Overview of Rapid

In this article, you will find a presentation of Rapid's functionality and features, including details on how to understand the user interface controls.

Login

Once Rapid has been installed and licensed, launch a web browser app and navigate to the login screen.

Enter your Username and Password.

Select Login.

Welcome to Rapid

On the first run of Rapid, you will see the welcome page: Welcome to Rapid.

NOTE
You will need to add one or more stations to Rapid.
For details on how to do this, please read the Adding Stations article.

Grid of Station Cards

As you add stations in your Rapid, select the tab named *Now playing and view the grid of station cards in “HOME | Overview”.

Status of Stations

As you add stations in your Rapid, select the tab named Status and view the sources, outputs, and views for each station in “HOME | Overview”.

User Interface Controls | Overview

In the upper left corner, there is a search box for keying in terms that will filter the grid of station cards.

• 🔍 Find Stations ...

In concert with the search box, there is an indicator that shows the number of stations in your Rapid.

• 5 of 5 stations

In the top center location, the user will see either the AIM logo or a company logo.

NOTE
After navigating from “HOME | Overview” to the Station Dashboard, the logo will be replaced with a drop-down list for the stations in Rapid.

In the upper right corner, the current date and time are displayed. The time zone name will be displayed under the current date/time if the timezone of your local machine does not match the timezone of the Rapid (or particular station within Rapid) that you're currently viewing.

Below the display of the current date and time, the User can change the zoom and add a station by selecting the blue button (+ Add Station).

Navigation Menu

Along the left side of the Rapid UI, you will see the menu that presents the various links to the pages in your Rapid: the selected link/page of interest in your Rapid will be indicated by a blue token.

• HOME: Presents the link to the overview of all stations with details on the currently playing shows and playout items (if available)

• STATION: Presents the various links to the pages where your station-specific content can be viewed and managed

  • After adding stations in your Rapid, the menu named STATION will appear in the navigation menu

• SERVER: Presents the link to the server libraries where you can view and manage the automation and output servers

• CONTENT: Presents the links to the messages and content library where you can view and manage content and messages

• MUSIC: Presents the link to the music library where you can view and manage the results of the music track lookups

• SYSTEM: Presents the various links to the pages where your Rapid system settings --- General Setup | Station Config | User Management | Logs --- are configured

• Help Articles: Follow the link and you will find Help & Support

• Contact Support: Follow the link and you will find contact information for customer support

• About: Follow the link and you will find information about the software version and licence details for your Rapid

In the lower left corner, the username of the person logged in is displayed: select Log out to end your session in Rapid.

HOME | Overview

“HOME | Overview” is the start page in Rapid.

As illustrated and described in this article --- Adding Stations --- you will add your stations in your Rapid.

Station Cards in the Grid

There is one card per station and each card displays details for that station:

• Station logo
• Station name
• Current show (if there is any)
• Now playing information (if there is any)
  • Title: at the moment for the station of interest
  • Artist: at the moment for the station of interest
  • Album: at the moment for the station of interest
  • Type of the item currently playing: SONG, SPOT, SPEECH, LINK or OTHER
  • Album artwork: If no artwork is available, then a default image is displayed
  • START TIME of the item playing: at the moment "09:52:48"
  • DURATION of the item playing: at the moment "3:33"
• Progress Indicators: showing the progress of the playback of the current show and/or now playing item

Selecting a station card will take the user to the Station Dashboard, Sources, and Outputs for that station.

STATION | Station Dashboard

Refer to the Station Dashboard, Sources, and Outputs article for more details.

STATION | Schedule

Refer to the Schedules article for more details.

STATION | Live Studio

Refer to the Live Studio article for more details.

SERVER | Automation Systems

On the first run of Rapid, the Automation Systems Library will be empty.

Refer to the Station Dashboard, Sources, and Outputs article for more details.

SERVER | Output Server

On the first run of Rapid, the Output Servers Library will be empty.

Refer to the Station Dashboard, Sources, and Outputs article for more details.

Refer to the Server Library article for more details.

CONTENT | Messages

On the first run of Rapid, the Messages will showcase default messages and priority lanes (rules).

Refer to the Messages article for more details on how to configure messages and priority rules.

CONTENT | Content Library

On the first run of Rapid, the Content Library will be empty. Your Content Library will fill with items as you add content to your folders.

Refer to the Content Library article for more details on how to add items to the Content Library.

Refer to the Content Library Setup article for more details on how to setup and configure folders in the Content Library.

MUSIC | Music Library

On the first run of Rapid, the Music Library will be empty. Your Music Library will fill with tracks and content as you add stations in your Rapid.

Refer to the Music Library article for more details.

SYSTEM | General Setup

In the Rapid UI, there are various settings that need to be configured. Scroll and implement the various settings for your configuration of Rapid.

Refer to the Setting Up and Configuring Rapid article for more details.

