A cue points at a file that is not there any more. The program tells you before the show if you let it, and this page is about both halves: reading the warning, and fixing it.
How you find out
When you open the list, a message reports how many cues refer to a file that no longer exists.
In the list, each affected line carries a warning mark, and its tooltip shows the full path it is looking for.
That path is the diagnosis. Read it before doing anything else.
What the path tells you
| The path shows | Usually |
|---|---|
| A folder that was renamed or moved | The material moved; move it back or repoint the cue |
| A drive letter that is not mounted | A network share is not connected |
| Somebody’s own Documents or Downloads folder | The list came from another machine |
| A file that genuinely no longer exists | It was deleted |
Fixing it
If the files moved, put them back where the list expects them. That is quicker than editing cues, and it fixes every affected line at once.
If the material is elsewhere for good, open the cue’s properties and point it at the new location.
If the list came from another machine, you needed a bundle rather than a list. Ask for a .playoutbundle, which carries the media inside it — see bundles.
If the file is really gone, replace it, or move the line into the archive so it stops appearing in the running order.
During a broadcast
A cue whose file is missing produces black. It does not crash the playout and it does not stop the list: the show continues, with nothing where that item should have been.
So during a service, skip it — arm the next cue and carry on. Fix it afterwards.
The habit that prevents it
Open the list once, early, on the machine that will run it. Ten seconds, and it turns the most common cause of dead air into a job you do with a coffee.
The whole design of this feature assumes somebody does that. Nothing checks the files again at the moment you press GO, because by then it is too late to be useful.