Frequently Asked Questions: iPosters and PDF+

Making your presentation accessible is not just about compliance; it’s about inclusivity and reach. By utilizing accessibility tools, you ensure that your work is available to a broader audience, including individuals with disabilities. This not only amplifies the impact of your research but also demonstrates a commitment to social responsibility and equality in knowledge sharing.

What are the benefits of adding Alt text and captions to images?

Alt text and captions provide a textual alternative to visual information, which is crucial for individuals who rely on screen readers or have difficulty interpreting images. This enhances the understanding and retention of your poster’s content, ensuring that your message is conveyed effectively to all viewers.

How does adding a prerecorded video presentation enhance my poster?

A prerecorded video presentation allows you to personally explain and elaborate on your research, creating a more engaging and personal connection with your audience. It also caters to different learning styles, making your research more accessible to those who prefer auditory or visual learning over reading text.

Why should I include subtitles and text transcripts?

Subtitles and text transcripts are essential for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as for those who may be viewing your poster in a noisy or sound-sensitive environment. They also aid in comprehension for non-native speakers and can improve the overall accessibility of your content.

What is the advantage of adding narration or audio snippets?

Narration and audio snippets can provide additional context or explanations that may not be easily conveyed through text or visuals alone. They offer an alternative way to engage with your content, particularly for those with visual or learning disabilities.

Please take advantage of the accessibility tools available to you within the iPoster Editor.

Please explore the instructions under ‘Accessibility Features’ to find out how to utilize these tools. Don’t hesitate to reach out to our support team at support@ipostersessions.com if you have any questions or would like any assistance.

Remember, by making your research accessible, you’re not only reaching a wider audience, but you’re also fostering an inclusive academic community that values and respects diversity in all its forms. Embrace these tools to ensure your research makes the maximum impact.

If you’re having trouble logging in, the issue could be your operating system, browser, network, or router.

Please check the following:

You have the latest updates for your operating system: Windows, Mac or Linux.
You are using the latest version of your web browser: we recommend Chrome, Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari. Please note, we do not support Internet Explorer.

If you are still having issues logging in:

• If you’re having problems at a workplace, university, library etc…: It may be that you are being denied access because of a firewall set up on the organization’s network. To test this, try logging in to the iPoster editor from another computer in another location and see if you are still experiencing the issue. Alternatively you can use your phone’s data to check this.
• If you’re having problems while trying to connect from home, you might have a slow internet connection that is making it difficult to access the template.

The iPoster system will not allow any preformatted or code rich data to be directly pasted into it. When text from such a source is pasted in a pop up box will appear. After you have pasted your text in here and clicked ‘Ok’, any previous formatting will be removed and the text inserted into the content box. You can then format it using the tools available.

Place the curser in the text box where you would like the pasted text to start and right click on the mouse  and select the Paste option or click ctrl+v.

a box will pop up. Paste the copied text into this box and Click the ‘Ok’ button. Your text should appear on your poster.

You can now continue to format the text as desired using the tools available in the tool bar.

Yes you can. Use the ‘Insert Link’ tool in the content box tool bar. Then add the URL and the display text as required.

You can edit the title’s font type and font color. Simply click on the DESIGN button in the right hand menu. Then select the font type and color from the options provided. The title’s font size is fixed and therefore cannot be edited.

The author and author institution fields fall under the ‘Subtitle’ option and you can edit them in the same way under DESIGN.

The reason you can’t see this field is because you’ve used up too much space in the fields above. The space allotted to the ‘Title’, ‘Subtitle’ and ‘Affiliated Institutions’ fields is fixed. If these fields are too long then some or all of the text in the  institution field won’t be visible.

The solution:

keep your titles and subtitles as short as possible. If you have a very long abstract title, try to abbreviate it in your presentation. Your full abstract title will be displayed on the search screen at the conference.

Likewise, try to keep your list of co-author names and institutions brief. If you must include several authors on the presentation, use the ‘Author Info‘ button on the main toolbar. This section is an annex to your presentation screen. Visitors will see an ‘Author Info’ button on your presentation. When they click this button they can view the additional author information.

You can view the Author Info section for yourself, simply go into preview mode and select the ‘Author Info’ button at the bottom of the page.

