Note; You can start building your new tour in the Toureditor without the hardware being present.
As soon as you receive the hardware from us, you can finalize the tour by connecting the IDentifiers (triggers) to the stops in your tour. You need to connect at least one IDentifier to each stop in your tour. Every IDentifier has a unique number which you can find on the back of the IDentifier (for example EF:FF:FF:43).
There will be 1 or more IDentifiers with a language/country flag, these need to be connected as a Start IDentifier for the different languages in which you provide the tour. (Note; you need a different IDentifier for each language).
When all the stops are added in the tour (have an IDentifier connected and contain an audio file) you need to “publish” the new tour. After that you can mount the IDentifiers next to the objects in the exhibition.
The rest of the installation is very simple;
Connect the Dockingstations to the Sync Console or Syncbox that we have provided and plug everything into the power socket. Note; a Sync Console will already be installed and linked to your site. A Syncbox needs to be connected by the customer (see instructions)
Insert the Podcatchers firmly
Connect the Sync Console or Syncbox to a wired internet connection (note the whole set up needs to stay connected to power and internet 24/7)
Start the Sync Console or Syncbox
Log on to the Podcatcher Portal, go to “sync” and press Sync Now.
Now the content will be synced on to the Podcatchers.
We have made an instruction video available as well. In this particular video we show you how to install the setup with loose, new Dockingstations and a Syncbox.
The 10 Podcatchers in a Dockingstation are synced one after another, but all connected Dockingstations start and sync simultaneously.
When a Podcatcher light turns green, you can take it out and start testing your new tour.
Every day our server connects automatically to the PC provided, and checks the Podcatchers to ensure updates are written on to the Podcatcher, to restore Podcatchers which have an error and to retrieve the logs and statistics from the Podcatchers to add to the Analytics.
This article intends to familiarize you with the concepts that make the Podcatcher work. It’s a short introduction about our different hardware products that are needed for a working audio guide.
Podcatcher
The Podcatcher is our main device and visitors use it by pointing at an IDentifier, much like a TV remote. The Podcatcher will then play the audio associated with it. The IDentifier has a sticker on the back with a code; it sends this code out using infrared signals. By linking this code to a stop in the Podcatcher Portal, the Podcatcher knows which audio to play when it’s pointed at an IDentifier.
IDentifier
IDentifiers are the small square devices used to – as its name implies – identify which audio should be played when a Podcatcher receives its signal.
There are a handful of different kinds of IDentifiers. The most basic and most common one is called an Object IDentifier. It’s typically used in conjunction with an object, artwork or room. Visitors point their Podcatcher at the IDentifier, and the Podcatcher starts playing the audio. An IDentifier can be used in multiple Tours, for example the adults’ and childrens’ Tours can use the same IDentifier but with different audio.
Starting an audio tour is done with a Start IDentifier. These start a Tour in a given language and usually have a country’s flag printed on the front to indicate what language it is. A particular Start IDentifier can only be used once per audio tour, because otherwise the Podcatcher would not know which audio tour to start.
There are other IDentifiers as well. For more information about all the IDentifiers, please read the article about IDentifiers.
Dockingstation and sync console
Podcatchers have to be recharged periodically. This is done, along with installing any new software for the player and receiving new audio files that have been published, by putting them into a docking station. The docking station is connected to power and to a computer with the Podcatcher Sync software installed; a Sync Console. By default, the sync console will attempt to synchronize files daily at 19:00 (7 PM) local time.
If you want more in depth information about all the products, go to the homepage and unfold the tabs under ‘The Podcatcher System – Hardware’
The Podcatcher is Guide ID’s audio device. It’s designed to be simple to use and sturdy enough to last a while. This page intends to detail what it can do and how the most common activities the Podcatcher can perform, work.
Essential features
IR receiver: While concealed, the infrared receiver is located at the very tip at the top of the device – like a TV remote.
Speaker: The speaker is located at the top of the front of the device – like a phone.
Storage:
The Podcatcher stores its content, firmware and log files on an SD card inside the casing.
These three things, in essence, enable the Podcatcher to play the audio it needs to. The circuit board handles things like playing MP3s and finding the correct content to play.
