The NRCS Plugin delivers the functionality previously provided by the legacy Viz Mosart ActiveX Plugin.
User Operations
Searching for a Template
Choosing a gallery and template set
The header shows the gallery and template set the plugin is currently working with, the gallery name above and the template set name below it. Click either to open the Select Template Set dialog.
FILTER BY SET NAME narrows the list of template sets as you type.
CHOOSE GALLERY lists the available galleries. This list only appears when there is more than one gallery to choose from, so an installation that reads templates from a file (a single gallery) never shows it, while an installation that reads them from a template database does.
Click a template set to apply it and close the dialog. If nothing matches your filter, the dialog reports No template sets found.
Filtering by template type
The Template Types list on the left filters the template listing to a single type. ALL is always the first entry and shows everything. Each type carries the same colour and icon that Viz Mosart uses for it, and it is named with your newsroom's own alias for that type rather than a fixed Vizrt name.
Info: Your administrator decides which types appear and in what order, so this list can differ between installations. See Template type filter buttons.
Searching
Type in the Search box to narrow the listing. The list filters live as you type, highlighting the matching text, and matches against both the template variant name and the template type name. Several words act as an AND: every word you type must match one of the two, in any order. Clear the box with the x to return to the full listing.
Info: Search works within the type you have selected in Template Types. If a template you expect is missing, select ALL and search again.
Tip: Ctrl+F puts the cursor straight into the Search box from anywhere in the plugin. Press Enter in the box to move focus to the selected template, then use the arrow keys to move around the listing.
Modifying a Template
Click a template in the listing and its production details appear in the editor on the right. The editor shows only the sections that apply to the template you selected, and each section has its own RESET button that restores that section to the values held in the template itself.
Tip: Hover a RESET button to see exactly what it will restore, for example Reset to default: MIX 12. Pressing R resets every section currently shown in the editor.
To modify production characteristics
Newsroom Variables
Click on a template in the search listing. Properties (called Variables) that have been added to the template (using Viz Mosart's Template Editor) appear to the right.
Note: Variables are called Newsroom tags in the Viz Mosart Template Editor.
You can temporarily override the value of any variable, for this story item only. The template itself is not changed. For example, in a Video Effects template, you may wish to change the source of the second input.
Note: The set of variables comes from the template. You can change their values here, but you cannot add a variable that the template does not define. To add one, edit the template in the Viz Mosart Template Editor.
Each variable is presented with the control that suits it:
Variable | Control |
|---|---|
A variable bound to a Viz Mosart list: mixer inputs, router sources, router destinations, engine presets or engine top scenes | A drop-down of the values read from your Viz Mosart configuration |
A true/false variable | A check box |
A timecode variable | A time field in mm:ss or hh:mm:ss, with step buttons. A duration variable is labelled Duration. |
The video clip path variable | A text field with a search button that opens the clip picker. See Selecting a video clip below. |
Anything else | A text field |
Transitions
The Transition field initially displays the default transition type. This value indicates the most significant template behavior.
You can temporarily modify this transition type, and then later restore the default transition (as originally set in the Template Editor).
The three choices are MIX, WIPE and EFFECT. MIX and WIPE take a duration in Frames; negative values are rejected. EFFECT takes a named effect from a drop-down of the effects configured for the gallery.
Switching to a different transition type sets the rate to 0. Switching back to the template's own type restores that template's rate.
Note: You can restore the default transition by clicking the Reset button.
Timings
Templates that can be timed, that is lower thirds, accessories, play sound and commands, also offer a Timings section:
AUTO takes the item automatically, and offers both an In and an Out time.
MANUAL waits for the operator to take the item, and offers only an Out time.
Commands and direct takes
A command template shows a data field carrying the command's payload. The one exception is the Direct Take command, which instead offers a searchable drop-down of the direct takes configured in Viz Mosart, listed by their recall number and name, so you pick a direct take by name rather than typing its number.
Selecting a video clip
For a template with a video clip path, click the search button in the clip field to open the Select video clip dialog. Type in Enter clip name and the plugin asks the Viz Mosart media service for matching clips.
Results are listed by their full clip name. Where a name is too long for the row, hovering it rolls the text sideways so you can read the end of it.
An exact match for what you typed is listed first; the rest keep the media server's own order.