The size of the text in the content boxes can be adjusted using the font size button in the toolbar. Simply highlight the text, click on the ‘font size’ button and select your preferred size.

Please note that the font sizes for title, authors and affiliations are fixed.

There is no button in the toolbox for line spacing, but you can have a tight line space by holding Shift and then Return/Enter on your keyboard. You can create double line breaks by pressing Return/Enter twice.

For Content Box texts:

Place the cursor where you want to insert the special character in the text.

Click on the appropriate button in the Tool Bar.

For Title and Subtitle fields:

To add special characters into the title and subtitle fields you can use copy-and-paste. Here are super and subscript numbers and commas that you can use:

Superscript:

¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ⁹ ⁰ ⸴

Subscript:

₁ ₂ ₃ ₄ ₅ ₆ ₇ ₈ ₉ ̦

You can also use any one of a number of online super- and subscript generators that can be found on the web. We recommend the following easy-to-use generators:

• https://lingojam.com/SubscriptGenerator
• https://lingojam.com/SuperscriptGenerator

If you’re a Mac user and you’re having trouble seeing any of the super or subscript characters above, try the below:

• Go to: https://fontlibrary.org/en/font/symbola
• Download and then install the font Symbola by double-clicking the file Symbola.ttf
• Restart the browser

A nested list is just a list contained within a list. For example, you might have a numbered list but then want to include sub items within it using roman numerals. Or, you might want to have a bulleted list and change up the bullet style for your nested list.

1. Start with your basic bulleted or numbered list – use these options on the tool bar to create one.

2. Select the text that should be part of the nested list

3. Click the ‘tab’ button on your keyboard. This will indent the highlighted text and apply a different bullet type.

4. Change the bullet types by right clicking on each list of bullets. Click on the ‘Bulleted List Properties’ option.

5. Select a bullet option from the list. This can be edited on the main list as well.

6. I have selected the disc option to match that of the main list

General Image tips

Slideshow Images

The slide show window (available in some templates) has a minimum image size requirement of  960×360 pixels, but  we recommend that you insert images up to 1920×1080 pixels.

When you look at the slide show in the condensed view any images larger than 960×360 will be cropped. However when you or an end viewer click or tap on the slide show in preview mode or at the conference, it will open up as an overlay and show all images at their full size.

Conference participants will then be able to flick through the slideshow as they wish. Having larger images will provide a more enjoyable and better quality viewing experience for them.

Diagrams, charts and tables

Diagrams, charts, tables, etc. need to be inserted as images. Either export them from their source program as JPG or PNG, or take a screen shot. Make them as large as possible, and then import them into your content boxes. That way they will expand to make it easy for your visitors to view them.

Remember that an iPoster can contain so much more than an upload of a  PDF or PowerPoint, so try to take advantage of this by including:

• Videos
• Sound files
• Links to dynamic external information (e.g. online data sets, visualizations, etc…)
• As much content as you feel is necessary to present your research with the detail it deserves. There are no content limits.  As soon as you exceed the apparent physical space of a content box, it will scroll.

Adding an image to an iPoster content box

1. Either drag and drop your image into the upload box or click on the box to choose an image from your files. If you have previously uploaded images click on the ‘Image Repository’ tab to browse and select an existing image.

Editing images

 Another way to do this…

1. Right click on the image and save it as a PNG or JPEG. Do not try to copy and paste the image directly from the source into the iPoster editor.

4. The video should be embedded within the content box as shown in the image below. Click on the Preview button from the main menu to check the video in presentation mode.

Increase the accessibility, reach and engagement of your research by adding a pre-recorded video presentation.

You can create your own recorded presentation using your computer’s built-in recording functions. Alternatively you can use tools like, Zoom, WebX or Microsoft Teams, or even your phone.

A video presentation can provide a general summary of your research or explore a particular theme in more depth. If this option is available for your conference, the ‘Video Presentation’ button will be visible on the Main Menu of your iPoster Editor screen.

Please note that there is a file upload size limit of 100MB. If you need to compress your file you can use a free online service such as:

• freeconvert.com
• media.io/video-compressor.html

1. Click on the green VIDEO PRESENTATION button in the Main Menu.

2. The Video upload box will pop up. Add your video file in here. You can either click ‘Select Video’. The Video Repository will open and you can choose to select a previously uploaded video or upload a new one.

