> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://captivatehelp.newbluelive.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://captivatehelp.newbluelive.com/control-your-show/chapter-index-2/media-manager-live.md).

# Use Media Manager live

**Media Manager** is a dedicated workflow panel that organizes media clips into named sequences and plays them out across zones during a show. Use it on shows with long media-heavy segments — pre-roll packages, sponsor reels, video walls — where you want a tile-based panel under your hands instead of cueing each clip from the Project List.

## Before you start

Media Manager is registered as a dedicated workflow, so it appears in the **Workflows** submenu and not in the Data Controller list. Sequence content (which clips, in what order, with which playback and zone settings) lives with the project. A handful of panel preferences (thumbnail size, sequence colors) are remembered in the browser layer’s local storage and are tied to the computer, not the project.

When the panel is opened from a machine other than the one running Captivate, some controls are unavailable — full control requires the panel on the Captivate machine itself.

Read these first:

* [Dedicated Workflows](/control-your-show/chapter-index-2.md) — how workflows fit alongside the regular cue-and-take loop.
* [Create a media sequence](/design-and-customize-graphics/chapter-index-7/create-a-media-sequence.md) — for how media clips and sequences are designed in Captivate.

## Open Media Manager

1. In the Project List, click **Add new item** (or right-click an empty row).
2. Open the **Workflow** submenu.
3. Choose **Media Manager**.

The Media Manager panel opens. You can dock it into your workspace or leave it floating; place it wherever your hands will be during the show.

## The Media Manager panel at a glance

The panel has four bands:

* **Top toolbar** — the **Filter…** search box, thumbnail-size controls (**−** / **+**), and the red **BLACKOUT** button.
* **Tab bar** — **All Media** (every clip across every sequence), one tab per named sequence, plus a **+ NEW** button that opens a menu with two choices: **Sequence List** (a manually managed sequence) and **Watch Folder** (a sequence whose contents track a directory on disk).
* **Sequence header** — for any tab other than **All Media**: a color swatch, the sequence name, an item count, a playback-order popup (**Plays Sequentially** / **Plays Randomly**), an item-mode popup (**Sequence** / **Single-Item Pickup List**), an end-behavior sentinel (**Loop** / **Hold onto the last item** / **Stop playback**), an image-duration link (default seconds for still images), a zone-assignment link, and a delete button.
* **Tile grid** — one tile per clip in the active tab. Tiles show a thumbnail, the clip name, and a visual indicator when the clip is on air.

## Create a Sequence List or Watch Folder

1. Click **+ NEW** in the tab bar.
2. Choose one:
   * **Sequence List** — opens the **New Sequence** prompt. Type a name and click **Create New Sequence**. The sequence appears as a new tab. Add clips by drag-and-drop from your file browser, or by using **Add Media** (see below).
   * **Watch Folder** — opens a **Select Watch Folder** directory picker. Pick a folder and Media Manager creates a sequence whose contents mirror that directory. A folder-badge icon appears next to the sequence name; hover it to see the watched path. Watch-folder sequences are read-only inside Media Manager — clips added to the folder on disk show up here automatically; manual Add Media and drag-drop are disabled for these sequences.

Supported media formats: `mp4`, `mov`, `avi`, `mkv`, `wmv`, `m4v`, `ts`, `mxf`, `webm`, `flv`, `mpg`, `mpeg`, `png`, `jpg`, `jpeg`, `gif`, `bmp`, `tiff`, `webp`.

## Add media to a Sequence List

For sequences you create with **Sequence List** (not Watch Folder):

* Drag one or more files from your file browser onto the sequence tab or onto the tile grid.
* Or click **Add Media** (the in-grid empty-state button when the sequence is empty, or the **+** tile at the end of a populated grid). A file picker opens; multi-select is supported.

You can drop files between existing tiles to set the insertion point.

## Operate during a show

### Play a clip or a whole sequence

* Click a clip tile to take that one clip on air. The clip goes to the zone shown in the sequence header.
* Click the sequence’s **Play** tile (or the play affordance in the sequence header) to start the sequence from the beginning, honoring its playback order and end behavior.

A Media Manager take goes on air through the same path as any other Captivate take: the Project List reflects the take, control surfaces (Stream Deck, Companion, remote phone) see the playStatus events, and the normal **animatein** / **update** / **animateout** commands run.

