The Native CSV format can be used to import a schedule via the programming tab or by way of the import/native hot folder on the server. It may also be exported from the server via the programming tab, modified, and re-imported.
These columns are not necessary for simple file plays. If any other action such as overlays or switch events are used each column should be present in the below order.
Excel will recognize the date column (B) and time column (C) as date and time values. But when doing any calculations on them, you want them to behave as a combined date-time (so that, for example, you properly roll over any midnight boundaries).
So in each cell you want to do a calculation (for example, the next cell’s date and time cells), you will first combine the two values – just adding them will turn them into a combined date-time object. The duration column (H) is shown in seconds, so to do math with it, use the TIME function, passing in the H column as the third value (seconds).
Thus, to calculate a start date and time exactly after the previous program ends, the formula would look like this (example here assumes current values are in row 2):
=B2+C2+TIME(0,0,H2)
This will at first give you a full date-time (5/24/2011 14:22), but use Excel’s Extract functions to extract just the date (5/24/2011) or just the time with seconds (14:22:30) to match the column types as expected. For the date, use the INT function, and for the time, use the MOD function. If we follow the example above, they would be: For the date, =INT(B2+C2+TIME(0,0,H2)) For the time, =MOD(B2+C2+TIME(0,0,H2),1)
You will repeat the exact same formula in both the B and C column, and may have to use Excle’s formatting options to display only the date or only the time.
This way, you could create a sheet where each start date and time is calculated from the row before, and you could enter whatever you want for the duration in each row.
Remember to empty the Source ID column if it does have values, as you want the import to match on filename, which it will do if Source ID is blank.