ThingLink update log

This article contains a short description of each new update for ThingLink. Check out the links to learn more!

 Note that bug fixes & minor non-editor changes are not listed here.

Updates & Announcements

Minor editor update: text alignment controls 

September 9, 2023

You can now control text alignment in text & media tags! Simply select one of the alignment options shown below the 'Description' field when creating or editing a tag. Note: alignment controls work with the default tag layout only. If you select one of the other layouts via the 'Change layout' menu, the tag will use preset alignment instead.

 

Editor update: new font options

September 13, 2023

You can now select one of 10 different fonts instead of using ThingLink's default font! Simply navigate to the Settings tab inside the editor, then go to the Customization menu and use the font selection menu:

Editor update: icon color customization

September 6, 2023

You can now customize the colors of all icon designs provided by ThingLink and pick any color combination you want! See Icon color customization for more information.

Localization updates: Danish, Norwegian, Swedish

August 23, 2023

ThingLink's interface is now also available in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish.

Localization updates: French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Hindi

July 26, 2023

ThingLink's interface is now also available in French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, and Hindi.

Accessibility player: support for 3D models

July 21, 2023

The accessibility player now supports 3D models. 

AI assistant tools for Scenarios and Image editor

July 12, 2023

ThingLink is introducing 5 new AI-powered features aimed at simplifying the content creation process - from creating tags for your scenes to generating questions based on the content of your scenario. Learn more here.

These tools are available to all users except students. If your company or institution has an organizational account, you can disable AI tools via organization settings.

Minor updates

July 10, 2023

• Video controls in base videos hide automatically if the viewer does not interact with the video for 3 seconds.
• You can now prevent videos inside text & media tags from looping using in-editor settings ("Disable video looping").

New feature: convert panoramas to 360° images

July 5, 2023

We are excited to announce a new update that allows you to convert panoramic images into  360° photospheres. Simply shoot a panoramic image on your phone, upload it to ThingLink Guided Tours and it will be converted into a 360° image. Learn more here.

At the time of the update, this feature is available in Guided Tours only but we are actively working on releasing this as a standalone tool.

Localization updates, device preview & minor improvements

July 3, 2023

This update includes a host of improvements:

• ThingLink is now available in German and Italian. If your browser's preferred language is either German or Italian, you will see a prompt to change your interface language, or you can change it manually via Account settings as described here.
• Device preview: you can now easily preview what your content looks like on different devices & screen sizes using the 'Preview on devices' feature. Learn more here. 

Closed captions & 3D model lighting optimizations

May 24, 2023

You can now upload closed captions to your base videos. If your video has a captions file, the viewers will see a CC button they can click to show or hide closed captions. See this article for more information.

This update also optimizes lighting and shadows in 3D models.

Minor updates

May 12, 2023

• Added the ability to give viewing access to a folder to all users in the organization. This option is available to organization admins only.
• Added the ability to add a special 'Accessibility mode' button to scene controls. Clicking the button will open the scene in the accessibility player. The button is not displayed by default but can be enabled via scene settings.

Navigation menu update

April 13, 2023

This update changes the look & feel of the main left-side navigation menu (1). In addition, the link to the 'Organization' menu (2) is now displayed at the top part of the page:

Minor editor update: videos loop inside tags

Released: March 27, 2023

Videos added to text & media tags now loop automatically. 

LTI 1.3 integration for Brightspace D2L

Released: March 15, 2023

ThingLink's LTI 1.3 integration is now available for Brightspace D2L LMS. The integration simplifies embedding ThingLink content, allows your users to access ThingLink with their LMS account, and allows accepting points from ThingLink scenarios as Grades in Brightspace D2L. Learn more here: Using LTI 1.3 integration with D2L Brightspace.

Statistics update: analytics overlay

Released: March 07, 2023

This update allows you to view how your learners interacted with a scenario by enabling a visual data overlay that provides the main statistics & shows the most common learning paths at a glance:

Learn more here: Tracking learners' progress.  

