This page covers the media playlist: a block of files that behaves as one item in the running order. One GO starts it and the files play through by themselves, so twenty clips take up one block in the list instead of twenty lines.
Adding one
The arrow beside Media in the toolbar → Media playlist…, then select the files. They become one playlist group, in the order you picked them.
Its two settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Repeat the whole playlist | After the last file it starts again at the first. |
| Shuffle the order | Each pass plays them in a random order instead of the order you set. |
Both are properties of the playlist, not of the individual files.
How it plays
GO starts the first file; each file hands over to the next by itself. While the playlist runs, the green marker already points at the line after the whole block, so the next GO takes you out of it — you do nothing to keep it going. With repeat off, the last file hands over to that next line by itself; with repeat on, it goes round until you press GO.
The files inside keep their own trims and volumes, so a playlist is not a straitjacket: you can still give one clip an out point and leave the rest alone.
When to use one
| Situation | Why a playlist fits |
|---|---|
| A run of adverts or announcements | One line in the rundown instead of twelve |
| Filler that must keep going before the start | Repeat on, shuffle on, and it looks after itself |
| A set of clips whose order does not matter | Shuffle |
When not to use one
When each item needs its own place in the show. A playlist is one line, so a follow action, a link to another playout or a transition applies to the block — not to the third clip inside it. If those things differ per item, use separate cues in a group: the same tidiness, with every setting still per line.
When you need to jump to a specific item. A playlist plays in its own order. To be able to fire item seven directly, it has to be its own cue.