Buttons:
The basic Podcatcher has three buttons:
The left button acts both as a ‘volume down’ button when playing regular audio clips, and as ‘option A’ when in a Clip that has A/B/C options.
The middle button acts both as a ‘pause/play’ button and as ‘option B’.
The right button acts both as ‘volume up’ and as ‘option C’.
With just these buttons, you can create not just informative experiences, but also quizzes, surveys and more.
Visitor usage
At the most basic level, all a visitor needs to do is use the Podcatcher as a hybrid between a TV remote (pointing at IDentifiers) and a phone (listening to it). The typical visitor experience looks something like this:
Receive a Podcatcher, either from a handout point or from self-service.
Point the Podcatcher at a Start IDentifier with the desired language (read more on those, here).
Experience the museum with the added benefit of having a mind-blowing audio tour.
(optional) Register the Podcatcher with MapMyVisit so the visitor can look at the tour again at home.
Return the Podcatcher to the museum.
As you can see, super simple stuff.
Syncing (charging battery & updating content)
Podcatchers have to be recharged periodically. This is done, along with installing any new software for the player and receiving new audio files that have been published, by putting them into a docking station connected to a computer with the Podcatcher Sync software – a sync console. By default, the sync console will attempt to synchronize files daily at 19:00 (7 PM) local time.
To sync a Podcatcher, it has to be placed in a Docking station connected to a working Sync Console first. Then you can either:
Click ‘Sync Now’ in the Podcatcher Sync application to start a sync directly
Podcatcher settings
The Podcatcher has a handful of settings you can tweak to suit your needs, most notably settings related to speaker volume. Refer to this article for information.
Specsheet
For an overview of the features and measurements of the Podcatcher, please take a look at the Specsheet of the Podcatcher.
There are a handful of different IDentifiers available. This page intends to distinguish them and explain what each of them is used for.
Object IDentifier
The Object IDentifier is the most basic of the bunch, but also the most common one. This type of IDentifier simply sends out an infrared code – the code is unique to each IDentifier, and is printed on the back of the device – which the Podcatcher can pick up and interpret. Codes look like “EF:FE:1C:AE”; four sets of two characters.
Object IDentifiers can be linked to one Stop per Tour, but can be used in multiple Tours. Further, they can’t be used as both a Start IDentifier and an Object IDentifier at the same time.
Usage
Write down the code printed on the back and link it to a Stop in the TourEditor. Place the IDentifier near the Stop – next to a painting, at the entrance to a room, and so on – and point the Podcatcher at it. The Podcatcher will now play that Stop’s content.
Battery lifespan
The battery on an IDentifier lasts for quite a while – under optimal conditions they can keep going for upwards of two years. They will eventually run out though, but it’s fairly simple to replace them.
Start IDentifiers
Start IDentifiers are essentially Object IDentifiers, but they have a flag printed on the label to designate which language they represent. A Start IDentifier, as the name implies, starts a Tour. Coupled with the flag, they represent the start of a Tour in a given language.
Start IDentifiers have the same kind of code as Object IDentifiers, but a Start IDentifier’s code can only be linked to a Site once – otherwise a Podcatcher wouldn’t know which Tour to start (or in which language).
AV-Sync IDentifiers are more complex than the Object IDentifier, because they need to send out IR signals not just for their IDentifier code, but also the time stamp for the video. To be more precise, they are connected to an AV-Sync box which does most of the legwork, but an AV-Sync IDentifier can’t operate on its own either way. Refer to the AV-Sync user manual for an in-depth explanation of what the AV-Sync IDentifier does and how it can be installed.
Podcatchers have to be recharged periodically. This is done, along with installing any new software for the player and receiving new audio files that have been published, by putting them into a docking station. The docking station is connected to power and to a PC with the Podcatcher Sync software installed. A computer configured in such a way is known as a ‘Sync Console’ and is provided by us. All customers which already have our system in use (since before June 2020) will have a Sync Console at their location. If they would like to add Podcathers to their basic setup, or for a temporary exhibition, they will receive a Sync Console. Please have a look on this page to learn more about the Sync Console
Since June 2020 we are also implementing a new product, called the Syncbox. This has the same functionality as the Sync Console but is not a windows based PC, but a compact computer, designed by Guide ID.
