Viz Pilot Edge 3.5.0

Release Date: 2026-04-23

These are the release notes for Viz Pilot Edge and Template Builder versions 3.5.0. This document describes the user-visible changes that have been made to the software since release 3.4.0.

Release Highlights

Version 3.5.0 focuses on three major areas: Asset Hosting, Run Mode in Template Builder, and broader scripting capabilities.

  • Asset Hosting opens Viz Pilot Edge to third-party and custom asset workflows, making it possible to integrate external asset UIs directly inside the application.

  • The new Run Mode makes Template Builder much better suited for testing and debugging runtime behavior, including testing playout of templates directly from run mode.

  • Scripting has also been expanded in this release. Templates can now be validated in the save-time hook onBeforeSave, access to views (tabs), control over field positioning and visibility, and the ability to invoke spell checking from scripting.

New Features

Viz Pilot Edge

  • Added support for third party asset guest UIs, inside Viz Pilot Edge (VPE-6385).

  • Added support for uploading images to GH directly from the client. Users can now upload images without leaving the workflow (VPE-5829).

  • Added support for cropping GH images, including correct preview and thumbnail handling for cropped results (VPE-6400).

  • Added the ability to paste images directly into image fields, alongside drag-and-drop and file-browser upload options (VPE-6406).

  • Added a refresh button to Media Search allowing users to re-run the current search without reopening the dialog (VPE-6479).

  • Added support for forcing tag matching to use all provided tags, when tags are supplied through MOS <ncsAppInfo>, giving more predictable template filtering in newsroom workflows (VPE-6470).

  • Spell checker added to Viz Pilot Edge (VPE-6381).

  • Added authentication support with redirect flow in Viz Pilot Edge (VPE-6354).

Template Builder

  • Added Run and Design mode in Template Builder, suitable for testing and debugging runtime behavior (VPE-6364).

  • Added MSE playout functionality to Run Mode in Template Builder, making it possible to test playout of templates directly from the run-mode workflow (VPE-6370).

  • Added a dedicated test and debug panel in run mode, including manual event triggers and quick XML export actions for troubleshooting scripted templates (VPE-6373).

  • Added a run script button in the script window so values generated by scripts can be applied and persisted without switching fully into run mode (VPE-6476).

  • Added an onBeforeSave scripting event, allowing templates to validate or cancel save operations before data is written (VPE-6112).

  • Added scripting access to field and UI item positioning, making it possible to move items dynamically at runtime (VPE-6295).

  • Added scripting support for view item visibility, where visibility is not already controlled by a hidden expression (VPE-6391).

  • Added scripting access to tabs and active views, including activation events and view switching (VPE-6296).

  • Added support for exposing optional parameters in DataServerConfg as environment variables for scripting (VPE-6413).

Improvements

Viz Pilot Edge

  • Improved image cropping for Viz Multiplay presets, by making preset aspect ratios available in the crop workflow (VPE-6059).

  • Improved the data element info box with more metadata, including element identifiers and quick copy support, simplifying element inspection for journalists and support staff (VPE-6412).

  • Improved media and image-search workflows in custom HTML panels by adding support for toggling the metadata panel (VPE-6407).

  • Improved drop-down usability by adding client-side search and filter support to dynamic drop-downs (VPE-6473).

  • Improved feed browser behavior so entries can still be selected even when optional linked assets are missing (VPE-6464).

Template Builder

  • Improved multilingual usability by increasing the effective font size and line handling for Arabic and Indian-language templates (VPE-6118).

  • Added scripting support for clearing image fields by setting them to null, making it easier to build optional-image workflows (VPE-6294).

  • Added createImageAssetFromXml and createVideoAssetFromXml scripting helpers for workflows that already produce valid asset XML (VPE-6111).

  • Added support for user-friendly labels on Viz Mosart destinations, to make destination selection easier in newsroom environments (VPE-6205).

  • Added support for locator values in feeds and for the application/vnd.vizrt.smmkey media type, improving template workflows that depend on shared-memory and Viz Ticker-style data sources (VPE-6432, VPE-6433).

