Creating Schedules

A schedule decides which piece of content plays on which screens, and when. Each schedule ties one item — a media file, playlist, or link URL — to a screen or screen group, for a specific time window.

Get there: sidebar → Schedules

How a schedule reaches a screen

Every screen checks Stratos regularly for its content list. When a schedule covers the current time, the screen starts playing the scheduled item. When the window ends, the screen returns to its default layout — the fallback content set on the screen itself. See Editing a screen for how to set one.

If two schedules cover the same screen at the same time, the one with the higher priority number wins. If priorities are equal, the most recently created schedule wins.

What you see on the page

The page header shows three counts:

• Total Schedules — every schedule visible to you (overrides are filtered out and live on the Overrides page).
• Active Now — schedules whose window covers the current moment.
• Upcoming — schedules whose start time is in the future.

A single All Screen Groups dropdown narrows the list to one screen group. The selection is mirrored in the URL so you can share a filtered view.

The table columns:

Column	What it shows
Name	Schedule name. An Active badge marks a schedule that is currently playing. A yellow warning icon marks a conflict.
Screen Group	The screen group the schedule targets
Start	Start date
End	End date, or — for open-ended
Repeat	Recurrence label (No recurrence, Daily, Weekly, etc.)
Priority	Numeric priority value
Actions	Edit (pencil) and Delete (trash)

Click any row to open the schedule’s detail page. Right-click (on devices that support hover) for the context menu — Edit and Delete.

If the list is too large to show all at once, a yellow notice asks you to narrow it with filters or pagination.

Create a schedule

Click the + button in the page header (tooltip: New Schedule). The schedule dialog has three tabs.

Tab 1 — Target & Content

Target — choose whether the schedule applies to a single screen or a screen group:

• Screen — pick one screen.
• Screen Group — pick from your screen groups. One schedule, many screens.

Content — choose what plays:

• Playlist — a playlist of media items that loops.
• Direct Item — a single file from your library, or a link URL, with an optional duration override.

Layouts and campaigns can be scheduled via their own Schedule action inside the layouts or campaigns pages. The create dialog supports playlists and direct items.

Tab 2 — Time & Recurrence

Time — choose between a saved time block or a custom window:

• Time Block — pick a reusable named range (e.g. Business Hours, Lunch). See Time Blocks.
• Custom Time — set a start time and end time specific to this schedule.

Days of Week — which days the schedule runs. At least one day is required.

Date range — optionally set a From Date (when the schedule becomes active) and an Until Date (when it expires). Leave both blank for an always-on schedule.

Recurrence — how often the schedule repeats within the date range:

Recurrence	What it does
No recurrence	Plays once per day on the selected days within the active time window.
Hourly	Repeats every N hours.
Daily	Repeats every N days.
Weekly	Repeats every N weeks on the chosen days.
Monthly	Repeats on the same date each month.
Yearly	Repeats on the same date each year.

Exception Dates — specific dates to skip even when they fall on an active day. Useful for public holidays or one-off exceptions.

Tab 3 — Settings

Field	Notes
Priority	A number (0 or higher). Higher numbers win when schedules overlap on the same screen. Same priority → most recently created wins. See Priority & Conflicts.
Active	When off, the schedule is saved but does not play. Use this to prepare schedules in advance.

The Settings tab also shows a live conflict check. If any overlapping schedules are detected at the current priority, they are listed here with an indication of which will win.

Click Save. The schedule reaches connected screens on their next content check, typically within a couple of minutes.

Edit a schedule

Click the pencil icon on the row, or right-click → Edit. The same dialog opens pre-filled. Update any field and save.

Delete a schedule

Click the trash icon (red) on the row, or right-click → Delete. A confirmation dialog explains the schedule will be removed from all screens. Confirm to delete.

For bulk delete, tick the checkboxes on the rows you want, then click Delete in the action bar that appears at the bottom of the screen.

Priority

Set a higher Priority number to push a schedule above others during overlaps on the same screen. For one-off, time-sensitive content (closures, announcements, emergency messages) consider an Override instead — overrides are designed for short-term takeovers and live on their own page. See Priority & Conflicts for the full rules.

Conflicts

A yellow warning icon next to a schedule name means the schedule overlaps in time with another schedule on the same screen group. Hover the icon for a summary of the overlap.

A conflict is not necessarily a problem — the priority rules decide which content plays — but it’s worth checking that you intended the overlap.

Linking from other pages

• The Playlists page has a Schedule action that opens this page’s create dialog with the playlist pre-filled.
• The Dashboard links to a specific schedule by opening its context menu automatically.

Permissions

The page appears only when your role includes schedule access. Create, edit, and delete depend on your scheduling permissions. Customer admins always have full access.

Next steps

• Time Windows — define reusable time-of-day windows.
• Overrides — push short-term content takeovers.
• Reports — confirm content actually played.