You make and organize your shows in the Landing page and the Rundown page. For a guided first-time tour, see Getting Started.

Common Actions

Shows, rundowns, and rundown templates share the same set of management actions where they appear in Showmaker.

Landing Page

Showmaker opens on the landing page. From here you pick a show, browse its rundowns or rundown templates, and decide which rundown is sent to Viz Mosart.

Show

A show is a container for related rundowns and rundown templates, typically one program or production. Each show can hold any number of rundowns and templates.

The show banner at the top of the landing page is both a functional space and an identity space. Functionally it is the show selector, content counter, and action menu. As an identity surface, the banner image, title, and program window personalize the workspace and signal ownership of the rundowns and templates beneath it.

Show actions

• Open: Pick a show from the dropdown.

• New show: Create a new show.

  • Show title: Required.

  • Starts at / Ends at: (optional) When both are set, every new rundown and rundown template in this show inherits these values, and the planned duration is displayed automatically. Both can be overridden per rundown.

  • Banner image: (optional) A convenient identifier for the active show.

  • Studio: Selectable when a MOS device is configured. This is an administrator configuration task.

• Edit show: Modify any of the above on an existing show. Everything that governs how the show behaves, rather than what it is called, is on the Show settings page described under Show Settings below.

• Set as default: See Common Actions.

• Delete show: Deleting a show can affect every rundown and rundown template inside it, so a confirmation dialog provides two safeguards:

  • Choose what happens to the contents: delete the show with all its rundowns and templates, or move them to another show first so nothing is lost.

  • Type the show name to confirm. The Delete button stays disabled until the name matches exactly.

Studio Assignment

Each show in Showmaker originates from a Studio, the physical production environment under the control of a Viz Mosart server.

Normally a rundown is associated with the show's original studio, but Showmaker allows rundowns to be shared between studios: you can point a single rundown at a different Studio without changing the show. This is useful for rehearsals and last-minute changes.

Above the list of rundowns, the Studio badge tells you about the rundown's origins.

Show Assets

Show assets are graphics saved on the show so they can be reused in any story of any rundown in that show. Instead of rebuilding the same lower third or bug edition after edition, you build it once, save it, and insert it wherever you need it.

To save a graphic as a show asset from an existing rundown

1. In a rundown, select a graphic you have added from the Pilot plugin.

2. Click Save to show assets. Showmaker confirms with Saved to show assets.

A graphic already in the library reports "<name>" is already in show assets instead of being added twice.

To insert a show asset into a story

1. Open the story you want to add the graphic to.

2. Click Insert show asset and pick the asset from the list. The search field narrows a long library.

3. Edit the graphic's text inline once it is on the story.

To manage the library

Click Assets on the show banner to open Show assets page. From here you can browse the library, add assets and remove ones you no longer need, without opening a rundown. An empty library shows No assets added yet. To add an asset from this page, build the item in a plugin on the right, then send it with the plugin's add button.

When the NRCS Plugin is opened from this page, its send button reads Add to show assets rather than Add to Story. In the rundown editor the same library is offered as a searchable list, from Insert show asset on an item for a graphic and from Add show asset to story in the story header for an automation template. The filter by type is on the Show assets page. The saved and modified dates on the Show assets page use the relative format described under Rundown list details.

Insert assets from the script

You can insert a show asset without leaving the script. Type / in the script and Showmaker offers the show's saved graphics inline; keep typing to filter the list, then choose one to attach it to the item that owns the script. It is offered to administrators only, and not on a story note, which has no item for a graphic to attach to.

A graphic inserted this way is timed from the script rather than from the start of the story: Showmaker takes it on air at the point in the read where the caret was, using the story's reading speed. The delay is worked out once, when the graphic is inserted, so editing the script afterwards does not move it. Change it by hand from the item's Take in delay.

Rundowns View

Switch between Rundowns and Templates to filter the list. The rundown view shows every rundown in the current show, with a search field that filters by title as you type, and a New rundown button.

New Rundown

Opens a dialog with two creation paths. The default follows the show's setting for new rundowns.

• Start from scratch: creates an empty rundown.

• Use a template: creates an independent copy of the selected template. The section is offered only once the show has at least one rundown template.

Starts at and Planned duration are pre-filled from the show's settings. Change them here to override for this rundown only.

