FAQ - Formats and Templates

Formats

How do I build my formats?

From the dashboard, open the Settings module and click the Templates icon to open the format building window. Choose the station whose formats you wish to edit. Create your breaks, automation commands, and log notes. Click and drag those items into the main window to build templates. Any template can be applied to a Format. Use the Formats menu to apply the currently loaded Template as a saved Format.

Edit

How do I change my format?

For our example, we are going assume you need to add another commercial break at 9:15a for three minutes and a new program at 4:55p, Sports Update with a sponsorship avail.

1. Go to Setting > Templates > Select station > Formats > Open:

2. Select the day of the week you need to change and click OK:

3. On the left side, click the plus sign to open your spot types and highlight the appropriate one. Double click to get your “add” dialogue box and enter the time, length, units and priority, if you are using priority. Click OK.

4. Now scroll down to Programs and double click on the program to add at 16:55:00. Enter the time, length and click OK.

5. Now scroll up to your spot types and double click on Sports Sponsor to add at the 16:57:00.

6. Once all your changes have been made, click on Format > Save As:

7. Select the date of the first day you want these changes to take place, for example Monday, 06/25/15. This will copy the new format to all Mondays from the date selected FORWARD.

8. If your Monday through Friday formats are identical and need to include these changes, continue selecting Format > Save As and the next date from your calendar, until you’ve saved all appropriate dates.

WARNING: If changes are to take effect on tomorrow’s log, FIRST go into tomorrow’s log, BUMP ALL SPOTS and SAVE. Then make your format changes and save as.

Best practices: We recommend that you have a “Template” saved as a duplicate of your daily formats and that you keep these up-to-date. It involves a few more steps when you need to make changes but can also save you a lot of time if you accidentally mess up or wipe out a format.

Edit

How do I change my template and save as a format?

Remember, your templates are the building blocks of your format, which is your log without spots on it. Let’s say we have to add break at 9:15a, Monday through Friday; make the break at 9:05a shorter; and add a new Sports Update program with a sponsor avail at 2:55p.

1. Go to Settings > Templates > Select Station

2. Click on Template at top left and then click Open

3. Highlight the Template you are changing – Monday, Wednesday, or Saturday, etc. – Click OK and this will open your template.

4. Make the necessary changes on your template by double clicking on commercial break (or whatever you have named your normal breaks) and completing the time, length, units allowed and priority, if you are using break priorities. Click OK.

5. Now go to 9:05 on template and right click on commercial Break and select modify

6. Enter the correct time, length, units and priority, if you are using them. Click OK.

7. Now go to Programs on the left side and double click on Sports Update. Enter the correct time and length, click OK.

8. Go to Spot Types and double click on Sports Sponsor, add the correct time, length, units and priority, if you are using them. Click OK.

9. Once you have your template exactly the way you want it, save it with the save icon

10. Now you have your corrected template open and its title is grayed out

11. Click on Format > Save as

12. A date box will pop up. Select the first date this new format should take effect and click OK. In our example, we would select a Wednesday date. This will save the format to all Wednesdays from that date forward. Continue this process until all appropriate days have been saved.