Reading the rule list
The three rule statuses, why they are worked out across every time zone, and the Effective schedule block that describes the whole schedule.
Each rule in the list is a line of plain text naming the dates it covers, the days of the week it runs on, and the hours it plays. A rule that needs your attention also carries a status.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Its window has not started yet |
| Expired | Its window has passed |
| Never plays | The combination can never match |
Why "somewhere"
Screens run on their own clocks, so a rule can be active in Singapore and finished in San Francisco at the same instant. The statuses are worked out across every time zone rather than yours.
A rule is only Expired once it has passed everywhere in the world, and stays Pending only while it is still ahead everywhere. That is deliberately conservative: it will not tell you something has finished while a screen somewhere is still playing it. See Time zones.
Never plays
The rule contradicts itself, and it is a warning rather than a save error, so a rule can sit there doing nothing until somebody notices.
The usual causes: except dates that cover the whole range, a Wednesday-only rule inside a range that contains no Wednesday, or a time window that ends before it starts.
The list shows these warnings without you opening each rule. Open the rule and the dialog says which part conflicts: the dates and weekdays, or the time of day.
The Effective schedule block
Above the list, Effective schedule says in plain language what all the rules add up to. Rules that can no longer play are left out, and a rule that hasn't started yet is marked "(pending)".
Read it before saving. Each rule can be individually correct while the set of them is not, and this is the only place that shows the combination. A playlist meant to run on weekday mornings whose Effective schedule reads "Always active" has an unrestricted rule in it somewhere.
A playlist with no rules at all shows "Always active. This playlist plays on every screen, every day, all day." in place of the list.
When nothing can match
If no rule can still match, the list says so directly: the playlist will never play. Usually that means every rule has expired, and the playlist wants either new dates or disabling.