---
title: "Rules"
canonical: "https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5636827/Rules"
format: markdown
---
> Macro (toc)
## Overview
Rules determine how pods are assigned to avails. Assign rules to have your pod appear at a specific time or after or before a specific show. If assigning by time, it should be noted that all times are presented in [military time](http://militarytimechart.com/) in each station's local timezone.
A rule can contain a pod or a campaign and can span multiple time slots, but there can only be one start date and end date. A pod can be scheduled for two time slots with the same rule, but only if both slots have the same start and end dates. **Differing end or start dates require separate rules.**
When viewing Rules in the AIM console, all ***live**** *rules display by default. [Learn more about viewing rules](https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5636827/Rules#How-to-view-rules)
> ❌ If two pods or campaigns share a time slot on the same day, it will cause a conflict. [Learn how to resolve conflicts](https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5636605/Conflicts#How-to-view-rules)
A rule has the following components:
- Title
- Pod or Campaign
- Start date
- End date (no more than one year/365 days out from start date)
- Time slots (A rule may apply to one or more time slots and can be based on a time of day or by a specific show)
- Repetition (A rule can recur daily, weekly, or monthly)
## How to create a rule
- Click the **Create New dropdown menu** and click **Rule** (Figure 1).
> ℹ️ If you are already on the Rules screen, you can click **Create New Rule**. [See what this looks like](https://pbs-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/download/attachments/5636827/create-new-rule.jpg?version=3&modificationDate=1657887713464&cacheVersion=1&api=v2)
Figure 1
- In the Rule Name textbox, type a **name for your new rule** (Figure 2.1). Try to use specific language so the purpose of the rule is clear. Each rule must have a unique name. Duplicate names will result in an error.
- In the Source section, click the **Pod radio button** if the rule applies to individual pods or the **Campaign radio button** if the rule applies to campaigns (Figure 2.2).
- In the Source Pod textbox, begin typing** keywords** to search for the pod or campaign you want to add to the rule (Figure 2.3). Click the **item** when it appears.
> ⚠️ **Only pods that have a *****Ready *****status can be added to a rule. Pods that have *****failed *****or are *****processing***** do not display as options.**
> ⚠️
> ⚠️ > Macro (legacy-content)
Figure 2
- In the Schedule section, click the** radio button next to the frequency** at which the rule applies (Figure 3.1). Examples of frequency might be:
- Daily: Every day
- Weekly: Every Monday
- Monthly: The first day of each month
- Click the **Start Date** and **End Date textboxes** to surface a calendar (Figure 3.2).
- When the Start Date calendar appears, click the **day you want your rule to apply**.
- When the End Date calendar appears, click the** day you want the rule to expire**.
- In the Time Slots section, click the** radio button** next to the type of time slot you want to add (Figure 3.3).
-
- **Select Slots:** Schedules your pod at a specific time of day [Learn how to assign by time slot](https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5636827/Rules#Schedule-by-time-slot)
- **Show-based:** Schedules your pod before or after a specific show [Learn how to assign by show](https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5636827/Rules#Schedule-by-show)
> ⚠️ If selecting Show-based slots (see below), you cannot have more than 60 days between your Start Date and End Date since there is only a 60 day window of scheduling information available at a time. To extend, go back into your rule after a number of days and extend the End Date so that it never exceeds 60 days from the current date. If you open your rule 30 days after creating it, you can extend the end date without having to change the start date.
Figure 3
- When finished, click **Save Rule** (Figure 4).
Figure 4
- The rule has been saved. Use the buttons in the top right side of the page to edit or [delete](https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5636827/Rules#How-to-delete-rules) your rule (Figure 5).
Figure 5
> ❌ **Does your rule have conflicts? ****[Learn how to resolve conflicts](https://pbs-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AVAIL/pages/5636605)**
### Schedule by time slot
Scheduling by time slot means your rule applies to specific times of the day.
- Click the **radio button** next to **Select Slots** (Figure 1.1).