3. To upload a new video click on ‘Upload New’ and search through your files on your computer, or you can drag and drop the file into this box.

4. Your video will then load into the system and you’ll see a status bar in the bottom left of your screen. The upload can take a couple of minutes depending on the size of the file and your current internet upload speed. You can close out of the video repository and continue to work on your poster while you wait for your video to upload.

5. Check your video in Preview mode. Click on the preview button in the main menu. There should be a button at the bottom of your poster called ‘Video Presentation’. Click on this button and play your video to check it.

3. When you have finished recording don’t forget to download a copy of your narration by clicking on ‘Download Narration’.

If your images are still small when you click on them in preview mode it’s probably because of their original upload size.

When your images are displayed in preview mode or on the screens at a live event, they will only be as large as the file you have uploaded. The full display screen size is 1920×1080 pixels. If you want an image to fill the screen, you must insert an image that is 1920×1080 pixels. If your image is only half the width and half the height of the maximum, (e.g. 960×540 pixels) it will fill only a quarter of the screen.

We recommend that your images are at least 600 pixels wide for a better quality viewing experience. However, don’t make your image any bigger than the original. This will only cause it to be blurry and hard to read.

Try to find an original image that is larger.  The larger the  original image (photograph, table, diagram) the more detail you can show and the better quality your end result will be.

PDF+  is our solution for a static PDF presentation that can include so much more! It’s a template that can be selected If enabled for your conference.

You can select this template to upload a copy of your in-person paper poster to the digital poster gallery. It allows you add video presentations, hyperlinks, audio narrations, transcripts and more.

If you are presenting a paper poster on site, creating a PDF+  poster enables your research to be available to all conference attendees. Many galleries are kept open for some time after a conference so that attendees can re-visit any posters that they may have missed when they were on site at a conference.

Click on the below image to view a PDF+ poster

Because the PDF upload is a static document you can’t add any multi media within the poster itself once it’s uploaded in the iPoster system. You can however add an overall audio narration or a video presentation within the PDF+ editor.

Any hyperlinks included in your PDF will be accessible to viewers and will open in a new window when viewed at a conference or online.

You can also add media into the author information button on the right hand menu. If you click into this button you will see the multimedia toolbox options.

If your conference offers both iPoster and PDF+ template you can change at any point from a PDF+ template to an iPoster template.  You will need to first delete your poster which will return you to the Template selection page.

Adding text:

1. Copy  your text from your PDF, PPT or other source document. You can either right click and select ‘copy’ from the menu or use the keyboard controls (Ctrl+c) Then click in the content box where you want the text to be added. Right click to select ‘Paste’ from the menu or use the keyboard controls (Ctrl v).

2. After clicking on ‘Paste’ or Ctrl + V, the following dialogue box will show up. You need to paste your copied material in here again. This box will strip any code from the text so that it can be formatted within the iPoster system.

3. Click the ‘Ok’ button at the bottom of the pop up and your text will appear in the content box.

Adding diagrams, charts and tables to your iPoster:

Either export the charts, diagrams and tables from your PPT or PDF, or take a screen shot of them and save them to your files.  This will enable you to upload the item as an image in the iPoster editor.

Remember that they will expand to their full size when tapped or clicked on by visitors or by you during your presentation.

So, make sure your images are as large as possible – up to 1920 x1080 pixels. And if available, use the original images for best quality. If they are not available, take screen shots of your images, but zoom in before you take them so that, again, they are as large as possible.

Save an image from a PPT file: 

1. Right click on your PPT image then click on ‘Save as Picture…’ Save the image to your desktop as either a JPG or PNG.

2.  Click on the Insert image tool in the iPoster editor and select the saved image from your files.

3. Add alternative text and update any settings using the options pictured. then click OK.

The image is now uploaded in the content box

Adding full slides to an iPoster:

You can add your PPT slides as images to your iPoster either in a content box or in the image slider box that is available on two of the interactive templates.

When you or an end viewer click or tap on the slide show in preview mode or at the conference, it will open up as an overlay and show all images at their full size. There are controls to pause and play as well as to skip back and forth through the slides.

1. Open your PPT and take a screenshot on the biggest available screen of each slide that you want to include on your iPoster. On a windows PC you can use the Snipping Tool. On a Mac click Cmd + shift+ 4.