Every new customer will receive the Syncbox. Please have a look on this page to learn more about the Syncbox
For every location where you’d like to synchronize your Podcatchers (such as a hand-out point) a Sync Console or Syncbox needs to be set up to be able to sync them. By default, the Sync Console and Syncbox will attempt to synchronize files on a daily basis at 19:00 (7 PM) local time.
A Site has a few properties that can be configured. Some are left blank and have to be filled in, while others have default values and you probably won’t have to touch them (but you can if you wish). The following pages can be used to manage those settings:
Tab – General
General settings for your Site can be managed here. Make sure your Site’s details are correct: This not only helps us greatly whenever we need to assist you, but more importantly also lets visitors know about your contact details so they can actually visit you. These details are shows in the Podcatcher App, MapMyVisit, and on guideid.com.
Tab – Language & Content
On this page you can enter the localized details of your Site, so they can appear in the proper language in the Podcatcher App and MapMyVisit.
Most fields are self-explanatory, but to clarify some of them:
Description: A description of your Site which is used in the Podcatcher App, or used as a backup for MapMyVisit when the MapMyVisit Introduction is left empty.
MapMyVisit Introduction: As the name implies, this is the introduction text that appears on MapMyVisit only. If left blank, the website will display the Description instead.
Tab – Images
Here you can manage the images for your Site. For the best result, upload the best quality images you have. The three you can upload are:
Logo: This should be a square image of at least 100 x 100 pixels.
Photo: Any square image larger than 300 x 300 pixels will do.
MapMyVisit App skin: This should be a portrait image of at least 1080 x 1920 pixels
Tab – Podcatcher Settings
On this page you can configure all of your Site’s Podcatchers’ settings.
Podcatcher Volume
The value 0 represents the maximum volume, -32 effectively represents silence.
Minimum volume:Minimum volume that can be set by the visitor when they press the volume down button.
Maximum volume: Maximum volume that can be set by the visitor.
Initial volume: The Podcatcher’s initial volume when it is taken out of its dock.
Alarm
The Podcatcher can sound the alarm if it ‘thinks’ it’s being taken out of the Site. See this article for more information about alarms.
Idle time: If this is set to something above zero, the Podcatcher will play its alarm after the set number of minutes.
Duration: How long will the alarm continue to sound, in seconds. The alarm will also stop when any button is pressed.
Podcatcher settings
Generate audible feedback when a button is pressed: When this checkbox is checked, the Podcatcher will make an audible click noise when a button is pressed.
Tab – Manage Users
In this screen you can manage the Portal users that are allowed to see and/or make changes to the various parts of your Site. You can only access this page if you’re a Site administrator.
Add users
Adding a user to this Site is done through the e-mail invite box. If you enter an e-mail address that already exists on the Portal, they will be automatically granted access to the Site.
If the e-maill address doesn’t exist yet, they will be sent an invitation link instead. By default, a new user is granted access to the TourEditor and Sync parts of the Portal for your Site.
Users linked to this site
The list of users shows the name, e-mail address, organization and access rights in the list. Checking the box next to user accounts allows you to remove them from your Site with the [ Remove selected user(s) ] button.
Clicking on a user will take you to the User rights page, explained below.
User rights
After clicking on a user, their access rights page opens up. Here you can change which parts of your Site they’re allowed to access, as well as the ability to promote or demote them to/from a Site administrator. Note that you can’t revoke your own Site administrator rights.
Tab – Tags
You can add, remove or edit Tags for your Site here. Click the [ + Add Tag ] button to create a new one, click a Tag to edit it, or tick the checkboxes next to Tags you want to remove and click the corresponding button to remove the Tags.
Note: Removing a Tag will also remove it from all of the associated Stops.
A Stop exists of one or more clips, and within these clips you have several sections which you can edit:
Tab – Language & Content
This page is perhaps the most important one of them all, since this is where you can upload the actual audio.
Title (language neutral): The title of the clip is used in the clip editor & Analytics. It is also a fallback description for missing translated titles for this clip.
The translated titles and script texts for public viewing are not relevant for Podcatcher-only Stops. Only the Podcatcher App and MapMyVisit use this information.
Language: You can select one of the languages available for the Tour in this drop-down menu. If there are two or more languages available, you will see two languages side-by-side.
Title: Translated name of the Clip. If left empty, the language neutral title is used.
