Packed Scripts or .SSCX?

MediaShout offers 2 ways to prepare a Script for transport to another computer. Each has benefits as well as caveats. Below are the details of each. There is a lot of information to cover in this article, so please review it in its entirety to make sure you are using the best option for your situation. 

Packed Scripts

Packing a Script is the traditional way for preparing a Script for transport to another computer. MediaShout places a copy of the Script (.SSC) as well as a copy of all of the media files used in the Script into one folder. Note: If you aren't moving your presentation from computer to computer, then most users can use the standard Save Function (.SSC) as there is no need to Pack it.

Benefits

1. Using a Packed Script is an easy way to transport the media files from one system to another, because they are easily accessible in the Packed folder. 

2. If you have a "Cloud" service such as Dropbox, One Drive or Google Drive,  you can use the Pack current script to Cloud option found within MediaShout 6. Note: You can manually move Packed Folders to cloud locations if you are on MediaShout 4 or 5 (Windows). 

Caveats

1. If you need to modify a Script after it is Packed, a) close the script, b) delete the Packed folder, c) reopen the Script, d) make your changes and e) Re-Pack. Failure to do this will cause issues with missing media in the Packed Script as well as the original Script.

2. If you save your Packed Scripts for use at a later time, do not use the media from the Packed Script or the cues in a Packed Script to create other scripts. If you do want to use the media, COPY the media files to the location on the system where you organize your media before using them in another Script. Cues in a Packed Script will always look in the Packed folder for the media, which is why you don't want to reuse these Scripts to create other Scripts.

OPTIONAL: If you don't need to save the Packed Scripts for use at a later time, you can safely delete them after you have saved any media files you want to keep.

3. If the Packed Script contains Lyrics that are not in the database on the system you are presenting from, when those new Lyrics are added to the database, they will be looking to the Packed folder for the media or background.

In this case, what you need to do is copy the media files used in these Lyric Cues to the location on the system where you organize your other media files. Then create a new Script and insert the new Lyrics. If the Packed Script has not been deleted, the backgrounds will still be applied from the Packed Folder location. However, you will want to change the background to use the media found in the new location.

 

SSCX

The SSCX format is a new format in MediaShout 6 that bundles all of the media into the single file (similar to Packing your Presentation). This way, you only have to save the SSCX file to take it to another computer (but it is a larger file size than just a standard .SSC file).  Again, if you aren't moving it from computer to computer, then most users can use the standard Save Function (.SSC file) and you will be fine. 

Benefits

1. The .SCCX file is perfect for situations where you will not need the media in that script on another computer in the future.  Because the media is all saved into the SSCX file, there is no way to extract it out into separate media files.

2. If you have several people that work on the script on several different computers, then SSCX is designed to handle the files and media with ease. However, as noted above, the .SSCX file is much larger than the .SSC file and because of this, it is not easily shared. If you have cloud storage that is shared, you can share it this way.

3. Although the .SSCX file is almost the same size as the fully Packed Script, it can be edited and re-saved a lot easier than a Packed Script. 

Caveats

1. If you use a .SSCX to create other Scripts, make sure when you "Save As" you are selecting the .SSCX file type. Otherwize, it will be a .SSC without any media. And when this script is open, all media and backgrounds will be missing.

2. If the .SSCX contains Lyrics that are not in the database on the system you are presenting from, when those new Lyrics are added to the database, they will be looking to the SSCX for the media or background.

In this case, what you need to do is manually make a copy of the media files used in these Lyric Cues and put them on a flash drive or some other means to access them. Then copy them to the location on the system where you organize your other media files. Then create a new Script and insert the new Lyrics. Then you can change the background to use the media that was copied to the new location.

 

Each situation is unique and you may have trouble determining which option is best for your situation.  Please feel free to contact our team with any questions and we will be happy to help!