Scenarios advanced setup
  • 29 May 2024
  • 3 Minutes to read
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Scenarios advanced setup

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Article summary

The Scenarios tab also allows system administrators to define variables or placeholders for them, such as flight code, airline, locations, etc. These variables can then be used in templates for displays and in text-to-speech announcements. 

Since the following guide is intended for advanced customization, we'll skip the detailed descriptions in some places, such as how to create and design a template or a text-to-speech announcement, assuming you already know how to do that. In the steps on setting up a template, we'll show you an example of using scenario variables as part of a dynamic text and as part of an advanced script, but there are other ways to use them in the template designer. For example, you can use a scenario variable in dynamic media to select a specific row or column with a name that matches the value of that variable, or in state scripts to change the states of the template. Additionally, instead of dynamic text you can also create a visual paging element in template designer that would scroll the announcement content you have defined for a scenario.


Topics covered:
  • Scenarios tab, 
  • Scenario activation tab,
  • Announcement library tab,
  • Templates tab

TUTORIAL STEPS:


A) Create a new scenario on the Scenarios tab.
Define its name, type and threat level. See tutorial Scenarios basic setup
B) Adding data action

  1. Click the Add action tab.
  2. Select the Add data action.

Note: unlike the other actions, you can only add data action once per scenario, and its order among the other actions cannot be changed, it will always remain first.
C) Input data configuration
 
  1. Click the Add data button. Each individual input data is added as a table row.
  2. Enter the data Code and its Label
  3. (option A) - Check the Query user if you wish the data to be defined during scenario activation on the Scenario activation tab and fill in the Placeholder that can set an example of the expected data on the scenario activation tab.
    (option B) - Uncheck the Query user if you wish the data to be pre-defined without ability to modify it during scenario activation and enter its value into the Value field.
  4. To move forward, you must save the scenario with the input data so that you can use it when creating templates and announcements.



D) Open the TTS library tab and create a new announcement.
See tutorial Modify TTS announcement from library
E) Adding scenario data 
 
  1. Click the Add scenario data button in the Structure Editor section to insert scenario data into the announcement content.

F) Select the scenario input data you need in a new sub-window.

G) Confirm your selection by clicking the "check" button. The selected scenario input data will be added to the announcement content where you left the cursor in the editor.
H) 
 
  1. Repeat the previous step until all scenario data inputs required are added.
  2. Click the Save button once your announcement is complete.


I) Open the Template tab. Create and design a new template.
See tutorial Create basic STATIC content
J) Click the Canvas icon and select the Scenarios data source. 
K) Adding dynamic text
 
  1. Click the Text icon and select Dynamic Text.
  2. Place the element on the canvas.
  3. Click the Dynamic text editor button.

L) Dynamic text editor window
 
  1. Drag and drop the scenario data source hints to the text editor. 
  2. Click the OK button once the dynamic text content is complete.

M) Editing element script (optional)
 
  1. Click the Edit element script button in Advanced section.

N) Edit script (optional)

  1. Drag and drop the data source hints and make them part of the script in the editor.
  2. Click the Save button.

Script example (the text highlighted in blue is the data source hint element that is dragged and dropped to the editor):

if (get("scenario.context.cancelled_or_delayed"/*cancelled or delayed*/) == "delayed") setTextColor("#f2e760");

if (get("scenario.context.cancelled_or_delayed"/*cancelled or delayed*/) == "cancelled") setTextColor("#fb9c55");


O) Save & publish the template.


P) Return to your scenario on the Scenarios tab.
Q) Completing the scenario

  1. Add Show content and Make announcement actions. Assign the template and announcement you have previously created and configure the rest of the settings, such as zones, priority, and repetition. See the Scenarios basic setup tutorial if you need to refresh your memory on these actions.
  2. Click the Save button.

R) Open the Scenario activation tab and click on your scenario.
S) Defining the input data
Scenarios cannot be activated if the data variables expected in the announcement messages are not defined. These data variables will be highlighted in red, notifying users of missing data variables. In our example we have two placeholders for data variables that need to be filled in.

  1. Enter the values in placeholder fields. 

T) Activate the scenario.
U) Example of the activated scenario on a display




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