Important Things to Know Using Drag-n-Drop to Configure Buttons... Two button types, Hot Buttons and Text Buttons, can be configured in a single step! Just drag and drop any audio file or text file directly onto a button in Command Center. The file will automatically be identified as either text or audio and configured accordingly. The label of your button will be created automatically too, using the file name. If the label isn't what you wish for, you can alter it to whatever you want in the Button Layout Editor.

Configurable ButtonPad and MyShow Buttons

TuneTracker Command Center™ provides you with a bottomless supply of user-configurable buttons, organized into two onscreen areas; the ButtonPad area, and the MyShow area. All buttons can be edited using the Button Layout Editor window, and hot buttons and text buttons can also be configured using drag-n-drop.

Let's start by identifying those two onscreen areas, and understanding why there are two areas rather than just one.


BUTTONPAD BUTTONS

During certain dayparts (times of day), specific items might need to be made available to every announcer or engineer who uses TuneTracker during those dayparts. For instance, it might be that during early-to-mid-morning, or even all day long, there's a universal need for certain opens, closes, jingles, scripts, or switcher channels to be easily accessible. That's the purpose of ButtonPad area buttons. You can load different sets at different times of day, but they're intended as "station buttons" rather than personal DJ buttons. ButtonPad button sets can be loaded manually, or automatically by TuneTracker, at certain times of day.


MYSHOW BUTTONS

The buttons in this area are intended for "show prep," for individual announcers. Each DJ can be assigned a button set labeled with his or her name, and within that set they can create as many pages of personalized buttons as they like. They can flip through the pages of buttons in their set using the left and right arrow buttons. If a DJ needs a separate set of buttons for, say, a weekend show, it's easy to add as many additional sets as necessary, naming them whatever makes sense. MyShow button sets can be loaded manually by the DJ, or automatically by TuneTracker, at certain times of day.


WHAT THE BUTTONS CAN DO

Any configurable button in the ButtonPad and MyShow areas can be used to perform any of up the ten different functions, two of which are dependent on your having one of our switcher packages. You choose which kind of button you want via the "Button Type" dropdown box. Here are the available options:

1. Hot Button - Clicking on a "hot" button will cause TuneTracker to play a specific audio file that has been assigned to it. Hot buttons are great for show opens and closes, show themes, jingles, sound effects, sweepers, interviews, reports, actualities, contest sounds, mock audience reactions, bumper music, talk beds, even specialty and novelty songs.
   
   When you hover your mouse over a hot button, it is quickly "queued up" by Command Center. When the text in the button turns green, it's ready to be played. You don't have to use the pre-queue feature, though. You can just click on or touch the button, and the cut will play after about a quarter-second of queue-up time.
   
   Starting with Command Center 4.0, hot buttons are drag-n-drop configurable (see later paragraph on drag-n-drop editing of buttons.), meaning you can drop a file onto a button to instantly configure it. But that's just for starters. They can be copied to the ShuttlePad using drag-n-drop. You can drag a hot button directly into the program log display area to add it to the currently-running program log, or to the next day's program log. Conversely, you can also drag any item in your program log to a button, to turn it into a hot button. You also can drag a hot button onto any other configurable button, and it will be copied to that location.
   
   
   
2. Cart - A Cart button is just like a hot button, except that it plays multiple files in rotation. This feature duplicates the classic tape cartridges used at radio stations for decades. Each click of the Cart button will play the next file in a rotating series of cuts you have specified, "cart-style."
   
   Suppose you want to rotate through some station promos. Mark the Comment attribute of all the files you want included in the rotation, using the word, Promo. In the Button Layout Editor, specify Cart as the button type, and in the Data textbox, type "Comment Promo" (without the quotes.) Give it a label, click Apply, and you're done. TuneTracker will find every file with the Comment "Promo" and will build a list of all of them. It will play the next one in the list, each time you click your PSA button. Cart is perfect for things like sweepers, jingles, bumper music, promos, and anything else you want your DJs to rotate-through and play evenly.
   
   You can add more audio files to the rotation at any time by giving additional files the same attribute label. Command Center will notice the change and add them to the rotation. You can remove files from the rotation by removing the attribute label from the files. Again, Command Center will notice the change and adjust its rotation list accordingly.
   
   You are NOT limited to a single Cart rotation! You can set up multiple cart buttons, each doing its own unique rotation.
   