2. Click ‘Image Slider’ in one of the iPoster templates with the slideshow box available.

3. Click on the grey box and insert the slideshow screenshots that you have saved. You will need to upload them one at a time.

4. Open Preview mode from the main menu and click on your slide show to check that the slides are appearing as uploaded and that the controls are working.

2. An empty content box will pop up. Add your narration transcript in here. You can either copy/paste it from another source, or you can type it in directly. You can then format the text as you like afterwards.

3. Edit your transcript text as required using the tools in the tool bar. i.e. add headings, change the font style/size, change the text color etc…

4. Click on Preview to check that the Transcript button has appeared at the bottom of your poster. Click on this button to view the transcript as visitors would.

3. You can use the ‘Refresh Status button to check if your transcript has finished generating. If your transcript still hasn’t finished generating after an hour or so. Please contact our support desk and we can check on this.

If the transcript is ready you will see a button called Edit Transcript. You can click on this at any point to edit the text in your transcript. The AI may have made mistakes with some words and it is always a good idea to check this. You can also format the text as required here. i.e. add paragraphs, or change the color of the text etc…

To access your audio file  transcript settings hover over the audio snippet in your poster. When you see the yellow or blue bounding box appear right click within this box and select Audio Properties.

Part 1: Manually generate a transcript

1.  Click on the ‘transcript’ tab then click on ‘Enter transcript’.

 

2. An empty dialogue box will pop up. Place the curser at the top of the box and type or copy/paste in your text.  You can then format the text as you like afterwards. Close out of the transcript editing box by clicking on the X in the right corner.

3. Click on Preview and click the play button on the snippet. A pop-up will show advising that there is a transcript available. Click on ‘Show’ to view the transcript or ‘Download’ to download it.

Part 2: Auto generate an audio file transcript

Please note that this tool is not available on all conferences.

If your conference organizers have chosen to enable subtitles for videos you will be able to generate these using a linked AI.

The AI can take up to 24 hours to generate the subtitles which can then be edited. Make sure that you allow plenty of time to generate captions for your videos and to adjust them as required afterwards.

First you will need to have a video uploaded in either the VIDEO REPOSITORY/GALLERY section, or under the VIDEO PRESENTATION section of your iPoster editor. Both of these buttons are located on the main menu.

These instructions are in 2 parts:

Generating subtitles for videos in VIDEO PRESENTATION
Generating subtitles for videos in the VIDEO REPOSITORY

Generating subtitles for videos in VIDEO PRESENTATION

1. Upload your video in VIDEO PRESENTATION then click on the green ‘Subtitles’ button

Generating subtitles for videos in VIDEO REPOSITORY

Switch between interactive templates:

use the Switch Template button on the main menu. If you switch to an interactive template with fewer content boxes than the one you have currently, the content from the extra content boxes will be found under Residual Content on the Main Menu. Follow the guide below for detailed instructions and screenshots.

• Manage Co-authors – Send an invitation to your co-authors. They will receive an email with their own unique credentials and editing access. For view only access copy and send the link from the ‘SHARE POSTER’ button. See the FAQ called How can I add a Co-author to my iPoster?  for detailed instructions.

• Contact Info – Change your contact email address

• iPoster Display Control – Choose whether your iPoster is visible in the conference’s online gallery after publishing.

• Share iPoster – Choose whether to allow meeting attendees or online visitors to get a link to your iPoster

• Statistics – View the following statistics on you iPoster:
  • how many views online
  • who has requested a share
  • who has requested contact

• Comments – Update your preferences for public commenting on your poster. You can also read, respond to, or delete any comments here.

• Notifications Archive – An archive for any pop-up notifications. I.e. planned site maintenance

If you have accidentally deleted your presentation we MAY still have the ability to restore your iPoster. Please contact our support at support@ipostersessions.com and we will do our best to help you bring your content back.

It’s not always possible to  restore a deleted iPoster. If that is the case you will have to input and format your information again. Any previously uploaded images or videos will still be in your media repositories, so you don’t need to reload them from your computer.  Place your cursor where you want to insert the image and use the Insert Image tool in the editor. Choose “Image repository” rather than “Upload”. Mark the image you want to Insert and click on OK.