Script (for studio/voice): This text is used when exporting scripts. If the script for public viewing is left empty, this text shows up instead.
Script (for public viewing in App or MapMyVisit): This is the text that will be shown in the Podcatcher App and MapMyVisit. If it’s left empty, the script for studio/voice will be used instead.
Audio: The audio content for the Clip.
Upload audio…: Opens your browser’s file selection window. Only MP3 files are supported. This option is the manual alternative to the bulk audio upload as described in this article. : This icon is called a “drop zone”. Drag audio files from your desktop (or any other folder on your computer) to here to upload them. : Play the audio fragment. The gray bar represents the position in the clip. You can click this bar to jump to that position. : Download the original audio file. : Delete the audio content.
Tab – Images
Uploading of an image for this clip can be done here. These images are only used for the Podcatcher App. If no image is provided, the image of the Stop is used instead.
We recommend using images of 1080 x 1920 pixels (portrait) or larger.
Tab – Advanced
Advanced Clip options can be tweaked here.
Audio Video Sync
Offset: When a Podcatcher receives the AV-Sync IDentifier code, it also receives a time code for the video to skip to. By the time the Podcatcher has calculated where it should start playing, the video will have moved on. It will then skip this many audio frames to catch up again. You can try changing this value if the Podcatcher is frequently out of sync when playing AV-Sync Stops.
Audio Video Sync Mode: AV-Sync has three modes:
Default: it behaves like an IDentifier, but with a time code.
Long Range: the IDentifier part of the AV Sync IDentifier is replaced by a Long Range IDentifier, so a large area can be triggered at once.
Interactive: this mode is not supported anymore, but is kept for backwards compatibility.
Long Range Hold Mode: If this is a Long Range AV-Sync Stop, you can select a mode. Normally when a Long Range IDentifier is received on the Podcatcher, it remembers the code so while it is still in range, it won’t trigger again. When we then point at any other IDentifier, the Podcatcher forgets about the Long Range IDentifier, this means that when the visitor gets back in range the Long Range IDentifier can be triggered once more. Sometimes you can’t escape a Long Range IDentifier but you also want to be able to aim at another IDentifier without the Long Range kicking back in (because it is still in range). That is what this option is for. If this option is enabled, the Podcatcher keeps remembering the Long Range IDentifier code so it won’t trigger even when pointing at a different IDentifier.
The options are:
No change: don’t change the current setting.
Enabled: Turn this behaviour on.
Disabled: Turn this behaviour off.
Interactive
If your Tour uses interactives, the variable numbers and associated values can be set here. These will be set when the Podcatcher plays this Clip.
Stops correspond to locations in the real world and are used to play the appropriate audio. A Stop has one or more Clips that are linked together with Connections. A Stop has the following pages:
Tab – Clips
Introduction to the Clip flow editor
While a Stop is a place in the Site – usually near a piece of art in a museum, but can also be a room or an explanation for visitors – a Clip (or set of Clips) is the content that gets played when a Stop is triggered. This page gives you full control over how Clips flow into one another.
Note: If your Stop should just play one Clip, then you can skip most of the explanation and just use the [ Edit Clip ] button to add content.
Working with the Clip flow editor
Start Clip
A Stop will always have at least one Clip. When you make a new Stop, a new Clip (named ‘untitled’) is added to it and is marked the Start Clip. As the name implies, this is where the Stop will start playing content when it is triggered.
Editing Clips
Having an empty Clip is all well and good, but it exists so it can play content. While having a Clip selected – the selected Clip is marked by the dotted line around it – click the [ Edit Clip ] button. This will take you to the Clip – Language & Content screen, where you can add content. Double-clicking the Clip works as well.
Adding Clips
Next to the Edit Clip button is the [ Add Clip ] button, which adds a Clip connected to the selected Clip. A menu will pop up with all the options for adding a new Clip. The following fields are present:
Clip title (optional): While this field is optional, it’s very beneficial to enter something descriptive here. Partly for the convenience and clarity in the Clip flow, but also in Analytics, where the Clip titles are shown for some of the options. It’s impossible to distinguish between all the ‘untitled’s if you don’t give them another name. Regardless, it’s not required.
