You can create and manage Viz Mosart overlay graphics with the Named Overlays Editor.
Overview
The Named Overlays Editor interface consists of the following areas:
Toolbar (top): the search field, three filter dropdowns (handler, out mode, provider), a count of the overlays currently listed, the sort dropdown, the Mosart server indicator, and the help button.
Sidebar (left): Pilot Edge opens the graphics plugin panel, Custom creates an overlay by hand, and below the separator Import XML and Export XML. In a redundancy setup an additional Sync to backup server button appears.
Provider panel (left, resizable): embeds the Viz Pilot Edge plugin as a panel. The panel width can be resized by dragging the edge.
Overlay table (center): one row per overlay, with sortable columns. Before any overlays exist it shows No overlays added yet.
Who can edit
Creating, editing, deleting and importing overlays requires the administrator role.
Users with the viewer role see the overlay table and can open properties (editing controls are unavailable).
When authentication is disabled, everyone is treated as an administrator.
See Setup and Administration for role names.
Server Indicator
At the right of the toolbar, a status dot and label show the Mosart server the editor is working against. The label is the server's own name as reported by Viz Mosart, falling back to Main when no name is available. The dot distinguishes an active server from an idle one and from a server that cannot be reached, and hovering it shows the server version. In a redundancy setup a second label appears for the backup server.
Help
The Help button, marked with a question mark at the right of the toolbar, opens a menu with three entries:
About: Application version and build information.
Keyboard Shortcuts: Keyboard shortcut reference, also listed below.
Help: Introduction to named overlays, with a link to Named Overlay Graphics in the Viz Mosart Administrator Guide.
The Overlay Table
Each overlay occupies one row. The columns are:
Column | Shows |
|---|---|
(first, unlabelled) | Graphic's thumbnail when one is available, and an icon identifying the provider the overlay came from. Hovering the icon names the provider. |
Slug | Overlay name, used to recall it from templates and control commands. |
Description | A free-text description. |
Handler | Destination handler, for example CG or DSK. |
Out on | Graphics Out On mode, for example Timecode or Story end. |
In | Take-in delay in frames. |
Duration | Duration in frames. |
Action | Configured NamedCG action, shown as a small badge, when one is set. Empty when the action is None. |
(last, unlabelled) | Row action buttons, that appear on hover. |
All columns except Action can be sorted by clicking the column header, which is often quicker than the sort dropdown when you are looking for one particular overlay. In and Duration sort numerically.
Hovering a row reveals three buttons:
Edit: opens the Edit overlay dialog.
Open graphic: sends the overlay back to the Pilot Edge plugin for re-editing. It is enabled when the overlay carries a provider element reference, or when it has a graphics ID and a Pilot Edge plugin is configured; otherwise it is greyed out.
Delete: deletes the overlay, after confirmation.
Adding Overlays
There are two ways to add overlay graphics to the editor, plus XML import.
From Viz Pilot Edge
Click the Pilot Edge button in the sidebar. The Pilot Edge plugin opens in the provider panel.
Browse or search for a graphics template in the Pilot Edge interface.
Select a template and send it from the Pilot Edge plugin.
The editor receives the graphic data and opens the overlay dialog with fields already filled in from the template, including the slug, graphics ID, MOS ID, Pilot template name, and concept.
Review and adjust the properties as needed, then confirm.
Tip: When importing from Viz Pilot Edge, the overlay's thumbnail is automatically resolved from the Pilot Data Server and shown in the first column of the table.
Custom Overlays
Click the Custom button in the sidebar, or press N. The Add custom overlay dialog opens.
Fill in the two required fields, which are marked with an asterisk:
Slug: the unique name that templates and control commands use to recall this overlay, for example
LOWERTHIRD. It must be unique across all overlays.Graphics ID: the graphic's ID in the graphics system, for example the Pilot element ID.
Optionally complete the rest of the dialog, which is organized into General (Description and MOS ID), Integration & Timing (Handler Name, In, Duration and Graphics Out On), NCS Content, and Actions.
Click Add.
Every field has an information icon next to its label with a short description of what the field does.
Editing an Overlay
Double-click a row, or select it and press Enter, or click the Edit button that appears on hover. The Edit overlay dialog opens with the same sections as the add dialog. Click Save to apply your changes, or Cancel to discard them.
General
Slug: the overlay name. It is read-only once the overlay exists, because templates and control commands refer to it.
Description: free text, shown in the table and in the Overlay Graphics Interface.
Graphics ID: the graphic's ID in the graphics system.
MOS ID: the MOS ID of the graphics device that plays this overlay.
Pilot Template and Concept: the Pilot template and concept names, shown only for overlays that came from Pilot Edge, and read-only.
Integration & Timing
Handler Name: the destination handler that plays this graphic, typed as free text. The values Viz Mosart recognizes are CG, DSK, PKSPLIT, LAYOUT, MIXER, VSAR, and CONTENT1 to CONTENT4.
In: the delay in frames from trigger until the graphic is taken. The default is 0, meaning no delay.
Duration: the number of frames the graphic stays on air, used when Graphics Out On is set to Timecode. The default is 125 frames.
