Previewing a Display

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Interesting idea Avi...Are you thinking something along the lines of a Preview Button on the Display Page so you can see what it unique to that Display?

Hey everybody, remember if you like the idea to hit the "I like this idea" button under the post. Thanks!

I think that would be great.

I also think this would be a nice feature to have...

I'm with you

I was actually just thinking about this. Especially for a user with many locations that have local control...meaning a section of the screen has many placeholders layered on top of one another.

If the local user adds a message to their placeholder, they will only want to see the preview of their specific location.

Just spoke to our Development team about this, and unfortunately this could not be done due to a restriction that we put into the core of the system.

This was put in place to ensure no one could "spoof" a Display, and that the system is not overrun with Display Preview requests.

maybe there's another solution. Because if not, it's really going to change the way we need to start organizing our presentations. Instead of packing multiple layers, we're going to need to separate all those layers out into different presentations.

If we were able to save "placeholders", then I think creating multiple presentations won't be that big of a deal.

Avi, let me make sure I understand...You mean that currently you have to create several Presentations because you have different Gadgets or Placeholders in the same Presentation going to different Displays, and you want to see what one Display will look like, WITHOUT the Gadgets or Placeholders that are playing on the other Displays. Do I have that right?

Also I am not sure what you mean by saving Placeholders, can you clarify?

Yes, you are right. The purpose of this is so that I can send out a preview to other parties so they can see what is displaying. But obviously if there are multiple things playing on top of eachother this wouldn't look too good.

Saving placeholders: The reason we currently have multiple layers of gadgets and placeholders going to different places is that most of the stuff on the presentation actually stays the same... So I was thinking it might be easier to be able to save all those items you want to keep consistent throughout, in order to be able to more easily add them to new presentations. But I guess another easy way to do this is to simply make copys of the presentation. And then work from there. The only problem is that I'm already thinking of the headache it's going to be to schedule everything from scratch again. But it's fine, once done right the first time, it shouldn't be that big a deal..

OK, thanks for the clarifications.

Also this doesn't mean that the idea is off the table, it just means we may have to reconsider the way that everything was set up. I will update this Forum discussion once we have a conclusion.

Thanks!

cool, thanks!

another idea might be that everytime someone previews a "display", it automatically makes some sort of "copy", so it's not the real thing therefore doesn't interfere as much. Just an idea.

thanks for the help and the quick responses...

I can see how this topic can get hairy. I'd be interested to see what kind of solution will work best. I'll offer any ideas if I think of any.

Hey guys, very sorry for the delay, was travelling yesterday.

From my perspective this is really simple and doable. But you let me know if I have the requirements wrong:

You need the ability to Preview what will show on a particular Display, any only that Display, and you also need to be able to share that Preview with others.

In addition to the above Avi wants the ability to manage multiple site content with 1 Presentation. Good news, this is done, either use Distribution lists on Playlist Items or use the new Presentation in Presentation feature of a Playlist. Avi, let me know if this isn't clear, or better yet, give some specific examples of a client situation and I'll let you know my opinion on how to configure the content using these features for the maximum maintenance efficiency.

And one clarification / question on previewing a Display's content. 2 things affect what shows - the Distribution (Displays) and the Timeline (time of day when stuff should show). We already said we want the Distribution narrowed to the specific Display in question, no problem, BUT, how do you want the Timeline filter applied? Currently Preview ignores Timeline and shows everything regardless. Curious as to your thoughts on this for a Display Preview?

Thanks!

Personally, I'd be completely happy with just the ability to preview for a specific display. That covers most applications that I will deal with.

The timing thing would be nice though...but not as essential. The only thing I can think of that's nice for the timing is that if someone sells advertising that is scheduled...and the DS company shares a link to the presentation, the advertiser can make sure that their ad shows according to that schedule. (for example someone buys weekend space on a display at a restaurant)

I'm sure there's other "what if" cases out there. But that's my 2 cents. Thanks for the update Byron, this will be a nice new feature for us.

I'm on the same page as Alex. Showing the display is good enough for me. However, the timing has it's pros and cons. Pros being that you do get a more accurate representation of what's going on. Cons being that you limit the time frames in which someone can view specific content.

A good idea would be to make 2: display preview and display schedule.

Thanks Byron!

still think this is a good idea. To have a "Preview Display" button next to each display name in the "Displays" page.