Build a Layout

A Layout places content in fixed areas on a canvas. Use one to combine, for example, a notice, a live schedule, and a Playlist zone on one screen. You can use a published Layout as fullscreen content or add it to a Playlist.

Create a Layout

1. Open Presentations > Layouts, then select Create layout.
2. Enter a name, choose a canvas size such as Full HD landscape, Full HD portrait, 4K landscape, or 4K portrait, and select Blank canvas or Announcement as the starting point.
3. Select + in the tool dock at the top left of the canvas, or press A or /. Choose Media…, Widget…, or Playlist… to open a chooser, or pick a recent item to place it right away. You can also drag a recent item onto the canvas. The Add menu also has Text, Rectangle, Circle, and Line tools: choose one, then click or drag on the canvas to draw. Press Esc to cancel a tool. Use Layers in the dock to list layers, and Layout settings for the canvas.
4. Arrange and resize layers on the canvas. Select a layer to edit its settings in the inspector card at the top right. A toolbar above the selection has quick actions for centering, bring to front, duplicate, lock, and delete.
5. Select Preview to check the current Layout, then select Publish or Submit for review.

If Studio cannot save an Announcement starting point, the Layout remains in the library. Select Retry template setup to finish that same Layout without creating another one. If the draft changes before you retry, setup stops and Studio asks you to review the existing Layout. Close the dialog, review that Layout in the library, then start another setup if needed.

The preview opens across the Studio window and keeps the entire canvas below its toolbar. Portrait and landscape Layouts keep their canvas proportions, including Widgets rendered inside them. The preview date starts at your local date. It also drives those Widgets in the organization’s time zone and time-sensitive Data Source projections, so an Agenda or Countdown shows the selected calendar day alongside the Layout’s dynamic text.

Widget placements use the appearance configured on the shared Widget. Edit that Widget to change its appearance. Studio does not offer per-placement appearance controls because the Player does not apply them.

Studio clears a Layout thumbnail when its referenced Media, Widget, Playlist, or Data Source changes. The next time an editor opens the Layout, Studio captures a new thumbnail. This does not change the Layout draft or its published revision.

The Layout library loads the first 100 matches. Search to narrow results across the library, or select Load more to browse later results. Presentation choosers use the same search and Load more controls.

Players that rotate Widgets inside a Layout Playlist zone must report layout.playlist_widgets@1 and support each Widget’s rendering requirements. The Server checks this when you assign content and again when the Player requests a manifest. Older Players can continue to play media-only zones. For the exact contract, see Widgets, Data Sources, and Layouts.

The Media picker can also upload an image or video; it is added to the Media library. A Playlist zone plays independently inside the Layout. Loop returns to the first playable item or stops on the last one. Corner radius and each Playlist item’s fade or crossfade transition apply in the zone. If media fails, Fallback shows the Layout background, keeps the last successfully loaded item, or hides the zone. The Player skips to another playable item when one is available and retries a failed final item after two seconds. Studio checks both the Playlist item and its Media asset against the selected preview date, so content appears only when it is available to the Player. If the date is blank or invalid, Studio uses the current time. A zone needs a Playlist with playable content.

A Playlist zone can rotate images, videos, built-in Widgets, component Widgets, and supported package or web Widgets. For example, a zone can show an image, then a Clock, then a video, then a data-driven Widget. Each item fills that zone; the other zones continue independently. Studio uses its shared Widget preview at the zone’s dimensions and the Player Runtime’s zone actor for timing.

Nested Layouts cannot play inside a Playlist zone. If a zone Playlist contains a nested Layout or another unsupported entry, Studio tells you right away:

• When you add a Playlist as a zone, Studio doesn’t add it and names the items that can’t play.
• On the canvas, the zone shows Unsupported items instead of a preview.
• The zone’s inspector and a banner above the canvas list each unsupported item and its type. Select a name in the banner to jump to the zone.
• Publish and Submit stay off until you fix it.

Remove unsupported entries from the zone Playlist. Show nested Layouts as fullscreen content or as entries in the screen’s main Playlist. Studio checks again when you return to the window, so it also catches a Playlist that someone changed after you added the zone. Assignment validation rejects unsupported entries with their item names. The Server also rejects a Player that lacks a required Widget or zone capability.

Images use their item duration or the Player’s default image duration. Widgets use their item duration or the 30-second Widget default. Timing starts when the item is ready to show, and pauses with the Layout. Videos start at their start offset and play to their end offset, or to the end of the media when no end offset is set. A looping zone repeats a single video from its start offset; a non-looping zone pauses its final video at its end offset. YouTube keeps its configured completion policy and cannot overlap another YouTube zone. Studio’s web preview still depends on the website allowing browser embedding. The preview uses organization playback defaults for items that use Player defaults. See the playback settings for policy controls.

The Player keeps the outgoing zone item visible while the next item prepares. A slow or failed zone does not delay the rest of the Layout. Load, play, and Widget lifecycle failures appear as zone failures in Activity and use the configured fallback. If every item fails, the zone waits two seconds before retrying. The Runtime readiness contract defines the reported evidence. Canvas evidence alone does not confirm that every child is working.

If a Widget reports an error after it first renders, the Player reports a failure for that zone and keeps the Layout active so its other content can continue.

Show changing values in text

Select a text layer and set Content mode to Dynamic field. Choose a Data Source and field, then set a format and optional fallback text. The Layout can bind text directly to one field; use a Widget when you need to display a repeating list of records. See Data Sources and Widgets.

A missing value formats as empty text, then uses the layer’s fallback when one is configured. Number, integer, percent, currency, date, date-time, and time formats use the organization’s regional settings. Date-only values stay on their calendar date instead of shifting through the Player’s local timezone. An invalid numeric value becomes empty. A value that isn’t a supported ISO/RFC 3339 instant for a date or time format is left as its source text instead of being guessed.

Plan for canvas size and TV edges

The canvas is a design coordinate system, not a requirement that the display have the same pixel resolution. A 4K Layout can play on a 1080p screen: Tilecast scales the canvas to the available display area without changing its aspect ratio, and positions, text, shapes, and zones scale with it. Very thin lines and very small type can still become less distinct after downscaling, so preview the Layout at the target screen shape and avoid relying on one-pixel details.

Tilecast does not add a broadcast-style title-safe or overscan margin automatically. Set the TV to a 1:1 mode such as Just Scan, Screen Fit, or the manufacturer’s equivalent when possible. If the display cannot disable overscan, keep essential text away from the canvas edge and test that exact model.

A text layer can use one of your organization fonts, added from Google Fonts or uploaded as TTF or OTF files, or one of the built-in families Inter, Roboto, Source Sans 3, and Noto Sans. A text layer that uses an organization font keeps a built-in family as its fallback: screens show the fallback while the font downloads, and screens on an older Player version keep using it.

Layer order controls overlap: a higher layer is painted in front of a lower layer, and each placement keeps its own opacity. Use Layers and Bring to front to make the intended order explicit. A Span screen receives only the part of a placement that intersects its panel. Size ordinary Layout placements to the visible region you want instead of depending on content outside their box.

Limits to plan for

Tilecast allows only one visible video-capable placement or Playlist zone in a Layout, and only one placement or zone that emits audio. A Playlist zone runs independently, so don’t add another video or audio source that would exceed those limits.

Layout edits remain a draft until you publish or submit them for review. Playlists can only use a published Layout, so an unpublished Layout edit doesn’t change what is available for playback. Publish the Layout when the new version is ready.

Next steps

• Create a Playlist or reuse one as a Layout zone.
• Add a reusable Widget or connect a Data Source.
• Coordinate Layout playback with a Campaign or Schedule.