The log editor is where you review and modify a saved draft log after generation. You open it from a saved commercial log to inspect every placed and bumped spot, make manual placement changes, review diagnostics, listen to copy audio, reconcile against a play log, or print scheduling reports. Saving a revision protects the original generation history so every change is tracked.
The editor works only with logs that have a complete saved generation. A log that is still being generated, or one that has already been charged, cannot be opened for editing. Once a log is charged, its draft is locked and the editor becomes read-only.
Before you start#
You need a role that grants access to Commercial Logs and the action.
Open the log editor#
Navigate to Logs > Commercial Logs#
Open the Commercial Logs list and locate the station and date you want to review.
Select the log and choose Edit Draft Log#
Select a log whose workflow state is Generated and choose Edit Draft Log. The editor opens in a popup window.
The editor shows the station label, broadcast date and saved revision number at the top. Below that is the log position grid and an action toolbar. The lower half contains detail tabs for diagnostics, statistics and history.
Editor layout#
The editor has three main areas:
- Top menus and toolbar — menus for Convert-Log, File, Print, Reports, Tools and Edit, plus action buttons for the most common tasks.
- Log position grid — a scrollable, paginated table of every template position. Placed spots show their customer, order, line, occurrence, copy and length. Empty avails and template items are also visible.
- Lower detail tabs — Bump Errors, Time Errors, Copy Errors, Log Statistics, Troubleshooter, Generation History, Diagnostics, Saved Activity and Changes.
The status line above the grid shows the count of retained occurrences, placed and unplaced spots, and how many unsaved changes are pending.
Select an occurrence and a target#
Most editor actions require two things:
- Selected occurrence — click any placed or bumped spot in the grid or in the Bump Errors tab to select it. The selected row is highlighted.
- Target avail — click the radio button in the Target column of any empty local avail to set it as the destination for Place, Move or Swap.
If Hide empty avails is checked, empty positions are hidden from the grid and cannot be targeted until you uncheck it.
Placement actions#
Once you have selected an occurrence and a valid target, the toolbar buttons enable the actions that apply:
| Action | Effect | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Place | Places an unplaced (bumped) occurrence into the target avail | Selected occurrence must be unplaced; target must be empty |
| Move | Moves a placed occurrence from its current position to the target | Selected occurrence must be placed; target must be empty |
| Swap | Swaps a placed occurrence with whatever is currently at the target | Selected occurrence must be placed; target must be occupied |
| Bump | Removes a placed occurrence back to the Bump Errors list | Selected occurrence must be placed |
Each of these actions creates one unsaved command. You can make up to 100 unsaved commands before saving.
Undo and Cancel#
To undo the most recent unsaved command, choose Undo from the Edit menu or the toolbar, or press Ctrl+Z while focus is in the log grid, lower pane or action toolbar. Undo restores the previous state and refreshes diagnostics and statistics. It does not affect saved revisions.
To discard all unsaved changes and close the editor, choose Cancel from the File menu or toolbar. Cancel discards every pending command without writing anything. Saved revisions are retained.
Keyboard shortcuts#
The editor supports two keyboard shortcuts while focus is in the log grid, lower pane or action toolbar:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Z | Undo the latest unsaved log edit |
| Ctrl+Delete | Bump the selected placed occurrence |
These shortcuts are scoped to the editor. They do not interfere with normal text editing in the Find or Reason fields.
Find occurrences#
The Find control searches the frozen customer name, order number, line number, Copy ID and copy description of every retained occurrence.
Open Find#
Choose Edit > Find or click Find on the toolbar.
Enter search text and scope#
Type the text to search for (up to 200 characters). Choose a field scope (All listed fields, Customer, Order number, Line number, Copy ID, or Copy description) and a location scope (Placed and bumped, Placed only, or Bumped only).
Search#
Click Find first to jump to the first match. Click Find Next to advance. The search wraps to the first match after the last result. No match leaves your current selection unchanged.
Find uses literal case-insensitive matching. It does not support wildcards, expressions or template-row search. Close Find to return to normal editing.
Jump to hour#
The Jump to selector at the right of the toolbar lets you navigate quickly to any hour that has visible template positions. Only hours with currently visible rows are enabled. Selecting an hour scrolls to and focuses its first visible row without changing your selection, target or unsaved commands.
Segment length#
Click Segment length on the toolbar to open the segment selector. This calculates the total scheduled commercial duration for a range of log positions.
Select a range#
Either drag across rows with the right mouse button, or enter From and Through position numbers manually.
Read the result#
The segment summary shows the number of template rows, placed scheduled spots, and total milliseconds of scheduled copy in the range.
The segment length is not elapsed clock time or actual airing. It counts each placed occurrence's requested duration once. Empty avails, bumps, network reservations and unsupported program material add no length. Clear removes the selection.
Listen to copy audio#
Select any placed or bumped occurrence and choose Listen from the Edit menu or toolbar to open the audio preview panel. This plays the current managed audio file attached to the copy that was frozen in the saved log. It does not substitute the current order-line copy if that copy has changed.
