Table of contents
What is a Fallback playlist?
A Fallback playlist is your screen network's safety net. If a screen has no other content scheduled - no active playlists, no triggers firing - it will automatically play the fallback playlist instead of going blank.
Fallback playlists use the same playlist system you're already familiar with, but with a few important differences: they don't require screen selection or scheduling, and they apply automatically to all screens in a space.
👆 Note: Fallback playlists are admin-only. The feature is only visible to users with admin permissions - both on the Fallback page and in the Settings modal. If you don't see the fallback option, check with your account admin.
How Fallback playlists differ from regular playlists
Property | Regular playlist | Fallback playlist |
Who can manage it | Any user with publish access | Admins only |
Screen assignment | Specific screens or groups | All screens in the space, automatically |
Scheduling step | Available | Hidden — plays whenever nothing else is scheduled |
Screens step | Available | Hidden — not required |
Status labels | Published / Draft | Active / Draft |
Max active at once | Unlimited | One per space |
You can create as many fallback playlists as you like, but only one can be active at a time. Having multiple lets you keep different fallbacks ready - for example a seasonal loop, a brand video, or an emergency notice - and switch between them as needed.
Every fallback playlist shows an All screens indicator on its card and in the sidebar. If a new screen is added to your space, it is automatically included.
Where to find your Fallback playlists
The Fallback page
Fallback playlists are kept separate from your regular playlists. To access them, go to the Fallback page from the left-hand navigation bar:
Account settings
You can also manage fallback playlists from your account settings modal.
Choose Settings from the Account menu in the left-hand navigation menu. Then open the Fallback playlists tab in the settings modal:
You can switch between spaces to see which fallback playlist is configured within each space, or which space has no configured fallback playlist:
It may make sense for your organization to have differing fallback playlists between spaces. For example, the Space for my Southeast division may have a different fallback playlist for their locality than my Midwest division ☝️
How to create a Fallback playlist
From the Fallback page
2. First, you'll add your content in the Content step. Using the content picker dropdown, you can choose between:
Media (uploaded images, videos, and presentation files from your Media library)
Dashboards (private web URLs you've configured via the Dashboards feature)
Apps (feeds from 3rd party service integrations configured into screen-friendly layouts)
Studio content (custom presentations or slideshows you've created in the Design Studio)
The Screens and Schedule steps that are part of the standard playlist builder are not shown here - fallbacks always apply to all screens in your space with no schedule required.
3. In the Preview step, you can view your playlist before activating it.
4. Click Save and Set Active to activate it. If you want to save it as a draft (so you can come back to it later), click Save.
You can give it a name before saving or it will be created with the default name "New Fallback Playlist".
5. Once activated, it will be listed on the Fallback page with the "Active" badge, indicating that it's ready to be displayed as your fallback content should no other content be active on the screen(s).
To deactivate it, click its card to open its side panel where you can view its details. Click Deactivate. You can also edit or delete it from here:
From the settings modal
1. Choose Settings from the Account menu in the left-hand navigation menu. Then open the Fallback playlist tab in the settings modal:
2. Account admins with access to multiple spaces can manage fallback playlists across the whole account from here. Your spaces will be listed on the left-hand side:
From here, you can:
See at a glance which spaces have an active fallback and which don't
Use the Manage link to go to that space's fallback playlist page
Use the View link to jump straight to a specific fallback playlist
Clicking Manage Fallback Playlists will take you through the steps covered in the previous section.
⚠️ Heads up: Activating a new fallback immediately deactivates the current one. There's no overlap or grace period, so make sure your new fallback content is ready before switching.
Need more help?
If you have any questions about fallback playlists or run into any issues, get in touch with the Fugo support team via the chat icon in the bottom right corner of the CMS, email us at support@fugo.ai or visit our Help Center.