A playlist is what a screen actually plays: an ordered list of content it loops through, along with how long each item stays on screen. Screens play playlists rather than individual items, so you need one even for a single image.
Create it
- In the dashboard, open Playlists.
- Click + New Playlist.
- Give it a title. This is the only thing it asks for; content, timing, and screens all come after.
- Click Create.
You land directly on the new playlist’s Content tab.
Add your content
Add the item you uploaded in the previous step. Then, if you want to see the rotation actually rotate, add a second one.
Two things you can adjust per item:
- Duration, how long an item stays on screen before the next one. Images and web pages need one because they have no natural length. Video plays to its end by default.
- Order, the sequence items play in. Drag to reorder.
The playlist loops. When it reaches the end it starts again from the top, and it keeps doing that for as long as its schedule says it should be playing.
Keep a first playlist to two or three items. It is much easier to tell whether things are working when you can watch a full loop in under a minute.
About scheduling
A playlist carries its own schedule. There is no separate schedule object to create and attach, which is the single most common thing to unlearn if you have used other signage software.
For now, leave the schedule alone. A new playlist is set to play whenever it is assigned, which is what you want for a first test.
Once you are past setup, scheduling is where a lot of Screenly’s value sits: playing different content by time of day, restricting a playlist to weekdays, or giving an urgent message priority so it interrupts everything else.
A playlist can hold up to 1,024 items, but long before that a playlist that has grown unwieldy is a sign it should be split into two.
Next
Your playlist exists but is not going anywhere yet. Next, assign it to your screen.