New! Tools & Time Range Aliases

Today, we released some new updates in the Venus Control Suite software. We based these updates on your feedback with the intention of making your lives easier! As always, if you have any ideas that could improve the overall user-friendliness of Venus Control Suite, please let us know. Tools Page We added a Tools Page […]

Daktronics Commercial Software Training on 2/2/2018

Categories: Venus Control Suite Training

Today, we released some new updates in the Venus Control Suite software. We based these updates on your feedback with the intention of making your lives easier! As always, if you have any ideas that could improve the overall user-friendliness of Venus Control Suite, please let us know.

Tools Page

We added a Tools Page to the Main Menu. The concept behind the Tools Page is this: you use certain components within the software on a regular basis, and some you might use only once. Basically, this new page helps to organize components.

We felt it would make more sense to have the ones you use on a regular basis all contained within one easily accessible page. This new page is, of course, called the Tools Page! You can find the Tools Page by clicking on the icon in the Main Menu that looks like a wrench and screwdriver.

Tools Page

Currently, there is only one component in the Tools Page called Time Range Aliases. This is a new component, which we will discuss in detail below.

We’ll also add additional components to the Tools Page in the future. Some of the components you may already be familiar with, like Events and Scripts. Other components will be brand new and offer additional functionality. Stay tuned!

Time Range Aliases

Time Range Aliases may sound like a very technical term; however, it’s nothing to be intimidated by! Time Range Aliases give you the ability to define common times of day for repeated use.

For example, if you have a playlist or message that you know you only want to play during the morning rush hour, you could create a Time Range Alias called “Morning Rush Hour,” and then apply that to your message or playlist. Using aliases will save you time because you won’t have to set custom time ranges every time. Let’s try it out!

  1. Log into Venus Control Suite.
    Login
  2. Click on Tools in the Main Menu.
    Tools
  3. Click on Time Range Aliases.
    Click on Time Range Aliases
  4. Click on Add New.
    Add New Time Range Aliases
  5. Type in an Alias Name (Time of day nickname).
    Alias Name
  6. Type in a Start Time and an End Time.
    Alias Start and End Time
  7. Click Save.
    New Time Range Alias

Way to go! You just created your first Time Range Alias! Now, we are going to apply it to our schedule, which will make our lives so much easier going forward. Here we go!

  1. Click on Playlists in the Main Menu.
  2. Click on Add New or on an existing Playlist.
    Add New Playlist
  3. Open your Playlist Properties.
  4. Click Set Custom Time Range.
    Set Playlist Properties
  5. Click the dots and arrow to the right of your Daily Start and End Times.
  6. Click Set Time Range Alias.
    Set Time Range Alias
  7. Click on your Time Range Alias (e.g., Morning Rush Hour) or click Add New to create a new Time Range Alias.
    Select Time Range Alias
  8. Click Confirm.
    Alias Applied to Playlist

The Start and End Times that you typed in when you created your Time Range Alias earlier will now appear in your Playlist Properties. You can also apply Time Range Aliases to individual media files through Custom Constraints.

  1. Click on Playlists in the Main Menu.
  2. Click on Add New or on an existing playlist.
    Add New Playlist
  3. Click on Add Media Files or skip to step 5 if there are already Media Files added.
    Add Media Files
  4. Add Media Files from the Media Library by dragging and dropping or clicking the plus [+] sign.
    Media Library
  5. Click on a thumbnail in your list of Media Files.
    Thumbnail
  6. Click on Set Custom Time Range.
    Set Custom Constraint
  7. Click the dots and arrow to the right of your Daily Start and End Times.
  8. Click Set Time Range Alias.
    Set Custom Constraint Aliias
  9. Click on your Time Range Alias (e.g., Morning Rush Hour) or click Add New to create a new Time Range Alias.
    Select Time Range Alias
  10. Click Confirm.
    Confirm Custom Constraint

There you go! You just successfully applied a Time Range Alias to an individual Media File in your playlist. You can apply up to 24 Time Range Aliases to any playlist or Media File.

We hope you find these updates helpful! If you enjoy our blog, please be sure to click on the orange “Receive Email Updates” button on the right side of the page to subscribe.

Thanks for reading!