating a New Template

  • Click images/download/thumbnails/149914198/image-2024-4-8_8-37-50.png in the upper right corner of Template Builder.

  • The Scene Manager window opens.

  • Click +Add Scene.

Note: In Template Builder, a template must contain at least one scene.

The Scene Browser appears, containing all of the scenes stored in the Graphic Hub to which you are connected:

images/download/attachments/149914198/image-2023-6-20_9-46-24.png

Note: The Graphic Hub containing your scenes is specified through the graphic_hub_url setting in Pilot Data Server.

  • Enter a search term or browse the folder structure. Once you have selected the correct scene or scenes, press OK to add them to the template.

  • If you want to assign the scene to a different concept, right-click it and select Replace concept:

    images/download/attachments/149914198/image-2024-4-8_8-48-25.png

  • Select an existing concept or enter a new Concept name and click Ok.

    Note: New concepts are inactive by default, which means they are not visible in other applications. Once the template is saved, use the Concept Manager (see below) at the top right of the interface to activate them.

  • Click Apply to go back to the template with its auto-generated fields.

Opening a Template

  • Click the Home images/download/thumbnails/149914198/image-2024-4-8_9-16-7.png button to show templates available within the Pilot system.

  • Use Concepts and Tags to filter templates. The search can also be narrowed down by searching for the template name in the Type to search... field at the top of the dialog.

  • Double-click a template to open it.

    images/download/attachments/149914198/image-2024-4-11_20-24-5.png

Template Management

Manage Scenes

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Behind a template, there are always one or multiple scenes. The control fields of these scenes are uses to auto generate a fill-in form for the template. To enter Scene Manager for the template, click Manage scenes on the toolbar. When done with changes, click either Discard or Apply.

Advanced Dialog

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The menu at the top center of the interface allows you to open the Advanced dialog:

images/download/attachments/149914198/image-2024-4-8_9-22-8.png

  • Active: To mark this template as a draft or not. A template marked as a draft means that this template is not visible in Viz Pilot Edge.

  • Legacy: Decides how the template behaves in Viz Pilot Director:

    • Enabled: In Viz Pilot Director. Legacy templates open in the built-in template window. See below.

    • Disabled (default): In Viz Pilot Director 8.6 or later, the template opens in Viz Pilot Edge.

  • View and edit the Tags of the template.

Template Compatibility

Mixed workflow: To use a template in both Template Wizard and Template Builder, the template must be created in Template Wizard. It behaves as a regular template with a built in old-style UI in Template Wizard and Viz Pilot Director. The template can also be opened in Template Builder, and a HTML based UI can be added to the template. Thus, the template can have two UI representations, one for classic Viz Pilot, and one for the HTML based Viz Pilot Edge workflow. The template is then automatically marked as Legacy in Template Builder.

HTML based only: If a template is created in Template Builder, by default, it is not marked as Legacy. This means that he template is opened in the Pilot Edge HTML client when opened from Viz Pilot Director. The template has limited functionality in Director, and can only be used to fill in data and save data elements. Neither playout nor macro commands work on this type of template.

HTML based legacy template: If a template is created in Template Builder, and marked as Legacy, the template can be opened in Director in the built in window, but with no auto generated form for the graphics fields and with limited support. The template has an auto generated dummy form that does not contain any of the fields of the scene, and it cannot be saved. The macro commands and playout, work.

images/download/attachments/149914198/image-2023-12-14_21-16-48.png

Info: It is possible to open this template in Template Wizard, remove the script and the labels with the messages, and add the fields of the scene manually. Then the template behaves just like the Mixed workflow mentioned above.

Concept Manager

The Concept Manager is available by clicking the icon on the top right toolbar:

images/download/attachments/149914198/image-2023-6-21_7-55-54.png

The Concept Manager allows you to mark Concepts as active or inactive (draft):

images/download/attachments/149914198/image-2023-6-21_8-32-4.png

Inactive concepts will not be visible in Viz Pilot Edge. The templates of this concept will also be hidden from the Viz Pilot Edge user. Setting a concept as inactive means it can be in draft mode for the Template Builder user.

Once it is activated, it is visible to the Viz Pilot Edge newsroom users.