Select how the clips are connected: This will let the system know when it should proceed to the next Clip. ‘Auto continue’ simply plays the next Clip when the current one has finished playing its content. Options A, B and C allow the visitor to choose between the buttons on the Podcatcher. Lastly, ‘Manual continue’ and ‘App’ only work in the Podcatcher App; ‘Manual continue’ requires a button to be tapped on the smartphone, while ‘App’ is effectively an ‘Auto continue’, but only the App will follow it.
Note: If a certain type of connection is not possible – for example, a second ‘Auto continue’ connection wouldn’t work – you won’t be able to select it.
Score: This isn’t relevant to most Clips, but you can opt to grant the visitor points for this connection. Score can then be used to respond in various ways. As an example, a quiz could grant points to correct answers, which would prompt a “Well done” from a Score IDentifier.
Removing Clips
To remove a Clip, click it and then the [ Remove Clip ] button. If you can’t find the button, you’ve probably selected a Start Clip – which can’t be removed.
Note: All Clip content will also be removed! Then again, this is probably what you’d want if you’re deleting a Clip.
Tip: If you want to temporarily not use a Clip, you can remove the connections to this Clip.
Setting a different Clip as the Start Clip
Similarly to removing a Clip, the button to make a Clip a Start Clip, you have to be selecting a Clip that isn’t already a Start Clip. Click the [ Set as Start Clip ] button to do just that. The Stop will now start from the new Start Clip when triggered.
Adding Connections
You can add Connections between existing Clips by hovering your cursor over the semicircle in the Clip, clicking and dragging to the next Clip, then releasing the mouse button.
Note: You can also make the Clip refer to itself to make it loop.
Note: It’s entirely possible to make multiple Connections from one Clip to another Clip, even if the other Clip is the same one each time. You can use this to make a “press any button to continue”-style flow.
When you’ve dragged the Connection from one Clip to the other, a dialog will appear. This is effectively the same one as for adding a Clip, just without the new Clip’s title. Refer there for the full explanation of the options.
Editing or removing Connections
You can edit or remove a Connection by clicking it and then clicking either the [ Remove Connection] or the [ Edit Connection ] button, depending on what you want to do with the Connection. If you’ve come this far, removing a Connection shouldn’t be confusing and editing a Connection is pretty straight-forward as well so it shouldn’t give you any trouble.
Simple Clip flows
In the example below you can see a simple flow of Clips. When this Stop is triggered, it will start playing at the ‘Tree’ Clip, and when that’s finished, move on to the ‘Rose’ Clip.
Note: You can drag Clips around just like you would icons on your desktop. You can’t do this with Connections, however.
A/B/C choice Clips
You can add layers to a Stop to provide extra information to your visitor (for example; “if you’d like to know more about the painter press A, if you would like to know more about his style of painting press B or if you would like to hear more about the use of colors press C). You can achieve this by adding extra A/B/C choices in your Clip flow for that specific stop.
If you would like to use such a flow, we recommend starting out with an introductory Clip, which connects with an ‘Auto continue’ to the actual question clip, which then connects to the possible choice clips A, B, and/or C clips. You need to use this flow so the visitor can still adjust the volume on the Podcatcher or use the pause/ playback button, while the audio is playing and no question is yet being asked. This same flow can also be used if you would like to add a quiz question to a Stop. (Click here if you would like to learn more about setting up a quiz)
Advanced Clip flows
You can combine all these features into more advanced flows if you’d like. The example below is similar to the A/B/C Clip flow from above, except it also has a looping “Press any key to continue” Clip after the introduction, as well as every option looping back to the question Clip (to make a “would you like to know more” style flow). Really, the sky’s (and the various mutually exclusive Connections) the limit in terms of how complicated you can make the flow. Feel free to experiment, and remember that you can drag Clips around to keep everything organised.
Tab – Language & Content
On this page you can manage the various names used for this Stop, as well as add a description for it that is used in the Podcatcher App and MapMyVisit.
Title (language neutral): The title of the Stop is used in the Stop list and in Analytics. It is also a fallback description for missing translated Names for this Stop for MapMyVisit and the Podcatcher App.
The translations are not relevant for Podcatcher-only Stops. Only the Podcatcher App and MapMyVisit use this information.
Language: You can select one of the languages available for the Tour in this drop-down menu. If there are two or more languages available, you will see two languages side-by-side.
