The Playlist Template Builder tool provides an easy yet powerful approach to playlist generation. You can harness much of the power of the playlist template format and OMQL without understanding the gritty details.
For example, if you're an AV enthusiast and would like a template that will generate a playlist suitable for dinner music, this can be quickly and easily achieved provided you have previously set up the necessary categories within the Media Library.
To find the Playlist Template Builder
dialog box click the 
on
the toolbar and click the Template Builder... button.
Playlist Template Builder dialog box
Categories section
INCLUDE items within any of these categories - Set... button: Provides a list of categories that you select to be included in the new playlist.
EXCLUDE items within any of these categories - Set... button: Provides a list of categories that you select to be excluded in the new playlist.
Rating section
Only include items which have a rating of... or higher drop down menu: Enables you to select the lowest rating that you would like in the new playlist.
Similar Item Separation section
Separate items by the same ARTIST by at least ... items input box: This is where you set the artist separation rules. This value can be set from zero and upwards, and will ensure there is separation between items by the same artist.
Separate items by the same TITLE by at least ... items input box: This is where you set the title separation rules. This value can be set from zero and upwards, and will ensure there is separation between each items with the same title.
Last Play Separation section
Exclude any items played during the last: input box and drop down menu: This is where you exclude items based on the last play information.
Items Generation Priority Weightings section
This section allows you to influence the way that the playlist generator selects each item. Hard rules set elsewhere, such as "only select items from this category", or "don't select anything that has been played within the last 6 hours" are always adhered to no matter what. However, with the priority rating settings in this area you can influence which items are most likely to be selected among all the items which first satisfy the hard rules.
Each value must be a percentage between 0 and 100. This value indicates the significance of the respective selection criteria. For example, if you set Last Play to 0%, then how long ago each item was played will not be a consideration at all when the playlist generator is deciding which item to choose next. On the other hand, if you set Last Play to 100%, then items which have not been played for a while are a lot more likely to be selected than those that were recently played.
By using various percentage values in each of the three selection criteria, you can greatly influence the kind of playlists which are generated with your template.
Last Play input box: Items which have not played for 1 month or more receive the biggest "boost" to the chances of them being selected. The amount of boost is scaled over a 1 month period from current to one month ago. At item that was played right now (less than a second ago), will receive no boost from this criteria.
Rating input box: Items which have a rating of 10 receive full boost. Items with a rating of 0 receive no boost.
Randomness input box: Each items receive a random amount of boost. By varying the percentage value of this factor, you can influence the balance between your generated playlists being totally random and being based on other selection criteria.
Playlist Length section
Playlist should run for at least... input box and drop down menu: Enables you to select the duration of the playlist. Playlists generated with this template will run for at least this amount of time, and possibly a couple minutes longer as songs are not cut off mid-way through.
Tip: Using Scheduling & Logging, OtsAV can generate playlists or playlist segments which are targeted at an exact length, and can achieve this length to within 1 second! This is ideal for radio station automation. Click here for more information.
Station ID insertions section
Station ID insertions option: Enables the Station ID insertion feature.
Insert ID every input box: Allows you to set the frequency of Station ID insertion.
ID category drop down menu: Enables you to select the Category that the Station IDs are contained in.
Cancel button: Closes the Playlist Template Builder dialog box.
Build Template button: Builds the Template based on the parameters set.
How to build a Playlist Template using the Template Builder
How to build a Playlist Template containing Station IDs
How to build an advanced Playlist Template
Playlist generation and options
How to configure Scheduling & Logging