   You're not limited to the Comment attribute either. The Cart feature supports most attributes, including the likely choices of Comment, Rating, and Genre. You cannot use multiple attributes. Wildcard * searches and multi-word searches are supported. Thus, all of the following examples are acceptable:
   
   
   Genre Novelty
   Comment PSA
   Comment *SA
   Comment *s*
   Comment Contest Promo
   Rating 3
   
   
   Rotated audio files can also be scheduled to happen automatically using a Rotate command in your program log.
   
   
   
3. Index Card - This works a lot like the "Cart" feature above, but this one's for text files...or more specifically, announcer scripts. Why is the feature called "Index Card?" Some stations give their DJs a stack of index cards, each with a little script written on it that they should announce or promote. The DJ is supposed to read the top one, then move that card to the back of the stack. The new top card gets read the next time, and so on. Command Center's Index Card does the exact same thing. Each time an Index Card button is clicked, it displays the next of a rotating list of text files in Command Center's scrolling text box.
   
   To configure an Index Card stack, open a folder containing at least one text file. If the folder does not display a column with the heading, "ScriptType, then click the Attribute pulldown menu at the top, and under Text, click on the option, "ScriptType," which will make the column visible in the folder. Now click on the little hyphen "-" in the column for your text file, and type-in something simple, like "PSA" or "Promo" (minus the quotes). Use a single word. You cannot use wildcards or multiple words with the Index Card feature. Now, do the same to all the other text files you want included in the rotation. Then, in Command Center, right-click on any button and choose "Edit Buttons," which will open the Button Layout Editor. In the list at the top, choose the button you want to edit. Down below, select "Index Card" as the button type. Enter the name you used as the "ScriptType" (PSA, Promo, or whatever) in the "Data" text box. Finally, give your button a label such as "Read These Live." Click Apply, and you're done.
   
   You can add text files to an Index Card rotation at any time by giving additional files the same attribute label. Command Center will notice the change and add them to the rotation. You can remove files from the script rotation by removing the attribute label from the files (or deleting the files.) Again, Command Center will notice the change and adjust its rotation list accordingly.
   
   You are NOT limited to a single Index Card rotation. You can set up multiple Index Card buttons, each doing its own unique rotation.
   
   
   
4. Text Button - Clicking on a "Text" button will cause whichever text file has been assigned to it to be displayed in TuneTracker's scrolling text box. Text buttons are ideal for displaying any single script that needs to be read live over the air, such as a customized forecast, a scrolling list of PSAs, even news and sportscasts. Text buttons are drag-n-drop configurable, or you can "Browse" for the text file in the Button Layout Editor.
   
   The text does NOT have to be on your local computer. You can display a text file found anywhere on the Internet or on your local area network. Just put the web address, such as http://www.somewebsite/promo.txt into the button's data field.
   
   A "Text Display" event can also be scheduled to happen automatically using a # ShowText command in your program log.
   
   
   
5. Stream - Clicking a "Stream" button causes TuneTracker to begin playing an MP3 stream, or an MP3 audio file, from the Internet. Just input the path leading to the stream's playlist file, or the path leading to the MP3 file, in the Data textbox. To see this one in operation, try inputting http://64.26.15.101/feeds/FSNHeadlines.mp3 in the Data textbox (a working URL as of this writing), or in some of our most-recent Command Center distributions, try the pre-configured button called, "Web Audio File," which plays a TuneTracker promo file right off the web. Note that the event stays on the screen after it is done playing. This is true because the button has no way of knowing how long the audio event is. To take the event off the screen, click its large orange playback button.
   
   A "Stream" event can also be scheduled to launch automatically using a # Relay-For command in your program log.
   
   
6. Run Buttons - The "Run" button can be used to launch an external program, such as Lightning, or a batchfile script written to accomplish a specific task such as doing a download, doing backups, etc. This is useful when you want to quickly accomplish a task without ever moving away from the Command Center screen. Enter the item you wish to run by typing its path and filename in the Data text box, as shown in these examples:
   
   
   /boot/apps/TuneTracker System/TuneStacker/TuneStacker
   /boot/apps/Internet/BeShare/BeShare
   /boot/home/config/bin/DoCustomTask.sh
   
   
   A "Run" event can also be scheduled to launch automatically using a # Run command in your program log.
   
   
7. Switcher Button - Clicking a "Switcher" button will open up a live audio channel on an external audio switcher device. See the ChannelCaster button page for simple instructions on setting up configurable switcher buttons.
   
