This page covers dropping things onto the cue list. It is the fastest way to build a rundown, and it understands rather more than files.
Where it lands
Drop anywhere on the list. A line shows where the material will go — including inside a group, so you can drop a block of clips exactly where it belongs rather than dropping it at the end and dragging it up afterwards.
Dropping onto a collapsed group header puts everything in that group.
What it understands
| What you drop | What you get |
|---|---|
| Video and audio files | A media cue each |
| Images | A still each |
| A folder | A group containing what is in it |
.m3u, .m3u8, .pls | A media playlist |
A Windows shortcut (.url) | The link behind it, resolved |
| A web address | A media cue if it plays directly, otherwise a web page |
.playoutgroup | The exported group, back in your list |
.playoutbundle | The group, with its media unpacked |
.playout | A whole rundown — it asks first, see below |
Dropping a .playout gives you a choice: Open it, which replaces what you have, or Add as group, which brings it in as one block underneath what is already there. The second is how you assemble a service out of parts other people prepared.
What it refuses
Types the engine cannot read are not added, and you get one message listing everything that was skipped — not one dialog per file.
That refusal is deliberate. A cue that quietly plays black is worse than a missing line, because you find the first one during the broadcast and the second one now.
The most common case is a video file in a container the engine does not handle. Convert it, or export it again as mp4.
Dropping while the show runs
Dropping onto a running list is safe: it does not disturb the cue on air, does not re-arm anything, and does not renumber what is playing.
It is the normal way to deal with something that comes up unplanned — drop it in, arm it, fire it.
Practical notes
Order follows your selection. Files come in in the order Explorer hands them over, which is the order you see there. Sort by name in Explorer and name the files accordingly if the order matters.
A folder is one action. Fifteen photos in a folder become one group with fifteen stills, which is quicker than selecting them all and tidier than a flat list.
Network paths work, and are the usual reason a cue starts a fraction late. For anything that must not stutter, copy the media to the machine first.