Once items have been added to the Media Column in a story, they can be edited (right-click the item and select Edit).

The editing options depend on the type of media:

Editing Images

Use the Image Effect Editor to crop an image or add a zoom/pan animation.

Image Effect Editor

To open the editor, right-click an image and select Edit.

The Image Effect Editor allows you to crop or animate an image instantly using a crop rectangle. By default, the crop rectangle matches the image’s aspect ratio, but you can also freely set the rectangle's aspect ratio.

To animate an image select a start and end frame and a duration for the animation. Preview the animation using the Play/Stop button. To crop an image, drag the rectangle to the desired size.

Tip: Hold CTRL before dragging the crop rectangle to maintain the current aspect ratio.

Note: All changes are live and cannot be canceled. The image editor uses a proxy image, therefore, the image may differ slightly when played out on a Viz Engine.

To force a different aspect ratio of the rectangles, select a value from the Aspect Ratio list. The values in brackets are:

  • Freeform: Freely set the aspect of the rectangles.

  • Image: Aspect is locked to the aspect of the image.

  • Output Channel: For filled presets, the aspect is locked to the aspect of the Output channel the image is assigned to.

  • Profile Channel: Locks the aspect to the aspect set on the channel in the profile configuration.

Click the Reset button to reset the effects applied to the default settings.

Editing Videos

Open the Video Editor

  1. Right-click a video in a channel in the Media Column or in the Shortcuts Bar.

  2. Click Edit.

Tip: In Off Air mode, you can double-click media elements to edit.

Video Timeline Editing Options

The following buttons are available for video editing:

  1. Set Mark In: Set an in point (I).

  2. Set Mark Out: Set an out point (O).

  3. Clear Mark In/Out: Clear in and out points (SHIFT + C).

  4. Go to In point: Sets the playhead at the in point (SHIFT + I).

  5. Move 1 frame back: Move the playhead one frame back (, -comma).

  6. Play/pause: Play/pause the video (SPACE or CTRL + SPACE).

  7. Move 1 frame forward: Move the playhead one frame forward (. -period).

  8. Go to Out point: Sets the playhead at the out point (SHIFT + O).  

  9. Set poster frame: The current frame in the video editor will be used as thumbnail for the clip (P).

  10. Loop video: Enable looping (R).

  11. Volume slider: Adjust the clip volume (M to mute/unmute). 

  12. List the keyboard shortcuts (SHIFT + K).

  13. Zoom and pan: Click and drag the edges of the blue bar to zoom and move it to pan the timeline. 

Info: When setting a mark in point, the clip frame of this point will automatically be used as the thumbnail.

Editing Graphics

Open the Graphics Editor by right-clicking a graphics element and selecting Edit. Any changes made inside a graphical element are visible immediately.

On the left is the Fill In Form, where you can edit the fields that are available in the graphical element, and on the right the Preview Window.

Note: All changes are live and cannot be cancelled.

Fill In Form

The window to the left is a Fill In Form for the graphics. It displays fields that are exposed by the designer in Viz Artist where the user can add content to the graphic. This can include text, options in a drop-down list or media placeholders for media assets. Once changes are made in the Fill In Form, the Preview Window immediately updates to display them (if Auto-refresh is toggled on).

Custom HTML

The Fill In Form in Viz Multiplay is auto-generated based on the fields in the Viz scene. To change the appearance of the form, it is possible to replace the some or all of the form with your own custom HTML. This is supported in Templates from a Viz Pilot Edge system. Although this an advanced feature, the end result is that the user (the journalist or whoever fills in information) can view a completely customized interface. To use this feature, see the Template Builder User Guide.

Maps

Maps from Viz World can be used in the Fill In Form if the graphics contain a Map field. A Map field is generated when the Viz scene contains a map plugin, this can be set in Template Builder version 1.0.2 and later.

Once there is communication with a Viz World server the user can select from a list of available maps in Viz World. In order to edit these maps, a local Viz World installation is required. Since Viz World only runs on Windows, the Map Editor is only available when Viz Multiplay is running on Windows machines.   

Viz World Configuration

Viz World must be configured in a Pilot Data Server to establish communication between Viz Multiplay and Viz World. 

In the Pilot Data Server Web Interface go to the shared_curious_server parameter (see the Database Parameters in the Viz Pilot guide) through Settings and add a hostname in the value column.

