Gears runs on the Creation Station(s) and updates the Brando database with all the resources available from the XPression projects and logos.
The graphic design team is responsible for running Gears after they have updated their XPression projects or updated logos. Run Gears when any of the following apply:
- A change is made to an XPression scene
- New logos are available
The logos are stored in the logos directory as a subdirectory in the graphics path. All logos are global making them available to all channels.
Access Gears
To access the Gears agent, run it from its desktop icon on the creation station.
Note: The version of the Gears agent installed must match the version of XPression Studio installed. If your XPression installation is upgraded to a new version, you will need to upgrade your Gears agent as well. Contact Bannister Lake Support for assistance.
Preferences
Gears must be connected to your Brando content database. Connection and user authentication values would have been correctly configured during the initial installation.
Modify the database connection values and settings as needed.
You can redirect Gears to look to another drive letter or path for your XPression project files and related resource files by manually entering one in the field.
Click OK to save your changes.
Run Gears Updates
The main Gears window looks as follows:
It provides the ability to either update the resources for a channel or to update logos only.
When updating a channel, there is a choice of including shared projects. Shared projects are xpression projects that can be used by multiple channels. It's a convenient way of packaging shared scenes. Make sure all required shared projects are selected when updating resources or the resources won't be available for scheduling.
When updating resources for a channel, the logos can be updated optionally. This is only needed if logos have been updated. There is no need to Update Logos for each channel because logos are global to all channels. Having the Update Logos option when updating resources is only a convenience and is never needed since logos can be updated using the Update Logos Only button.
The Set New Graphics Available for Player will flag the channel that new graphics are available. The Player checks for new graphics every 10 minutes and if you Update Resources from gears with this checkbox selected, the player will be informed.
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