   A "Switcher" event can also be scheduled to launch automatically using a either a # Switcher or a # Route-For command in your program log.
   
   
   
8. Relay Closure Button - This is what you could consider your "Make Coffee" button. Clicking a "Relay Closure" button will trigger a relay closure on your external switcher or relay box if you have one of our ChannelCaster systems. The relay closure can be used to turn something on or off, somewhere in your building. It's useful for many creative purposes such as changing transmitter power, starting up a tape deck, locking the front doors, triggering an alarm, or anything else you and your engineering staff cares to dream up. To set one up, just choose that button type, select the outgoing relay you wish to trigger, and give it a label.
   
   A "Relay Closure" event can also be scheduled to happen automatically using a # SendRelay command in your program log.
   
   
9. Live (Line-in) Button - This button puts whatever audio is available on the main sound card's line input jack directly on the air. Note that the event's volume can be adjusted using the slider just to its right while it is on the air. To take line-input back off the air, click the event's large red button.
   
   A live line input event can also be scheduled to happen automatically using a # LiveFor command in your program log.
   
   
10. ClearSwitcher Button - A fast way to clear all the current audio routings on your switcher. Just assign a button to this function, and when you click it, it'll clear the decks! Exception: If you have set a reserved audio routing in TuneTracker System Prefs, that reserved routing will not be affected by ClearSwitcher. .
    
    A "ClearSwitcher" event can also be scheduled to launch automatically by using the # ClearSwitcher command in your program log.
    
    
    

CONFIGURING BUTTONPAD BUTTONS

To edit buttons in the ButtonPad area, right-click on any button along the right side of the TuneTracker Command Center™ interface and choose "Edit Buttons." A ButtonPad Layout Editor will appear. If you are creating your first set of buttons, click "Default button set" and type in a new name for the set. Then do the following for each button you wish to edit:

1. Click on the line representing the button you wish to edit.
   
2. Click to select the Button Type you wish to use (see above for descriptions of all button types.)
   
3. For hot buttons, run buttons, and text buttons, drag and drop the file of your choice onto the configuration screen and release. Or, click the browse button to find the file you want. For switcher buttons, choose the input you want the switcher to open, and the output you want it routed to.
   
4. In the label area on the left, type in up to three lines of text that describe the item. You are limited as to the number of characters because this will be the label displayed on the button in TuneTracker. You do not need to fill all three lines. You can use one, two, or three lines, and TuneTracker will auto-center your label text on the button for you.
   
5. Click "Apply"
   
6. Edit buttons by clicking on the line at the top corresponding to the button you wish to change. The lines are numbered according to the order in which they will appear in TuneTracker.
   
7. If you want to create another completely new set of buttons, click "New Set." If you want to re-use some of the buttons from a previously-created set when creating a new set, take advantage of the "Copy Set" and "Paste Set" buttons, then make whatever adjustments you need to make in the duplicated set. If you want to delete a set, and you're certain of it, click the "Cut Set" button. Just don't accidentally wipe out a set of needed station buttons or the Program Director will show you a creative new way to leave the building.
   
8. Once you have more than one set of buttons, you can choose the set you wish to display in TuneTracker by clicking on the name of the set in the upper window pane, and then clicking the "Use This Set" button.

CONFIGURING MYSHOW BUTTONS

To edit buttons in the MyShow area, right-click on any button in the area at the very bottom of the TuneTracker interface, and select "Edit Buttons." A "MyShow Layout Editor" will appear. If you are creating your first set of buttons, first click on "Default button set" and type in a new name for the set. Then do the following for each button you wish to edit:

1. Click on the line representing the button you wish to edit.
   
2. Click to select the Button Type you wish to use (see above for descriptions of all button types.)
   
3. For hot buttons and text buttons, drag and drop the file of your choice onto the configuration screen and release. Or, click the browse button to find the file you want. For switcher buttons, choose the input you want the switcher to open, and the output you want it routed to.
   
4. In the label area on the left, type in up to three lines of text that describe the item. You are quite limited as to the number of characters because this will be the label displayed on the button in TuneTracker. You do not need to fill all three lines. You can use one, two, or three lines, and TuneTracker will auto-center your label text on the button for you.
   
5. Click "Apply"
   
6. Edit buttons by clicking on the line at the top corresponding to the button you wish to change. The lines are numbered according to the order in which they will appear in TuneTracker.
   
