Using The TrouDigital Creative Studio
This article will provide you with an overview of all the features the studio has to offer.
The TrouDigital Creative Studio is your one-stop shop for creating content. It’s been designed with digital signage in mind, enabling you to create content that makes the most of your screens.
This article will take you through the main features of the Studio.
Appearance and Settings
Appearance and Settings can be found on the right-hand side of the studio. Firstly, name your Creative and give it a description if needed, then begin working down the list.
Creative Settings
Using the Editor Orientation, you can choose whether to use a portrait or landscape canvas. If you need a more specific format, manually input your desired Aspect Ratio and Editor Resolution.
The alignment tool is used in the rare circumstances where multiple Creatives need to be shown on one screen. If this isn’t the case for you, don’t worry about this function. If this does interest you, get in contact with a member of the team and we’ll give you a detailed run-through.
Content Duration shows you how long the Creative will be shown on your screens (this can be amended later in the Playlists tab). The main thing is to ensure the ‘Update Duration in Playlists’ box is ticked, then you are good to go.
Appearance
This is where you choose a background colour/image for your content.
Once you click on ‘Background’, you will be provided with a collection of images (provided by Unsplash). Use the search bar to find an image that suits you.
Alternatively, you can use a colour. Click the plus icon on the top-left to open the colour palette, where you can find the perfect colour and choose appropriate effects for your background.
Top Tip: Use the Colour Code to input your brand colours (e.g. #032EC4).
Reporting and Audit
By ticking the ‘Collect Statistics’ box, you enable us to collect valuable data from your screens. For example, we could measure the number of touch interactions on a particular screen, or perhaps how often a particular Creative appears across all your screens.
To learn how to make the most of your statistics, head to Reports.
Widgets
Widgets are the various components of your Creative. This includes everything from a Text Box to a Data Dashboard.
On the left of the Studio, you’ll see all the available widgets. To use a widget, simply drag and drop it into your canvas.
On the right, you have a list of the active widgets in your canvas. If you hover your cursor over a widget, you will see the option to edit the name of the widget (the pen icon) and lock the widget in place (the lock icon). You can also double-click a widget to open the properties, where you can make detailed edits.
For more details on the function of each widget, click here.
The Toolbar
The Toolbar is the set of icons running along the top of the Studio. This is where you can perform the traditional functions you’d find on most creative platforms.
The Toolbar is tailored to the editing/formatting of your widgets, therefore you’ll notice that if no widget is selected, most of the toolbar selections aren’t available.
By selecting a widget, you’ll gain access to all the relevant functions. Hover your cursor over each icon to see what it does.
Saving Content
Once you are happy with your content, click the red ‘Save’ button in the top-right corner. You’ll notice a ‘Preview’ button next to ‘Save’. Previewing is a great way to validate your content, as you can see exactly how it would look on one of your screens.
Once your content is saved, it will appear in the Creatives tab, ready to be deployed to your screens. Remember to give it a distinctive and recognisable name, so you can locate it easily.
Widgets
Widgets are a cornerstone of the TrouDigital Studio. Use this article to learn about the purpose of each widget.
Widgets can be found in the Widget Panel on the left-side of the Studio.
To input a widget into your creative, drag it into your canvas. You can use the handles surrounding the widget (i.e. the circles on each corner and squares on each side) to resize and reshape. You’ll also notice that when a widget is selected, a designated ‘settings’ tab will appear on the right.
Each widget will have unique settings, however there are some commonalities across them all:
Even though you can use your cursor to amend size and position, this can be used to enter measurements manually.
This section allows you to amend the colour of the widget, where the fill is the background and the frame is the outline.
If your screen is touch-enabled, utilise this function to create touch interactions with the widget and dictate the nature of this interaction (i.e. opens a different creative).
In this section, you can name a widget and exclude it from playback.
Naming a widget is useful when you need to distinguish between variations of the same widget (e.g. if you have three text boxes).
