The ThingLink editors provide 5 main tag formats to help you find the right layout for your tag content. Below you will find an image and description of each tag type along with simple examples.
Use the links below to quickly jump to:
- Multipurpose text & media tag that adapts its layout as you add content
- 'Add content from website' tag. This tag allows you to embed third-party iframes or YouTube/Vimeo videos.
- Tour tag that links ThingLink scenes together
- Text label tag that displays text on hover
- Poll tag
- Explanations regarding image and video cropping
- Text formatting options
Do you prefer video tutorials? Check out this article: [Video] How-to use the ThingLink editor
1. Text & media tag
This tag serves multiple purposes and adjusts the layout based on the content. I It allows you to combine text, images, videos, links and backgroud audio. Explore the image below to get acquainted with its interface.
Text & media tag comes with 11 different layouts. You can change the layout by clicking the 'Change layout' button at the top. You can read more about layouts here. Most layouts are static, but the default layout will adapt depending on what content you add - see below.
Filling in ‘Description’ and/or ‘Title’ will create a tag with just text. The description text will be aligned to the center if there are less than 4 lines of text. If there are 4 or more lines of text, it will align to the left. This logic persists when adding other elements, such as links (buttons) and images.
The link field is used for creating a link button that will redirect the user to another web page when clicked. You can add a link by entering the URL into the corresponding field. If the ‘button text’ field is left empty, the button will show a shortened URL-address for the link. Otherwise, the button will display the text that you put into the ‘button text’ field.
Adding an image or a video while leaving other fields empty will create a tag that displays just the image/video. Adding multiple media will allow user to view them by clicking on the arrow buttons. This also applies to other layouts that use images.
Combining image/video and description will create a tag that shows the description text at the bottom of the image. There is no character limit, but if you add more than 7 lines of text it will take up half of the container and become scrollable.
Combining media with a title and/or link button will result in a tag that shows said media on the left and all other content (title, description and link button) on the right. In this layout, you can click the image or video to view it in full and click again to show the whole layout.
Please note that media inside the tags will be cropped in order to meet the aspect ratio requirements.
Each tag can also contain a pre-recorded background audio that will play automatically. Alternatively, you can record your own voice directly into a tag. Learn more here.
2. Add content from website.
This tag comes as a replacement for 'Add video' and 'Embed code' tag by combining the capabilities of both! It allows you to add different third-party or ThingLink code to create interactive experiences within the scene. This includes:
- Embedding videos from YouTube, Vimeo or FlipGrid via a link;
- Embedding surveys and quizzes (e.g Google Form);
- Embedding maps (e.g. Google Maps);
- Embedding other ThingLink scenes to be viewed within in a tag – an alternative to tour tags described below;
- Embedding whole presentations from SlideShare or Google Slides;
- Embedding webpages (e.g. Wikipedia). Please note that some sites prohibit embedding their webpages, so you won't be able to display them in this tag.
In general, you can embed content from most web services that provide iframe embed code, although in some cases the functionality may be limited. This article describes how to get the embed code for some of the most popular use cases.
3. Tour tag.
This tag, when clicked, takes the viewer away from the current image, and on to the page of another ThingLink image, video, or 360 image. Use this tag to move from one creation to another.
The tag icon will change to a small thumbnail of the destination scene when the viewer hovers over it. In addition to that, you can add a short (30 characters) description text to let the viewer know where the tag leads.
Check out how this works below, and see this article to learn more about the preview icon update.
Once the viewer transition from the first scene in your tour, two buttons will be added to the top left corner:
- 'Back' button, which takes the viewer to the previous scene
- 'Home' button, which takes the viewer to the first scene in your tour
All scenes used in a tour can be accessed from the bottom right corner by clicking on the cards ('Related') button. Viewers can use the search function to find a specific scene. All scenes that the viewer has already visited will be marked with a small white tick icon.
Conditional transitions
If you are working on an escape room or would like to make sure that the viewer has read the tags, you can add a question that the viewer has to answer before they can use the tour tag. Here's an example:
Toggle the 'Conditional transition' option and fill out the 'Question' and 'Correct answers' fields. If you wish to enter multiple correct answers, use a comma to separate them.
Check out this article to learn more.
4. Text label tag.
This tag displays up to 100 symbols when hovered over. Useful for annotating
5. Poll tag
Poll tags allow you to collect anonymous feedback or viewers' opinions using single-choice questions.
- Note that there's no character limit for the question and answers. However, we recommend using short answers (up to 80 characters).
- There’s no limit to the number of answers you can enter.
- All answers are anonymous.
- Each viewer can only vote once. However, since all answers are anonymous they may be able to vote multiple times by using different browsers or opening the page in a private tab.
- Viewers will be able to see the poll results after they vote.
You can check the answers by opening the tag.
How ThingLink crops and adapts images and videos to fit into tags
The editor will always crop all images and videos to fit 8:9 or 16:9 aspect ratio. 8:9 ratio is used when you combine media with a title or a link button, while 16:9 ratio is used for plain media, media + description or extended media view.
PNG images are an exception to this rule as they do not get cropped. The editor adds paddings to ensure that the image fits into tag.
If you need to add a very tall or wide image, consider uploading it as a separate scene. This would allow you to add it to another image as an iframe embed that does not change the aspect ratios as much as the 'text & media' tag.
Explore the tag below to see how this works in practice.
We are still working on a better solution for the aspect ratio issue. If you'd like to provide feedback, please contact us at support@thinglink.com
Text formatting options
You can use markdown to style your text in the 'Description' field in the text & media tag as well as the text label tag.
- Putting text between two asterisks (*example*) will make it bold. See tag #1 in the image below.
- Putting text between two underscores (_example_) will turn it to italics. See tag #2 in the image below.
- You can combine both options by using asterisks and underscores. See tag #3 in the image below.
Please note that the final result may differ based on the viewer's browser. For instance, bold text is nearly identical to normal in Firefox.
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