Rundown list details

Recent dates are written relative to today: a timestamp on the current or previous local calendar day reads Today at 1:03 PM or Yesterday at 1:03 PM, and anything older keeps the full form, Jun 10, 2026, 1:03 PM. A date that was never set reads --. This applies to the Created and Edited columns on both the Rundowns and Templates tabs, to the dates on the Show assets page, and to the Recently edited menu.

Two details worth knowing: the labels correct themselves when the local day rolls over, so a tab left open overnight does not go on calling yesterday's rundowns today's; and sorting one of these columns uses the underlying timestamp rather than the text on screen, so a mixed column of relative and absolute dates still sorts correctly.

Putting a rundown on air

Two toggles control how a rundown reaches Viz Mosart. Use them in this order:

1. Active: turn on to live-sync the rundown with Viz Mosart. Your rundown appears in the Viz Mosart UI, and edits in Showmaker are reflected immediately.

2. Ready to air: turn on and the rundown appears in the Ready to Air rundown listing in Viz Mosart, where the operator can take it on air.

Rundown Operations

Double-clicking a rundown opens the Rundown page. This is where you build the rundown. It has four areas.

1 Rundown information bar

• Home: back to the landing page.

• Recently edited: beside Home, a button whose tooltip reads Recently edited rundowns. It opens a panel headed Recently edited listing up to eight rundowns, most recently opened first, leaving out the one you are in. Each row reads "Show name / Rundown name", carries a Template tag where the entry is a rundown template, and shows when it was last edited. Click a row to open that rundown, switching show if it belongs to another one. Before anything is in the list it reads Other rundowns you open will appear here. For a signed-in user the list is kept per user on the server, so it follows you from one machine to another, always resolves current titles and drops rundowns that have been deleted; where authentication is switched off there is no identity to attach it to, so it is kept per browser instead. The menu is in the rundown and rundown template editor only, not on the landing page or the Show assets page.

• Title and status badges: the rundown name with Active and Ready to air badges, lit while each is on. They appear once a studio is set, on the rundown or inherited from the show, and while the rundown is on air an ON AIR chip takes their place.

• Studio badge: click to override or reset. See Studio Assignment.

• Starts at: start time, inherited from the rundown or its template.

• PLANNED DUR.: turns red when the total story duration exceeds it.

• Options menu: administrators only. Set to active (A), Set to Ready to air (G), Edit, Duplicate, Create template and Delete. A rundown template's menu drops the two switches and Create template.

• Comments and Changes: two buttons, one opening the rundown's comment feed with its count of unread comments and mentions, the other its change history. See Collaborating on a Rundown.

• Show settings: for administrators, opens the show's settings page. See Show Settings below.

• Help menu: the top-right ? icon.

• User avatar: when signed in, next to the ? icon. Click for your account and to sign out. This identity is shared across all Mosart Web Apps.

2 Assets panel

Holds the building blocks that you add to stories.

• Viz Mosart automation templates: always available. The set depends on the connected Viz Mosart server's template set.

• Show assets: reached from the story rather than from this panel. Use Insert show asset on an item for a saved graphic, or Add show asset to story in the story header for a saved automation template. See Show Assets above.

• Viz Pilot Edge: available when Viz Pilot Edge is configured.

• Viz Flowics: available when Viz Flowics is configured.

3 Story editor

The centre panel lists all stories and their content in order. Selecting a story in the story list scrolls the editor to it.

• Saving and live sync. All edits save automatically as you make them; there is no Save button. While the rundown is Active, changes are pushed to Viz Mosart over a live connection.

• Undo. If you delete a story or an item by mistake, a toast offers Undo, and Ctrl+Z does the same.

• Copy and paste a story. Copy story puts a story on the clipboard; Paste story appends the copy at the end of the rundown, and Paste story as next puts it after the current one. The clipboard works across rundowns and templates in the same session.

Story header

• Story title: editable inline.

• Auto / Manual toggle: a per-story view filter. Auto hides manual items so you see only what runs automatically; Manual shows only manual items. Each story has its own setting, and it does not affect what is sent to Viz Mosart.

• Planned duration: the story's duration. This can be calculated for you; see Timing from the Script.

• Options menu: Float, Copy, Duplicate, Paste item, Paste story as next, Delete.

• Comments: opens the comments for this story.