Checking the ‘Exclude from Playback’ box means the widget will not be shown on screen when you play the creative. This is necessary when you want to include notes to yourself and the team.
The rest of this article will give you a detailed breakdown on the purpose of each Widget.
Text Box
Craft your copy with the Text Box.
After dragging and dropping the Text Box into your creative, click the centre of the box to begin inputting text. Once you’ve clicked into the widget, you’ll see formatting options above the Text Box.
A unique setting for this widget is the ability to add Giphy text. Giphy text generates animated options for the text of your choosing (up to 60 characters). Give it a try!
Label
The Label widget is perfect for headings and sub-headings.
After you’ve dragged the Label into your creative, click the centre to begin inputting text. You’ll notice that a new section titled ‘Label’ will appear in the settings of your creative. This is where you can change the formatting of your text (i.e. the font, size and colour).
Image
Use this widget to import images straight from the Media Center.
Once you’ve placed the widget into the canvas, it will appear in the settings as ‘Image EMPTY’. Choose an image from ‘My Library’ in the settings tab, and it will immediately replace the empty image.
Video
Use this widget to import video content directly into the Studio.
The process is the same as the image widget (navigate to ‘My Library’ in the widget’s settings and select your content).
In the widget’s settings, you can change the volume of the video. Most video content has audio elements, therefore being able to amend the volume to your liking is essential.
GIF
Use this widget to import GIFs.
Drag the widget into your canvas, select your GIF from the ‘My Library’ section of the settings tab (on the right) and it will be good to go!
Slideshow
Want to include multiple widgets in one section of the creative? Look no further.
Place the Slideshow widget in your canvas, and proceed to drag and drop the combination of widgets you want to include.
Once you drop a widget in, it will be added to a table in the widget’s settings. In this table, you can dictate the order of the widgets, along with the duration of time that they stay on screen.
Underneath the table, you will see the Playback section. Here’s what the three functions do:
- Checking the ‘Round video duration’ box will round the duration of any videos within the Slideshow to a whole number (e.g. if a video is 6.2s, ticking this box will make it only play for 6s).
- Enabling ‘Shuffle Slides’ means that the slides will appear in a random order.
- This allows you to choose the amount of slides that are played before your screen switches to the next creative in the playlist.
Web Image
Use this widget to import images directly from the internet.
After placing the widget into your canvas, you’ll see two options in the ‘Add Image From’ section of the widget’s settings.
- The first option is to add an image through its URL (just make sure it ends with .jpg or .png).
- Alternatively, you can import images directly from Unsplash.
Web Video
With this widget, you can embed video content directly from the internet.
In the widget’s settings, input the URL of the video you want to show on the screen. Underneath, you can decide whether a ‘Reload Interval’ is included and how long the interval is (the amount of time between each URL refresh).
Furthermore, in settings you can choose whether to ‘use video time as creative duration’. If this box is checked, your screen will play the Creative until the Web Video has finished.
Ticker
Use the Ticker to supercharge your screens with scrolling text.
In the widget’s settings, you can enter the text you’d like to appear on the Ticker and define the order in which you’d like it to appear.
Underneath, you’ll notice the ‘Display’ section. Here you can change the speed, direction and spacing of the Text. You can also choose whether you want the title of the entry to appear before or after.
The ‘Format’ section is where you can choose the formatting options for both the title and text (i.e. font options).
RSS
RSS Feeds allow you to display live information on your screens.
RSS Feeds supply information in a computer-readable format, allowing it to be interpreted and presented live on your screens. Simply input the RSS Feed URL and it will appear in a scroll format.
As these are live feeds, they must be continuously updated. Underneath the URL, there is a setting that allows you to choose how often and how many items are reloaded.
RSS Feeds will appear alongside the date and time the information was published, which can be formatted in the settings tab.
In the Ticker section of the widget’s settings, you can dictate the speed, direction, title position and spacing of the RSS Feed.
Finally, the Title and Text sections allow you to format these aspects of the widget separately.
