What is a layout in digital signage?
"Layout," "template" and "playlist" get used loosely and interchangeably in this industry, but they’re three different things. Here’s the precise definition of a layout, how it differs from a template, and how CloudyFy TV’s layout builder puts it together.
- Layout
- A layout is one designed screen composition: a canvas of positioned blocks such as video, images, text, or a playlist, arranged to fill part or all of a screen. Layouts are the base unit you build, publish and schedule; playlists and schedules decide when and where a given layout appears.
Layout vs template
LayoutvsTemplate
A layout and a template are related but not identical. A template is a pre-built starting point you copy and customize; a layout is what you end up with, saved and ready to publish, whether it started from a template or a blank canvas. Calling every layout a "template" undersells the fact that it is now your own editable, publishable asset, not a fixed design you’re stuck with. CloudyFy TV’s design templates are starting points from a shared catalogue. Your saved layout, once you’ve customized one or built one from scratch, belongs to your company alone.
How do layouts work in CloudyFy TV?
CloudyFy TV ships 93 design templates as starting points across its layout catalogue. Open one, or start blank, and the layout builder gives you a drag-drop canvas with snapping, layers, undo and orientation variants for portrait and landscape screens. A layout isn’t limited to one fixed frame either: split it into regions with split_x and split_y blocks, a menu on the left and a video loop on the right, say, and stack blocks in layers within each region. Once saved, that layout can be published directly, added to a playlist, or reused across as many screens as you assign it to.
