Playlist transitions: main, temporary & how switches happen

When you send a playlist to a screen that's already playing, impressPlayer decides how to switch. Understanding this helps you get smooth changes and predictable behaviour.

Main vs. temporary playlists

  • Main playlist — your regular, always-looping content. Loops until you change it, and survives restarts. Only one main playlist is active at a time.

  • Temporary playlist — plays a set number of times, then automatically returns to the main playlist. Ideal for announcements, events, or a short takeover. Temporary playlists can stack: send another while one is playing and they play in order, each returning to the previous, then back to the main.

Graceful vs. immediate switching

  • Graceful (default) — the current track finishes, then the new playlist starts with the next track. Smooth, no jarring cut.

  • Immediate — the current track stops at once and the new playlist starts right away. Use when timing is critical.

(There's also an account/device option to force all switches to be immediate.)

Where you set this

You choose all of this — main vs. temporary, and the switching style — in the publish dialog's Action section when you publish. See Put a playlist on your screens (publishing) for the field-by-field (Forever, Repeat count, Graceful, Quick).

Finer options like start from a specific track or seek to the scheduled time are available through the assistant/API when you need them.

What happens on return

When a temporary playlist finishes, the screen resumes the main playlist — at the next track (graceful) or where it left off (immediate). Your main content position isn't lost.

Related