- In the Unselected Slots selectbox, click the** time slots** to which you want your rule to apply (Figure 1.2). To select multiple consecutive times, click the first item, hold the Shift or CM key on your keyboard and click the last item in the series you want to add. All items will be selected.
- Click **Add **to move the selections to the Selected Slots selectbox (Figure 1.3).
Figure 1
- The selected times display in the Selected Slots selectbox (Figure 4.1).
Figure 2
- To remove time slots, click the **time slot** in the Selected Slots box (Figure 3.1).
- Click **Remove** (Figure 3.2).
Figure 3
- The time slots display again in the Unselected Slots selectbox (Figure 4).
Figure 4
### Schedule by show
Scheduling by show means your rule applies to the beginning or end of specific shows. Show-based scheduling applies to an initial maximum of 60 days when creating the rule since scheduling data is released 60 days at a time (i.e., we don't know how schedules look after 60 day increments). Scheduling by show is only available on rules set to run daily.
- Click the** radio button** next to Show-based (Figure 1.1).
- In the Add Show section, click the **textbox **(Figure 1.2).
Figure 1
- Begin typing the **name of the show **to which you want to apply your rule. Click the **name of show **when it displays (Figure 2).
Figure 2
- The selected show displays. In the Selection position section, click the **checkbox **next to *Before Show* to have your rule apply to just before a show begins or the **checkbox **next to *After Show* for your rule to apply to the end of the selected show (Figure 3.1). You may check both selections.
- To add another show, click **Add Another Show** (Figure 3.2). Each additional show acquires the rule that you have established. For instance, if you selected your rule to apply to the beginning of Daniel Tiger, then you selected Sesame Street, and Kratt Brothers as additional shows, the rule applies to the beginning of each of those shows as well.
Figure 3
## How to view rules
- Type** search text **in the Search textbox to search for a specific rule (Figure 1.1).
- All rules that are ***live**** *display by default. Click the **Status dropdown menu **to view** **All, Expired, or Future (Figure 1.2).
- Click the **Time Slot dropdown menu** and click the time slot in which the rules are scheduled (Figure 1.3). All rules that are scheduled for that time slot will appear. Each rule that is scheduled for the selected time slot, as well as other time slots, will display.
- When finished selecting filters, click **Apply Filters** (Figure 1.4).
- If you want to revert back to the original filters, click **Reset Filters** (Figure 1.5).
Figure 1
## How to delete rules
For stations who have a large number of rules in place, use the delete feature to clean up your inventory and keep only the rules that are currently relevant.
In order to delete a rule, the rule must be expired. Rules that are currently live cannot be deleted, however, you can [expire a live rule](https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5636827/Rules#How-to-delete-an-expired-rule) and then delete it. This section shows you how.
### How to delete an expired rule
- From your AIM dashboard, click **Rules **(Figure 1).
Figure 1
- Click the** title of the rule** you wish to delete (Figure 2).
Figure 2
- In the upper right corner of the page, click **Delete Rule** (Figure 3).
Figure 3
- When the confirmation box displays, click **Delete Rule** to confirm the deletion (Figure 4).
Figure 4
The rule has been removed and cannot be recovered. If the rule has been deleted in error, you must create the rule again.
### How to delete a live rule
Live rules cannot be deleted from the console; rules must be expired before removing. This sections shows you how to expire a rule and then delete it.
- From your AIM dashboard, click **Rules **(Figure 1).
Figure 1
- Click the** title of the rule** you wish to delete (Figure 2).
Figure 2
- The Delete Rule button is inactive because the rule is not expired (Figure 3).
Figure 3
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and in the bottom right corner, click **Expire Rule Now** (Figure 4).
Figure 4
- When the confirmation box displays, click **Expire the Rule** (Figure 5).
Figure 5
- The Delete Rule in the upper right corner of the page is active. Click **Delete Rule** (Figure 6).
Figure 6
- When the confirmation box displays, click **Delete Rule** to confirm the deletion (Figure 7).
Figure 7
The rule has been removed and cannot be recovered. If the rule has been deleted in error, you must create the rule again.