Title: Translated name of the Stop. If left empty the title of the fallback language is used when present. If that title in the fallback is empty too, the language neutral title is used.
Description: Description presented with this Stop in the App and on MapMyVisit.
Tab – Images
On this page you can upload an image that will be shown in the Podcatcher App and on MapMyVisit. This image is also used in case an image for a Clip in this Stop does not have one.
If you use only MapMyVisit, any square image larger than 300 x 300 pixels will do.
If you use the Podcatcher App, we recommend an image of 1080 x 1920 pixels (portrait) or larger.
Tab – Triggers
Here you can add or remove triggers from the Stop.
Clicking the [ Add ] button will open a pop-up where you can specify what type of trigger to add, as well as any IDentifier code.
The most commonly used triggers are shown first. With “Show more…” you can select more triggers for instance for AV-Sync .
! You only see trigger types that are enabled for your site. If you need a trigger type that is not listed, contact us to enable it for you.
After clicking the [ Next > ] button you can enter the trigger details:
IDentifier code: Applicable to most IDentifier types, enter the IDentifier code (usually printed on the back of the IDentifier) here. Language: Applicable to Start IDentifiers and Autostart IDentifiers, these triggers can select a language to start the Tour in. Score: The Score prununciation trigger will play the content of this Stop if the Podcatcher receives a Score IDentifier code while the current Tour has the specified amount of Score points. Email Console: Select which event applies to the current Stop. Post-Alarm and Unknown Trigger don’t have any options to set. As such, only one of each can exist in a Tour at any given time.
Click [ Finish ] to add the trigger to the Stop.
Start IDentifier
The Podcatcher needs to know which objects it can expect on top of which language it should play the audio in. We can let it know with one of two methods: the most common one is using Start IDentifiers, the alternative is the Autostart IDentifier.
Audio added to a Stop with either trigger will be played as usual after the Podcatcher receives the trigger. We’ve noticed it’s common for these Stops to contain audio like “You have chosen English” when starting a Tour in English, “U heeft gekozen voor Nederlands” for a Tour in Dutch, “Sie haben Deutsch gewählt”, for German, and so on. Some Sites also add an instruction for visitors to it, but it is up to you to decide what’s most appropriate here.
Start IDentifiers, as the name suggests, start a Tour by pointing the Podcatcher at an IDentifier. It can be any IDentifier you have, however usually these will have a flag printed on the label to distinguish between languages. Note that a Stop designated as a Start IDentifier Stop can have multiple Start IDentifiers added to it – one or multiple for each language in the Tour. If the Tour has the default stops created (the checkbox at the bottom of making a new Tour), the ‘Activate Podcatcher’ Stop is designed to hold the Start IDentifiers. The only restriction on adding Start IDentifiers is that you can’t have it as an Object or Start IDentifier anywhere else, since the Podcatcher wouldn’t know what to do if it had to both start a new Tour as well as play audio for a Stop in another Tour.
Autostart IDentifier
The Autostart IDentifier is not an actual device, but rather an option for the Podcatcher. It makes the Podcatcher start in the Tour it is assigned to, in the language you’ve specified for it, when it is taken out of the Docking station. However, there can be only one Autostart IDentifier added on a Site, since otherwise the Podcatcher wouldn’t know which Tour or language to use. Therefore, if you decide to use it, it’s advised to use it for your most popular Tour and language.
A Tour started in this fashion can be switched to a different Tour (or language in the same Tour) by pointing the Podcatcher at a Start IDentifier.
To make a Stop be an Autostart Stop, select the Autostart IDentifier in the Triggers screen for that Stop. Click “show more” in the popup to reveal it.
Tab – General
Here you can change the availability of the Stop, whether it’s an AV-Sync Stop, and Tags.
Platform availability: Pick which of the platforms the Stop should be available on. For example, you might want to exclude the Start IDentifier stops that explain Podcatcher usage from MapMyVisit and the App.
Note: A message will appear notifying you if a Stop is set to be used on a platform the Tour isn’t configured for; see the image below for one such example.
Note: These are specific to this Stop in the current Tour. If this stop was linked to multiple Tours, changing these here won’t affect the other instances.
Audio/Video Synchronization: Tick the box if this is an AV-Sync Stop.