Story body

The editing area inside a story, where you add and arrange the elements that control Viz Mosart templates, graphics, timing and scripts. A story can hold any combination of:

• Automated item: a Viz Mosart template that runs automatically.

• Manual item: an item the operator can select during the show. Manual items are styled differently from scheduled ones so the two are not confused, and they are listed separately.

• Story note: pinned to the top of the story, a free-text field for editorial context or instructions. It stays visible while you build the automation underneath, and can be dragged under any item to become that item's on-air script.

• Script field: presenter or editorial text attached to a specific item.

• Graphic: a Viz Pilot Edge or Viz Flowics element attached to an item.

• Clip: a video playback element from the media server, attached to an item.

Secondary items

An item can carry secondary items, for example an overlay graphic attached to a camera template. Secondary items have their own actions, available from the handle or by double-clicking.

Each secondary item has a target button that gathers its destination and timing in one place. From it you set where the graphic goes and how it comes off air:

Overlay graphics can also have their destination changed here, without leaving the rundown editor. Dragging a secondary item shows a placeholder where it will land, and secondary items can be moved between the scheduled and manual tabs.

4 Story list and navigation panel

An ordered list of every story in the rundown, with controls to add, reorder, float, copy and delete.

• Add story (+): appends a new empty story. Hold Shift to add it as the next story, below the selected one.

• More options: Import stories brings in stories from a prepared CSV or Excel file, mapping each row to a new story at the end of the rundown. Paste pastes a story from the clipboard.

• Story options (click the handle without dragging): Float story marks the story to be skipped during playout. Floated stories are drawn with diagonal stripes and are not sent to air, but stay in the rundown for reference. Also Copy, Duplicate and Delete.

• Drag to reorder: drag a row by its handle. Numbering updates automatically.

• Items counter: the number of scheduled and manual items in the story.

• Property chips: the values a story has set, shown on its row. See Story Properties below.

Resizing the story list

The story list can be widened. Drag the seam down its right-hand edge, or focus the handle and step it with the arrow keys. A single click on the handle puts the list back to its original width, and its tooltip reads Resize the story list, or click to reset its width.

The list never becomes narrower than the width it has always had, and it cannot be dragged wide enough to squeeze out the story editor; the ceiling is lower again while a plugin panel is open. The width you choose is remembered for you in that browser, so it survives a reload. Only the story list resizes: the Story properties panel keeps its own width and is pushed along.

Story Properties

A story can carry editorial metadata alongside its automation, so that a rundown can be read for its state and not only its running order. There are two kinds.

Show-defined properties are authored once per show and offered to every story in it: an administrator sets up a property name and the list of values a story may choose from, and a story then picks one value per property from a dropdown. See Setup and Administration of Showmaker for how they are defined.

Custom story properties are free-form name and value pairs typed on the story itself, with no show-level setup. Anyone who can edit the rundown can add them; they are not restricted to administrators.

The Story properties panel

Both kinds live in the Story properties panel, opened with the toggle at the right of the story list header, tooltip Story properties. The toggle stays disabled until a story is selected, with the tooltip Select a story to see its properties.

The panel header shows the story's position as Story <n>, its title, and a Float chip when the story is floated. It has two tabs:

• Properties: the show-defined properties first, each with its dropdown, then the custom rows. The custom section's heading carries a count of the rows that have both a name and a value.

• Synopsis: a plain free-text field for a brief description of the story. Unlike a property value it gets no chip on the story list.

Empty states tell you which kind is missing: with nothing defined on the show the panel reads No properties defined at the show level; with no custom rows yet, No custom properties yet, with Add first property to start one. Later rows are added with Add property and removed with Remove property.

Properties, custom rows and the synopsis save as you type. They are shared live with everyone else in the rundown, they travel with a story or a rundown that is duplicated, and they come back with a story restored by undo.

Names shared with show-defined properties

A custom row whose name matches a property the show already defines is flagged Already defined by the show. The panel's other name checks appear the same way: Name required for a row that has a value but no name, and Duplicate name for two custom rows with the same name. In each case the row is kept rather than refused, so the message is telling you to rename it rather than blocking the edit. Matching ignores case and surrounding spaces.

Property chips on the story row

Each story row shows the values that story has set, as chips. A chip's tooltip reads "Property: Value", so a chip carrying only its value still says what it is. Clicking any chip opens the Story properties panel for that story, and a story with no values shows a dotted add control in its footer instead, tooltip Add properties, which opens the same panel.