SYSTEM | Station Config

On the first run of Rapid, zero stations will have been configured in Rapid.

Just as you saw in “HOME | Overview”, this page in Rapid presents an opportunity to add a station using the blue button: (+ Add Station).

Refer to the Adding Stations to Rapid article for more details.

SYSTEM | User Management

In the Rapid UI, this page presents an opportunity to add users using the blue button: (+ Add User).
On the first run of Rapid, there is one user: admin (SUPER USER).

Refer to the Managing Users article for more details.

SYSTEM | Logs

In the Rapid UI, there are various logs that provide insights into the operations of Rapid: select a tab to access a log of interest.

Refer to the Logs article for more details.

Help Articles

In the Rapid UI, look to the Help Articles for Help & Support.

Contact Support

In the Rapid UI, select the link named Contact Support: contact your local office for support.

About

In the Rapid UI, look to the About screen for:

• Version information
• Licence details for your Rapid installation
• Licence details for third-party software used within Rapid

NOTE
The (Check for new license key) button will trigger Rapid to refresh it's license file. This should only be done upon request by AIM Support.

User Interface Controls

As selections are made in the Rapid UI --- switching stations, selecting items in the navigation panel --- the controls that are displayed in concert with the information on the page will exhibit a consistent look and feel.

Examples of controls that you could experience in the Rapid UI:

• Add a new item: Look for the blue button of interest
• Edit an item: Look for the button named Edit, or an option named Edit in the overflow menu
• Overflow menu (vertical ellipsis): Select the vertical ellipsis to reveal a menu of options that is relevant for the item of interest
• Search for items: Look for the search/find field and key in your search terms
• Filter items (of a certain type in the search results): Look for the button named Filter and select from among the options

User Interface Actions

Examples of actions that you could experience in the Rapid UI:

• Click on an item to view the details for the item of interest
  • For example: in “HOME | Overview”, a single click on a station’s panel will present you with that station’s dashboard page
• Double-click on an item to edit the details for the item of interest
  • For example: in a chosen station’s dashboard page, a double-click on one of the sources will present you with the edit dialog
  • For example: in a chosen station’s dashboard page, a double-click on one of the outputs will present you with the edit dialog
  • For example: in a chosen station’s dashboard page, a single-click on the schedule card in the conveyor will present you with the user experience for Program Schedule for the station of interest
  • For example: in a chosen station’s dashboard page, a single-click on the playout card in the conveyor will present you with the user experience for Live Studio for the station of interest

Common Controls and Indicators

Common across the pages in Rapid, you will find action buttons, status indicators, and number indicators.

Action Buttons

	Button	Description
	Overflow menu > vertical ellipsis	Select the ellipsis to display the available options
	Toggles > Click on a toggle to enable/disable an item	Item is enabled
	Toggles > Click on a toggle to enable/disable an item	Item is disabled

Status Indicators

	Indicator	Description
	Green dot with white check mark	There are zero issues with the items
	Red dot with white exclamation point	There are issues with the item: to view more details on the issue, hover over the indicator
	Purple dot with white curved arrows	Item is currently updating, and status will be updated once the update is complete
	Grey dot with white circle strikethrough	Item is disabled
	Hourglass symbol	Waiting for new content

Number Indicators

	Indicator	Description
	Number of platforms	When displayed on a particular Message, this indicates the number of Platforms where this Message is configured: in this example, four platforms
	Number of stations	When displayed on a particular Message, this indicates the number of Stations where this Message is broadcast: in this example, 11 stations
	Number of destinations	When displayed on a particular Output, this indicates the number of Destinations using that Output: in this example, four destinations When displayed on a particular Server, this indicates the number of Destinations using that Server

Definitions

Term	Description
Sources	Content that can be ingested by Rapid Content examples: Playout Systems, Scheduling Systems, RSS, XML, and JSON feeds
Outputs	Enable content for a particular station to be published on a particular output
Destinations	Outputs deliver content to one or more destinations
Servers	Servers are used when multiple outputs deliver content to the same server. For example, an HD Radio Importer is a Server, as several Station Outputs can feed content to it
Station	The word station refers to the grouping of system-wide elements attached to a name of a broadcast radio station. The purpose of this grouping is to link all system elements into a group and allow permissions to be applied to the group
Station Group	Multiple stations can be managed as a collection
Platforms	Broadcast platforms to which messages can be delivered Platform examples: HD Radio, FM RDS, and IP/Web Audio Streaming
Messages	Content that is built and ready for publication on outputs for one or more stations
Priority Rule	A collection of Messages, with optional display and availability rules attached to these messages. Priority Rule can also have availability rules attached to it
Priority Rules List	An ordered collection of one or more Priority Rules. Rapid will attempt to find a valid and active message to broadcast in the first Priority Rule in the list. If it cannot find one, then it will move onto the next Priority Rule until it finds a Priority Rule with a valid and active message. Once it has found that message, Rapid will publish it.

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