Capzles
What it is
Capzles is a unique timeline type of Web 2.0 tool that lets you create unique storylines by implementing images, video, and audio files directly into the timeline. Currently, Capzles is absolutely free and there are no downloads or plug-ins required to use the tool.
How to use it
To start using Capzles you must first go to www.capzles.com and sign up for your free account.
Once you are signed up and logged in, click on the Create button located on the top menu bar to start making your first capzle timeline.
In the next screen you will be provided with a blank screen and the capzles sidebar toolbar located on the left side of the screen. This toolbar will allow you to do several things including adding a title to your timeline, uploading content, adding tags, and many other things.
To create your very own Capzles timeline, please follow these steps:
Click on the Add Title & Description button on the toolbar to open up the options underneath it. In this menu you should add a title for your timeline and provide a short description of what your timeline is about. You can also choose the Font type and color of your title text.
Next click on the Design Your Capzle button to bring up its options. Here you can browse through a long list of different themes that you can apply to your timeline to give it a nice look. If you cannot find a theme that fits the type of timeline you would like to do, you can also design your own theme by selecting design it myself.
With your theme picked out and ready to go, you can now add the content to your timeline. Click on Add Content in the left sidebar to bring up its menu. You can upload a variety of files into your timeline including images, videos, MP3's, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and PDFs.
In addition to uploading sigle files into your timeline, you can also upload several files into a stack on the timeline which allows you to place more than one file into a single moment on your timeline.
The last option allows you to write a blog entry which you can use as a single moment in your timeline.
Once you have your content uploaded into your Capzles timeline, you can start editing each piece of content by clicking on the item in the editing screen. By clicking on a content item you will open up a window as shown on the right. You can edit several things about the item including the title, description, tags, date & time, privacy settings, and several others.
After you are done editing each content item, click on the I'm Finished
button. Below is an example of a finished timeline (although the images don't really have anything to do with a timeline).
Now that your Capzle timeline is finished you can choose to share it in several different ways. By clicking on the Share This icon in the toolbar located at the top of the screen you will bring up a separate window that will provide you with several ways to share your timeline. You can choose to:
- Post to your social networking site such as facebook or myspace
- Embed the timeline into a website
- Send out a link to your timeline via E-mail
- Paste a link to your Capzle anywhere you want
- Note: The RSS Feed service is not available at this time
In addition to creating and sharing your own Capzles you can also check out the many Capzles that have been created by other users. To browse some of the existing Capzles, click on the Explore button located at the top of the screen and click the Browse by Categories link as shown below. In this window you can search for Capzles that correspond to specific categories such as music or history. You can also check out the most popular, newest, or highest rated Capzles by clicking on the Browse button again and selecting the corresponding links.
If you stumble upon a Capzle timeline that you think is really cool and would like to save it for later viewing, click on the Comments link located at the top of the screen. A new window will open which displays information about the Capzle you are currently viewing. In this screen you will be able to post comments about the Capzle as well as add it to your favorites by clicking on the Add to Favorites button on the right side of the screen as shown below. This will add the Capzle in your favorites section of your profile.
To view all of your created Capzles as well as your personal profile information, scroll over the My Stuff button on the top of the screen and click on My Profile. Clicking this link will direct you to your profile page which will contain all of the information which you have provided to Capzles. If you would like to add more information about yourself such as a profile picture, click on the Edit Your Profile link in the top right corner of the profile screen. Under the Capzles tab in the middle of the screen, you will be able to see all of the Capzles that you have previously created. This is an important page as it allows you to view all of your previous work and also make changes to them. Another important screen is the Favorite Capzles window. Here you will be able to view all of the Capzles from other users that you have previously viewed and saved into your favorites section.
