Ids (Identifiers)

Overview

Note: Check the Show Ids ( Id symbol ) checkbox in the Options > Reports tab to expose all Ids.

Whenever you create a new object it will be assigned a unique Id (an integer Identifier). Objects with Ids include: Media Items, Scripts, or External Program definitions. Under normal circumstances you should not need to know this Id, nor should you change the Id unless you are trying to fix an Invalid Id Reference condition.

Some elements will keep a reference to this Target object Id and use it to find the object when an action is requested. For example, a Play Step in a Script will locate the Media Item to play by the Media Item's Id.

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Invalid Target Id References

An Id Reference can become invalid when the referenced object can no longer be found. Usually this occurs when the object is deleted or the user changes the Id. You can check for Invalid Target Id References and Duplicate Ids by running a List Validation Check in the Media List Editor > Tools menu.

Cut/Copy/Paste Considerations

If you Cut a Media Item (or Script), then Paste it back into the List, it will maintain the same Id. However, the second time it is pasted back to the list, the subsequent pasted objects will have different unique Ids. Remember that Cut saves the cut object in the Clipboard, but Delete does NOT save a copy in the Clipboard.

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Fixing Invalid Target Id References

If you end up with an Invalid Target Id Reference, you can fix it by recreating the referenced object (a Media Item or Script), then use the Change Id menu item to set its Id to the missing Id.

For example, say you have a Media Item with Id=123. And a Script 'Play' Step has a Target Id=123. If the Media Item is deleted, the Script 'Play' Step will no longer be able to locate the target Media Item. To fix this, create a new Media Item for the media file. Then use the Edit Media Item > Change Id menu item to set the Media Item Id to "123".

Steps

Locate the Target object or create a new one if the object is missing (ie it may have been deleted).
Set its Id to the Invalid Target Id shown in Validation error messages.
Re-run the Tools > Generate Report to confirm that the error was resolved.

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Report Sample with Ids

Listing 1 shows a fragement of a report with the Ids exposed. Note how the Target Ids point to the objects that are the target of the action to be performed.

For example, the Load and Play steps in the Beach Scene Script have Target Id: 853590436 which is the id of the Ocean beach Media Item.

Listing 1. Report Sample with Ids Exposed

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Media Items
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1. Ocean beach
	Id: 853590436
	Description: 01.01  Backdrop Danny and Sandy at the beach [loop]
	Filename: C:\2-MEDIA\1-WavFiles\VideosForDemo\Ocean beach.wmv
	Play Time: 01:45
2. Classroom
	Id: 290770143
	Description: 01.02 Classroom backrop (fade in)
	Filename: C:\2-MEDIA\1-WavFiles\VideosForDemo\Ocean beach.wmv
	Play Time: 01:45
.
.
.

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Automation Scripts
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1. Beach scene
Id: 1654415116
Script: Beach scene
Total Time: 00:01:45
Id: 1654415116
Steps:
1. Load (Ocean beach), Target Id: 853590436
2. Play (Ocean beach), Target Id: 853590436

Language

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