In Signagelive, while Static Zones are perfect for fixed content, Schedulable Zones are where your dynamic, ever-changing content truly shines. These zones are designed to play a sequence of media based on Playlists, giving you incredible flexibility and control over your digital signage.
What is a Schedulable Zone?
A Schedulable Zone is essentially a flexible placeholder within your Layout. When you create a Layout, you define the size and position of a Schedulable Zone, but you leave it "empty" of specific content. The magic happens later during the Publish Process, where you populate this zone with one or multiple Playlists. These Playlists then dictate what content (videos, images, web pages, widgets, etc.) will display in that zone and when.
This separation of design (Layout) and content scheduling (Playlists) provides a powerful and efficient workflow for managing digital signage. You can learn more about creating Layouts in our Introduction to the Layout Designer video below:
What are the Benefits of Schedulable Zones?
Schedulable Zones offer a wealth of advantages for dynamic signage:
Content Variety: Easily display a rotation of multiple images, videos, web pages, or widgets within a single zone.
Time-Sensitive Messaging: Schedule different content to play at specific times of the day, week, or even year (e.g., breakfast menu in the morning, lunch menu at midday, promotional ads during peak hours).
Targeted Advertising: Deliver relevant messages to your audience by scheduling campaigns to specific zones or players.
Efficient Updates: You can change the content in a Schedulable Zone simply by updating the associated Playlist without needing to redesign the entire Layout.
Using Schedulable Zones in Your Layout
Adding a Schedulable Zone to your Layout is a key step in creating dynamic content areas:
Within the Layout Designer, you will select the option to add a new zone.
Choose Schedulable Zone from the available types.
Drag and resize the zone to your desired position and dimensions on the Layout canvas.
Essentially, when you create the Layout, the Schedulable Zone stays as a blank canvas. Its content will be decided later during the Publish process. This is where you will choose the Playlists to fill each Schedulable Zone in your Layout.
What Settings Do Schedulable Zones Have?
While Schedulable Zones are primarily populated during the publishing stage, they do have some important basic settings you can configure within the Layout Designer:
Zone Dimensions and Position: You will specify the exact size (width and height) and location (X and Y coordinates) of the zone on your Layout.
Zone Name: Assign a clear, descriptive name to easily identify it later, especially when managing multiple Schedulable Zones.
Default Asset (Fallback Content): This is a highly useful feature! If, for any reason, a Schedulable Zone remains empty during the Publish process (i.e., no Playlist is assigned to it), it typically displays the background of your Layout. However, you can set a Default Asset as a "screensaver" for this situation. This can be any single asset from your Asset Library – an image, video, web page, or widget – ensuring your screen never appears completely blank or displays unintended content.
These settings provide the foundational structure for your dynamic content, ready for you to layer on your Playlists and schedules during the final publishing stage.