Minor update: two-factor authentication (2FA)

Released: February 01, 2023

You can now enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for your ThingLink account. When you turn on 2FA, you need to provide a one-time verification code in addition to your account password every time you want to sign in to your account. The verification code can be sent to your email or accessed via an authenticator app. See this article for more details: Two-factor authentication.

Mintor update: custom invitation messages

Released: December 20, 2022

When you share a scenario with someone, you can now add a custom message that will be sent to them via email. The custom message will replace the standard message. Simply check the 'Add message' button when adding users to a scenario via the "Manage access" menu, enter your message and click Done:

Scenarios update: sharing scenarios in different languages

December 12, 2022

You now have an option to change the language of the default user interface elements in your scenario (like the 'Proceed' button) when sharing scenarios. See this article for more information.

Editor updates: custom alt text and media captions

December 5, 2022

This update brings two new features for text & media tags:

1. You can now add customizable alt text for images and 3D models inside text & media tags. See this article for more information.
2. You can now add captions for each file in text & media tags. See this article for more information.

Scenarios update: accessibility player

November 23, 2022

This update adds a special viewing mode for all ThingLink scenarios designed to better meet WCAG web accessibility standards. See this article for more information.

ThingLink plugin for Unity

November 17, 2022

The plugin allows you to quickly export a scene from Unity as a 2D or 360° image to ThingLink, where you can add annotations, questions and comments, or export multiple 360° images and turn them into a lightweight virtual tour. See this article for more information.

Scenarios minor update: text formatting options for text blocks

October 17, 2022

This update added a number of text formatting options (bold, italics, inline links, lists) for text blocks in scenarios. See the 'Text blocks' section in this article for more information.

Editor update: floor plans

October 14, 2022

You can now add floor plans to your 360° tours. The floor plan is displayed as a mini-map in the upper-right corner, helping your viewer understand where they are and move between locations. See this article for more information and examples!

[Deprecated]New feature: Presentation Mode

September 23, 2022

ThingLink Presentation Mode (currently in Beta) allows your ThingLink content to be viewed as a presentation that can be clicked through, similar to PowerPoint or Google Slides.

Update: this feature has been deprecated in October, 2023. Existing links you've shared are still available for viewing, but it is not possible to use presentation mode with new content.

Editor update: display 3D models & PDFs in tags!

August 30, 2022

You can now upload 3D models and PDF files directly into a text & media tag - just like you would upload images or videos! Learn more here.

Minor editor update: Grid feature

August 10, 2022.

The new grid feature allows you to place tags precisely in line with others. The grid will appear when you click & drag a tag icon.

New editor feature: Info Panel

July 11, 2022.

You can now add in instructions, explanations or just a little initial information for your viewers with the new optional ThingLink Information Panel. It is a small window of text, with web or social media links, which automatically appears when a viewer opens a scene or clicks on the Information icon thereafter. Learn more here!

Editor update: New text formatting options

June 28, 2022.

We've expanded the number of text formatting options and made them easier to use! You can now use italic, bold, inline links, ordered lists (1, 2, 3, ...) and unordered lists (bullet points). Learn more here!

Editor update: Mobile responsiveness and icon scaling

June 23, 2022.

ThingLink icons now scale to your content - meaning better legibility and accessibility on smaller screens. Learn more here.

Editor update: Simplified scene translations

March 25, 2022.

You can now upload translations for any ThingLink scene you create instead of creating multiple versions of each scene. See this article for more information.

New feature: Accessibility player

March 24, 2022.

All images and 360° images can be opened in accessibility player - a new special viewing mode that was designed to improve the accessibility of all ThingLink content. You can get a link to the accessibility player by opening the Share menu and checking the 'Include web accessibility link' box. See this post for more information.

ThingLink's WCAG 2.1 accessibility statement can be found here.

New feature: Organizational statistics

March 1, 2022.

The organizational statistics page provides main insights into how your organization (be it a content team or a school) is using ThingLink. Learn more here.

New feature: Archiving

January 27, 2022.

