Publishing a Tour

Publishing a tour makes the latest version available to visitors. Any changes made in the Tour Editor remain invisible to visitors on Podcatchers and other devices until published.

Video: from the Platform to every Podcatcher

When does a change reach your Podcatchers? Publish or Publish & Sync, the Basecamp, devices that are in use, and checking Available Podcatchers.

Transcript

1. 0:00 Tours are edited in the Guide-ID Platform: new audio, a new stop, or a beacon linked to an existing stop. While these changes are being made, nothing changes on the Podcatchers. Visitors keep hearing the version that is live.
2. 0:15 When the changes are complete, the tour is published. The new version is then ready in the cloud.
3. 0:22 The Basecamp downloads the new version over the internet. There are two ways to publish.
4. 0:28 With Publish, the download takes place at the daily sync time, which is set in the Platform, preferably after closing time. With Publish and Sync, the download starts within a minute.
5. 0:40 The Basecamp then synchronises the changes to every Podcatcher in its slots. During synchronisation, the LED ring pulses orange. It turns green once the Podcatcher is up to date.
6. 0:54 Podcatchers that are not in the Basecamp are not synchronised. They keep the previous version, so for a while, not every visitor hears the same tour.
7. 1:04 Once a Podcatcher is back in the Basecamp, it is synchronised at the next sync round, within about fifteen minutes.
8. 1:12 If a Podcatcher is taken out during synchronisation, the LED ring turns orange and the Podcatcher does not play any audio.
9. 1:21 Back in the Basecamp, the synchronisation is completed automatically at the next round.
10. 1:28 On the Hardware page, Available Podcatchers shows how many Podcatchers already have the latest version.
11. 1:35 For a smooth update, keep these recommendations in mind.
12. 1:47 From the Platform, to every Podcatcher.

Publishing States

A tour shows one of these states:

• Tour has never been published: The tour has not yet been made available.
• Tour is unpublished: The tour was published before but is currently not accessible to visitors.
• Published and up to date: The current content is live and matches what visitors receive.
• Tour has changed since it was last published: The tour has been modified since the last publish — republish to push the changes.

How to Publish

1. Navigate to your tour and locate the Publishing options button in the top-right of the tour page.

2. Click this button to open the publishing dialog.

3. If the tour has stops with missing audio, the dialog warns you before publishing. You can choose to fix the issues or publish anyway.

4. Click Publish or Publish & Sync to start publishing. The dialog shows a QR code you can use to test the tour on the PWA.

5. Once publishing is complete, the status changes to Published and up to date.

Viewing Tour Status

After publishing, the dialog confirms the tour is up to date. You can unpublish the tour at any time to make it unavailable to visitors.

Synchronization Note

Podcatcher Pro devices get the new version through the Basecamp. With Publish, the Basecamp downloads it at its daily sync time, usually after opening hours; with Publish & Sync, it starts within a minute. The Basecamp then copies the changes to every Podcatcher Pro in its slots. Devices that are out with visitors are updated once they are back in the Basecamp, within about 15 minutes. A device taken out in the middle of a sync shows an orange ring and does not play until it has finished syncing in the Basecamp.

Related articles

• Adjusting Tour Settings — change devices, languages, and scoring
• Activate PWA — enable mobile web access for your tour
• Tips and Tricks — complete tour checklist before going live
• Hardware Management — monitor sync and device status