Graphics Out On: when the graphic is taken off air. Nothing is selected by default, so choose one of:
Timecode: taken out after the configured Duration.
Open End: stays on air until something else takes it out.
Manual: taken out manually by the operator.
Background End: taken out when the background item ends.
Story End: taken out when the story ends.
Info: Duration only affects playout when Graphics Out On is Timecode. With any other out mode the value is stored but does not control when the graphic leaves air.
Re-editing the Graphic Only
To change the graphic rather than its overlay settings, use Open graphic on the row. The Pilot Edge provider panel opens, if it is not already open, with the graphic loaded for editing. Make your changes in the Pilot Edge interface and send the graphic back, and the overlay is updated with the new graphic data.
Managing Overlays
Search
Use the search field in the toolbar to filter overlays by text. The search matches the overlay name (slug), description, handler name, graphics ID, MOS ID, and template type. Press Ctrl+K, or Command+K on macOS, to focus the search field.
Filter
Three filter dropdowns narrow the table. Each one offers only the values actually used by your existing overlays, so the choices reflect your own overlay set rather than every value the editor supports:
All Handlers: filter by handler name.
All Out Modes: filter by the Graphics Out On mode.
All Providers: filter by where the overlay came from, either Pilot Edge or Custom.
The overlay count next to the filters shows how many overlays are listed, so you can see at a glance how much a filter has narrowed the table.
Sort
Click any sortable column header to sort by that column. The sort dropdown in the toolbar offers the same orderings by name:
Newest first (default): overlays appear in the order they were added, newest at the top.
Name (A-Z): alphabetical order by slug.
Handler: grouped by handler name, then alphabetical by slug.
Provider: grouped by provider, then alphabetical by slug.
Delete
To delete an overlay, click the Delete button on the row, or select the row and press Delete. A Delete overlay dialog asks you to confirm, naming the overlay, for example Are you sure you want to delete LOWERTHIRD?
Note: Deleting an overlay cannot be undone. The confirmation dialog is the only safeguard, so check the overlay name before confirming.
To keep a copy you can restore later, first export the overlay set to XML.
NamedCG Actions
The Actions section of the overlay dialog controls what Mosart does to other on-air graphics when this overlay is taken. Choose one of three options:
Action | What it does |
|---|---|
None (default) | No action when this overlay is taken. Other graphics are left alone. |
Clear | Takes out all on-air graphics. Use it for overlays that need a clean screen before appearing. |
Take out | Takes out stored on-air graphics matching a criterion, chosen below. |
With Take out selected, choose which graphic to remove:
Option | Description |
|---|---|
Last | Takes out the last graphic that was taken on air. |
Last locator | Takes out the last locator graphic. |
Last manual | Takes out the last manually triggered graphic. |
Custom regex | Takes out all on-air graphics whose slug matches a regular expression. You can add multiple patterns. |
Whatever you choose is shown in the Action column of the table, so you can see at a glance which overlays clear or take out other graphics.
NCS Content Placeholders
The NCS Content section of the overlay dialog adds placeholders that resolve from the newsroom system at runtime, so a single overlay can carry values from whichever story or item it is played in.
Placeholders are switches, grouped by scope. Turn on the ones you want the overlay to carry:
Scope | Placeholders |
|---|---|
Story | Rundown ID, Story ID, Slug |
Item | Rundown ID, Item ID, Slug, Type, Variant, Template |
Each group also has a Custom XPath field with an Add custom placeholder button, for pulling a value the standard placeholders do not cover. Enter the XPath expression and add it to the group.
XML Import and Export
Export
To export all overlays as an XML file:
Click the Export XML button in the sidebar, below the separator.
A file named
NamedOverlayGraphics.xmlis downloaded to your computer.
The exported file contains all overlay definitions including their properties, MOS XML content, and configured actions. Use it for backup, for migration between environments, or to import into another instance of the Named Overlays Editor.
Import
To import overlays from an XML file:
Click the Import XML button in the sidebar.
Select an XML file from your computer.
If the file contains overlays whose slugs already exist in the editor, a confirmation dialog lists the duplicates and offers Skip Duplicates, which keeps the existing overlays, or Replace Duplicates, which overwrites them with the imported versions. Cancel abandons the import.
A notification summarizes how many overlays were added, skipped, or replaced.
Info: Import accepts both the editor's own export format and the legacy Mosart NamedOverlayGraphics.xml format. All imported overlays are treated as Custom provider overlays.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Select Keyboard Shortcuts from the help menu in the toolbar to view this list in the editor.
Keys | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+K, or Command+K on macOS | Focus search |
N | New custom overlay |
Up arrow / Down arrow | Navigate list |
Enter | Open properties |
Delete, or Backspace on Windows | Delete selected overlay |
Escape | Close panel or clear selection |
Info: N is a plain key press, without Ctrl or Command, because browsers reserve Ctrl+N for a new browser window.
Shortcuts are ignored while a text field, dropdown, or dialog has focus, so they cannot interfere with typing. The shortcuts that create, delete, or modify overlays do nothing for users with only a Viewer role.