Arrakis Systems Automation

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On Air Playlist

The APEX Playlist is the main player for the automation. It will automatically play the schedules that have been created within the Tools software. You can modify the playlist by adding, deleting & moving audio files around. Changes made in the playlist will automatically be reflected in the Tools software.

this window will play what is scheduled in the Tools Schedule. You can also edit and manage what will play from this window.

Player

The APEX player has a handful of functions to assist with Live or Automated shows.

Start & Stop

To start the playlist, simply click on Start Automation at the bottom of the playlist screen.
The button will now say Stop Automation. Click on here to stop the playlist. It will allow the file that is currently playing to finish. To stop that file, simply click on the Stop button on the file that is playing.

Next, Fade, Pause, Loop & Info

There are 5 different buttons on the main player.

for the file that is currently playing, click on the Next button to go to the next file in the playlist.

FADE

click on the Fade button to fade out the currently playing file, and the playlist will then start the next file in the list. The default is a 3.5 second fade. This can be adjusted in the Settings screen of the MENU.

PAUSE

when the Automation playlist is in the Stop Automation mode, you have the option of pausing the currently playing file. Click on Pause to pause the currently playing file, and then click on Pause again to start the file again.

LOOP

when the Automation playlist is in the Stop Automation mode, you have the option of looping the currently playing file. Click on the Loop button to put the current file in a loop mode. It will loop forever when highlighted. Click on the Loop button again. It will now stop playing after the file is finished.

INFO

clicking on the Info button will display the audio file info in the File Info window.

Add, Edit & Remove from Playlist

Add to Playlist

Select a line in the playlist where you want to add a file. The file will be added above the selected line.
On either the Library or Hot Keys window, click on Add to Playlist.
Select the file that you would like added.

Edit the Playlist

There are two ways edit the current playlist:

CUT / PASTE - Select the line you would like to cut from the playlist, and click on Cut. It will now say Paste. Select the line underneath where you would like the line pasted to.

COPY / PASTE - Select the line you would like to copy. Then click on the Copy button. Now select the line below where you would like it pasted to.

Remove from Playlist

Select the line you would like to remove.
Click on the Delete button. This will remove the item from the playlist as well as the Tools schedule.

More - Preview, File Info, Break

On the bottom of the playlist window, there is a button labeled More. Click here to display other options for the playlist:

PREVIEW - when a line in the playlist is selected, click on the Preview button to send a copy of the file to the Preview Player window. You can now audition the file and listen to it ahead of time.

FILE INFO - use this button to send the selected file to the File Info screen.

BREAK - click on this button to insert a manual break into the playlist. When a Break command is reached in the playlist, it will pause it for the user. The Start Automation button will need to be pressed again in order to start the playlist up again.

OPTIONS

Reload Hour, Automation Mode, Meters

On the bottom of the playlist window, there is a button labeled Options. Click here to display other options for the playlist:

RELOAD HOUR - click here to reload the playlist that was scheduled for the current hour. This schedule can be found in the Tools software. It will take the beginning of the hour and reinsert all the items from the beginning of the hour to the end.

AUTOMATION MODE - the Automation Mode is pre-scheduled in the Tools software. It is your Air Schedule, and consists of different types of hours. The Automation Mode in the APEX software allows you to manually switch between the different modes. The options are:

Scheduled - this is the default, and will be the type of hour that was setup in your Tools Air Schedule.
Manual Override - this is an option that allows you to switch to a Manual type hour. This mode eliminates the autofill function, and is designed primarily for live hours operated by the DJ.
Hard Disk Override - this puts in the Automated mode. It will autofill the end of the hour if it is under-scheduled, and will play whatever is in the playlist. It is typically for when the DJ is not operating the broadcast live.

METERS - click on this option to display the VU meters for the playlist. Select again to remove the meters.

Settings

The Playlist window has specific options tied to it.

SELECT SOUND CARDS - the APEX playlist can be assigned to play out any sound card that is recognized by the Windows OS. When using the Bridge switcher, it will default to using the Program sound card. When using the Harmony Sound Card, it will default to using the Harmony 1 sound card. You can change these assignments by:

Click on Options on the Playlist window.
Select Settings, and select Select Sound Cards.
Choose which sound cards you would like the APEX playlist to play from. You may change which order the sound cards will play from in the MENU settings.

CHANNEL INDICATOR - This option will turn on whether the sound card channel indicator is on or off. If you setup multiple sound cards to play, and gave them number assignments, you will now see these assignments for each file that gets played in the playlist. It is recommended to have this on if you have multiple sound cards selected.

FONT SIZE - this option allows you to change the size of the font for the text within the playlist window.

START/STOP AUTOMATION POSITION - you have the option of putting the Start Automation / Stop Automation button on the top of the playlist, or the bottom. The default is bottom.

SHOW ONE PLAYER - by default, the APEX playlist will show a player for every track that is currently playing. For example, if a song is finishing, and there is overlap with the next song, it will display both songs that are currently playing. It will show one finishing, while the other is beginning. You can turn this option off, and have it only display one player at a time.

ENABLE HOVER BUTTONS - this option gives the user a little more convenience for editing the playlist. When enabled, each audio file in the playlist has key buttons available. These buttons are: Preview, Info, Clear, Cut, Break.

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