Creating Playlists
Organize your content into sequences that play on your displays. January 12, 2026
A playlist is an ordered loop of media files, apps and other playlists. Use this guide to build one, to set how long each item stays on screen, and to set the dates the playlist runs. Every task below needs at least one media file. To upload one, read upload and organize media.
What you can do
- Create a playlist — Start an empty loop and give it a name.
- Add items — Put media files, apps and other playlists into the loop.
- Set the order — Drag a row, or move the row with the keyboard.
- Set how long each item plays — Type a time for a still image, or a loop count for a GIF.
- Set the dates — Choose the day the playlist starts and the day the playlist expires.
- Shuffle the loop — Play the items in a random order.
- Check an item — Open a read-only panel with the format, size and dimensions of the file.
- Delete playlists — Remove playlists you no longer need, in bulk.
Create a playlist
- Select Playlists in the Content group of the sidebar.
- Select New playlist in the top bar.
- Wait for the editor to open on the playlist called New Playlist.
- Select the name at the top of the editor.
- Type the real name.
- Press Enter to save the name.
Copy an existing playlist
- Point at the playlist row you want to copy.
- Select the actions button at the right of the row.
- Select Duplicate.
- Wait for the copy to open in the editor.
- Select the name at the top of the editor.
- Type a new name.
- Press Enter to save the name.
️ Duplicate appears only for a member who can create playlists. The copy holds the same items and the same settings as the original.
Read what a playlist row tells you
- Read the fact line under the playlist name for the item count and the run time.
- Point at the screen count in that fact line to read the screen names.
- Look for a green dot at the right of the row, which means the playlist plays and needs no attention.
- Read the pill at the right of the row for Pending, Rejected, Expired, Expires in 3d or Unused.
️ A row shows one indicator at a time. The order runs Pending, Rejected, Expired, Expires in 3d, Unused, then the green dot.
️ The item count and the run time expand nested playlists. A playlist of playlists reports the true totals, not the count of its top-level rows.
️ A draft playlist shows no pill. Only Pending and Rejected raise an approval pill, and only where the location asks for approval. Read approve content before it airs.
Add items to the playlist
- Open the playlist from the Playlists page.
- Find the Media + apps + playlists panel at the right of the editor.
- Type in the Search media, apps + playlists box to narrow the panel.
- Point at a media card.
- Select Add to playlist to put the media file at the end of the loop.
- To place an item somewhere else, drag its card onto the row it must follow.
- Select an Apps card to add an app.
- Select a Playlists card to add a nested playlist.
️ Drop a card on an item row to insert the new item after that row. Drop a card on the Drag media here to add zone to put the new item last.
️ The editor has no Save button. Brix saves every change as you make it, and the fact line reads saves automatically.
️ The panel lists only active media that the location of the playlist can use. The panel loads about 60 media files at a time, so use the search box to reach an older file.
️ A playlist cannot contain itself. The server refuses any nesting that forms a loop, including a loop through a layout zone.
Put the items in the right order
- Point at the row you want to move.
- Drag the grip handle at the left of the row to its new place.
- Release the row.
- Check that the position numbers renumber.
- For the keyboard, move focus to the grip handle instead.
- Move the row with the arrow keys.
Set how long each item stays on screen
- Find the item row.
- Look at the duration control at the right of the row.
- Select the duration box.
- Type the time as HH:MM:SS, or type 30 for 30 seconds.
- Press Enter.
- Check that the box now reads HH:MM:SS.
- For an animated GIF, set the number of loops with the minus and plus buttons.
- Read the resolved time beside the loop counter.
- Read runs in the fact line under the playlist name for the new loop length.
️ A video has no duration box. The cell reads Full length, with the real runtime beside it when Brix measured the file at upload.
️ A nested playlist has no duration box either. The nested playlist plays all of its items once, and Plays all 6 items opens that playlist.
️ The shortest duration is one second. Type 0 and the box becomes 00:00:01.
️ A GIF counts in loops, not seconds. The stepper takes 1 to 999 loops, and the dwell is the loop length multiplied by the count.
Remove an item
- Point at the item row.
- Select the trash button at the right of the row.
- If you removed the wrong item, select Undo in the message at the bottom right.
️ Brix removes the item at once. The Undo message lasts eight seconds, and after that the item is gone from the playlist.
Set when the playlist runs
- Select the Schedule card in the strip under the playlist name.
- Set Starts, or leave the field on Today to go live at once.
- Set Expires, or leave the field on Never to run until you remove the playlist.
- Check that the card summary now reads the dates you set.
️ Outside the Starts and Expires window, Brix skips the playlist when it builds the content for a screen. The screen falls back to its next assignment.
For a loop that changes by time of day, read schedule when content plays.
Play the items in a random order
- Select the Playback card in the strip under the playlist name.
- Turn on the Shuffle switch.
- Check that the card summary reads Shuffled order.
Rename the playlist
- Select the playlist name at the top of the editor.
- Type the new name.
- Press Enter to save the name, or press Escape to cancel.
Check what an item is
- Find the item row in the editor.
- Select the thumbnail or the name of the row.
- Read the Details list for the format, size, dimensions, duration and uploader.
- Read Used in for the playlists and schedules that use the file.
- Close the panel to return to the editor.
️ The panel is read-only. To change tags or dates on the file itself, go to the media library.
️ Only a media item opens the panel. An app row and a nested playlist row are not files, so they open nothing.
️ The grip handle, the duration control, the group pill and the remove button never open the panel.
Choose which location owns the playlist
- Select the Sharing card in the strip under the playlist name.
- Choose a location in the Owned by list, or choose Workspace root (everyone).
- Check that the card summary names that location.
️ The Sharing card is hidden on a workspace with no location below the workspace root, because every answer would be the same.
To let another location or another team use the playlist, read share content between teams and locations.
Delete playlists you no longer need
- Point at a playlist row.
- Select the checkbox at the far left of the row.
- To take a run of rows, hold Shift and select a second row.
- Select Delete 2 in the bar at the bottom of the page.
- Read the confirmation.
- Select Delete 2 to confirm.
️ The checkbox stays invisible until you point at the row, or until you select the row.
️ Screens using the playlist stop playing that content at once. Brix keeps the playlist in the recycle bin for 30 days, then deletes the playlist for good.
️ After you select one row, a plain select on another row ticks that row instead of opening it. Clear the selection to open playlists again.
️ If a bulk delete partly fails, Brix keeps only the failed playlists selected and names them in the error.
️ Delete appears only for a member who can delete playlists.
Put the playlist on a screen
A playlist does not reach a screen from the editor. Assign the playlist on the Screens page, or put the playlist in a daypart on the Schedules page.
️ A screen plays one playlist, schedule, layout, media file or app at a time. A new choice replaces the old one. Read put content on a screen.
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