Mcaster1PlaylistComposerPro.exe is the broadcast log production tool. It builds dated, ordered run-of-show logs from your media library, applies clock templates to auto-populate hour-blocks, and exports logs in industry-standard formats for use with SAM Broadcaster, Rivendell, and other automation systems.
A broadcast log (also called a running order, run sheet, or playout list) is an ordered list of every item that will air during a show or broadcast day, with item types (music, spot, jingle, news, filler, voice), start times, durations, and notes. ComposerPro stores logs in MySQL and can export them in multiple formats for compatibility with radio automation software.
In TagStack's Media Library Playlist tab, double-click any saved playlist (or select it and click Open in ComposerPro). ComposerPro opens with the playlist tracks already loaded as a log draft, ready to edit.
# Open ComposerPro with no initial content (blank log):
Mcaster1PlaylistComposerPro.exe
# Open a specific saved log by database ID:
Mcaster1PlaylistComposerPro.exe --log-id 42
# Load a TagStack playlist as a log draft:
Mcaster1PlaylistComposerPro.exe --playlist-id 7The main area of the ComposerPro window is the log grid — an ordered list of all items in the current log. Each row represents one scheduled item.
| Type | Code | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Music | 0 | Regular music track from the media library |
| Spot | 1 | Commercial spot or advertisement |
| Jingle | 2 | Short audio sting, liner, or station ID |
| News | 3 | News bulletin or talk segment |
| Filler | 4 | Background or fill audio when main content ends early |
| Voice | 5 | Voice-over, DJ break, or announcer segment |
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| # | Position in the log (1-based). Used for sequencing and cart number lookup. |
| Type | Item type badge (Music / Spot / Jingle / News / Filler / Voice) |
| Cart | Cart number (for SAM Broadcaster and Rivendell integration) |
| Title | Track title or segment name |
| Artist | Artist name (music items) |
| Start | Scheduled start time (HH:MM:SS) — populated by clock templates or manually entered |
| Duration | Segment duration (MM:SS) |
| Notes | Free-text notes for the operator |
The right sidebar shows your media library loaded from MySQL. You can:
Clock templates define the structure of an hour — a repeating sequence of slot types with target durations. Apply a template to auto-populate an empty log (or add to an existing log) from your rotation categories.
Each template has a name and an ordered list of clock slots. Each slot specifies:
Tip: You can apply a template multiple times (once per hour) to build a full day log. Each application appends to the current log. Use the date picker to set the correct broadcast date before saving.
Rotation categories group your tracks for automated scheduling. Categories are named buckets with a color badge (e.g. "Top 40 Hot" in accent-blue, "Gold" in yellow). You manage categories in TagStack's database settings and assign them to playlists. ComposerPro clock template slots reference categories to know which pool of tracks to pull from.
Cart numbers are used by SAM Broadcaster, RadioBoss, and similar systems to identify audio assets by a short code (e.g. "C001", "SPOT-042"). TagStack's cart_mappings table links a cart number string to a media_id in your library. ComposerPro can populate the Cart column in the log grid from these mappings, so the exported SAM Broadcaster log is ready to use immediately.
Cart mapping flow: Assign cart numbers to your media items via the Media Library Metadata Editor. ComposerPro reads the cart_mappings table when building the log and fills in the cart number column automatically for matched items.
Click New to clear the current log. If there are unsaved changes, ComposerPro prompts to save first.
Click Open to browse saved broadcast logs from MySQL and load one into the grid.
Click Save to write the current log (name, date, all items) to MySQL. The log name and date are shown in the toolbar. The dirty indicator (asterisk) clears when saved.
Click Export to save the current log in one of five industry-standard formats:
| Format | Extension | Details |
|---|---|---|
| M3U Playlist | .m3u | Standard playlist; #EXTM3U header, #EXTINF:duration,Artist - Title per item, followed by file path |
| M3U Extended | .m3u8 | Same as M3U but UTF-8 encoded — required for non-ASCII artist/title names |
| PLS Playlist | .pls | [playlist] header, File1= / Title1= / Length1= per item; NumberOfEntries=N |
| SAM Broadcaster Log | .txt | Tab-separated: Date, Time, Duration, Artist, Title, Album. Directly importable into SAM Broadcaster's scheduled log feature. |
| Rivendell / CSV | .csv | Header row + comma-separated: position, title, artist, album, duration_sec, file_path. Compatible with Rivendell import and spreadsheet tools. |
SAM Broadcaster users: Export as SAM .txt, then import via SAM's Scheduler → Import Log. Cart numbers in the log grid map directly to SAM's cart system if you have populated the cart_mappings table.
Rivendell users: Export as Rivendell CSV. Use Rivendell's rdlogedit CSV import to load the log into your Rivendell database. Duration is in seconds (integer) to match the Rivendell schema.
The status bar at the bottom of the ComposerPro window shows the total duration of all items in the current log. This is recalculated after every add, remove, or clock template application. Use it to ensure your log fills the target broadcast block (e.g. exactly 60:00 for a one-hour show).