{"id":3165,"date":"2021-02-22T21:54:19","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T01:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.tlsrv.net\/new-thinglink-saimaa-user-interface-2021\/"},"modified":"2024-08-13T18:25:35","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T17:25:35","slug":"new-thinglink-saimaa-user-interface-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/blog\/new-thinglink-saimaa-user-interface-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"ThingLink Saimaa &#8211; a Next Level User Interface for Streamlined Content Management of Interactive Media"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">People are adopting new solutions for online learning and publishing at a faster rate than ever. At ThingLink, the increased demand shows up as a 50% increase in new monthly signups.\u00a0Over 100,000 new users login to ThingLink every month to create engaging visual experiences for their students, employees or customers. <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">For many, ThingLink has become a home for hundreds, even thousands of interactive media. Our newest interface offers them improved options for arranging and managing this content.<br><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Save time and simplify your interactive media with ThingLink Saimaa<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The ThingLink Saimaa interface<\/strong> has been designed to support the creation and management of large amounts of interactive media. It introduces several features that simplify routine tasks, saving time and effort in the creation process. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">A Stunning 360\u00b0 Image Library<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Streamlined upload and Content management<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Improved folders<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Improved user management<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Reworked groups<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">New Organizational account features<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"margin: 0px auto; display: block;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/videocard\/1420455755634442242\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-original-width=\"640\" data-original-height=\"360\"><\/iframe><br><script async=\"\" src=\"\/\/cdn.thinglink.me\/jse\/responsive.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1) New Expeditions: ThingLink Releases a Stunning 360\u00b0 Image Library<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now available in ThingLink Saimaa &#8211; our 360\u00b0 Image Library is a curated collection of professional 360\u00b0 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.\u00a0View this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/blog\/360-image-library\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>blog post<\/strong><\/a> to learn more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2) Streamlined upload and content management of interactive media<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">The first functional change is a <strong>reworked uploading process<\/strong>, which we\u2019ve striven to make as easy and as fast as possible. It features:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>a) Microsoft One Drive and Google Drive upload options:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>link up your cloud storage to ThingLink for easier uploading or when content doesn&#8217;t live on your hard drive.\u00a0 There are now also integrations to use or create images and design options including Unsplash image library, Canva, DallE and Skybox before adding hotspots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/f.hubspotusercontent30.net\/hubfs\/603436\/Screen%20Shot%202021-02-22%20at%204.37.17%20PM.png\" alt=\"Screen Shot 2021-02-22 at 4.37.17 PM\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>b)&nbsp; Bulk upload<\/strong>: You can now upload multiple items at the same time. Simply click \u2018Upload file\u2019 and select all files you\u2019d like to upload:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/f.hubspotusercontent30.net\/hubfs\/603436\/upload_new_flow.gif\" alt=\"upload_new_flow\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>c)&nbsp; Automatic media type detection:<\/strong> Once you\u2019ve selected your files, we will determine media type automatically based on your upload specifications.&nbsp; You no longer need to choose the media type prior to uploading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>d) Upload files directly into folders:<\/strong> It\u2019s now possible to upload files directly into a folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>e) Other bulk actions: <\/strong>The previous improvements go hand-in-hand with another major update; you are now able to select multiple files (or all files within a folder) and carry out <strong>bulk actions<\/strong>, such as changing privacy settings, deleting your media or moving it into a folder.&nbsp; We expect these changes to save you a lot of time, especially if you are using ThingLink for creating virtual tours, courses or other projects that include large amounts of images and videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/f.hubspotusercontent30.net\/hubfs\/603436\/bulk_action_new.gif\" alt=\"bulk_action_new\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>f)&nbsp; QR code sharing:<\/strong> A small update introducing a new quick way to share interactive experiences instead of sharing an image link or URL. Automatic QR code generation in the sharing dialog also makes it faster to create interactive media tours in physical locations such as factories, schools, museums and galleries!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/f.hubspotusercontent30.net\/hubfs\/603436\/Screen%20Shot%202020-10-02%20at%2012.28.58%20PM.png\" alt=\"Screen Shot 2020-10-02 at 12.28.58 PM\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3) Improved folders for your interactive media<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Over the last year we saw a major increase in folder usage and addressed the feedback in this release.&nbsp; Saimaa brings four key updates to those who use folders for collaborating with colleagues, students and peers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>a)\u00a0 Simplified access settings:<\/strong> All settings related to accessing folders are now displayed within one menu.\u00a0 From here, you can share the folder with selected individuals, the whole organization, or to anyone with the link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>b)&nbsp; View-only access:<\/strong> You can now permit users in your organization to view a folder and all its content without giving editing rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>c)&nbsp; Subfolders:<\/strong> You can create folders within folders. This makes it easy to organize images into sets and manage collaboration with colleagues throughout the creation process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>d) Improved sharing options for organizational accounts :<\/strong> All plans that include shared folders will now be able to share them with specific users or groups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4) Updated user management\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With more large organisations using ThingLink to create interactive media, we are introducing two important updates for account owners and administrators.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>a) Bulk user management:<\/strong> You can now select multiple users and perform bulk actions, such as deleting multiple student accounts at once (e.g. if you need to remove all students from last year). In addition, we added a few filters to help you find the users you need.\u00a0 Email invitations for <\/span>Business<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> accounts have been simplified and improved. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>b)\u00a0 New organization settings:<\/strong> We reworked organization settings to make sure that they are easier to navigate. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5) Reworked groups<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In addition to improving user management, we also made it easier to manage Groups. These feature updates include the ability to:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>a)\u00a0 Assign a group-level access permission to\u00a0folders:<\/strong> You are now able to give access rights to folders for all members of a group.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>b)\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><strong>Easier way to join organizations with existing accounts:<\/strong> The prompt to join an organization (or a group) is now permanently visible on the top navigation bar of Saimaa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\">DEPRECATED FEATURES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Features that are no longer supported in the new interface:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Courses and Projects<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Collections<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Going forward, we will focus on supporting deeper integrations with LMS so that ThingLink images, videos and modules can be directly embedded to courses on 3rd party platforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">What happens to the previous interface?<\/span>\u00a0 It&#8217;s good to remember the ThingLink Saimaa interface does not impact the core editing experience on ThingLink. Most feature updates concern user and content management. The<\/span> old interface, Ruovesi has now been deprecated and all content is now accessible via Saimaa. Folders can now be used in place of Projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People are adopting new solutions for online learning and publishing at a faster rate than ever. At ThingLink, the increased demand shows up as a 50% increase in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":10100,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[454],"tags":[181,179,180,290,291,238,177,161,178,289],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3165"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3165"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10099,"href":"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3165\/revisions\/10099"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thinglink.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}