Using PlaylistsPlaylists are a feature of Peoples Archive where you can compile your own list of stories, drawing from all the Peoples Archive speakers, in whatever order you would like to watch them. You can then choose to share these with your friends, colleagues or students. All users can watch public playlists, but only registered users can create their own playlists, for more details on the differences between guests and registered users read our guide on the subject.
Searching PlaylistsTo begin select 'Playlists' from the main tool bar situated at the top of the page (see Figure 1).
From here public playlists can be browsed and searched. There are three search options to choose from (see Figure 2):
This enables easy location of playlists containing specific topic/s. If a lecturer wishes to set up a playlist for their students to work through they can create it, name it and then choose to fill in a description. A description would be used for example if the student had forgotten what the title was, but the lecturer had put in the description details such as their name, university name and the subject being taught; anything that would enable a user to identify it more easily. Students will be able to search the date in the title and descriptions of all the playlists and the correct one will be found. As an alternative to searching, all of the public playlists can be browsed. There are two methods for doing this. Either you can choose to look through the Titles of the playlists or the Creator's names. This can be especially useful when looking for a specific creator. For both methods an alphabet list will appear, where any letter with a playlist within it can be selected. When a playlist is displayed it lists the title, who created it, which country it was created in, the number of stories and the date it was created. Viewing Existing PlaylistsWhen a playlist is to be viewed simply click on the title and the stories within the playlist will be shown on the left (see Figure 3). The first story will prepare to be played in the center.
The stories within the playlist are recommended to be viewed in the existing order, however, the 'Next' and 'Previous' buttons (see Figure 4) can be used to navigate through them.
There are various different video options to choose from (see Figure 5). To begin the story or change an option single click on the one of your choice.
Notes may have been made on some of the stories by the creator of the playlist. These are automatically viewed on the right of the screen whilst the specific film is playing. Creating Your Own PlaylistOnce you are logged on it is possible to create your own playlists. If you are just browsing and you find various stories that you find interesting you can create a playlist and watch them whenever you like. It is up to you whether to make a playlist private, which means it is only viewable by you, or public, meaning anyone who visits the site can view it. This is often useful for lecturers or teachers that wish pupils to view certain stories in a specific order. You can change this option at any time. (Please refer to the 'Viewing and Organising your Playlist' section) To add a new Playlist or an additional story to an existing playlist, you must ensure you are not within a playlist that was created by anyone other than you. You can however be in any of the 'Home', 'Browse' or 'Search sections. When you are viewing a story you will notice a menu appear on the right (see Figure 6).
Use the '+ Add this story to a playlist' link and the menu will change to show your available options (see Figure 7).
You have two choices. You can either add a story to an existing playlist by clicking on the drop-down-box and selecting the playlist of your choice and submitting it or you can create a new playlist. Firstly enter the playlist name into the box provided and decide if you would like it to be public or private by selecting/deselecting the box. This option can be changed at a later date. Click submit and the menu will change again to confirm the addition is complete (see Figure 8).
Viewing and Organising Your PlaylistOnce a Playlist had been created it is possible to change the contents and edit the details. There are two different methods to do this, but firstly you must ensure you are logged onto your account. If you are within the 'Playlist' section of the site you will notice a menu on the right (see Figure 9). You can either edit the details here, or by going to the 'My Archive' section and selecting 'View Playlists' from the left which will display a new playlists menu (see Figure 10).
The options in both menus are identical. If you wish to edit the playlist details use the 'Edit details' link and you will be taken to a form for editing the playlist details (see Figure 11). Here, you may change the Playlist title and add, edit or remove its description. You also have to option of changing your playlist to public or private. Once complete use the 'Submit' button to load your new settings. These details can be changed as many times as you would like.
If you wish to change the stories contained within a playlist use the 'Edit Contents' link and your playlist will be opened, ready to play. On the left there will be a menu (see Figure 12). This is displayed the same as it is to people viewing your Playlist if it is public, with an additional tool situated on the right. This tool can be used to reorganise the order of the stories and delete stories (see Figure 13 for an annotated diagram of this tool).
For each of the stories in the Playlist there is the option of including a note. If you wish to edit these notes you can use the 'Edit' option situated at the bottom of the notes section (see Figure 14). Once clicked on, a text box will replace the image so that the note can be entered (see Figure 15). To finalise the change select the 'Submit' button and the note will be updated instantly. (Figure 16) Notes can be changed as many times as the user requests.
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