Whenever you are about to delete a user account, you'll see an option to transfer their content to a different user in your organization. This update is aimed to help organizations that rotate their staff but need to preserve all content. Learn more here.

New feature: embed ThingLinks in PowerPoint

January 26, 2022.

You can now embed ThingLinks in Microsoft PowerPoint presentations using ThingLink Add-In. Please see this article for more details!

New feature: Trash bin

January 20, 2022.

Any file, folder, or user you remove from your account will be moved to a trash bin. This is done to reduce the number of accidental deletions and give you a chance to recover deleted content.  Learn more here.

Editor update: Tag anchors & Unsplash integration update

This update adds two new features to the editor:

• You can now add an anchor - a simple line connecting your icon with any other point of the image. This can be useful if the icon would otherwise obstruct an important part of the background image. You can learn more about this feature here.
• You can now add images to text & media tags via Unsplash instead of uploading them from your device.

Major update: ThingLink introduces Scenario Editor

November 2, 2021

ThingLink’s new Scenario Builder offers a radically simple interface for building linear or non-linear immersive online experiences using interactive visual elements; images, videos, 360 media, 3D models as well as “options” that introduces the viewer a choice or a question that they need to respond to continue their journey.

Check out this post to learn more.

Editor update: New icon designs and tag layouts

October 20, 2021

This update adds more than 1000 new icon designs & color variations as well as 10 new layouts for text & media tags. You can learn more about new layouts here.

Minor update: In-editor zoom

September 28, 2021

This minor update adds a new button that lets you fit the image to screen width in editor mode. This essentially allows you to zoom in when editing 'tall' infographics and photos.

Poll tag & ability to export your user list

September 20, 2021

This update adds two minor features:

• Poll tags are a new tag type that allows you to collect anonymous feedback or viewers' opinions using single-choice questions. See this article for more information.
• Organization & school admins can now export the list of all users connected to their ThingLink license via Organization > Users > Export users.

Mobile app rework

September 2021

The September 2021 update for ThingLink mobile apps aims to make sure that you get the full ThingLink experience no matter what device you are using. Please see this article for an FAQ and more information.

Major update: you can now annotate 3D models with ThingLink

July 22, 2021

We are proud to present a brand new editor that allows you to tag 3D models. Please see this post for use cases and more information.

New integration: Create & modify your ThingLink designs via Canva

April 13, 2021

ThingLink's newest integration with Canva allows you to create the base images for your interactive content without leaving ThingLink. Learn more here.

New integration: use Unsplash images with ThingLink

February 25, 2021

We've partnered with image library Unsplash to give you instant easy access to over a million searchable, free images for use in all your ThingLinks. See this page for more details.

New feature: 360° image library

February 9, 2021

ThingLink’s 360 Image Library is a curated collection of professional 360 images from culturally relevant natural and historic sites. You can use the images to build immersive learning experiences and to travel virtually across the world. See this page for more details.

Major update: new user interface

January 2021

ThingLink is happy to present the new interface version called Saimaa. The update aims to make the interface easier to navigate & brings a number of functional improvements. Please see this article for an FAQ and more information.

Tour tag update: conditional transitions

November 17, 2020

We've released an update that allows you to add simple questions to your tour tags. The viewer has to answer the question before they can proceed. See this article for more information.

Video controls update

October 27, 2020

All videos uploaded into text & media tags now support video controls - see this post for more info.

Minor updates to tour navigation menu

July 21, 2020

• You can now search for specific scenes in the tour navigation menu
• Added a 'Home' button that takes the viewer to the first scene in the tour

Tour tag & LTI updates

June 11, 2020

• The tour tag now shows a preview of the destination scene and allows you to add a short text label
• The LTI app is now shown in the left-hand navigation menu in Canvas and other LMSes

Improvements to Microsoft SSO for Schools & eLearning organizations

May 27, 2020

Microsoft/Azure SSO integration now uses GraphAPI to automatically detect user roles, allowing you to sign up news users with a single click. See here for more information.