Public comments are enabled by default on both iPosters and PDF+. This means that participants will be able to click on a button on your poster and leave a comment that other  participants can read.

You have the option to turn this feature off, and also respond to, flag and delete comments from your editor. Here’s how.

1. From your Editor page navigate to the Settings button on the main menu. You may need to scroll down in the menu to see this button.

2.In My Settings , navigate to the tab called ‘Comments’. You can see any comments listed below the settings. To reply to a comment, simply click on ‘Reply’.

3.You can also update your comment settings on this page. If you would like to receive an email every time you receive a comment please toggle this setting to ‘Yes’.

4.  To flag a comment open your poster’s URL in another browser. You’ll be able to interact with it as if you were a visitor rather than an editor. Click on the comment button at the bottom of your poster, then click on ‘Flag’.

5. Return to your previous browser with the editor screen open on it and refresh the page. Open up the comments section again and the flagged comment should now be highlighted in red and you’ll be able to delete it.

6. Any time a comment is flagged you will receive an email notification of this, so that you can log in and review it.

Windows 10/11 and MacOS

1. Click on the ‘Print Poster’ button on the main menu.

2. Your poster content will open in a new webpage. This webpage can be saved as a PDF and printed as needed. Just right click on the page then click on ‘Print’.

3.  Make sure that the Destination is ‘Save as PDF’, then click ‘Save’.

Windows 8

• Using Google Chrome: there’s a built-in PDF print. Select Print, under Destination, click Change and select Save to PDF.
• Using Firefox: To save as PDF, install an extension, e.g. Print Edit or PrintPDF

Schedule a chat session to chat with event participants at your convenience. You can schedule any number of sessions via the iPoster editor. The chat screen can be activated up to 15 mins before the scheduled time. You must log in to your iPoster editor screen and navigate to the scheduled chat in order to activate it. This document is broken into the following two sections:

• Scheduling a chat session
• Activating a chat session

Scheduling a session:

1. Click on the ‘When I’m Available’/’Meeting Times’ button on the control panel in the editor screen. Three options will open below. Click on the ‘Online Chat Sessions’ button.

A Chat Session Schedule screen will open. Click on the green ‘Add New Session’ button. This will open up ‘Chat Settings’.

2. Set the correct Time zone. Upon opening this window for the first time it will be set to your current time zone by default. You can use the drop down to set for another Time Zone (e.g. the Time Zone that the event is using)

3.Set the chat times. Please note these times use a 24 hour clock setting. E.g. If your chat needs to be scheduled for 4:00 PM to 4:20 PM you will need to set the times as 16:00 to 16:20.

Important: If you’re setting your chat time over the midnight hour i.e. from 11:30 PM on 12th Dec to 12:30 AM on the 13th Dec ensure that your date is set to the start time date (12th Dec).

Event attendees will see the date and times according to their own Time Zones.

You can reschedule, delete or add new chat times at any point. The chat time information will be displayed on the Gallery Screen so that meeting attendees and visitors will know when to join.

4. Personalize your Chat Information message.

The Edit Message field contains a default message which will be displayed when visitors click on the CHAT INFO button on your iPoster. You can edit your message here. Be sure to save! You can always go back and change your message.

5. Save your settings before closing the Chat Settings window.

6. To schedule additional chat sessions repeat steps 1-4. You can schedule as many chat sessions as required and edit or delete them as needed.

If you’ve set up and saved your chat times and you’re ready to start your chat with visitors, follow the below steps.

Activating a session

*IMPORTANT. The Chat will not start automatically. You have to start it by clicking on the START CHAT button.

1. Click on the ‘Start Chat’ button of the chat that you want to activate.

Please note: you can start your chat up to 15 mins before the scheduled start time. You can not activate a chat before this or if the scheduled times are in the past. If this is the case then the chat will not be activated.

When you start your chat… visitors will see a JOIN CHAT button on your poster. Once they’ve entered their name and email address, they can enter the chat.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
You will not be able to view other iPosters if you open the Gallery in the same browser that you are using to run your Chat. Please do one of the following:

• Use “Incognito” or “Private” mode to open the Gallery to view other iPosters
• Open the Gallery in a different browser than the one you have used to log in to your iPoster.