In the value column, use either:

  • hostname or IP 

    mapshostname

    or, 

  • full URL. Here the port must be defined

    http://mapshostname:10301

Info: A Viz World server defined in the Viz Multiplay URL (maps=mapshostname) will override the server defined in Pilot Data Server.

Choosing Maps

  1. To select a map, click Choose map in the Fill In Form.

    image-20241010-092828.png

    A dialog appears listing the maps that are available from the Favorite folder in the Viz World Map Editor.

  2. Select a map:

    The map appears in the thumbnail in the Fill In Form and in the graphic in the preview window. Choosing a map this way only requires communication with a Viz World server. However, a local Viz World installation is required to edit maps. See below. 

Edit Maps

The Edit map button is enabled only when a Viz World client 17.0 or higher is installed on the computer running Viz Multiplay, and the Map Client service is running. Normally the service is located in: C:\Program Files\Vizrt\Common\Maps\MapClient.Service.exe.

  1. Double click this file. A window pops up and closes, and the service is now running.

  2. Once a map is chosen and there is a running Map Client on the machine, the map can be edited. Click Edit map:

    This opens up the Viz World Map Editor. All edits are performed inside this client, which means that Viz Multiplay has no control over your actions here.

  3. After the map has been opened in the Map Editor the name is changed to Denmark [modified], for example, indicating that the map has been edited. To cancel the edit mode, click Cancel edit:

Warning: Clicking outside the Viz World Map Editor while it is open hides the window behind the Viz Multiplay window. Viz Multiplay will keep listening for data coming from Viz World until the window is closed. Recover the Map Editor from the taskbar and close it, or click Cancel edit from Viz Multiplay.

Although the map thumbnail view will not be available after saving and re-opening a template including a map, the map will still be there. Once the Viz World Map Editor is opened and communication is established, the map thumbnail view is available.

The Preview Window will update according to the selected map and edits performed on it. 

Warning signs

Warning signs and grayed out map buttons indicate that the Viz World service is unavailable or that there is an error from the service.

If no map is chosen or no default value is found, the Edit map button will be grayed out with a warning sign. A map must be chosen before edits can be made.    

If a map is chosen, but the Edit map button is still grayed out, the map client is not detected. 

Feed Browser

If a graphic template contains a Browse button in the Fill In Form, the user can browse for a feed entry. The feed entry URL is pre-set in the template. Use Template Editor to change a field type from pure text to a Browse button linked to an Atom feed, or a dropdown with fixed options.

Using the Feed Browser in the Fill In Form for a graphic is shown below:

  1. Click the Browse button to open the Feed Browser.

  2. The Atom entries of the feed will be presented as thumbnails if available. Select one of the entries and click OK. 

  3. Information from the entry will be used to fill in the feed browser fields in the template.

Preview Window

The Preview Window displays snapshots of the graphics and provides the user with an idea of how the graphics will look when played out in high resolution on a Viz Engine. Viz Engine generates snapshots requested by Preview Server.

These are the functions of the Preview Window:

  • TA: Show/hide the Title Area in the edit window.

  • SA: Show/hide the Safe Area.

  • K: Show the key signal for the graphics.

  • Preview points: If the scene contains named preview points, such as stop points and/or tags in the director called Default, these are shown as buttons on the toolbar. If there is not enough space for the buttons, they appear in a drop-down list instead. Selecting a preview point shows a preview of the scene at the given point, and the playhead jumps to the point in time where the preview point is set.

  • Scrub the timeline back and forth by clicking on it or moving the playhead. If the scene does not have a director called Default, or the Default director does not have a duration, the timeline will be disabled.

  • Auto-refresh: Auto-refresh is located at the bottom of the Preview Window and is by default toggled on, which means that the Preview Window updates once there are any changes in the Fill In Form. 
    Toggle off Auto-refresh to turn this functionality off. To refresh the Preview Window in this mode click the Refresh button  or click inside the Preview Window.

  • Load: Clicking this button will load the animation of the graphics. Once loaded, indicated by a green line at the bottom of the timeline editor, media controls appear allowing the graphics animation to be controlled in the Preview Window:

    image-20241010-092856.png

Warning: The load animation feature sends many snapshot requests to Preview Server. Many users sending requests at the same time could lead to performance issues.