Media RSS
All the benefits of a traditional RSS feed, with the addition of images.
On the widget’s settings, you can choose the duration of time a particular piece of information will stay on the screen, as well as how often the feed refreshes. (e.g. for a news feed, the duration of time each story stays on screen and how often the set of stories refresh).
YouTube
Display videos directly through YouTube with this widget.
Whether it’s your creation or someone else’s, use these videos to showcase content directly through YouTube. Simply drag in the widget, add the URL of the video you’d like to show and you’re good to go.
Weather
Display live weather information for any location across the globe.
In the widget’s settings, you can dictate the location and date of the information, as well as the units of measurement. Furthermore, this is where you can change the formatting of the title and content (e.g. font, size etc).
Clock
Keep everything on track with a live clock.
In settings, you can change aspects such as the date format, time zone and text properties.
Calendar
Stay organised with the Calendar widget.
We offer three templates: a grid view, a list view and one that incorporates elements of both. The template style can be amended in the widget’s settings, such as the alignments, fonts and theme.
Furthermore, you can limit the number of events shown at one time in the widget’s settings, which will likely be dictated by how large you’d like each event to be on-screen.
Calendars can be synced with live scheduling software (such as Outlook and Google Calendar), which will automate the process of updating the widget.
Top Tip: This feature is perfect for giving employees line-of-sight on company schedules or notifying customers of important events.
Timer
The ideal tool when time is of the essence.
Launch event coming up? Deadline looming? Use this widget to display the amount of time left.
Once you have placed the widget in your canvas, you can make dictate the length of the countdown in the widget’s settings.
Shape
Use this widget to add shape elements to your Creative.
Simply drag in the widget and choose the shape you’d like. The colour, size and position are up to you!
FTP
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) allows you to connect a server to your content.
Instead of uploading files directly to the studio, FTP will pull files straight from the connected server, where they will be shown in the area occupied by the widget.
Touch
To see and hear your content is one thing, but true interaction starts with touch.
If your screen enables touch interaction, this widget is of primary importance. We’ve mentioned that you can add touch elements to widgets in its settings, however this widget allows you to create touch events anywhere on the screen.
Simply drag it in, position it over the desired area and shape the nature of the interaction (choose from the ‘Action’ drop-down in the widget’s settings). Each action requires different information (e.g a URL is needed to launch a webpage). Make sure you’ve filled out the boxes underneath the action completely and accurately before sending the content to your screens.
Sub Creative
Use this widget to format multiple Creatives in the same canvas.
We often see our clients apply this widget in unique and innovative ways, so we encourage you to explore its uses and be imaginative.
Here are some examples of how this widget could be used:
If you have designated a portion of your screen to another party, instead of giving them access to the entire Creative, give them control of a blank Creative that’s linked to that particular section.
For those that have a multi-screen setup controlled by one Media Player, you can evenly segment your canvas so that a single Creative appears on each screen.
If there is a common widget appearing across your Playlist, this tool can be used to ensure it runs consistently as your screen transitions through the content. For example, if you don’t want a Ticker to reset when content changes, you could embed the Ticker to run continuously throughout the Playlist.
Embed HTML
Through this widget, you can embed code directly into your Creatives.
If you have a specific script of code that you would like to include in your Creative, use this widget to input the code and dictate its size/position.
Streaming
Need to project a stream from a platform other than UStream? This widget’s for you.
Even though we offer a standalone widget for UStream, there are often times when our clients need to show live content through a different platform.
This widget accommodates this. Simply drag it into your canvas, add the URL of the stream you want to show in settings and the Studio will do the rest.
Ad Serving
Use this widget to connect your screens directly to an advertising vendor.
This widget can be directly linked to Adomni and Vistar Media. Once it’s dragged into your canvas and positioned correctly, choose your ‘Vendor’ in settings.
Next, input the relevant information in the ‘Connection’ section, and the vendor’s advertising will begin to appear on your screens.
Dashboards
Power your screens with a data-driven dashboard.