A Tour consists of one or more Stops, which in turn have Clips. Accessing this ‘section’ of the TourEditor is done through the TourEditor – start screen or by navigating back to it from Stops or Clips. A Tour has the following screens:
Tab – Stops
The Stop list is the main page of a Tour, this list shows all of the Stops in the Tour. Similar to the list of Tours, clicking on a row in a particular location will take you to the relevant part of that Stop, so clicking on the image will take you to the image part of that Stop.
Just above the list on the right-hand side are the Search (left) and Tag filter (right) boxes. Typing a search term here – for example, “Van Gogh” – and pressing the Enter button will search the Stop names for it and show only those. Similarly, selecting an option in the drop down menu of the Tag filters will only show the Stops that have that Tag attached to them.
The list shows the following properties for each Stop:
Stop title: The internal name of this Stop. This name is also used in Analytics for Stop-based queries.
Script: Every language that has script content in this Stop will show up here.
Audio: Every language that has audio content in this Stop will show up here.
Triggers: The Triggers linked to this Stop.
Availability: Which publish destinations this Stop will be published to. There is one icon for each, and it can have one of three ‘states’:
If the icon is blue, that means it will be published and available on that platform the next time you publish.
If the icon grey, it means that the Stop won’t be published to that platform (or removed if it was previously available).
If the icon is part blue with a warning icon, the Stop is set to be published to the given platform but the Tour is not. Consequently, it will not be published to the platform. If you want it to make it available you have to check the box in the General tab of the tour.
Add Stop
Create New: Create blank new stop. Select Existing: Re-use an existing stop from another tour of your site. When you select this option, the Stop will be shared with both the original tour and the current one (as well as any others it may be linked to). This means that changes to the Stop will affect both Tours. Only the availability and the triggers are not shared; those are copied (so editing those properties won’t affect the others). All of the content is shared, however. Note; If you want to use a Stop form another tour, but do not want changes to affect the Stop in the other Tour, then use the action Copy (see below)
When you choose for “Select existing” you get a pop-up like this. You can see here stops of other tours including archived tours. You can search on title or filter on Tag/ Tour.
Remove the Stop from this Tour. If this Stop is available for MapMyVisit it is good practice to check the “Keep the stop …” If the Stop was used in multiple Tours, the Stop will stay available in the other Tours.
Copy
Copy stop(s) to a Tour. This can be the same Tour or a different one. Include images: Also copy the Stop’s images. Include audio: Also copy the Stop’s audio. Include triggers: Also copy the Stop’s triggers. If this would cause conflicts, copying is skipped for that particular trigger. Include tags: Also copy the Stop’s Tags.
Set Availability
Enable: set the availability to enabled for all selected Stops. Disable: set the availability to disabled for all selected Stops. No change: Leave this availability unchanged for all selected Stops.
Tab – Language & Content
Title (language neutral): The title of the Tour is used in the Tours list and in Analytics. It is also a fallback description for missing translated names for this tour for MapMyVisit and the Podcatcher App.
These translations are not relevant for Podcatcher-only Tours. Only the Podcatcher App and MapMyVisit use this information.
Translations
Language: You can select one of the languages available for the Tour in this drop-down menu. If there are two or more languages available, you will see two languages side-by-side.
Name: Translated name of tour. If left empty, the language neutral title is used.
Description: Description presented with this Tour in App and on MapMyVisit.
Tab – Images
On this page you can upload an image that will be shown in the Podcatcher App. Any square image larger than 300 x 300 pixels will do.
Tab – General
On this page you can configure some general settings for the Tour.
Select on which platforms the tour should be available
Select the languages in which the tour should be available Pick the tour languages here
Fallback languages: Should (Stop) content not be available in the language the Tour is being experienced in, the Podcatcher will ‘fall back’ to another language.
Tab – Export Scripts
This page serves as a tool to quickly export all script text to a file (or print it), for use by an audio recording studio.
First, select a language to export, then decide whether you only want to export the text for Clips that don’t yet have audio uploaded, and click [ Export script ].
Next, review the script that appears and click the [ Print script ] button. This will open up your browser’s print document dialog.