### Choose how the sequence plays

Open the playback-order popup in the sequence header:

* **Sequentially** — clips play in the order they appear in the grid.
* **Randomly** — Media Manager picks an unplayed clip each step.

### Choose between Sequence and Single-Item Pickup List modes

Open the item-mode popup:

* **Sequence** — the tab is a queue. Playing the sequence walks the clips; the end-behavior sentinel decides what happens after the last item.
* **Single-Item Pickup List** — the tab is a stage where you fire individual clips on demand. The sequence behaves as a flat pickup list; the end sentinel is forced to **Loop** and **Hold** / **Stop** are disabled.

### Set the end-of-sequence behavior

In **Sequence** mode, the sentinel popup picks what happens after the last clip:

* **Loop** — restart the sequence from the first clip.
* **Hold onto the last item** — leave the last clip on air.
* **Stop playback** — clear the zone and take the sequence off air.

In **Single-Item Pickup List** mode, the sentinel is locked to **Loop**.

### Set still-image duration

For sequences that contain still images, click the image-duration link in the sequence header and enter a duration in seconds. This applies to every still in the sequence and is independent of the duration set on each clip’s row.

### Assign zones

1. Click the zone link in the sequence header (the link reads "Assigned to zone: \<name>" or "No zone assigned — outputs to full view").
2. The **Zone Assignment** dialog opens. Pick the zone the sequence should output to. Sequences can span multiple zone columns; use the dialog’s controls to clear an assignment or extend a span.
3. Pick a **Fit Mode** for the zone: **Fit** (letterbox/pillarbox inside the zone), **Fill** (crop to fill the zone), or **Stretch** (non-uniform scale to fill the zone).

### Filter the grid

Type into the **Filter…** box in the top toolbar to limit the tile grid to matching names. Clear the box (or click the clear-X) to restore the full grid.

### Resize thumbnails

Click **−** and **+** in the top toolbar to shrink or grow every tile. This is a per-computer preference and persists across project loads.

### Take everything off air

Click **BLACKOUT**. This sends Captivate’s project-wide `alloff` command — it takes every on-air title off air across every channel, not just the rows Media Manager is currently driving.

**⚠️ WARNING**\
**BLACKOUT** is project-wide, not Media-Manager-scoped. Every channel and every on-air title goes dark — not just the rows Media Manager is currently driving. Use it only when you need a full off-air recovery.

## Organize sequences and clips

* **Rename a sequence** — click the sequence name in its header and type a new name.
* **Color-code a sequence** — click the color swatch in the sequence header and pick a color from the palette.
* **Delete a sequence** — click the delete affordance in the sequence header. A **Delete Sequence** confirmation appears.
* **Reorder tabs** — drag a sequence tab left or right in the tab bar.
* **Reorder clips** — drag a clip tile to a new position within the same sequence.
* **Move or copy clips between sequences** — drag a clip tile from one sequence to another.
* **Remove a clip** — right-click the clip tile and choose remove.

(Watch-folder sequences own their clip list from disk, so add / remove / reorder gestures inside Media Manager don’t apply to them.)

## How Media Manager fits with the rest of the show

A Media Manager take is still a normal Captivate take. The clip appears on the Project List as the on-air row, and any control surface watching the project — Stream Deck, Companion, or a phone connected via remote control — sees the take and reacts to its playStatus events.

A Media Manager workflow does **not** replace the cue-and-take loop. It runs alongside it. You can keep the Project List visible in another dock and continue to cue and take from there for the segments that are not driven by Media Manager.

Because the panel is a web control, it can also be opened in a browser on another device on your network — see [Control scoreboard and social graphics from a phone or tablet](/control-your-show/chapter-index-5/remote-control-from-phone-or-tablet.md) for the **Open in Browser** flow. As noted above, some controls are unavailable away from the Captivate machine; playout is the remote sweet spot.

## Related

* [Dedicated Workflows](/control-your-show/chapter-index-2.md)
* [Use Media Tracker](/control-your-show/chapter-index-2/media-tracker-live.md) — the observation-only companion that logs what Media Manager (and the rest of the show) played.
* [Play graphic layers in a specific sequence](/control-your-show/chapter-index/cue-and-take-graphics.md)
* [Create a media sequence](/design-and-customize-graphics/chapter-index-7/create-a-media-sequence.md)


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