Creating and Using Clocks

A clock is a reusable template that describes the structure of a broadcast hour. It can contain fixed audio carts, music-category positions, satellite or webstream periods, commercial breaks, commands, notes, and other scheduled events.

Clock times are stored relative to the beginning of an hour. A clock created at 12:00 can therefore be loaded and used at any other hour without changing its internal layout.

How Clocks Relate to the Play Schedule

The Clock column is the template. The Play Schedule column contains the actual events that the APEX Server will use on air.

Loading a clock displays it in the Clock column but does not immediately replace the Play Schedule. The clock becomes an operating schedule when it is applied, assigned, or used as the framework for a schedule import.

• Apply Clock (Hour) applies the clock to the selected hour.

• Apply Clock (Day) applies assigned clocks across all 24 hours.

• Applying a clock replaces the affected Play Schedule information.

• Previously generated schedules do not automatically change when the saved clock template is edited. The clock must be applied again when those schedules need to be rebuilt.

• IMPORTANT - If the Play Schedule is left empty, APEX automatically applies the assigned clock when that hour is pulled into the On-Air Playlist, creating the hour’s playable schedule before it goes to air. 

Before Creating a Clock

Before building a clock:

1. Confirm the correct station and serial number.

2. Decide how music will be scheduled.

3. Decide whether traffic files will supply the commercial carts.

4. Identify any satellite, webstream, break, command, or fixed-cart requirements.

5. Make sure required audio carts and music categories exist in the station’s Audio Library.

A station can use internal music categories, imported music logs, or a combination of the two. The clock should be designed around the chosen workflow.

3. Continue adding events

Click another open location in the Clock column and repeat the process. New events normally follow the preceding event, accounting for the applicable overlap.

Double-click an existing event to open it for editing. Change its settings and select Apply.

4. Add fixed audio carts

To place a particular cart in the clock:

1. Click the desired position in the Clock column.

2. Find the cart in the Audio Library.

3. Select the cart’s row.

4. Select Add Audio File, or double-click the library cart.

5. Review its position and duration in the Clock column.

A fixed cart remains the same every time the clock is applied. Fixed carts are appropriate for station IDs, jingles, recurring features, required announcements, and other material that should not rotate automatically.

5. Add music-category positions

To let APEX select the actual songs:

1. Click the desired position in the Clock column.

2. Select Song Category as the event type.

3. Choose a music category from 1 through 21.

4. Review the proposed length.

5. Select Apply.

The displayed length is based on the category’s average song runtime when that information is available. It is a planning length; the final event length changes when APEX selects an actual song.

If the selected category contains no songs, APEX displays a warning and uses a temporary planning length. Add appropriate Type M carts to that category before using the clock on air.

6. Add breaks or control events

Add any required commercial breaks, satellite sources, commands, notes, or other control events. Advanced configuration for satellite, floating breaks, timed breaks, and game clocks should be covered in their respective manual sections.

7. Review the clock’s timing

Check the entire Clock column for:

• Unintended gaps

• Overlapping events

• Incorrect event lengths

• Incorrect music categories

• Missing source channels

• Missing fixed carts

• Events extending too far past the end of the hour

Select the clock section’s Auto-Segue button to recalculate the sequence and reduce unintended gaps. Auto-Segue adjusts later events according to the preceding event’s length and overlap information.

The first event is not automatically forced to the top of the hour, so verify its start position manually.

8. Save the clock

1. Select Save Clock.

2. Enter a descriptive name, such as Morning Drive, Weekday Overnight, or Saturday.

3. Review the list of existing names.

4. Select Save Clock in the dialog.

5. If the name already exists, confirm whether the existing template should be overwritten.

Only the events in the Clock column are saved as part of the clock template. The Play Schedule and Air Schedule columns are not included in the clock template.

Floating Break

Creates a break that can be triggered within its eligible period. The editor provides Optional and Fill settings. Floating-break operation and closure triggering should be documented separately.

Timed Break

Creates a break associated with a particular time. Timed breaks can affect unaired events leading up to the break, so they should be configured carefully.

Drop Break

Creates a designated drop-break event for programming that may be omitted according to the applicable operating conditions.

Game Start and Game End

Mark the beginning and end of a ball-game schedule. Game Start requires a saved Game Clock and a source channel.

Note

Adds a non-audio note to the schedule. Enter the text that operators should see.

Command

Adds an RS232 command event. Enter the exact command required by the connected equipment.

Not Yet Existing Cart

Creates a temporary schedule position for audio that has not yet been added to the library. Enter the expected cart number and a descriptive title.

This should be replaced or resolved before air. Schedule Check may report it as missing if the cart has not arrived.

Loading and Editing an Existing Clock

To update a saved clock:

1. Select Load Clock.

2. Select the desired clock from the list.

3. Select Load Clock in the dialog.

4. Edit the events in the Clock column.

5. Select Auto-Segue if event timing needs to be recalculated.

6. Select Save Clock.

7. Enter the same name and confirm the overwrite.

Updating a template does not retroactively change Play Schedules previously created from it. Reapply the updated clock to the affected future hours or days.