At most three chips fit on a row and the rest collapse into a +N chip whose tooltip lists what it stands for. Which three are shown is deliberate: coloured values take the places under the cap and the uncoloured ones are the ones that fold into +N, because a colour is a deliberate mark of something to notice. The chips that are shown still sit in the order the show defines them, so promoting a value does not move it between rows.

A coloured chip always keeps its text label, so nothing depends on being able to tell the colours apart.

Colours

A show-defined value can carry a colour, so a status reads at a glance down the story list. The colour is chosen in one place only, the Story properties section of the Show settings page, from a fixed palette of ten named colours.

A colour then shows up in exactly three places: the value's own chip on the Show settings page, a dot in front of each option in the story's value dropdown, and the value's chip on the story list row, filled in that colour. Only show-defined values can be coloured: custom properties always draw plain, and the chips in the filter panel are never coloured.

Filtering the story list

The funnel button in the story list header filters the list by property value. Its tooltip is Filter, and a badge on it counts how many values are currently picked. It is disabled until there is something to filter by.

The panel is headed Filter by, with Clear all beside it while a filter is active. It lists one row per property: the show-defined properties first, then one row for each custom property name in use anywhere in this rundown, whose chips are the values those stories actually typed. A custom row is distinguished only by its tooltip, which reads "<name> (custom)", so a show property and a custom property sharing a name give two rows that look alike.

Pick values as chips. Two or more values under one property match any of them, and the panel says so: Values within a property match any of the ones you pick. Across properties, Match decides: All requires the story to match every filtered property, Any at least one. Names and values both ignore case, so Colour and colour are one row, Red and red one chip.

A status line reads Showing {shown} of {total} stories, and Filter cleared, showing every story once the filter goes. When nothing matches you get No stories match this filter and the hint Pick different values, or clear the filter to see every story. Adding a story also clears it.

Three behaviours are worth knowing before you rely on it:

• The filter hides non-matching stories in the story list and in the editor area alike, and the selection follows it. If the selected story stops matching, the selection moves to the first story still shown.

• Adding a story while a filter is active clears the filter, because a new story carries no properties and could never match.

• Dragging to reorder is off while a filter is active. The story handle still opens the story menu, and the numbering keeps each story's real position in the rundown.

Show Settings

A show's configuration lives on its own Show settings page. Open it from the settings glyph in the top bar, which is on the landing page, in the rundown editor and on the Show assets page, tooltip Show settings (P), or press P. It is for administrators only, and only while a show is selected.

The page holds, in order: the default for new rundowns in this show, either a blank rundown or one seeded from a chosen rundown template; Auto-calculate planned duration from script with its Reading-speed presets; Auto-calculate story duration; Story properties; and Automatically delete old rundowns.

There is no Save or Cancel. The page saves as you go, and a line in its bar reports the state as Saving…, All changes saved, Couldn't save changes, or Fix the highlighted errors to save. The Back arrow, shortcut B, returns to wherever you opened the page from, and the home icon returns to the library.

Where the show has no rundown templates yet, the auto-select option is unavailable, with the tooltip Create a rundown template first and a link to the Templates tab.

For the full detail of every setting, including how story properties and their colours are defined, see Setup and Administration of Showmaker.

Automatically delete old rundowns

Automatically delete old rundowns clears a show's old rundowns on a schedule, so a long-running programme does not accumulate them forever. Set Delete rundowns older than a number of days, and a Frequency of Daily or Weekly; a weekly schedule also takes a Day of week and a Time of day. The schedule is shown and set on your own clock, whatever region you are in.

Preview opens Rundowns that would be deleted, listing the oldest candidates as they stand now, or No rundowns currently qualify.

Four things the purge never touches, which is what makes it safe to switch on:

• rundown templates;

• a rundown that is on air;

• a rundown whose planned start is still in the future, so a show assembled well in advance is not deleted before it airs;

• anything newer than the window. A rundown's age is measured from when it was last edited, falling back to when it was created.

Collaborating on a Rundown

Several people can work on the same rundown at once, and Showmaker makes their presence and their changes visible rather than silent.

Who else is here

The people currently in the rundown are shown as avatars. Each person gets their own colour, and viewers are distinguished from editors, so you can tell at a glance who is reading and who is working.