Long result sets are shown 50 rows at a time, with a Show more button that reports how many remain. A line above the list tells you how many of the total you are seeing.
Where the media server provides them, each row shows a thumbnail that can be expanded to a preview, and an information icon carrying the clip description.
Opening the dialog with an empty search box lists the clips you used most recently, on this machine, so common picks need no search at all.
Select a clip by clicking it, or keep your hands on the keyboard: Enter highlights the first result, the arrow keys move the highlight, and Enter again takes the highlighted clip and closes the dialog. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to leave the field as it was.
If a search cannot be answered, the dialog says which part failed, so you know whether to look at the clip name or call your administrator:
Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
No clips found matching your search. Try again or check for typos. | The media server answered, and nothing matched. |
Couldn't reach Media Admin | The Mosart server accepted the search but the media service did not answer in time, usually because Media Administrator is stopped or still starting. |
Couldn't reach the Mosart server | The Mosart server or the Remote Control Service could not be reached at all. |
Adding Template Details to the NRCS
Drag and drop the template into the required location of the story slug.
In a MOS-based NRCS, in addition to drag and drop, the Add to Story button can be used to add a template to a story.
There is an Add to Story button in two places: on the template row itself, which appears when you hover the row, and below the editor.
Two shortcuts do the same thing: pressing Enter, and double-clicking the template row.
Note: In iNEWS there is no Add to Story button. Use iNEWS's own OK and Apply buttons instead, as described under Modifying Existing MOS Objects below. In Viz Pilot Edge, drag and drop and Add to Story are both absent, because Pilot Edge provides its own controls; see NRCS Plugin in Pilot Edge.
Info: When the plugin is opened from the Showmaker Show Assets page, the button reads Add to show assets and saves the item to the show's assets instead of into a story.
Info: The names of both the gallery and the template set of your selected template are always included with the MOS object that you store as a story item in your NRCS rundown.
Any future use of this NRCS MOS item will always point to exactly the same template (same gallery, template set and template name) when it displays in the Mosart NRCS Plugin.
Refreshing Template Changes
If changes are being made to the active template set (by another operator using Viz Mosart's Template Editor), click the Refresh button from Settings to get the latest template changes.
You do not have to watch for this. When Viz Mosart reports that the template set has changed, the Settings icon starts blinking orange, and the Refresh entry inside the menu turns orange too. Shift+R refreshes without opening the menu. A short confirmation appears once the reload is done.
Optimizing Your NRCS Plugin Workspace
Collapsing the Type listing
You can save some screen space taken by the Mosart NRCS Plugin by collapsing the Template Types panel:
Click the Collapse button. Collapsed, the list keeps each type's colour and icon and drops only the labels, so you can still filter. Click again to bring the labels back.
You can customize the number of columns to adjust the template list size. Selecting the last option will automatically fit the number of columns to the window size.
Info: In a narrow window the plugin looks after this itself: the Template Types panel collapses on its own, and the Settings button moves from the top bar to the bottom of the left-hand rail. The divider between the template listing and the editor can also be dragged, so you can give either side more room.
Scaling the View
As the Plugin is a web application, you can set your preferred scale by zooming in and out.
For most browsers, you can use the shortcut Ctrl+mouse wheel.
Copying the MOS Object Details
You can work with the template's raw MOS data by first copying it to your PC's clipboard.
Hover the template card at the top of the editor and click the Copy icon that appears on it. A short confirmation tells you the MOS object is on the clipboard.
Note: This action is not offered when the plugin is hosted in Viz Pilot Edge.
Modifying Existing MOS Objects
Your rundown will usually contain slugs with MOS objects that have been created with either this Mosart NRCS Plugin or the legacy component, Viz Mosart ActiveX.
To modify an existing MOS object
On the selected rundown story, double-click the slug or grommet that holds the story's MOS object.
The corresponding Viz Mosart template, along with control details such as newsroom tags, crosspoints, transitions, and timings, is displayed in the Viz Mosart NRCS Plugin. Make the modifications directly in the Mosart NRCS Plugin window.
When finished editing, apply the changes. In the iNews newsroom system, use the OK, Apply, or Cancel buttons (specific to iNews) to modify and close, modify without closing, or cancel the editing, respectively. In a MOS-based NRCS, the plugin includes its own buttons to modify or cancel the editing.