VR updates

May 25, 2020

• You can now scroll through long texts in text & media tags
• You can now scroll through multiple images in text & media tags
• Bug fixes

See this article for most up-to-date information on our VR mode!

Minor VR updates

March 31, 2020

• Added support for videos uploaded into text & media tags
• Changed the player menu - added 'Exit VR' button and 'Back' button for tours

ThingLink editor is now available in French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic

March 5, 2020

The editor interface now comes in several languages - see here for more details. We plan to translate the whole interface in the future.

Minor update - custom thumbnails for videos & 360 videos

February 10, 2020

You can now upload a custom thumbnail for videos and 360 videos.

G Suite integration for simplified user registration

December 18, 2019

If you have a School account and use G Suite, you can now enable a special integration that will automatically add any new users from your G Suite tenant to your ThingLink School account. Check out the link above for more details!

Shared folders rework

October 31, 2019

Folders & Shared folders are now available for all account types. In addition to that, certain plans allow you to share a folder with select users rather than the whole organization - see this article for more information.

This update also enables collaborative editing for all paid educational accounts.

Voice recording & offline viewing for desktop

October 10, 2019

• You can now record your voice directly into the text & media tags. Use this to narrate your experience - or let the students use their voice!
• Certain plans allow you to download & view ThingLinks offline on your desktop - see this article for more details.

ThingLinks become interactive on X (formerly known as Twitter)

October 8, 2019

ThingLinks will stay interactive then you post them to X (formerly known as Twitter)! Simply paste the share URL into your tweet or check out this article to learn more.

Minor updates - LTI for all School account & autorotation for 360 media

September 26th, 2019

• All Schools can use the LTI integration (previously in beta)
• 360 images & videos rotate to prompt the viewer to look around

Minor updates - upload videos directly into text & media tags

September 11th, 2019

• You can upload videos from your hard drive directly into the text & media tags, just like you'd upload images

Minor updates - improved scene selector for tours & changes to default scene names

August 28th, 2019

• All image titles now default to the file name instead of 'My Interactive Image'
• We've improved scene selector UI for users with shared folders

Minor updates - tag animation & custom icons for all

August 26th, 2019

• Custom icons are now available to all users
• You can enable pulsing tag animation for all tags in a scene

Collaborative editing - early release for eLearning Professional & Business Premium Teams

August 21st, 2019

We've rolled out an early test of collaborative editing for all content from shared folders, available to all paid eLearning users and as well as Marketing & Editorial Premium Team subscribers.  Now you can simultaneously edit any media with your colleagues. Read more & see a simple example by clicking the header link.

Embed.ly integration

August, 12th 2019

Since August 2019 ThingLink is one of Embed.ly providers. This means that you can now embed ThingLink content into websites that use Embed.ly, such as Medium and others.

Keyboard accessibility update

July, 24th 2019

On July, 24th 2019 we've added basic keyboards accessibility for viewing content created in our new editor. The update is available for all content, including 360° images & videos. Click the link above for a short description of controls.

ThingLink 2019: A complete visual content creation solution for schools and workplaces

June 27, 2019

The post contains an overview of all major changes & updates received by ThingLink's products in the first 7 months of 2019 as well as a few examples of their implementation.ThingLink Announces Major Accessibility Update With Immersive Reader Integration

June 20, 2019

ThingLink has integrated Microsoft's Immersive Reader, which means all text descriptions, lessons, virtual tours, infographics, and videos created with ThingLink’s new editor now come with an integrated reading tool and automatic language translation capability.

7 Feature Updates to ThingLink Editor

June 20, 2019

The article contains an overview of recent changes to all ThingLink editors, including new & updated tag types, a radar feature for 360 content & more! 

Introducing narrated VR images with sequential hotspots

April 25, 2019

'...The solution we came up with lets anyone record their introduction to a topic and save it in the background of a virtual tour. This also includes being able to define a sequence for informational hotspots that matches with the narration and guides viewers’ attention during a tour.'
See the full article for a how-to video, an inspiring example and more information.