The Load Clock dialog also provides Delete Clock. Deleting a clock removes the saved template but may not remove its name from existing assignments or alter schedules already generated from it. Review clock assignments before deleting a template.

Applying a Clock

Apply Clock to One Hour

1. Select the desired date and hour.

2. Confirm that the Clock column contains the intended clock.

3. Select Apply Clock (Hour).

4. Wait for the completion message.

5. Review the resulting Play Schedule.

This replaces the selected hour’s Play Schedule.

For an Automation hour, the server also attempts to:

• Replace Song Category positions with actual music carts

• Remove or replace audio that is unavailable for the scheduled date

• Fill the hour with usable Type M music when additional audio is required

If insufficient usable music exists, APEX retains the valid partial schedule and reports that the hour may be underscheduled.

Apply Assigned Clocks to a Day

1. Select the destination date.

2. Verify the clock assignments for that day of the week.

3. Select Apply Clock (Day).

4. Confirm that all 24 hours should be processed.

5. Allow the operation to finish.

6. Review several representative hours.

7. Run Schedule Check.

For Automation hours, category positions are populated and the schedule is filled. Manual, Live Assist, and Satellite hours retain the structure produced by their assigned clocks without the Automation music-filling process.

Do not apply a clock after importing traffic or music unless you intend to rebuild and replace the affected Play Schedule.

Clocks and Traffic Files

Traffic files provide dated, timed commercial events. The dates and hours contained in the file determine which schedules are affected. A traffic import is not limited to the hour currently displayed.

During the import, APEX merges three scheduling layers:

1. Traffic events receive the highest timing priority.

2. Clock events receive the next priority.

3. Music is moved or selected around the traffic and clock structure.

Traffic events are kept close to their requested times, generally within a five-minute window when schedule conditions permit. Events in the same traffic cluster are kept together. Clock and music events are repositioned around the traffic when necessary.

If a traffic cart uses a base cart number with members such as base-01, base-02, and so on, APEX can resolve the appropriate member sequentially using rotation and aired-history information.

Recommended traffic workflow

1. Create and save the required clocks.

2. Assign the clocks to the appropriate days and hours.

3. Confirm the correct station.

4. Select Load Traffic.

5. Choose the traffic file.

6. Wait for the server to finish processing it.

7. Review the completion message for skipped, replaced, or unavailable carts.

8. Inspect the first affected hour and several later hours.

9. Run Schedule Check.

The importer can use assigned clocks as the framework while inserting the traffic events. Avoid selecting Apply Clock afterward unless you intentionally want to replace the imported Play Schedule.

Clocks and Music Files

External music files provide dated music selections. 

Imported music has a lower scheduling priority than traffic and clock events. APEX places the imported songs into the remaining schedule space while preserving the higher-priority structure. Songs that extend beyond usable schedule space may be dropped and reported as overscheduled.

Loading a newer music file replaces music from an earlier music-file import where appropriate. It does not indiscriminately remove every Type M event, because fixed or clock-generated music may also exist in the schedule.

Recommended external music workflow

1. Create clocks containing the required structural events.

2. Assign the clocks to the appropriate days and hours.

3. Load the traffic file first.

4. Select Load Music.

5. Choose the music schedule file.

6. Wait for the import to complete.

7. Review the number of hours changed, songs added, and overscheduled songs dropped.

8. Check for unavailable or missing carts.

9. Run Schedule Check.

When an external music service supplies the complete music log, avoid placing unnecessary Song Category positions or excessive fixed music in the clock. Those events consume schedule space and may cause imported songs to be moved or dropped.

Using Internal Music Categories

For stations that do not import a complete external music log, Song Category events can supply the music.

The general workflow is:

1. Assign Type M carts to Categories 1–21 in the Audio Library.

2. Create a clock with Song Category positions in the desired rotation.

3. Save and assign the clock.

4. Apply the clock to an hour or day.

5. Allow the server to resolve the category positions.

6. Review the selected songs and schedule timing.

7. Load traffic if required.

8. Run Schedule Check.

The Populate Hour (Song) and Populate Day (Song) buttons can be used when unresolved Song Category positions remain in the Play Schedule. They replace those positions with eligible songs and then adjust the schedule timing. 

IMPORTANT - If a Song Category has not yet been populated when the hour is added to the On-Air Playlist, APEX automatically selects an eligible song from that category before the hour goes to air. 

Music selection uses the station’s category and rotation information. If a requested category has no eligible audio, the placeholder may remain or APEX may report that no song could be selected.

Recommended Combined Workflow

When using clocks, traffic, and external music together:

1. Build and save the clocks.

2. Assign clocks and Air Schedule modes.

3. Import traffic.

4. Import music.

5. Review the resulting Play Schedule.

6. Use Auto-Segue only if manual timing cleanup is needed.

7. Make any necessary manual adjustments.

8. Select Save Changes.

9. Run Schedule Check for the next seven days.

The important rule is that Apply Clock replaces the Play Schedule, while traffic and music imports merge content using the clock structure. Therefore, establish the clock framework before importing daily traffic and music.