Playlist Builder
The Playlist Builder provides simple functionality to create and edit presentation playlists on the iPad rather than requiring you to work directly on the SOS computer. The Playlist Builder provides basic functionality similar to the Playlist Builder on the SOS website. If more advanced playlist construction and modification is required, the Visual Playlist Editor on the SOS computer can be used. The new Playlist Builder also provides a way to create and edit Presenter Notes, which can be displayed on the Presentation tab (see the Presenter Notes section for more information).
One important aspect of working with playlists in the Playlist Builder is that it operates independently from what is currently being displayed. In other words, any playlists that are read in, modified, and saved by the Playlist Builder will not alter what is being presented on the sphere.
Click on the Playlist Builder tab to access the Playlist Builder page. There are four main parts of the Playlist Builder user interface:
- An editing pane containing the list of the datasets in the current playlist
- A playlist file operations toolbar
- A Presenter Notes editing pane
- A display-only Data Info pane

The Playlist Builder tab
Playlist Editing
Permalink to Playlist EditingThe current presentation playlist being edited is shown as a list of datasets on the left hand side of the page. Datasets may be added, removed, and reordered, and these operations may be performed in any combination as needed. Edits made are only temporary until the playlist is Saved.
Adding
Permalink to AddingDatasets are added to a playlist by selecting them from the dataset search results list in the Data Catalog tab. The Add toolbar button in the Playlist Builder provides a quick way to enable adding datasets to the current playlist. It works by switching you to the Data Catalog tab and changing the Search Results list into an “Add” mode, where a green badge with a plus sign appears by each dataset. Alternatively, you may add datasets at any time using the Paper/Pen icon on the top left of Data Catalog tab (see the Adding Datasets to the Playlist Builder section for more information). Once you have selected one or more datasets and have returned to the Playlist Builder tab, you will find the newly added datasets at the end of the dataset list. Note that you are allowed to add the same dataset more than once to a playlist.
Moving
Permalink to MovingDatasets may be reordered in the current playlist. This is done by selecting the horizontal lines “handle” to the right of a dataset’s name, holding it down, and dragging the dataset to the desired position.
Removing
Permalink to RemovingDatasets may be removed from the current playlist by using the red badge with a minus sign shown to the left side of each dataset. When the minus sign is pressed, a Remove button appears and when that is tapped, the dataset is removed from the current playlist. A remove operation may be cancelled by selecting the minus sign again before the Remove is pressed. Note that removed datasets are never actually deleted from the Data Catalog or the SOS computer, they are only taken out of the current playlist you are editing.
Playlist File Operations Toolbar
Permalink to Playlist File Operations ToolbarBasic operations relating to presentation playlists are controlled using buttons on the toolbar at the top right. All presentation playlist files are located on the SOS computer in the sosrc folder, and the SOS software must be running while using the Playlist Builder.
The functions of the toolbar buttons are as follows:
New
Permalink to NewThe New button is used to start a new playlist. It first clears out any current datasets or presentation notes after asking if you wish to save any edits. The new playlist does not yet have a corresponding file on the SOS computer and the “new_playlist.sos” shown is just a placeholder rather than a real filename.
Open
Permalink to OpenThe Open button opens a playlist file and reads in its datasets and presentation notes. It first clears out any current datasets or presentation notes after asking if you wish to save any prior edits made.
Delete
Permalink to DeleteThe Delete button deletes the currently opened playlist file from the SOS computer and clears out the Playlist Builder interface. You are always given the opportunity to cancel before doing the file deletion.
Rename
Permalink to RenameThe Rename button moves the currently opened playlist file on the SOS computer to a new filename, which must not already exist. You may specify sub-folders relative to the sosrc folder for the new filename, but those sub-folders must already exist on the SOS computer.
Add
Permalink to AddThe Add button relates to playlist editing and is described above.
Present
Permalink to PresentThe Present button is used as a convenient way to load and display the current playlist that is in the Playlist Builder (after edits are saved) by automatically switching from the Playlist Builder tab to the Presentation tab. All saved changes in the presentation you were creating will be immediately available there, including any Presentation Notes entered.
Save
Permalink to SaveThe Save button writes the currently shown datasets and presenter notes in the Playlist Builder to the filename in the text box to the left of the Save button. If the name shown is the placeholder text “new_playlist.sos”, you will need to type in an actual filename. If you opened an existing playlist, by default it will be saved back to the same filename. If you change the filename in the text box, pressing Save will create that new file for you, although it will not overwrite an existing filename.
Presenter Notes Editing
Permalink to Presenter Notes EditingPresenter Notes are a useful way to store notes about what you wish to say about the datasets in your presentation (see the Presenter Notes section for more information).
Presenter Notes may be easily added and edited using the Presenter Notes pane in the Playlist Builder. The iPad keyboard will appear when you click in that pane and you may enter or change text there as needed. Presenter Note changes are only temporary until they are Saved along with the current playlist.
Dataset Information
Permalink to Dataset InformationThe Data Info pane of the Playlist Builder provides detailed information about a dataset when when that dataset is selected from the list. Its content is the same as shown in the Data Info popup in the Presentation tab (see the Data Info section for more information). One possible use of the text displayed in the Data Info pane is that you may wish to select and copy portions of it (such as Notable Features), and then paste it into the Presenter Notes pane.