The plan for the day never survives the day. A judge is late, a dance takes longer than expected, a child is called to two stages at once. The Schedule Table and Automate Schedule pages are for planning before the event. The new Live Schedule page is for running it. It lists your competitions in the same order as the Schedule Table, lets you start and finish each one, lets you pull any competition to the top or move it by hand, and shows clashes as they happen. It is made to be used on a phone, standing next to the stage.
Already covered elsewhere on this site
This page is only about running the schedule on the day. Related ground has its own pages:
- Building the programme before the event (time sections, stages, fixing competitions that did not fit) — see how to schedule stages and fix clashes.
- Stage managers who run one stage each from their own phone — see the Stage Manager role.
- Tokens and call sheets — see event-day token and call sheet management.
What you see on the page
Open Time Management → Live Schedule. At the top are three tiles: On now, Waiting and Clashes, each with a count. Tap a tile to show only that group, and tap it again to see everything. Under the tiles are a search box and a stage filter, so on a big event you can look at one stage only.
- On now — competitions that have started and not finished yet.
- Up next — everything still waiting, in the order of the Schedule Table. The small number on each card is that competition’s Order number from the Schedule Table. Each card also shows its stage and planned time.
- Finished — closed by default. Open it to see what is done.
If a waiting competition is already five minutes or more past its planned start, the card says how many minutes late it is.
Start, call and finish
- Start puts the competition on stage. It moves to On now.
- Finish (shown on a competition that is on now) ends it. It moves to Finished.
- The megaphone button calls a waiting competition to its stage. It stays in the waiting list with a Called label, so you and the stage manager can see it is about to begin.
- Reopen (inside Finished) puts a finished competition back to waiting, if you pressed Finish by mistake.
These buttons change the competition’s normal status. Stage Managers change the same status from their own page, and the page refreshes by itself every 20 seconds and straight away when a status changes elsewhere. If a stage manager starts a competition on their phone, you will see it move to On now without doing anything.
Pull a competition to the top, or move it by hand
Each waiting competition has three small buttons: Move to top (double arrow), Move up and Move down. Move to top puts the competition first in the waiting list — useful when a performer must leave early or a stage is free right now. Move up and Move down shift it one place at a time. On a laptop you can also drag a card by its grip icon and drop it where you want it.
The change is saved at once, so it is also the new order in the Schedule Table and on any other phone that has the page open.
Clashes, as they happen
eTalenter compares the participants of each competition. A card with a problem gets a coloured edge and a plain message saying who and where:
- Clash now (red) — a participant is also in a competition that is on now. The message gives the participant number and the other competition and stage.
- Clash soon (orange) — a participant is also in a competition that is called or next in line. Only the next few are checked, about one place for each stage, because those are the ones that could be on stage together.
- Stage busy (orange) — the stage of the next competition still has a competition on now, so it cannot begin there yet.
The clash list updates every time you move, start or finish something. To fix a clash, move one of the two competitions later, or wait until the one on now is finished. The Clashes tile at the top shows how many cards need a look.
Clashes are shown, not blocked. If you press Start on a competition with a red Clash now, eTalenter asks “Start anyway?” and repeats the message. You decide: sometimes the participant has already finished backstage and the clash is no problem.
On a phone and on the web
On a phone every card is one tall block. The competition name and its planned time are at the top, any clash message is below, and a wide Start (or Finish) button sits next to the megaphone and the move buttons. All buttons are large enough for a thumb, and nothing needs sideways scrolling. This is the page to keep open while you walk between stages.
On a laptop the buttons sit at the right of each card, the order number and grip icon on the left, and you can drag cards to reorder them. It works well on a table at the control desk, next to the printed programme.
How a coordinator gets started
- Add your competitions to the Schedule Table (or build the programme with Automate Schedule). Live Schedule shows what is in the Schedule Table; it does not create competitions.
- On the day, open Time Management → Live Schedule and bookmark it on your phone.
- Press Start when a competition goes on stage and Finish when it ends.
- When something changes, use Move to top, Move up or Move down, and watch the clash messages.
What it does not do
- It does not change planned times. Moving a competition changes only its place in the order. The planned start and end times in the Schedule Table stay as they were.
- It does not build a schedule. Use the Schedule Table or Automate Schedule for that, before the event.
- It does not block you. Clashes are warnings. The coordinator always has the last word.
- Only coordinators can change things. Other roles that can open the page see the list but have no Start, Finish or move buttons.
Questions organisers ask
Do I have to use the Live Schedule if I used Automate Schedule?
No. Automate Schedule gives you the plan. Live Schedule is the page you use while the event runs, and it works with the plan from either the Schedule Table or Automate Schedule.
Will other coordinators and stage managers see my changes?
Yes. Starting, finishing and moving are saved right away, and other open pages refresh by themselves every 20 seconds or sooner.
Why does a competition show no clash when I know a child is in two?
Clashes are checked only for competitions on now, called, or among the next few in line. Two competitions far apart in the order are not compared until they get close. Participants must also be added to both competitions in the event for a clash to show.
Running your event on eTalenter? Open a live demo and log in as a demo coordinator (no sign-up, read-only), WhatsApp us, or email support@etalenter.com for help with the software.
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