Following the release of MatchTracker 9.0, creating match packages with a custom timeline is even easier thanks to the new Hub Focus Session workflow.
Any matches published to the users' Hub Remote Data Source can now be uploaded as a Focus session directly into the Hub sessions library. These Focus sessions will:
- Stream all video channels available in MatchTracker.
- Populate the timeline according to a selected Export template.
- Share with all selected users over the Hub.
This guide outlines the entire process, providing detailed explanations of the specific steps and workflow considerations.
Focus Sessions Export Feature Walkthrough
For more workflow context, visit our blog on this topic: https://www.catapult.com/blog/pro-video-matchtracker-session-export-workflow
How Does Focus Session Upload Work?
Previously, video channels for MatchTracker matches were not accessible for use in Hub Focus sessions, despite being stored in the Hub Remote Data Source. This Hub Focus Session feature has bridged that gap, enabling MatchTracker Hub video content to be used as the video source for a Focus session.
With the video now available to stream like any other Focus session in the Hub, the remaining details for creating a session can be selected in MatchTracker's configurations menu, allowing sessions to be created in the Hub with minimal user steps.
Assigning Your Default Preferences
To access the configuration preferences, open Settings in MatchTracker. On the Match Data tab, you will see a section for Upload Focus Sessions to Hub.
This section has two components. The first is a checkbox option to Auto Upload on Publish. Ticking this box means that a Focus session will automatically be uploaded to the Hub whenever a match is published in MatchTracker, using the default configurations at the time of publishing.
Selecting this option can be helpful if you want every match added to your MatchTracker library to be automatically available in your Focus Hub library, as the match will appear there after it is published with no additional user interaction required.
Next to this checkbox is the Configure button, which opens the configurations menu. This menu contains three fields that will determine the default settings for every session upload:
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Event Name
This allows users to specify a standardised naming convention for both the Event Name and Session Name when creating the Focus session. These names can combine free text with selected fields from the match information, such as Date, Team Names, or Score.
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Export Template
This allows the user to select from a list of their Export Templates, assigning which template will populate the timeline in the Focus session.
In keeping with other template export options in MatchTracker, there is also the option to export the Active Workbook. This will create a template based on the workbook's contents at the time of each upload.
While using the 'Active Workbook' option avoids the user having to save a new export template, be aware that any small changes to the workbook between uploading sessions will be reflected in the timelines of those sessions.
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Default Sharing
This allows the user to select which Hub users or user groups will have access to the session once it has been created. After selecting the user/group, there is also a dropdown menu to assign the level of access each user has:- Viewer - Can only watch shared content.
- Commenter - Can watch and comment on shared content.
- Editor - Can watch, comment and edit shared content.
- Admin - Can watch, comment, edit, re-share and delete shared content.
Individual or Multi-Match Upload
To upload an individual match, in the Matches section of the main sidebar, click on the Export icon (the upward arrow) next to the name of the match you wish to upload. On the pop-up menu that appears, select Upload Focus Session to Hub.
To upload multiple matches, on the Matches section header in the main sidebar, click on the Export icon (the upward arrow) next to the Matches section header. On the pop-up menu that appears, select Upload All Focus Sessions to Hub.
It is also possible to access the option to upload either an individual session, or all sessions, via the File menu, in the Title bar at the top of your screen.
Either of these upload options will bring up the Configuration settings menu, similar to the one accessed in Settings. The configuration will display your default upload settings, but this is your opportunity to change them for the selected game(s). Any changes made here will not affect your default configuration; they apply only to this specific upload.
Unpublished Changes
At the top of this window, you might see a notification: "Unpublished changes. Any local video must be published to the Hub before it can be shared in your Focus Session." There are two possible reasons for this notification:
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You have unpublished, local video for one (or all) of the selected matches.
Focus Session upload only works with video stored in the Hub Remote folder. If you're using local video but want to upload a Focus Session, you'll need to Publish the video to the Hub first. Only published video channels will be available in a Focus session, so ensure all required channels are published to Hub before uploading. -
You are opening a match for the first time after it has been shared by the Catapult League Automation service.
Even though all video in these matches is located in the Hub, we recommend publishing these matches when first opening them. This will publish some of your Alerts & Custom Alerts for that match and speed up future opening times. However, if the match is definitely using Hub streamed video, you can proceed with the upload without publishing at this stage, and all data (including Alerts & Custom Alerts) will still be available for the session timeline.
To re-emphasize, all video must be on the Hub to upload a Focus Session to Hub. If only data needs to be published (as in the second scenario), you can proceed with the upload.
Open in Focus
On this specific Configuration menu, in the bottom-left corner, you'll also find a checkbox option to Open in Focus. If selected, the uploaded session will open in Focus as soon as it's available on the Hub. Even if Focus is currently closed, it will launch and load this session. If you're uploading multiple sessions, the first one to become available on the Hub will open in Focus, followed by the remaining sessions as they finish uploading.
If Open in Focus is not selected, the selected matches will upload to the Hub sessions library, and be available to open in Focus (or on Hub) when required.
Duplicate Sessions
If you try to upload a session that has already been uploaded to the Hub, MatchTracker will detect that there is a duplication, and present three options:
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Open existing Sessions in Focus: This will open the session in Focus without attempting to upload it again, allowing you to view and work on the session as it currently exists in the Hub.
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Add Tags to existing Sessions: This option will merge the tags already present on the session in the Hub with the tags from the template you're currently uploading. For example, you might use this if a session was initially uploaded with an Open Play export template, and you now want to add additional rows from a Set Play template.
- Overwrite Sessions: This option will replace the existing session in the Hub with the one you are currently uploading. This means any data (such as rows, tags, and labels) that were previously on the original Hub session will no longer be available. Only select this option if you are absolutely sure that the timeline you are about to upload is the only one you want in the Focus session on the Hub, and that you will not need any data from the original timeline again in the future.