Schedules

Introduction

The Schedule defines the period during which a Campaign/Ticker/Command is expected to play. There are two types of Schedules, a Campaign/Ticker/Command Schedule, which is simply the Schedule attached to a Campaign/Ticker/Command and a Project-level or Shared Schedule (also known as Public schedule). Public schedules can be shared among different Campaigns, Tickers, and Commands within the same project.

Types of Schedule

Whether it is a Campaign/Ticker/Command Schedule or a public Schedule, all schedules are classified as basic and recurring. A basic schedule consists of a start date and time and a finish date and time. Such a schedule will render an associated Campaign/Ticker/Command as being eligible for continuous play out within that period.

A recurring schedule, on the other hand, is pattern based. This means it can allow a Campaign to play at a certain time of the day or certain day of the week etc. in a recurrent manner. The recurrent Schedule can be further enhanced by introducing additional play blocks or alternatively excluding existing play blocks in an asymmetric manner.

Basic Schedule

To create a basic Schedule, open any Campaign/Ticker/Command and select Basic from ribbon under the Schedule tab. You can set the start date/time and end date/time of the schedule. By default, a new Campaign has a 7 day basic schedule period.

Recurrent Schedule

To create a recurrent Schedule, open any Campaign/Ticker/Command and select Recurrent from ribbon under the Schedule tab. By default, a new Campaign has a 7 day recurrent schedule period.

This opens up the Recurrent Schedule Editor. Set the appropriate start and end date, daily patterns and Recurrence pattern, and click OK to save that recurrent schedule.

A more detailed description of the Recurrence Editor is explained below.

Feature	Title	Description	Notes
Schedule Range	Start	Set the start date for the schedule
	End after	Select this radio button to set the number of times the Campaign is expected to run
	Occurrences	Set the number of times the Campaign/Ticker/Command is expected to run	Only available if End After is selected
	End by	Set the end date for the schedule	System will automatically calculate the number of occurrences until the end date. If you select End after option and click OK, the End by date will reflect the appropriate end date, based on the number of occurrences.
Daily Play Times	Occurs once at	Select this to set an exact time of the day when Campaign/Ticker/Command runs
	Occurs every	Select this to set a range and an interval at which Campaign/Ticker/Command runs	For example, if you select occurs every 1 hour between 00:00:00 and 23:59:59 then the Campaign/Ticker/Command will run every hour within a 24 hour period each day
	Single loop	Select this if you want the Campaign to play once every day when it runs	Campaign will play once and then will play again the next day at the same daily play pattern time
	Looping for	Select this if you want the campaign to play for an extended period every day	The looping for period defines the period each day during which Campaign is eligible to play. NOTE: this is not a continuous play, rather it ensures that instead of single play, the campaign gets to play for an extended period.
Recurrence Pattern	Daily	Every x days
	Daily	Every weekday	Select this to play Campaign on weekdays only
	Weekly	Occurs every x weeks on	Select this to set a recurrence interval. For example, if you select every 2 weeks then the campaign will run every alternate week until the end date.
	Weekly	Different days checkboxes
	Monthly	The x day of every x months	For example, select First Monday of every 1 month to ensure that Campaign plays first Monday of each month until the end date. The campaign will not play on any other day.
	Monthly	Day x for every x month
	Yearly	Occurs every x year	For example, select occurs every 1 year to run the Campaign every year
		On the x day of x month	For example, select first Tuesday of February to ensure that Campaigns plays only first Tuesday of February each year. The campaign will not play on any other day.
		On the x month x day	For example, select On February 7 to ensure that Campaign plays on January 7 of each year. The campaign will not play on any other day.

Weekly recurrence pattern settings can be seen in the following image:

Monthly recurrence pattern settings can be seen in the following image:

Yearly recurrence pattern settings can be seen in the following image:

Set the appropriate recurrent schedule and click OK in the Recurrence Schedule Editor to save the schedule.

Once set, the schedule calendar will show the proper schedule pattern in the calendar view. To save the Campaign/Ticker/Command, Click Save from the ribbon.

The above image shows a typical recurrent schedule calendar view. The recurrent schedule is set as: Start date is 04.01.2018, the end date is 11.01.2018, occurs every hour from 01:00 to 21:00, looping for 20min, with recurrence pattern is every day. The schedule description at the bottom of the calendar view shows the exact number of occurrences for this recurrent schedule.

Addition

You can add additional play blocks outside the recurrent schedule pattern. To add additional play blocks, select any date in the calendar view and select Addition from the ribbon.

Enter a valid period in the Add Additional play UI. This additional play block must be non-overlapping with the recurrence pattern. Click OK to add the additional play.

The calendar view will be updated with the additional play block. In the following image, on the 16th of February, the regular play period is from 07:00:00 to 12:00:00. In addition, the Campaign will play from 00:00:00 to 01:00:00 as well. The campaign will not play between 12:00:00 to 00:00:00 and between as there is no play block for that period on the 16th. Note that additional block applies to that date only.

Exclusion

You can exclude a certain period from the regular recurrent pattern. To exclude a certain period, select any regular recurrent play block in the calendar view and select Exclusion from the ribbon.

Enter a valid period within the regular playback that you want to exclude from the recurrence pattern. Click OK to add the exclusion range.

The calendar view will be updated with the excluded play block. In the following image, on the 10th of January, the regular play period is from 01:00:00 to 20:00:00 to play 20min on every hour. We want to exclude the Campaign from playing between 10:00:00 to 10:15:42 (quarter an hour). The calendar view shows that the 01:00:00-20:00:00 regular play block has an additional block in which the exclusion is specified from 10:00:00 to 10:15:42. The Campaign will therefore not play between 10:00:00 and 10:15:42 on the 11th of January.

Remove Addition/Exclusion

To remove any addition or exclusion from the calendar view, select the appropriate play block and click on “x” sign next to exclusion blocks. To remove all addition and exclusion

To remove all additions or exclusions from the calendar view, click Remove All button from the ribbon.