Linius was developed, keeping journalists in mind and giving them a easy tool to create visually enticing stories. In cooperation with the Bavarian Broadcasting Network (BR), mc-quadrat developed such a tool which meets the standards and needs of a modern, digital narrative format.
Parts of Linius were built using open-source components. It also consists of parts developed by mc-quadrat which are connected to open-source libraries and software such as PHP, HTML-code, Java-script (hereafter open-source components). On the one hand, we use open-source components for the backend system which runs on WordPress-functionalities.
On the other hand, Linius was built using independently developed components which don’t originate from open-source components. These include CSS, photos and images (hereafter mc-quadrat components). The mc-quadrat components are used for the frontend of Linius.
In accordance with the licence terms by WordPress Foundations, all open-source components are published under the GNU General Public Licence version 3.0 (GPLv3). For further reading on this topic please visit http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0. Accordingly, all rights of use are governed by the licencing terms under GPLv3.
Users are able to acquire the non-exclusive right of use to all mc-quadrat components for an unlimited period of time to the extent agreed upon.
The terms of use for mc-quadrat components may underlie further limitations, for example time, regional and content limitations may be limited to a certain amount of websites. The User has the right to install Linius on a server and use Linius for its intended purpose which is the presentation of multimedia-commentaries on the internet. The licensee is granted the right of use, provided the agreed upon payment is made in full.
A full compilation of our terms of use can be found in our General Terms and Conditions.
Yes! You can purchase Linius. Contact us and receive a non-binding quote.
Yes! Together with our service providers RAIDBOXES we offer professional WordPress hosting, a superfast vServer which is exclusively designed and optimised to work with WordPress. Additionally, you will receive a ready-installed WordPress with a fully configured version of Linius included. This way you don’t need to worry about installing Linius and you can start creating your story straight away. Please indicate your interest when inquiring about Linius.
We offer a super fast and problem-free installation service. However, if you would like to install Linius by yourself, you will receive an email containing a link which will download a ZIP archive containing the complete Linius-theme. Please make sure you have installed WordPress properly on your web server first.
Installing the Linius-theme is super easy:
- UnZIP the ZIP archive
- Upload the folder /linius to your web server using an FTP-client to the WordPress-folder /wp-content/themes/
- WordPress will automatically recognise that a new theme is available. You can activate it by navigating to Design>Themes in your admin area
Tipp: You can upload the ZIP archive directly into Design>Themes by using the Install button
If you are already using WordPress for a website or blog, WordPress will automatically provide Linius as a theme. However, we do recommend using a new installation of WordPress.
Generally, it is possible to run other extensions for WordPress next to Linius. However, compatibility with those extensions can not be guaranteed. Especially plugins which affect the frontend, like picture galleries, will not be compatible with Linius. Extensions which provide additional functionality to the backend, for example to protect your WordPress logins, are less likely to affect compatibility.
Well, of course you can! In the backend of Linius there is an option to apply your own branding under Story>Design and Layout. Please make sure your logo has the proper file size and dimensions as required in the backend.
Yes! Linius has a multi-site-functionality. By activating multi-sites, you will have the option to create and manage multiple stories (instances) with just one installation of the theme. Please follow the instruction provided by WordPress.
If you have made WordPress reachable by a domain http://example.com, you can create a new WordPress site inside the existing domain. Depending on the configuration of your multi-site, you can make your new site reachable based on a path, for example http://example.com/my-site or based on a subdomain, for example http://my-site.example.com.
We recommend always installing your multi-site in the root directory, for example http://example.com or http//story.example.com. Unfortunately, if you have installed your WordPress using the domain http://example.com/story, multi-sites will not be available.
We are happy to support you with setting up your multi-site. Please indicate your interest when inquiring about Linius.
Yes! Twitter Cards are supported. Please fill in all required information under the settings for Story>Social Sharing / SEO. The Twitter Card will then appear on Twitter when the story is shared.
The reason why you see a sad smiley-face after installing Linius and the error message “The story can’t be displayed. Please check the navigation under Story>Navigation” could be because you don’t have any content in your story yet. Please check the following:
- Have all of the pages been created under the menu item “Pages”?
- Have you created a navigation under the menu item “Story” and sorted the pages into the navigation?
If you see a sad smiley-face and the error-message “This story is currently not available. Please try again later.”, please make sure that the page “Example page” automatically created by WordPress is using the Linius theme and Linius’ version is up to date.
Yes, it’s possible to configure your multi-site so that a new WordPress-Instance will have Linius activated automatically. Please follow the following steps:
- Make sure Linius is “activated network-wide” under the menu item Websites>Networksettings>Themes
- For every new instance to use Linius automatically, set the preference variable from your wp-config-php file to:
Define(,WP_DEFAULT_THEME’,,linius’);
We are happy to support you with setting up your multi-site. Please indicate your interest when inquiring about Linius.
