What are Switchboard Templates?
Templates act as the metadata for your multistream. They are designed to pre-set and change/update the metadata (title & stream description) when you go live to your destinations. With the template feature, you no longer need to copy and paste the same metadata for each destination. You can save time by creating one template containing the Title, Description, and metadata for your upcoming live broadcast and then applying it to a destination group. We've added a date feature to templates for our daily live streamers. When the date feature is active, the current date will automatically add to the end of the stream title.
There are two methods to create a new template in the Switchboard account.
Method 1. Templates page
This method is excellent if you want to spend time creating all of your templates and stream titles ahead of time.
After creating templates on this page, you must return to the specific destination group and apply the desired template to it.
Method 2. Directly at the top of any destination group.
When you create a template using this method, the newly created template will automatically apply to the group.
This method is excellent for quickly creating and applying a template to a specific Stream Group.
Let's get started!
Templates Page
The template page is broken down into sections.
Internal Information is at the top, and Stream Information is at the bottom of the Template page. The Template List is located on the righthanded side.
Internal Information
The Internal Information is private and is only visible to you.
Template Name The name of your template is entered here so that you can quickly identify them when you add them to a destination group.
Description: In this section, you can provide a note with instructions so you'll know how to use the template. This is helpful if your Switchboard Account is managed by multiple team members.
Stream Information
The information in this section is public and will be published to the group's destinations. Your viewers will be able to see the Information that you provide in this section.
Stream Title Fields
Anything you type in the stream title fields will be published along with your videos when you go live. The template has more than one title field corresponding to different social media platforms, each with a unique character limit. You can write stream titles reflecting each platform's voice using the designated title field for each platform.
Open the Templates Page
Select the Main menu on the Top Left.
Choose Templates.
The templates page is the hub for all saved templates in your switchboard account. Create, and manage templates here.
Create a New Template
To create a new template, press the "Plus Icon" at the top right of the template page.
Give the template a name.
Provide internal instructions and details about the template. This is helpful if you are working with team members who have access to the Switchboard Account.
Configure the Template
Next begin filling out the template with the metadata you want to add to publish along with your live broadcasts.
Stream Title Fields
Main Title Field
Use the Main title field if you want to apply the same stream title for all the destinations in the Stream Group. Use the Main Title Field for LinkedIn and Twitch stream titles.
However, if you want to customize stream titles to match the voice of the different social platforms, we recommend using the platform specific stream title fields.
Please note that because YouTube only allows 100 characters, YouTube will display the first 100 characters of your stream title.
Platform - Specific Stream Title Fields
The specific stream title fields will allow you to create clear messages tailored to the audience and the unique character limits for that destination type. Stream titles provided in their designated title field will override the stream titles supplied in the main title field.
The stream title character limit is 254 for Facebook.
The stream description will be displayed in the Facebook Feed.
While viewing the video, the Facebook stream title and description will display when the video is clicked open and viewed as a user.
YouTube
Add the YouTube stream title here.
Note: YouTube's stream title character limit is 100.
X(Twitter)
Type a stream title in the designated X stream title field. Please note that you can customize and max out the total number of characters allowable by X.
Anything you type in this field will override the text provided in the main title field.
Twitch
Use the Main Title Field for Twitch stream titles.
If you are a gamer, type the name of the game that you are playing, and it will post with your live stream, saving you an extra step on the Twitch platform.
Use the Main Title Field for LinkedIn stream titles.
The description will also be published along with the stream title you've provided for LinkedIn.
RTMP
The stream title and description will not be published to Custom RTMP destinations.
Description
Use this field to provide additional Information about the live broadcast, including emojis, hashtags, links, etc.
When you go live, the content you've provided in the description will be as follows:
- YouTube: The description section is the box directly below the stream title. Take advantage of this space because you can add any desired links, hashtags, tags, and other Information.
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Facebook: Facebook will display the description differently as part of the post social media post.
- LinkedIn: The description will be appended after the stream title.
Date Feature
The date feature has been added to the templates. When enabled, the current date of the live stream will be appended to the tail end of the stream title. This feature is tied to the template.
When the date feature is enabled, text "date is active" will display next to the stream title fields as an indicator.
YouTube Category
Click the down arrow to choose a YouTube category from the list.
Twitch - Game
If you’re live streaming a game on Twitch, you can use the drop-down menu to select the game. If you’re not live-streaming a Twitch game, you can leave this feature alone.
Tags
Type in a tag and press enter.
Apply Template to Stream Groups
After creating a template, you'll need to apply it to specific Stream Groups.
Click the Main menu at the top and navigate to a workflow.
At the top of the Stream Group, click the pencil icon.
Click Customization.
Click the down arrow to select a template from the list of templates saved to the Switchboard account.
✏️ At this step, you can modify the stream titles; note that if you do so, the changes will globally update the Template. Which means that any Stream Groups using the same template will also update.
Click Submit to confirm the changes to the group.
A pop-up will be displayed at the bottom of the screen to confirm the changes.
You'll notice the Template name will update in the Stream Group header.
Method 2 - Destination Group Header
Once a Stream Group has been created on your Workflow, you can create new Templates from the menu.
Click the pencil icon at the top of any Stream Group.
Click Customization.
Open the Template drop down menu.
Select Create New Template from the menu.
The Templates page will open.
Fill out the information, such as the stream title, description, and tags.
Return the workflow, and the Stream Group should update with the recently created template.
Click here to learn How to Apply a Template to a Destination Group.
Managing Templates in the Switchboard Account
Template Management Tips
Number of Saved Templates
Quickly see how many templates are saved to your Switchboard Account.
Pagination
Cycle through the number of saved templates in your Switchboard account.
Search
Use the search bar to find a specific template.
Copy a Template
Creating a copy of a template is a great way to keep a main template in your Switchboard Account as a reference for future live streams.
Click on any one of the templates in the list.
Click the "Copy the Current Template" button on the top right of the Templates page.
Rename the copy of the template.
Delete Templates
Every so often, it is a good idea to delete the templates that you are no longer using.
On the right side of the Template Page, hover over the template you want to delete and click the Trash Can. Select Yes to confirm the deletion.
More Information about Templates
- Templates are automatically saved to your Switchboard account; there isn't a save button.
- Templates are organized alphabetically, and you can specify their order using numbers. This is helpful when selecting an active template in the Stream Group editor.
- No Template: Each platform requires Steam titles, so if you choose "No Template" from the menu, the default stream title will be "[channel name] is Live."
Check out the resources below:
Add destinations to your Switchboard Account.
Enable the Switchboard GO Live Autostart feature.