FAQ

Getting Started

Uploading Media

Swyzzle Editor

Membership

Viewing and Presentation

Swyzzle Policies

To become a member, go to the Swyzzle main page, click on Sign in or Join and enter your email address as your username and your password. A confirmation email will be sent to you allowing you to activate your membership. Be sure to check your spam filters if you don't receive your activation email.

How do I activate my account?

When you receive your membership confirmation email, click the "Activate My Account" link or copy and paste the link into your browser. You should see a message that confirms your activation is complete. Now, you'll be able to sign in to Swyzzle with your email and password.

What exactly is a show?

Think of it as a sort of digital theatrical production. You.re a very important and creative director.why let yourself be limited to expression in only one medium? Swyzzle lets you create a .show. made up of many different types of digital content (video, audio, images, products and text) all mixed together in the Swyzzle Editor to appear the way you decide.

What do I need to create a show?

To create a show in the Swyzzle Editor, all you.ll need are media files you would like to compile into a show and a little imagination. Check our tutorials for complete instructions on how to create a show.

What media formats does Swyzzle accept?

Video: all formats accepted and automatically converted to .mp4
Audio: mp3 is best, but you can also use .m4a and .f4a files
Images: .jpg/.jpeg is best, but you can also use .png, .bmp, .gif, and .tiff files
Text: All text is created inside the Swyzzle Editor and stored automatically on our servers

How big can my clips be?

Swyzzle works best when you limit your file size to less than 10 megabytes, but there are no strict limits on file size at this time. Just don't upload full movies or television episodes or we'll have to delete them and give you a stern talking to.

It's taking a long time to upload my clips to Swyzzle - what's the deal?

We work very hard to ensure that everything on Swyzzle runs as quickly as possible, but unfortunately some things just take time and are beyond our control. Try uploading smaller files.less than 10 megabytes is good.but if you must upload something gargantuan, try uploading at off-peak hours (nighttime and early morning in North America).

I've uploaded my files, now where did they go?

Your files, called "clips" within the Swyzzle editor, can be found in your clip library. All of the clips can be found in expandable menus on the left side of the editor, denoted by shiny blue buckets. Click the buckets to "spill" them and view all clips organized by type of media. If one or more of your files doesn't show up, check that the file type is one that Swyzzle currently supports.

What kind of web browser should I use?

Swyzzle is compatible with the latest version of Internet Explorer and Firefox, but feel free to try using Safari or Google Chrome--we've just had mixed results with these and other less popular browsers. Please do tell us if you encounter a problem and we will do our best to fix it.

I don't really get what I'm supposed to do here...

The goal of the Swyzzle Editor is to provide an intuitive way for you to make a show (a.k.a. online video) which contains your pictures, videos, music, etc. all arranged and ordered the way you would like. It's sort of like an online verson of video editing software got married to Powerpoint. It's great for recommending products on your blog, quickly creating presentations, showcasing your adventures, or showing someone "how-to".

If you ever get stuck on our site, the easiest and most effective thing to try (besides reading these FAQs) is to watch some shows in our tutorials section. If you're still stuck after that, please do use the support form under the "help" link on the main page at swyzzle.com.

What's the deal with show sizes? Can I resize a show after I've created it?

Show sizes are standardized into small, medium, large, and huge. When you begin to create your show, one of the first things you should do is choose the appropriate show size for where this show will most likely appear. Medium is the default size and fits well in most blogs and websites. If you're going to have a lot of detail or play your show as part of a presentation, go with one of the larger sizes. nclick="load('help/FAQ.shtml#top','helpwrapper');return false;"

What are all of these clips and and scenes?

The Swyzzle Editor may seem tricky at first, but you'll be making world-class shows in no time flat. Each piece of media you upload to the editor -- movie files, images, webcam capture, the works --is called a clip. When you drop your clips into the Editor it automatically creates a scene. You can then drop more clips into that same scene, or create new scene.

How do I move clips around?

You can change the order of clips within their common scene simply by dragging and dropping them into the order you would like them to appear, like rearranging train cars.

How can people see my finished show?

When you've changed the preferences in your show to be published and public, everyone who searches on the Swyzzle main page can find your show and watch it. If you don't want everyone to have access, you can just publish your show and not make it public (see tutorial titled Saving & Preferences). Once a show has been published, you can always give people the direct link to your show so that they can watch it on the site. Also notice that on your show itself in the lower right corner are two links (one to Twitter, one for Facebook) that allow either you or anyone else to post a link to that show on those social networking sites. If you're somewhat tech-savvy, you'll notice that we provide the embed code for you under the "Manage My Shows" tab of the main page (sign-in required). You can cut and paste this snippet of code into your blog, website, or even an HTML email and send it around to your heart's content.

Where do I sign up?

Glad you asked! On the Swyzzle main page, Click the "Sign In or Join" button. Click the "Join" button and enter your information. We'll send you a confirmation email with instructions on how to activate your account.

How do I update my personal information?

Once signed in, you can edit your personal profile information from "About Me" tab. Click on "About Me" and tell the world what a creative and witty person you are in the available boxes. Be sure to hit the "Save" button when you're finished.

How do I change my password?

Once signed in, under the "User Preferences" tab, enter and confirm a new password in place of the old one. Click the "Save" button, then try your new password once you logout and then back in. If you have issues, shoot us an email at support@swyzzle.com.

What if I lost my password?

Click on the "Forgot Password?" link on the sign in screen. Enter your email sign on and we'll send you your password.

What if I lost my username?

Drop us a line at support@swyzzle.com which includes the email address you used to sign up and we'll send your username as soon as possible.

Where does my Swyzzle show display on the main website?

If you checked the "Publish" option and selected Public within the Show Properties menu in the editor, your show will appear on the main page at Swyzzle.com. The title, description, category and keywords are used as searchable terms on the main page.

My show doesn't play the way I want it to --help!

You may want to sign in and edit your show to improve the way it plays. If you have questions about your show, email support@swyzzle.com. We will be happy to help!

What are Swyzzle's content policies and terms of service?

Pretty standard stuff - nothing inappropriate, nothing illegal, use your good judgment. The legalese can be found here.

What about content in general -- what's not ok for me to post here?

Keep it PG-13, please. No pornography, no excessive violence. If it's upsetting our visitors or it looks illegal, we'll take it down. Whatever you wouldn't feel comfortable showing your cool Auntie Flo, we're not comfortable having on the site.

What are Swyzzle's privacy policies?

We will not sell your information to anyone -- bottom line. We will only use your information to send you periodic Swyzzle email updates. We're people too, though, and know how annoying those can be, so we keep it to a minimum. Read about privacy.