  • Added support for JSON-backed drop-down data sources, making it easier to populate controls from REST-based services (VPE-6475).

Fixed Issues

Viz Pilot Edge

  • Fixed an issue where Viz Pilot Edge did not handle multiple Viz World Server hostnames correctly in redundant setups (VPE-6019).

  • Fixed an issue where expired Viz One authentication tokens were not re-authenticated automatically, using stored credentials (VPE-6188).

  • Fixed preset thumbnail rendering so thumbnails respect the configured aspect ratio (VPE-6410).

Template Builder

  • Fixed createImageAsset handling in the update-script tester so IMAGE* identifiers are accepted and processed correctly (VPE-6103).

  • Fixed an issue where the update service could double-escape plain-text values generated by scripts (VPE-6417).

  • Fixed scene replacement behavior, so replacing a scene with a renamed version of the same scene works as expected (VPE-6061).

  • Fixed a scripting save/sync issue that could cause script edits to revert to the last saved state when users changed the UI too quickly (VPE-6472).

Known Issues

Viz Pilot Edge

  • Viz One image thumbnails disappear from the template UI for classic (legacy) Viz Pilot templates (VPE-6119).

Template Builder

  • Pasting data into fragments must be performed twice (VPE-6146).

System Requirements

Hardware

There are no known hardware limitations for Viz Pilot Edge and Template Builder, other than requirements stipulated by newsroom systems hosting the client. Though the web browser and its version can affect look and functionality inside the applications.

Software

Vizrt components tested with this release:

  • Pilot Data Server 9.5.0

  • Graphic Hub 3.9.2 (with Graphic Hub REST 2.9.2)

  • Preview Server 4.7.1

  • Media Sequencer 5.8.1

  • Viz Artist 5.5.1

  • Viz Engine 5.5.1

  • Viz Mosart 5.13.0 (required for Timing Panel)

Note: TGA image support requires a codec program like https://www.fastpictureviewer.com/codecs/, to be installed on the same machine as crop service.

Browser

  • Tested with Chrome Version 147.0.7727.102 (Official Build) (64-bit)

  • Script Units require support for ES-modules in worker threads (module workers). This was added in Chromium/Chrome 80 (stable release Feb 4, 2020).

Newsroom Systems Used for Testing

  • INEWS 2022.12 (8.2.0.42) (Tested with Show Edge and HTML newsroom plugin)

  • ENPS 9.6.1.1144

  • Octopus 12

  • Avid MediaCentral Cloud UX 2025.10.x with the Traco plugin

  • Saga

  • Vizrt Showmaker

Most modern newsroom systems are expected to integrate with Vizrt software and Viz Pilot Edge. However, compatibility outside the systems listed above, was not verified for this release.

Authentication

Any newsroom system hosting Viz Pilot Edge in a modern, secure browser environment, should be able to utilize authentication. This requires:

Identity Providers Used for Testing

  • Vizrt SSO / Keycloak

  • Microsoft Entra ID

  • Okta

Upgrading

When upgrading from a previous version of Viz Pilot Edge, the previous version may still be presented by the host browser for a short time due to client side caching. To prevent this, clear the host browser cache. If you are using the default Internet Explorer host, open Internet Explorer, press CTRL + SHIFT + DELETE, select Temporary Internet files and website files and click DELETE.

Previous Versions

In accordance with the Vizrt Global Support Handbook section Software Lifecycle, support for older versions ends 24 months after a subsequent minor or major version is released.

With this release, the previous version of Viz Pilot Edge and Template Builder, will no longer be supported after 2028-04-23.

At the date of this release, Viz Pilot Edge 2.4, Template Builder 2.4 and Pilot Data Server 8.8 are no longer supported. Viz Pilot Edge 3.0 and Template Builder 2.4 will reach end of support 2026-07-16.

Documentation

Documentation for Viz Pilot Edge, Template Builder and related software is available at the Vizrt Documentation Center:

Support

Support is available at the Vizrt Support Portal.