Yes, you can create a homepage to chronologically list all of your stories within a multi-story installation.
Because your homepage, for example http://example.com, is the first page of your multi-site installation, you can manage this page individually from your other pages. You can use any theme and define subpages and use those to describe your stories or link them all together.
Yes, the current CSS-code can be overwritten with custom CSS. You will need to install a “custom CSS”-extension for WordPress, for example Custom CSS.
However, we recommend not modifying Linius’ stylesheet, as updates to the theme may result in losing your custom css.
We are happy to provide an individually designed stylesheet with your corporate Design. Please indicate your interest when inquiring about Linius.
After purchasing and installing Linius you will be prompted to input the provided licence key automatically. This way we can make sure your Linius version stays up to date with automatic notifications of WordPress updates.
Alternatively, you can input the licence key directly under the menu item Story>Licence.
Please note that due to technical limitations, providing the licence key in a WordPress multi-site installation is not possible at this time. Alternatively use the update from the download-link provided.
Stories produced with Linius can be told in many different ways. However, every module should contain images in order to make use of Linius’ full-screen capabilities. Features are: Article, audio, picture gallery, hotspots, intro, chapter dividers, magnifier, before and after slider, video, Vimeo- and YouTube-embedding. Some features, like articles and video as well as picture gallery and audio, can be combined. As an extra “goddie” the interactive-module is able to display and integrate any extension such as data visualisations or quizzes. Linius also has a preview-/staging-area as well as interfaces for sharing on social networks.
When producing stories with Linius you can choose between two methods or a combination of both:
You can upload your media directly into the WordPress media library and use them in your individual modules. You can also use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) and reference to these from WordPress.
Audio files need to be converted to the file formats MP3 and OGG-Vorbis. You can use any of the following online services to convert your audio:
MP3: http://audio.online-convert.com/convert-to-mp3
OGG: http://audio.online-convert.com/convert-to-ogg
If you would like to use film footage in your Linius story, your video codecs must have the following specifications: Videos need to be converted to the file formats MP4/H.264 or WebM/V8.
You can also use the following online services to convert your videos:
MP4/H.264: http://video.online-convert.com/convert-to-mp4
WebM/V8: http://video.online-convert.com/convert-to-webm
Your server needs to support all required video codecs. If it doesn’t you will have to modify the .htaccess file in the root directory and add the following lines:
AddType video/mp4 .mp4
AddType video/webm .webm
If you have converted your videos correctly and the setting on your server meet the requirements for Linius but you are still having troubles getting your video to play, you can try the following online encoders to convert your video files:
MP4/H.264: http://video.online-convert.com/convert-to-mp4
WebM/V8: http://video.online-convert.com/convert-to-webm
A storyboard is a great starting point for a successful production – it’s the foundation of your dramaturgical sequence. You’ll also be able to define things like your chapters’ headings and which modules you would like to use. Your storyboard will also determine transitions between modules and the overall length of your story. It’s up to you, how detailed you would like to design your storyboard.
We also offer support with finding the most effective way to use Linius for all your marketing needs. From writing an enticing storyboard to producing the actual content, our competences encompass the entire gamut of professional storytelling.
Yes, of course! Linius offers ways to create Meta- and Open-Graph-Tags right out of the box. You’ll find the options in the backend under Story>Social-Sharing / SEO Settings. Please note that due to technical limitations, your content can’t be indexed at this time.
Linius’ User interface is built on WordPress, the worldwide most used content management system. This way, you can use standard features like the media library, as well as user- and page-management as usual and easily integrate the developed Linius modules into your dramaturgy. Linius was developed keeping in mind ease of use and easy set up.
By using the interactive-module you are able to extend Linius’ list of features by inserting custom source code right into Linius. Use HTML code and CSS to structurally change how some of the module works. If you have a JavaScript code you would like to use, Linius also provides a JQuery framework at runtime.
Yepp, it sure does! Linius was specially built to work on mobile devices. You can read more about this topic in the compatibility table.
Yes! You will receive automatic update notifications from Linius. After installing and activating your licence for Linius, you will be able to see available updates for the Linius theme in the WordPress backend. We recommend backing up before you update!
You can also update Linius manually by downloading the file linius.zip using the download link provided. You can now install the Linius theme by following the instructions as described in the installation section above.
If you use our installation service, you won’t have to worry about setting up Linius and you can start telling your stories straight away. However, you can also install Linius yourself.
You should check if your web-server runs WordPress and meets all the requirements for the installation. You can find a detailed list of requirements in the official WordPress.org documentation. If everything is set up properly, you can easily install Linius as a theme.
