Managing Commentary

This article covers how to play, download, upload, and manage commentary files for your event.

Playing Commentary

To listen to a commentary file:

1. Locate the performance and caption you want to review
2. Click the Play icon (right-facing triangle)
3. The audio player at the top of the page will load the file
4. Use the player controls to:

• Play/pause the audio
• Scrub through the waveform to jump to specific points
• Adjust volume

The play icon turns darker after you've listened to a file, helping you track which commentaries you've already reviewed.

Downloading Commentary

To download a commentary file to your computer:

1. Click the Download icon (cloud with down arrow) next to the caption
2. The file will download to your default downloads folder
3. The icon turns darker to indicate the file has been downloaded

Uploading Replacement Commentary

If a commentary file is missing, corrupted, or needs to be replaced:

1. Click the Upload icon (cloud with up arrow) next to the caption
2. Select an audio file from your computer
3. A progress bar will show the upload status
4. Once complete, the new file becomes the active commentary

Note: You cannot upload replacement files for commentary that has already been verified. Unverify the commentary first if you need to replace it.

Requesting Re-upload from Judge

If a judge needs to re-upload their commentary from their tablet:

1. Click the Tablet icon next to the caption
2. This sends a notification to the judge's device requesting they upload their recording again
3. The icon turns darker to indicate a request has been sent

This is useful when:

• The original upload was interrupted
• Audio quality issues were discovered
• The judge recorded over the wrong performance

Viewing Upload History

Each caption maintains a history of all uploaded files:

1. Click the History icon (clock with arrow) next to the caption
2. A modal window displays all versions:

• Version number
• File size
• Upload date and time
• Active status

Managing Versions

From the history modal, you can:

• Play - Listen to any version
• Download - Download any version
• Set as Active - Make a previous version the current active file
• Move - Reassign the file to a different caption
• Split - Divide the file into two parts
• Clear Active File - Remove the active file designation (does not delete the file)

Verifying Commentary

Once you've reviewed a commentary file and confirmed it's acceptable:

1. Click the Checkmark icon next to the caption
2. The icon turns green to indicate verified status
3. Hover over the checkmark to see who verified it

To unverify commentary:

1. Click the green checkmark icon again
2. The status reverts to unverified (orange checkmark)

Tip: A performance panel turns green when all non-training captions have been verified.

Collapsing Performances

For events with many performances, you can collapse individual performance panels:

1. Click the chevron icon in the performance header
2. The caption list hides, showing only the group name
3. Click again to expand

Your collapse preferences are remembered for 48 hours.

Filtering the View

Use the status filters in the left sidebar to focus on specific commentaries:

You can combine the division/round filter with status filters to narrow down your view further.

Training Captions

Some captions may be marked as training captions, indicated by a yellow background and a "training" badge. Training captions are used when:

• A judge is new and their scores/commentary are for practice only
• The organization wants feedback recorded but not included in official results
• A mentor judge is providing guidance alongside the scoring judge

How Training Captions Work

• Training captions appear with a yellow highlight in the commentary list
• They can receive commentary like regular captions
• Training commentary can be played, downloaded, and managed normally
• Training captions do not affect performance verification status - a performance can show as fully verified (green) even if training captions are unverified

This allows organizations to focus verification efforts on official commentary while still collecting training feedback.

Real-Time Recording Status

The Commentary page displays live recording status from judges' tablets, updating automatically without page refresh.

Status Indicators

How It Works

When a judge begins recording on their tablet:

1. The status indicator next to their caption changes to a red circle
2. If they pause, it changes to a pause icon
3. When they stop recording and upload, the status resets
4. New commentary files appear automatically in your list

This real-time visibility helps you:

• Know which judges are actively working
• Anticipate incoming commentary uploads
• Identify judges who may need assistance (stuck in recording/paused state)

When Commentary Arrives

When a judge uploads their recording:

• The file appears immediately without page refresh
• The caption shows an orange checkmark (uploaded, not yet verified)
• You can play and review the file right away

If you have the audio player open and a new file arrives for the caption you're viewing, you may need to click Play again to load the updated file.