In a data-driven world, we understand the value of being able to present key metrics on your screens. That’s why we’ve directly integrated Tableau and Power BI with the Studio.
Once you drag in the widget, a pop-up will appear showcasing the available options. You can either:
- Link your PowerBI/Tableau account,
- Design a dashboard with the gauges provided in the Studio.
Table
Display data in an easy-to-read table.
After dragging the widget into your canvas, you’ll see a multitude of options appear in settings.
The most important one is ‘Data Source’, as this dictates what information will be presented in the table. It will originally appear as ‘Demo’, which consists of test data provided by us. This will help you visualise what the table will look like, in terms of its Style, Font and Cell format.
To import your actual data, choose the data source type (either API or CSV), link the URL and establish a Fetch Interval (how often the table will pull data from the source). Once you’ve linked your data source, any inputs into the source data will be automatically reflected on your screens.
Smart Switch
This widget has been designed specifically to manage traffic.
Many of our clients need to control traffic (e.g. footfall) in their buildings. The Smart Entrance facilitates this, enabling you to link a controller that measures the traffic and changes the logo shown on the screen accordingly.
Screens
This marks the final stage of getting your content onto your screens. At this point, you’ve designed your Creatives and brought them together into a Playlist. This article will help you put them into action.
Once you enter the Screens tab, you will see that each screen connected to a Media Player is readily available. If you have multiple screens, refer to the title of the screens to identify which is which.
Adding Content to Your Screens
After you’ve identified your screens, double-click on the one you’d like to add content to.
The premise here is very similar to making a Playlist – simply drag and drop in the Playlist(s) you’d like to show on-screen (make sure to order your Playlists correctly if you are combining multiple Playlists on one screen).
On the bottom left of each Playlist, you’ll notice it tells you the duration of playtime. This is useful information if you want content to play on-screen for a specific amount of time.
Once you are finished setting up the content click ‘Preview’ on the top-right corner to see how it will look on-screen. Once you’re happy, click ‘Update’ and the content will be added to your Screen.
Scheduling Your Content
We’ve covered how you can schedule Creatives within the Playlist, but you can take it further by scheduling the Playlist itself.
It’s important to note that these are two separate functions. This is illustrated in the example below:
Imagine you are scheduling content for the 12 Days of Christmas. You want a different Creative to play on each day, which can be achieved by scheduling 12 individual Creatives within the Playlist. However, you also want to make sure this Playlist is only active during these 12 days. This is where you would schedule the Playlist within the Screens tab.
To schedule a Playlist, click the calendar icon on the bottom right of the Playlist (or alternatively, hover over the Playlist and click the calendar icon in the middle).
There are two scheduling options: Weekly and Custom Date.
Choose specific days of the week that the content is played on-screen, as well as dictate whether the schedule is recurring or only for a specific date range.
Input specific date ranges you would like the content to be shown on-screen, as well as determine whether it recurs annually (e.g. if it’s seasonal content).
Here, can also choose whether you’d like the Playlist to play at specific times throughout the day.
Events
In the area where you order your Playlists, you’ll notice a small button titled ‘Events’ in the top-left.
We’ve covered how you create events within a Playlist, however this function allows you to create isolated events specifically for the Screen.
After clicking the ‘Events’ button, follow the step-by-step guide below to create an event on your screen.
Click ‘New Event’ on the left-hand side.
Select the Creative that appears due to the trigger and click ‘Set’ on the top-right.
Proceed to name the Event, set the duration of time it stays on screen and choose the trigger for the Creative to appear (i.e. Empty Screen or Touch). Click ‘Next’.
Choose the position of the Creative. For example, you could make the Creative appear on the corner of the Screen, or fill the entire screen. It’s up to you!
Finally, edit the Style and Sound of your content. This includes choosing the border elements of the Creative and how it transitions in after the trigger. Once you are happy, click ‘Finish’.
Finally, press ‘Update’ in the top-right corner, otherwise the event you’ve created will not be applied to your Screen.