To save it as a PDF file, change the printer (“destination” in Google Chrome, “printer name” in Mozilla Firefox) to “save as PDF” or “Microsoft Print to PDF” – either works. Click ‘OK’ or ‘Print’ until the printer would normally start doing its thing and you’ll instead see a ‘save file’ dialog from your browser. Save it somewhere you can find it again and click ‘Save’. Now you can simply e-mail it to the audio recording studio; the instructions should be simple enough for them to deliver the files in the requested format.
The Publish screen is where you can make the Tour you’ve made, available to the Podcatcher, Podcatcher App and/or MapMyVisit.
The screen changes slightly depending on the publish status, that is whether the Tour has or has not been published, is in the process of being published, or has been published but has unpublished changes.
At the top is the publish status bar, informing you whether the Tour has been published.
Below that is the publish overview, which will warn you should there be any missing content for a given publish destination. Clicking the ‘details’ button on any of them will present you with a list of items that are missing content in one form or other.
Publish Tour: Prepared the Tour as configured in the TourEditor for active publish destinations
Unpublish Tour: Make this Tour unavailable for all destinations. If this Tour is outdated, it is easier to archive the Tour instead of unpublishing.
At the very bottom of the page you can find a collapsible section that shows you when content was published to which platform. This is the same information as presented at the top, but in more detail.
The Tours page shows all the active Tours available on your Site. The Tour list is displayed by default when clicking the TourEditor icon on the home page. A Site (usually) has one or more Tours which allow the Podcatcher to keep track of which audio to play where, and in which language.
The list of Tours shows the image for the Tour, its title (with a small number next to it, which is the number of Stops in that Tour), content languages, publish destinations and publish status. Clicking on a row in a particular location will take you to the relevant part of that Tour – for example, clicking a Tour’s image will take you to the Images screen of that Tour.
Title: Name of the tour for use in the Podcatcher Portal (particularly the TourEditor and Analytics). Localized tour titles can be edited on the Tour Language & Content page; however if the localized title for a language doesn’t exist, this generic one will be shown instead.
Content languages: The languages included in this tour.
Publish Destinations: The publish destinations for this Tour (Podcatcher, Podcatcher App, MapMyVisit).
Publish Status: Whether this Tour has not yet been published, is publishing, has been published, or has unpublished changes.
Add tour
The [+ Add Tour] button can be used to create a new Tour. A popup will appear where you can enter the new Tour’s details.
Most of the options have been described above, but there is one that hasn’t:
Automatically add default stops?: Enabling this checkbox creates a standard set of stops we think are useful to every Tour, although you don’t have to have them for a successful one. It’s a quick way to add stops a lot of Tours will find useful.
Actions
The [ Actions ] button is for actions that affect the selected Tour(s).
Remove
Clicking this option opens a pop-up:
Archive: Make the selected Tour(s) inactive and remove it from Podcatchers and the Podcatcher App. The Tour can be accessed in editor via “archived” tab of start screen
Keep stops available in in MapMyVisit: Keep the content available in MapMyVisit. Any visitors that have experienced this Tour before it was archived will still be able to see it on MapMyVisit if this checkbox is ticked, otherwise it’ll be removed from that as well.
Permanently delete: The Tour is permanently removed and cannot be recovered. It will be removed from all publish destinations and is gone for good.
Archived tours are shown in this page. The content in them is not available on Podcatchers nor on the Podcatcher App, however depending on whether the “Keep content available in MapMyVisit” option was used when archiving the Tour, it can still be available there.
Actions
Restore: Place the selected Tour(s) back to active Tours, so it can be used once more.
Delete permanently: Permanently remove the selected Tour(s). This cannot be undone.
Edit tour
By clicking on a Tour like you would normally when you want to edit it, you can still see and edit its contents. This can be useful for copying Stops from an archived Tour to an active one. It will show a warning that you’re working in an archived Tour, like so:
IDentifier
Dockingstation and sync console
Start IDentifiers
: This icon is called a “drop zone”. Drag audio files from your desktop (or any other folder on your computer) to here to upload them.
: Play the audio fragment. The gray bar represents the position in the clip. You can click this bar to jump to that position.
: Download the original audio file.
: Delete the audio content.
Availability: Which publish destinations this Stop will be published to. There is one icon for each, and it can have one of three ‘states’:
English 
Nederlands 
Français