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Exploring Story


In MapStore, StoryMap is a tool that allows to create inspiring and immersive stories by combining text, interactive maps, and other multimedia content like images and video or other third party contents. Through this tool you can simply tell your stories on the web and then publish and share them with different groups of MapStore user or make them public to everyone around the world.

The user can approach a story in two different ways:

  • Creating a new story or editing an existing one through the Edit Mode
  • Enjoy the story and interact with it, through the View Mode

Edit Mode

The Edit Mode allows the user to edit a story by adding, removing or modifying the elements inside it. This mode and its tools are used both to edit an existing story and to create a new one.
In order to create a new story, the user can click on the New StoryMap button on MapStore home page. As soon as the user clicks on that button in home page the story editor opens, it is composed of two main elements: the Builder and the Sections Container (later simply called Container).

The Story content is organized in Sections, that can be added with the button in the Container area. In particular, the user can add to the story the following kind of sections:

View Mode

The View Mode corresponds to the final result of your story composition that will be visible to end users on the web.
The user can access the View Mode also during the Story editing in order to have a preview of its work on the Story itself. The Show preview button in Builder's toolbar allows to do that and the first display looks like the following:

On top of the page there is a Top bar in which the story's informations (if properly configured in edit mode) are displayed.

The elements available in the top bar can be the following:

  • Edit Story button that allows to switching back to the Edit Mode
  • Navigation bar allows to navigate between different sections of the story
  • The Title of the story configured in the story settings (edit mode)
  • The Logo of the story chosen by the story editor in the story settings

Warning

In order to set up this information the story editor neededs to go back in Edit Mode and open the Setting button as explained in Story Setting.

The Story layout allows to navigate contents by scrolling up and down the Story page by using the mouse or the Navigation bar.

Save a Story

Both in edit mode and in preview mode, the story editor can save the story through the Option menu present as usual in the top bar like in other MapStore contexts. If the story has not been saved yet, there's only the possibility to simply Save but, once the story is saved, it is possible to choose between Save and Save as. While saving a story the usual properties panel opens:

  • The Name of the story: it is the only mandatory field

  • The Thumbnail : the image used as a thumbnail for the story in MapStore home

  • The Description of the story that will appears in MapStore home

  • The Permissions as explained in the Resource Properties

Share a Story

The user can share the story as usual with the direct link or through the social network links supported by MapStore. With the Option menu the Share tool is available.

Inside the Link section the story's URL is available so that the user can copy it in the clipboard. As usual also the QR code share option is available.

Inside the Social section, social links like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are available for the story sharing.

Through the Advanced Options it is possible include to the URL:

  • The Home button to allow the possibility to bring the user to the MapStore Home Page: that button will be automatically included in view mode inside the story top bar just beside the navigation bar.

  • The scroll position provides a share URL of the current section visualized by the user.