7. If you want to make another page of buttons for the current set, click "New Page," then click on the line representing the new page, click in the Name text box below, and give it a new name.
   
8. If you want to create another completely new set of buttons, click "New Set." If you want to re-use some of the buttons from a previous set when creating the new set, take advantage of the "Copy Set" and "Paste Set" buttons. If you want to delete a set, and you're certain of it, click the "Cut Set" button. Careful! Don't accidentally delete another DJ's entire set of buttons or on your next shift you might find your favorite headphones glued together with crazy glue.
   
9. Once you have more than one set of buttons, you can choose the set you wish to display in TuneTracker by clicking on the name of the set in the upper window pane, and then clicking the "Use This Set" button.

DOING WEATHER REWRITES How to quickly edit a script assigned to one of your text buttons. TuneTracker Command Center™'s built-in weather retrieval feature gives you instant access to the latest forecast information, which is displayable in the scrolling text box by just clicking on the current conditions in the WeatherPad area. Simple! But some stations like to do rewrites of the forecast that suite the style of the station. Here's a quick way to do it... Create a text document called Weather and save it to your hard drive with a filename like "WX." Drop the text file onto the button you want to assign it to. Command Center will label it for you automatically. To do a rewrite anytime, right-click on your forecast button and choose "Edit Text." The text will appear in a little word processor. Paste-in or write-in the contents of the current forecast, then save the document and close the word processor. Your staff can retrieve your nicely-rewritten forecast by just clicking on your new weather button. The same technique can be used to add and edit listening reminders, promos, PSAs, anything!

EDITING BUTTONS WITH DRAG-N-DROP

In addition to using the Button Layout Editor described above, you can also make changes to two kinds of buttons without opening the editor, using drag-n-drop. If you drop a text file onto a button, it is automatically made into a Text Button, and its label is taken from the filename of the text file. If you drop an audio file onto a button, it is automatically made into a hot button, and again, its label is derived from the audio file's filename.

Once configured, the contents of hot buttons (the ones containing audio files) can be copied to other buttons by clicking and holding on one of them, and dragging its little "ghost rectangle" onto any other button. This can be useful if there are button items in the ButtonPad area that need to be copied to the MyShow area, or vice versa.

If you use drag-n-drop to configure a button, the label created from the filename is distributed across the three available lines of button label as best possible. Obviously you can't squeeze a huge filename into such a small space, so keep your filenames small. If you want perfect labels, just remember there are six characters per line and three lines. By placing the right amount of spaces between three short words in your filenames, you can make it work out. Either that, or just keep your filename small enough to fit on one line, such as "WX" for weather, "AMNews" for morning news, etc. Or, edit the label afterwards in the Button Layout Editor.


EDITING TEXT SCRIPTS

Some text scripts need routine updating, so we have added a feature that makes the edits fast and painless. While using TuneTracker Command Center™'s main interface screen, just right-click on the text button, choose "Edit Text," and your script will instantly appear inside a word processor. Make your changes, then choose Save. Close the word processor. You're done! If you accidentally right-click on a non-text-button, and select "Edit Text," TuneTracker will display an error message. See the sidebar to the right for more information on editing text assigned to buttons.


SELECTING BUTTON SETS

To choose the button set you want displayed in TuneTracker, just select it in the button editor and click "Use This Set." You can also have TuneTracker automatically select and display a specific set of buttons at any time of the day by using this simple syntax in your log:

# UseButtonPadSet MorningShow Set

or

# UseMyShowSet Nate Miller Request Show

To be certain the wording and spelling of the specified set is exactly right, you can drag across the name in the text box in your button layout editor, do CTRL-C for copy, then paste it into your log using CTRL-V.


TUNETRACKER'S SOUNDDOG SURPRISE!

When your system arrives, the first couple pages in the MyShow area are pre-populated with a complementary set of 25 great, full-fidelity sound effects and music beds we hand-picked for broadcast purposes from among the hundreds of thousands of selections available at SoundDogs.com. These can be rearranged, moved, replaced, however you'd like. You'll likely discover certain "favorites" among them that find their way into nearly every set of TuneTracker buttons you configure. Just make certain to limit their use to TuneTracker. Our licensing agreement with SoundDogs requires that the sounds we distribute may only be used within the confines of your TuneTracker automation software. If you need more or other effects or beds for use in TuneTracker or other purposes, we think you'll find the ala-carte approach they take at SoundDogs to be an exceptionally cost-effective way to get the exact cuts you need.



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