The editing band
While you are editing an existing story item, the editor is framed and carries a band reading EDITING MODE / Update item, so it is always clear that what you change will be written back to the rundown rather than added as something new. The information icon in the band explains the same thing. The send button changes with it:
UPDATE IN STORY applies your changes to the item you opened.
REPLACE IN STORY appears when you select a different template while editing. The band then reads EDITING MODE / Replace item and the editor shows the original template, an arrow, and the template that will replace it, so you can see the substitution before you commit it.
To leave editing without applying anything, use CANCEL, the x in the band, or press Escape.
Info: When the plugin is hosted in Showmaker, moving on to something else closes the pending edit for you, so a later Update cannot be applied to the wrong item.
Info: You cannot modify a MOS object that refers to a not-found Viz Mosart template.
To modify MOS objects created with the Mosart NRCS Plugin
MOS objects created by the Mosart NRCS Plugin include references to the gallery name and template set name.
Info: The active Gallery and/or Template set name may automatically change if your selected MOS object references a different gallery/template set. You are always notified if this happens.
If your rundown item refer to a template set that cannot be found in the gallery, the Mosart NRCS Plugin checks the active gallery and template set for a corresponding template. This valid reference is then applied to the MOS object, when you click UPDATE IN STORY (in MOS-based NRCS) or OK/Apply (in iNews) on the replacement template.
Alternatively, you can manually search gallery/template sets to locate a similar template.
After editing and applying the changes, the new (active) gallery and template set name are stored in your rundown MOS object.
To edit MOS objects created by ActiveX
When working with MOS objects that were created with Viz Mosart's legacy NRCS Plugin (Mosart Active-X) the currently selected gallery name and template set name will always be used as template source.
In the Plugin, ensure to select correct gallery and template set before you start editing.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Open the shortcut list at any time with K, or from Settings > Shortcuts.
Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
Navigate the template listing | Arrow keys, or W / S / A / D |
Add to story | Enter |
Cancel editing | Escape |
Reset editor values | R |
Re-fetch templates | Shift+R |
Focus the search box | Ctrl+F |
Show keyboard shortcuts | K |
Info: The navigation keys are ignored while you are typing in a field, so W, A, S and D can still be typed into the search box and into variable values.
Getting Help
The NRCS Plugin documentation is continually updated and available online. This includes both this User Guide and the Release Notes.
You can also send your feedback directly to the Mosart NRCS Plugin design team.
Click the Settings icon at the top right. The menu holds:
Entry | What it does |
|---|---|
Refresh | Reloads galleries, template sets and templates from Viz Mosart. |
Settings | Opens Plugin Configuration: the newsroom system, the Mos ID, and a Responsive layout option that lets the layout follow the window size. |
Shortcuts | The keyboard shortcut list. |
Documentation | This user guide. |
What's new | The release notes for this version. |
Give feedback | Opens a mail to the Mosart team. |
About | Version information for the plugin. |
Info: The newsroom system is usually detected or supplied by the host, in which case it is not offered for editing in Plugin Configuration. Mos ID is not shown for iNEWS, which does not use it.
Error Handling
While navigating through templates, if there are exceptional conditions, the Mosart NRCS Plugin displays an error message.
Error messages include the address of the plugin host, which is useful when reporting a problem. Confirmations and warnings clear themselves after a few seconds, while errors stay until you dismiss them.
Please refer to the Troubleshooting or contact Vizrt Support if you encounter any error messages.
API Documentation
The Mosart REST API is installed alongside the NRCS Plugin. Its endpoints are documented as an OpenAPI (Swagger) page, served at:
http://machine-name:55142/mosart/swagger/index.html
The quickest way to reach it is Help & Resources > API Docs in the Configuration Tool, which opens the same page for the host and port your installation actually uses.
Info: Replace machine-name and the port with the address of your Mosart Web Apps host. 55142 is the default, and your administrator may have changed it. Over HTTPS the default is 55143.
Examples
Retrieve all galleries:
http://localhost:55142/api/v1/galleries
(A list of gallery names is obtained)Choose a gallery name from the list obtained in the previous example. For the sake of this example, assume that Local was on the list. (If not, choose some other gallery name.)
To retrieve the template sets for the gallery named Local:
http://localhost:55142/api/v1/galleries/Local/templatesets.