Play / Pause controls

Play and Pause start and hold the run during a live show. The toggle is a single button in the live control bar at the bottom of the rundown, and the icon changes to show the current state.

Play

Starts the run. The engine works down the rundown: segments in order, stories in order, and each element on its story's clock.

Pause is graceful

Pressing Pause does not cut what is on air. The story currently on air finishes, and the show stops before the next element goes in. While it is waiting, the control bar says finishing story….

Clicking again during that window cancels the pause and the show carries on as if you never pressed it.

Once it is actually paused:

• Whatever is on air stays on air; no OUT is sent.
• Countdowns freeze.
• Pending field changes are held. Nothing fires mid-pause.
• No new element starts.

Resuming

Press Play again. Countdowns pick up where they stopped, and the remaining field changes and OUT commands fire at their correct relative times.

What pause is not

• It does not take the current graphic off. Use it deliberately to hold a graphic longer than planned.
• It does not stop the show. To end it, press End; to put everything back to the top, press Reset.
• It does not depend on your browser. The run lives on Helmo Live's servers, so switching tabs, closing the laptop or losing connection does not pause anything.