When presenting virtually you  have the option to  run your own iPoster video presentation and discussion, using any of the common web-based meeting services like Zoom, WebEx, Microsoft Teams, and others. Many of them have free plans with certain limits to the length of the meeting (often 45-60min) and a maximum number of attendees (usually up to 100). Check them out to find one that fits your needs.

To schedule a video session:

1. Set up a meeting on the meeting platform of your choice, following their specific instructions. Note the URL and password, which you will need to set up the Video Session in your template. Acquaint yourself with the presentation tools that are available.

2. Publish your iPoster. You can still continue to edit it and make any changes and additions you want.

3. Click on the button called ‘When I’m Available’/’Meeting Times’ on the main menu in the editor screen. Three options will open below. Click on the ‘Online Video Sessions’ button.

A Video Session Schedule screen will open. Click on the green ‘Add New Session’ button. This will open up ‘Video Session Settings’.

4.Set the correct Time zone. Upon opening this window for the first time it will be set to your current time zone by default. You can use the drop down to set for another Time Zone (e.g. the Time Zone that the event is using)

5.Set the video session times. Please note these times use a 24 hour clock setting. E.g. If your session needs to be scheduled for 4:00 PM to 4:20 PM you will need to set the times as 16:00 to 16:20.

Important: If you’re setting your video session time over the midnight hour, i.e. from 11:30 PM on 12th Dec to 12:30 AM on the 13th Dec, ensure that your date is set to the start time date (12th Dec).

Event attendees will see the date and times according to their own Time Zones.

6. Fill in the meeting URL and password.

7. Personalize your video session information message. You’ll see that there is a default text in the Session Message box. You can edit this and add a personal message or you can leave it as is.

8. Save your settings before closing the window.

9. To schedule additional video sessions repeat the above steps. You can schedule as many video sessions as required and edit or delete them as needed.

10. Check the video session times. Click on the PREVIEW button on your Main Toolbar. You should see the VIDEO SESSION button at the bottom of your iPoster. Click on the button to see how it will display for visitors.

You can reschedule, delete or add new video sessions at any point. The video session times will be displayed on the Gallery Screen so that meeting attendees and visitors will know when to join.

When you’re ready start your video session:
Give yourself time to prepare before the session starts. We suggest you open the Meeting at least ten or so minutes before the official time so that you can get your screen ready to share and your iPoster in full screen view. Test your microphone and speakers to make sure that you can hear and be heard. Use a headset if possible which will help keep out any background noise.

1.Open the Video Session Schedule. Click on the Go to session button of the session that you want to start. The meeting link will open in a new window.

If you are presenting an iPoster in-person at a conference you may have the option to book in a casual poster session at one of the available screens during any free browsing times. A button will be shown on your poster with a time that you are planning to stand by your poster.  Please note that this feature won’t be available for all conferences.

1. Click on the ‘When I’m Available’ button on the main menu. Then select ‘In Person Sessions’

2. An ‘In-Person Session Schedule’ screen will open. Click on the green ‘Add New Session’ button.

3. Set the meeting times and personalize your message for the scheduled time.

4. Save your settings before closing the window.

5. To schedule additional meeting time repeat steps 1-4. You can schedule as many times as required and edit or delete them as needed.

6. Click on the Preview button on the main menu to check that the

Public comments are enabled by default on both iPosters and PDF+. This means that participants will be able to click on a button on your poster and leave a comment that other  participants can read.

You have the option to turn this feature off, and also respond to, flag and delete comments from your editor. Here’s how.

1. From your Editor page navigate to the Settings button on the main menu. You may need to scroll down in the menu to see this button.

2.In My Settings , navigate to the tab called ‘Comments’. You can see any comments listed below the settings. To reply to a comment, simply click on ‘Reply’.

3.You can also update your comment settings on this page. If you would like to receive an email every time you receive a comment please toggle this setting to ‘Yes’.

4.  To flag a comment open your poster’s URL in another browser. You’ll be able to interact with it as if you were a visitor rather than an editor. Click on the comment button at the bottom of your poster, then click on ‘Flag’.

4. Return to your previous browser with the editor screen open on it and refresh the page. Open up the comments section again and the flagged comment should now be highlighted in red and you’ll be able to delete it.

5. Any time a comment is flagged you will receive an email notification of this, so that you can log in and review it.