The panel shows Play, Pause, Reload audio and Close Audio controls. Playback is isolated from log changes: saving a new revision clears the player, and you must click Reload audio to listen again after a save.
If the copy has no resolved audio attachment, Listen refuses with an explicit message.
View Order Line#
Select an occurrence and choose View Order Line from the Edit menu or toolbar to open the current order-line configuration in a separate Save/Cancel popup. Child edits change current configuration only; they do not rewrite frozen generation data or silently save the editor's pending commands. Cancel the child to discard any edits.
Log Statistics tab#
The Log Statistics tab shows hourly commercial-matter statistics for all 24 hours. Each hour displays the count of placed spots and the total scheduled length for that hour. Full order-line duration counts in its template start hour, even if it spans an hour boundary.
The summary line reports total placed, total scheduled length, bumped count, local avails, empty avails and reserved network avails. Click an hour button (or double-click) to jump to its first visible row.
Diagnostic tabs#
The editor provides four diagnostic views:
| Tab | Content |
|---|---|
| Bump Errors | Every unplaced occurrence, with its copy and bump reason |
| Time Errors | Placed occurrences outside their allowed time windows |
| Copy Errors | Copy warnings that were captured when the draft was generated |
| Diagnostics | All remaining scheduling checks, including separation, position, availability and length |
Each row has an accessible Go to occurrence button and supports double-click to navigate to the affected log position. These views derive from the current in-memory state, so unsaved Place, Bump or Undo immediately updates them.
Older snapshots that lack captured copy-warning checks display that limitation explicitly. An empty diagnostic category means the supported checks found no entries, not that the copy is necessarily valid.
Troubleshooter tab#
The Troubleshooter tab lets you analyze why a selected occurrence was placed or bumped where it is. Select an occurrence and click Analyze selected occurrence. The analysis checks every position against the frozen rules from when the draft was generated and reports which positions pass or fail, with explanations.
No spot is moved or saved by the troubleshooter. It is a diagnostic read-only tool.
Generation History tab#
The Generation History tab shows the original generation decisions that created this draft when it was first saved. It is read-only and does not change with manual edits.
Saved Activity tab#
The Saved Activity tab shows the complete saved revision history for the log, or for a single selected occurrence. It replays every generation and manual revision command, with revision number, UTC timestamp, actor, action, from position and to position.
- Choose Tools > Activity Log to view the complete log history.
- Choose Edit > Item Activity Log to view only the selected occurrence.
Activity reads are isolated and never change the draft. Pending editor commands, reconciliation, billing and imported legacy activity are excluded.
Changes tab#
The Changes tab lists every unsaved command in the current editing session, in order. This is useful for reviewing what you have done before saving. Undo removes the most recent entry.
Save Changes#
To preserve your edits as a new sealed revision, enter a reason in the Reason for changes / acknowledged conflicts text area and choose Save Changes.
Enter a reason#
The reason is required. Describe why you are changing the log and which conflicts you have reviewed. Up to 1,000 characters.
Save#
Click Save Changes. The system replays your commands in a secured transaction, checks that the revision has not changed since you opened it, and creates the next revision number.
If the saved revision has changed in another session since you opened the editor, the save is refused with a stale-context message. Close the editor, reopen it from the fresh saved revision, and reapply your changes.
Saved revisions are append-only. You cannot delete or overwrite an earlier revision. The current placement is always the highest sealed revision.
Reconcile with Play-Log#
If the log has not been charged and has no unsaved edits, the Convert-Log menu shows Reconcile Schedule-Log with Play-Log. This opens the reconciliation panel where you compare the saved schedule against actual play evidence. See Reconciliation for the full procedure.
Print saved log#
The Print menu shows Saved Log / Bumped Items / Diagnostics. This opens a read-only review of the saved draft with its complete template positions, bumps and diagnostics. You can also print the Saved Scheduling Times report from the Reports menu.
Both print options require that you have no unsaved editor commands. Save or cancel your changes first.
Tools menu#
The Tools menu provides quick access to independent utilities:
| Menu item | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Activity Log | Read the complete saved activity history for this log |
| Log Troubleshooter | Open the Troubleshooter tab |
| Calendar | Open the calendar utility |
| Calculator | Open the calculator utility |
| Avails Distribution Analysis | Open the avails distribution report for this saved log |
These utilities open in nested popups and do not modify the draft, its reason or your selection.
File menu#
| Menu item | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Save Changes | Save pending edits as a new sealed revision |
| Cancel | Discard all pending edits and close the editor |
Stale-context refusal#
The editor protects against concurrent edits by checking the saved revision identity at every save. If another user or session has saved a newer revision, or if the log's underlying source data has changed, your save is refused. Close the editor, reopen from the current saved state, and reapply your changes. Do not attempt to retry a stale request.
Recovery after a lost response#
If you save and the network or server response is lost, do not submit a new save request. Reopen the editor from the saved log. If the new revision appears, your save completed. If the save did not complete, reapply your changes and save again.
Limitations#
This procedure covers ordinary spot placement. Use the separate Book-Ends and Weekly scheduling guides for those workflows.