Set up play events

A play event is a moment you choose for an element to play: its scene going live, a repeat timer, or you showing it with a key. In the app these are the two play options in the Add to OBS dialog. This page shows how to pick them, which ones suit which element, and how to change them later.

Play events aren’t follow alerts

The free elements can’t tell when someone follows, subscribes or tips, so they won’t play by themselves then, and StreamElements’ Emulate won’t start them. “Handy for follow reminders” in the app means an element that asks viewers to follow every so often. What to do instead

Before you start

• The play options are part of adding an element to OBS automatically, so the app needs to be connected to OBS Studio on this computer. See Connect the app to OBS.
• Using another streaming app, a StreamElements overlay, or OBS by hand? These options aren’t there for you: the element plays when its source loads. How elements play shows what works where.

The two play options

The play options sit at the bottom of the Add to OBS dialog.

Option	Choices	Starts at	What it does
Play it again every	Never, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes	Never	Plays the element again on a timer. The first repeat comes that many minutes after the source loads, then it repeats at that interval.
Play when the scene becomes visible	On or off	On	Plays the element each time it shows up in what OBS sends to your viewers: when you switch to its scene, or show the source with the eye icon, a hotkey or a Stream Deck button.

Whatever you pick, the element also plays once when its source loads (for example when OBS starts), and when you click Play now.

Choose them when you add an element

1. In the Elements tab, click the element’s card. The editor opens. Click Add to my stream (1).

   

   If a window called Add it to your stream opens instead, What do you stream with? in Your channel isn’t set to OBS Studio. Click OBS Studio in the list on the left, then Set it up automatically (1). To skip this window next time, see Tell the app what you stream with.

   

2. In Add to OBS, pick the Scene (1) and a spot under Where on screen (2). Full-screen elements, like YouTube Channel Intro, say “This one fills the whole screen.” instead of showing the grid.

   

3. Under Play it again every (3), pick a time, or leave it on Never.

4. Leave Play when the scene becomes visible (4) on, unless you only want the timer (see the table below).

5. Click Add to OBS (5).

6. When It’s in OBS! appears, check that OBS is showing the scene you picked. If it isn’t, click that scene in OBS’s Scenes list. Then click Play now (1) and watch OBS. When you’re happy, click Done. Play now is only in this window.

   

Studio Mode

If OBS is in Studio Mode, the dialog says “Studio Mode is on: it goes into your Preview scene first.” The element plays when you transition that scene to the live side.

Which options to pick

You want…	Play it again every	Play when the scene becomes visible
A follow or subscribe reminder now and then	10 minutes or 15 minutes	On
To play it on cue with a hotkey or Stream Deck	Never	On (showing the source is what plays it)
An intro each time you switch to your starting scene	Never	On
A reminder on the timer only, not on every scene switch	Any time you like	Off
An element that stays on screen, like the Socials Bar	Never	Either way: it slides in once and stays

Several reminders?

Every timer starts when its source loads, usually all at once when OBS starts. Elements with the same time then play together. Give them different times, for example 10 and 15 minutes, so they play together less often. They still line up now and then: those two both play every 30 minutes.

Turned the switch off?

With Play when the scene becomes visible off, showing the source doesn’t play the element, so hotkeys and Stream Deck buttons won’t play it either. The hint under Play it again every says it also plays whenever you show it. That’s only true while this switch is on.

Change them later

The app doesn’t have a separate settings screen for play options. You change them by sending the element to OBS again.

1. In the Elements tab, click the card with the green In OBS badge (1). The editor opens.

   

2. Click Add to my stream. The dialog is now called Update it in OBS.

3. Set every option again. The dialog doesn’t remember what you picked last time: it starts at Never, with the switch on, Bottom left, and the scene that’s live in OBS right now (your Preview scene in Studio Mode). Pick the scene the element is already in.

4. Click Update in OBS (1).

   

Heads-up before you update

• Update in OBS puts the element back in the spot you picked, undoing any moving or resizing you did in OBS.
• Picking a different scene adds the element to that scene as well. It stays in the old scene too. Remove it there in OBS if you don’t want it.
• Updating reloads the element in OBS, so it plays once. If its scene is live, your viewers see it.

More about updating, including what happens when you change an element: Change an element that’s already in OBS.

Good to know

• Your choices stay with the element. Changing its text or colors in the app keeps them, and so does Reset all changes. See Make copies and reset changes.
• One element, two behaviors? An element added to two scenes is still one source with one set of options. To have it on a timer in one scene and on a hotkey in another, click Make a copy in the editor and add the copy to OBS as its own source.
• Live widgets from packs (like chat boxes and goals) have no play options. They’re always on, so the dialog only asks for the scene and the spot.

Next steps

Hotkeys and Stream DeckTurn showing a source into a play button.

Test your elementsCheck everything plays before you go live.

How elements playEvery trigger, app by app.

Add to OBS StudioScenes, positions and the rest of the dialog.