MusicMaster Blog

by Vicky James

I know the thought of considering clock changes can be just exhausting when you likely have several clocks, which then makes it an even more of a tedious project!

Well, what if I told you that making a mass change to your clocks can take a matter of moments!

It can! Allow me to guide you through this quick and simple “How To” on making a mass change in your clocks.

Before beginning any changes to your database we ALWAYS recommend making a backup, which is found in the Tools tab.

Now, let’s change your clocks!

You can launch the feature using the Clock Icon on the main toolbar.

If you are already working in a single clock, you can also find the Mass Change Clock Elements icon here:

Note that if you use this method, you are given option to mass change elements just within the active clock you have open, or on all of your clocks.

But if you want to change several (but not ALL clocks) at once, instead of opening up a single clock first, you should click on the Clock icon on the main toolbar. Then, checkbox the clocks you want to edit and use the Changer button at the bottom of the panel.

Some examples of when you may want to edit multiple clocks at once is swapping in a different category, picking a new song ID for a forced element used in multiple hours, or plugging in a new format list you’ve created.

In my example, I plan to swap my Secondary 80’s category for my new Super 80s category in four of my clocks at once. I’ll set things up as in the image above, by checking the four clocks and clicking Changer.

When the Changer opens, you can see the split screen gives you options to select the Element Type that you would like to “Search For:” (on the left), and “Replace With:” (on the right).

You can change use the Changer to edit properties for a selected clock element, or you can change an existing Element Type to another Element Type.

In my example, I’ll set it up so that any Fixed position set to the Secondary 80s category is replaced with a Fixed position that calls for the category Super 80s, as below.

Another gentle reminder, make certain you have a verifiable database backup before proceeding.

When you’ve completed the task, this notification will appear indicating the Total clock changes.

Note that if you had your clocks open, you would have to save them each before closing them to apply the changes. But if your clocks were closed already, you don’t need to worry about this.

Finally, check the clock changes to be sure that this is what you were looking for, and that all of the elements you expected to change did in fact change. If they didn’t, you may have needed to tweak the Properties to find the right match.

Keep in mind, the Properties available in the “Search for” section of the Changer help you target which exactly which elements will be replaced. For example, you might have multiple Lognotes with the same text, but using the Properties, you can target those with a specific runtime, or those that do or don’t have a sweep marker.

Or, for another example, you might have many different instances of Proportional, Combo or Migrating Position elements in the same clock that each call for different categories. You can use the properties to configure which instance want the Mass Changer to look for.

A handy trick, if you select the element in the clock itself before clicking the Mass Changer button, it will open up with the properties already set to match that selected element. In the example below, you can see that my clock has several different flavors of a Proportional Element, but when I open the Mass Changer, you can see I’m only targeting the one that uses a ratio of 40% A3 and 60% 60s category (position 11) and not the other Proportional elements at positions 10 and 17.

It’s also important to remember that any clock filters you have on targeted positions will NOT be considered when looking for elements that match the “Search For” criteria. In other words, elements with the selected element type and properties will be targeted for replacement, whether one of them has a filter on it or not.

Should need any further support, you can always reach out to your dedicated Music Scheduling Consultant!

By Aaron Taylor

Here’s a really handy feature in MusicMaster that can save you a TON of time when you need to change out a particular element in many different clocks. Instead of the chore of searching through your entire Format Clock Maintenance list and finding each instance of the item that needs to be adjusted, you can target that specific element in a database globally with the Clock Mass Changer. (more…)