Tracking changes with a snapshot in Showtime Manager

Use snapshots in Film Manager's Showtime Manager to track any changes to scheduled sessions. This helps you monitor updates made by cinema managers once showtime schedules have been sent to Cinema.

A snapshot is a read-only copy of a live schedule that's saved in Film Manager. While cinema managers only see the live schedule in Cinema Manager, Film Manager can show you both the live schedule and the snapshot. This means you can compare the live schedule and the snapshot to identify sessions that have been added, deleted, or changed.

Snapshots track changes to the following session details:

• Session timing
• Screen number
• Film format
• Film title

Note: Any change to a session after a snapshot is saved will be tracked, whether the change was made in Film Manager or Cinema Manager.

Creating a snapshot

A snapshot captures the showtime schedule for the entire week in both Timeline (default and compact) and Time block views.

Important! Only one snapshot can exist at a time. Creating a new snapshot will overwrite the previous one and cannot be undone.

1. In Film Manager, go to Showtime Manager and create your showtime schedule.
2. Click Save to open the save options.
3. Select Save and create snapshot.
   Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + S.

This process saves the schedule in Cinema Manager and Film Manager and creates a snapshot in Film Manager.

Note: If you encounter an error when saving, no snapshot will be created and sessions won't appear in Head Office reports. You'll see an error message prompting you to try again.

Viewing a snapshot

Snapshots are only visible in Film Manager's Showtime Manager.

Using the shortcut key

Toggle between the live schedule and the snapshot using the shortcut key.

1. To view the snapshot, press and hold the Show snapshot shortcut key (default: Q). 
2. Release the shortcut key to return to the live schedule view.

Note: You can change the Show snapshot shortcut key at any time. See Customising a shortcut key in Showtime Manager for more information.

Track changes colour view

Switch to the Track changes colour view to see the live schedule with dedicated snapshot labels and colours. This lets you see changes without toggling between views. In this view, hover over a session to see a tooltip containing information from its snapshot version.

1. In Film Manager, open Showtime Manager.
2. Select Film colour view in the menu ribbon.
3. Choose Track changes colour view.

You can also use the keyboard shortcut Alt + 4.

Snapshot labels and colours

When you view a snapshot, changes to sessions are indicated by different labels and colours. 

Warning! Sneak preview sessions aren't supported in snapshots. In a snapshot, they will appear as the film used to create the session.

You can also restore a snapshot to undo changes or recover deleted sessions. For more information, see Restoring a snapshot in Showtime Manager.

See also 

• Showtime Manager overview
• Customising a shortcut key in Showtime Manager
• Restoring a snapshot in Showtime Manager