Comments and mentions

• Every story can carry comments. Open Story comments from the story, type in Add a comment… and send it. Replies keep the conversation together.

• Type @ in a comment to mention a colleague. They are notified, and the comment is marked so they can see they were mentioned.

• A story with activity you have not seen is flagged, so you do not have to open each story to check.

Comments and changes

Two buttons in the rundown's top bar open two panels of their own:

• Comments: every comment and mention in this rundown, with unread ones counted. Mentions from other rundowns are gathered separately, so a mention cannot be missed just because you were somewhere else.

• Changes: an attributed timeline of what changed in this rundown, showing who did it and when. Use it before air to review what has moved since you last looked.

Timing from the Script

A story's timing can be derived from the material itself rather than typed in by hand. Both settings are per show, on the Show settings page.

• Auto-calculate planned duration from script: when a script is added to a story item, the item's planned duration is set from the talent's reading speed.

• Auto-calculate story duration: each story's planned duration is set from the sum of its item durations.

Reading-speed presets

Reading speed varies by presenter, so it is kept as a named list of reading-speed presets: a preset name, for example the talent's name, and a speed. A show may hold up to four presets, and Add preset disappears once the fourth exists. Pick the right preset for a script.

A reading speed must be a whole number between 60 and 400 words per minute; the field says Use 60-400 wpm otherwise.

Deleting a preset asks first. The confirmation names the preset and spells out the consequence: story items using it fall back to the show's default preset, and any durations calculated from script are recalculated. Where no default preset is set, it says instead that those planned durations stay as they are until one is.

Recording a Story

Where Story Recorder is enabled by your administrator, each story carries recording controls:

• Record: marks the story to be recorded by the Story Recorder feature.

• Publish: marks the story for online publishing. This is available with a TriCaster only.

• Use recording: replaces the story's script with the recorded version.

If you do not see these controls, they have not been enabled. See App Configuration.

Quick Guide to Rundown Operations

To add a Viz Mosart template

1. Open the Viz Mosart assets panel on the right. The coloured templates represent automation commands controlling devices such as cameras, video servers, graphics engines and audio mixers.

2. Pick a template and adjust its properties as needed.

3. Click ADD TO STORY, or drag the template onto a story.

To add a graphic

1. Open the panel for Viz Mosart, Viz Pilot Edge or Viz Flowics, or select Show assets for one you have already saved.

2. Pick a graphic and adjust its properties.

3. Click ADD TO STORY. The graphic is attached to the selected item.

To manage a story and its items

• Click an item's handle to reveal its actions. You can copy, duplicate, edit, add a script to, change the timing of, or delete it.

• Click the script icon to edit the script.

• Drag an item's handle to change its execution order.

To work with video clips

• Search the media server by clip name. Results show the full clip name, and a thumbnail where the media server provides one.

• Open a clip to preview it at full resolution, with a transport bar, before committing to it.

• Where a TriCaster is used, a clip can be uploaded to its clip server from inside Showmaker.

Rundown Templates View

A rundown template defines the structure of a rundown without specific content. Use templates for recurring programmes and standard show formats. Template lists work like the Rundowns View, so refer to that section for how to manage them.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Open this list inside Showmaker at any time with K, or pick Keyboard Shortcuts from the Help menu.

The tables below follow the same grouping as that in-product list, because the same action often works both on the landing page and in the rundown editor. Shortcuts marked Administrator need the showmaker-admin role, and are hidden from the in-product list for a user who does not have it.

Shows

Rundowns and templates

Stories

Items

Scripts

General

Not in the in-product list

These work but are not shown by K:

• Undo delete, Ctrl + Z, for administrators.

• Open the highlighted rundown, Enter or Space.

• Back, B, on the Show settings page only.

• Insert as an alternative to N for adding a story, and Home as an alternative to H.

Examples, Videos, Further Guidance

Showmaker is evolving rapidly. Below is a starting point for finding useful descriptions online.

• A short introductory video takes you through the basics.

• Making rundowns easy and intuitive to create, with drag-and-drop access to Viz Mosart templates.

• A three-minute clip linking Viz Mosart operations to the show's rundown with newsroom tags.

Viz University

Showmaker training is offered free of charge to registered customers at Viz University.

Documentation updates

As development evolves, the documentation is continually updated. Between software updates, the latest documentation is available at the Vizrt Documentation Center.