The main window of the Multichannel Asset Change module has been divided into five areas to facilitate the replacement of scheduled assets through an intuitive interface, as described in the following procedure:
1 Select the asset to replace or the order to rotate
2 Set the filters that will narrow the search
3 Configure the settings and Launch the search
4 Select the scheduled appearances to be replaced
5 Display a preview and start changing
1) Select the asset to replace or the order to rotate
Depending on the module from which the Multichannel Asset Change module is launched and the event for which it is used, it allows two operating modes:
Asset to replace
In case Multichannel Asset Change is launched from the main Air Sales menu or invoked from the Multichannel View or Executive Editor modules, it will allow the replacement of a scheduled asset across multiple stations with a pool of assets; in this case, the asset form search will be opened to enable searching and selecting the asset that will replace the asset in question.
NB: Please note that in case of changing an asset which is exploded into the schedule, the new asset will feature the same timecode information (i.e. Scheduled-Time, SOM and EOM), being also exploded into the same number of parts.
Line to rotate
Instead, if Multichannel Asset Change is invoked from the Air Sales' applications Air Sales Scheduler or Orders, it will allow the assignment of a pool of assets to the booked spaces of a certain order line; this assignment of assets can be performed in two different ways:
Asset rotation by line - Rotate a pool of assets across all scheduled spaces in the current order line. All assets will be rotated, featuring the duration of the order line.
The pool of assets will be initially composed of those assets already linked to the current order line. However, it will be possible to freely Add/Remove other assets (that will be subsequently added to the order line's linked assets).
Asset rotation by order - Rotate a pool of assets across all scheduled spaces belonging to all lines of the current order. If the lines of the order have different durations, selecting one of them as the duration with which assets will be rotated will be possible.
The pool of assets will be initially composed of those assets already linked to the various order lines, which makes the entire order. However, it will be possible to freely Add/Remove other assets (that will be subsequently added to the order's linked assets).
Please note that in the case of rotating order lines, only those scheduled performances of the order lines scheduled within the period of the order line will be displayed.
2) Set the filters that will narrow the search
The parameters section is where the configuration of the rotation function takes place by defining the following parameters:
•Interval
Parameters present in this area allow to define the period on which the asset has been scheduled; it is possible to specify:
From - To - Indicate the date range on which the asset/line to be replaced is scheduled for being performed.
NB: In case the rotation is intended to be performed against orders/lines, the "from-to" period will be the same set in the "Assets assignment > Scheduling interval" parameter.
Time - Specify the time range on which the selected asset/line is intended to be rotated; they could be set to 'all day' or only a specific' time interval'.
Days - Select the weekdays the asset/line has been scheduled.
NB: In the case of rotating order lines, in this field, it will automatically retrieve the validity period of the order in question; however, it is possible to modify it.
•Stations
Define the station(s) on which the selected asset will be rotated just by ticking them,
•Rotate with the following assets
Add all the assets intended to replace the previously selected asset by making right-clicking. It allows you to:
oAdd (Ins): It opens the asset form search, allowing one to search and insert an asset into the replacements list.
oDelete (Del) removes the selected asset from the asset replacements list.
oCopy (Ctrl-C) / Paste (Ctrl-V): Use them to duplicate a specific asset replacement.
oSelect all (Ctrl-A): It selects all events in the rotation list.
oasset Form: It opens the asset form of the currently selected asset replacement to, for example, view and modify it.
oReload default assets (Ctrl-A): This function, available only for commercial orders and lines, allows inserting all assets available for the order/line into the rotation list.
oExclude selected events from the rotation (Ctrl-Z): This function, available only for commercial orders and lines, allows the deletion of all events chosen from the rotation list without removing them from the order/line.
oRotation percentage (Ctrl-P): Use it to assign a custom percentage to each asset intended to be used during the rotation; in this way, it will be possible to dictate which assets should be featured more frequently than others.
Please note that the 'predefined %' field is related to the rotation percentage assigned to assets during their contractual assignment. For example, in the image above, to respect the given percentages, the number of events in the list will be:
- 50% = the asset will be featured 5x times in the list,
- 30% = the asset will be featured 3x times in the list,
- 20% = the asset will be featured 2x times in the list.
Once finished editing the 'rotation %', press the [Apply] button, and the Assets List will be populated according to the entered percentages.
NB: It is important to note that the bottom results panel is automatically refreshed each time one between the interval and the stations is modified.
3) Configure the settings and Launch the search
The toolbar located in the top part of the window contains some useful functions, including:
Search (Ctrl+R) - The [search] button will retrieve all scheduled performances of the current asset/line/order meeting the given station, date and time intervals as follows:
•Assets: Retrieve all performances of the asset which are scheduled within the given interval.
•Lines: Retrieve all performances of the order line which are scheduled within the given interval.
•Orders: Retrieve all performances of the various order lines scheduled within the given interval and are valid for it (i.e.their line's scheduling period will have to fully/partially cover the given interval).
For instance, if the given interval is 01/09/2012 - 30/09/2012, order lines scheduled within that period will be retrieved only if their scheduling period covers it (e.g. 01/01/2012 - 31/12/2012, 01/08/2012 - 01/09/2012, 30/09/2012 - 31/10/2012, etc.).
Start the asset change - Use it to start replacing all selected scheduled events (once chosen and configured) on a rotating basis using the selected assets.
Disassociate assets from booked spaces - This function, available only for commercial orders and lines, allows removing the assets from the current order/line and, therefore, from all the booked spaces.
Page navigation - In case results go over the -predefined- max. Results per page: these buttons allow you to navigate between results pages (i.e. first page, five pages in backward, five pages in forward, previous page, next page, five pages in forward and last page),
Report - Generate a document containing all the results displayed in the bottom results section (i.e., scheduled appearances); it will detail each event, its scheduled day, date and time, and the asset(s) to be used for the replacement.
Other Reports - Brings direct access to the Etere Reports module, which provides more than 160 reports regarding all the operations managed by Etere.
Settings - Here is possible to define the 'conflicts to show', that is, issues that will be pointed out:
•Type: The asset replacement type differs from the asset to be replaced.
•Duration: The asset replacement duration is different from the scheduled asset.
•Validity start date: The asset replacement validity date is posterior to the scheduled day.
•Expiry date: The asset replacement expiry date is before the scheduled day.
•Station: The asset replacement is not enabled for the target station,
•Parental guidance: The asset replacement parental rate is unsuitable for the target scheduled time.
Moreover, set here also some parameters such as the 'max. Records per page to be shown, 'exclude past events from the search' results, and display 'free space only' (exclusive for orders).
4) Select the scheduled appearances to be replaced
The results panel at the bottom of the window will list all the times the asset to be replaced has been scheduled. For each found asset, the following information will be displayed:
No. - Number of the found entries and an icon for eventually detected warnings.
Station - The station on which the asset is scheduled
Television day - Date and weekday on which the asset is scheduled
Start time - Date and time at which the asset is scheduled
Scheduled time - The time at which the asset was initially scheduled
Asset to replace - Asset to be replaced during the process
Duration - Duration of the asset to replace
New asset - Asset to be scheduled instead of the asset to replace
Duration - Duration of the new asset
Spot Code indicates the spot code (PKG, STD, CSA, etc) to be assigned to the asset. If the spot code is a FILLER, it would be indicated with an [*], e.g. PKG[*].
Warning - Details on eventually detected warnings (e.g. parental guidance conflicts).
Lock - Name of the user who is eventually using (and restricting) the related schedule
Secondary events - This column displayed the scheduled secondary events assigned to the primary events.
By default, all results are selected to be replaced following a rotating strategy. However, it is possible to manually deselect or change any asset replacement by right-clicking on it and selecting one of the options below:
•Change with a previously selected asset: It replaces the scheduled event with one of the configured asset replacements.
•Change with a new asset: It allows the search for a new asset that will replace the selected line.
Moreover, a status bar can be enabled in the bottom part of the list by clicking on the 'Show' menu and selecting the status bar option. It will display the following information:
•Number of lines: It shows the number of lines (i.e., scheduled appearances) found within the given interval for selected stations.
•Total events selected: It displays the number of rotations currently chosen to be performed.
•Remaining: It refers to all lines that appear in the list but are not selected for the rotation.
•Warning: It shows the number of lines containing any warnings enabled in the settings section.
•Page: It simply indicates the current page and total page numbers.
5) Display a preview and start changing
Once the scheduled appearances to be replaced have been selected, use the report button to preview the asset change operation, and finally, press the start button to execute the asset change.
6) Replace also Secondary Events
In the Multichannel Asset Change view, you can view the secondary events assigned to the primary event in the "Secondary Events" column. If you want to replace the secondary events as well when replacing the primary event, configure the following settings:
1. In the Multichannel Asset Change view, click on Parameter in the toolbar and enable "Replace also secondary events" (this option is enabled by default).
2. From the same toolbar menu, click "Parameters" to open the dialogue box.
3. In the dialogue box, ensure the option "Replace also secondary events" is checked. Click <OK> to confirm settings
7) Replace also in Alternative schedules
Besides replacing the actual schedule, you can also replace any customized alternative schedules by enabling the "Replace also in Alternative schedules" option.
In the "Multichannel Asset Change" view, the changes applied to alternative schedules are indicated by "A.S." in the Television Day column.