Memorial User Instructions
Memorial likely does more than you think. We hope this page answers questions you might have about setting up, using, and sharing Memorial. Here's how it works:
Setup 🔧⚙️
Step 1, open the box your Memorial tile came in.
Each Memorial is individually boxed, and every tile is unique. Unwrap and unbox your beautiful Memorial tile.
Step 2, open your phone camera and scan your tile.Open the camera on your phone or tablet, and point it at the QR code on the tile. Your device will recognize the code and display a clickable link on your screen.
Step 3, tap the link that appears on your screen.Tap the link that appears on your screen. You’ll be taken directly to the Memorial setup process online.
Step 4, sign in or sign up.If you’ve not created an account at Audiobiography, you’ll need to do that now. It’s free and fast. If you have already created an account, but are not signed into your account, enter your email and password to sign in. If you’ve already created an account and are signed into that account on your device’s web browser, we’ll recognize that, and you’ll skip the sign in / sign up process altogether. You’ll head to step 5 automatically.
Step 5, answer the basic setup questions.
Add a name, birth and death dates (or if no death date, you can type "present" into the field), and a profile picture. Any information entered during setup can be changed at any time. Profile pictures, names, dates, are all editable by you if you are the account owner. And that's it. Setup is complete and it’s time to add tributes and share the Memorial page with friends and family so they can also contribute.
Adding Co-owners 🧍♀️🧍🧍♂️
We call the person or people who own the Memorial tile or who are primarily responsible for it “owners”. Only owners can add or edit profile information, add an obituary, or edit, rearrange, or delete tributes. Think of owners as administrators who have access to do anything.
Adding an Obituary 📝
Once you arrive at the Memorial page, you’ll see a button that says “Edit Obituary”. Click it. That will make the field below editable. Copy and paste the obituary there, and format the paragraphs appropriately, etc. Once you’re done adding the obituary content, click “Save Obituary”
Adding Tributes 💌 📱📷 🎥 🎤 🎙 ❤️
To add a tribute of any kind, click the “Add a Memory or Tribute” button. This opens what we call the Tribute Builder. The first thing you’ll need to do is make sure your name is at the top, and fill in the “relation to” field. Our users have found it important to know the relationship of the person providing the tribute, so for now, this is a required field.
All pictures, videos, written tributes, and audio recordings are added through the Tribute Builder. Although you can add every type of content at once in the same tribute, let’s talk about these one at a time.
Pictures
You can add any number of pictures to any tribute. After tapping the “Add a Memory or Tribute” button and filling in your name and relation, just click “Add photos”. If you’re on your computer, it will open up your file explorer to find and add photos. If you’re on a smart device it will give you the option to take photos, or add them from your existing library.
Photos are added with the first added appearing on the left, and then moving right for each subsequent photo added, just like Instagram. Unlike Instagram which limits you to ten photos, Memorial has no limits. We’ve seen single tributes with over a hundred photos!
Editing Pictures - Pro Tip - Please Read!
Hit the pencil button on the bottom right of the photo while you’re inside the Tribute Builder to reveal editing options. There are three things you can do to the pictures you add to Memorial. First is deleting. Just tap the trash can. Second is rotating. Sometimes your library will store a phone in a direction you don’t prefer. Hit the rotate button to fix it. And third, is cropping or preserving the original photo dimensions. When we load photos into Memorial, we crop, just like instagram, to provide the best viewing experience. But! If our cropping hurts the integrity of the photo (say it crops away faces or some other key part of the photo), it’s better to preserve the original aspect ratio. Simply tap the aspect ratio button to keep your picture exactly in its original form.
Videos
All videos in Memorial have to be on YouTube. We embed YouTube videos beautifully within the tribute. Instead of uploading videos themselves, simply tap the Add Video URLs button, enter the YouTube URL into the field where we ask for it, and save it. Videos appear right alongside photos within the tribute if you choose to add photos and videos to the same tribute.
Written Tributes
You can write as much as you want for any tribute. You can either type as you go, or copy and paste your copy right into the “Write as much as you’d like here” field.
Audio Messages
You can record up to ten minutes of real-time audio, or upload audio files of any length. To add an audio message, open the Tribute Builder and tap the red “Record a message” button. If you’re on a smart device, we’ll ask you to allow the microphone. Say yes. Be sure to keep your screen active as you record. If you are adding tributes from a laptop or desktop, we will not ask to use the microphone as it should automatically be found by your computer or laptop.
To upload an audio file, tap the “Tap here to upload an audio clip” button / link, and find the file you wish to upload.
Making Tributes Private 🔐
If you are an owner, you can make any tribute private, meaning only those who request access will be able to view it, if you grant them access. To make a tribute private, tap the three vertical dots to the top right of any tribute. This will open a menu with options which include “Make this tribute private”. Once you tap that button, a lock will appear at the top right of the tribute, letting you know it has been secured behind your privacy wall. Read on to see how private content is viewed.
Viewing Private Tributes 👀
When you make tributes private, anyone who visits the Memorial, will see a note that says “This Memorial has tributes that have been marked as Private Content. To view the content, Request Access from the owner.” alongside a button that says “Request Access”. Tapping the Request Access button will cause the user to either sign in, or sign up if they haven’t already. When access is requested, you’ll see a “Manage Private Access” button appear on the Memorial page (this is only visible to owners). To grant access, tap “Manage Private Access” to see who the request is from. Then click either “Remove” or “Allow”. You can make changes at any time (say down the road you want to remove someone’s private access).
Editing Tributes ✏️
Tributes can only be edited by owners or by the person who added the tribute. Tap the three vertical dots at the top right of any tribute to edit it. This opens the Tribute Builder, and allows you to make edits to any of the content. Click save when you’re done, and your edits will be live.
Rearranging Tributes 🛻
Tributes can be rearranged by owners. Tap the three vertical dots at the top right of any tribute, and then tap “Move Tribute Up” or “Move Tribute Down”. If the tribute is already in the top most position, you’ll only see Move Tribute Down. If it’s in the bottom most position, you’ll only see Move Tribute Up. Once you’re done moving tributes up or down into their desired position, click save and the page will remain locked into the position you rearranged it into.
Deleting Tributes ❌
Owners can delete any tribute, and a user who creates a tribute can delete their own tribute. Tap the three vertical dots at the top right of the tribute to open the menu. Then tap “Delete tribute”. We’ll ask if you’re sure :)
Linking More than One Memorial Together 🚃🚃
It’s fairly common to have more than one Memorial linked. You can imagine one Memorial tile at the headstone itself, and another on your mantle at home or displayed somewhere else. But of course you want them both to lead to the same place. But how can this happen if every tile is unique? It’s actually super easy, but you do need to email us at support@audiobiography.com and let us know. We can link any number of unique Memorials to the same page, creating a seamless experience. It’s super simple, but we don’t provide the linking interface inside user accounts. Once Memorials are linked, they become indistinguishable from each other. Meaning you can scan any Memorial in any location and have the exact same experience whether you are an owner or not.
Sharing Memorial ❤️
Ok, I have to say, this is our favorite part. Memorial pages grow and become full of love when they are shared. And no, you do not need to be in person with the tile to experience Memorial. It can be shared worldwide with family and friends instantly. To share Memorial, head to the Memorial page and tap the Share button. This will copy the link for you, and if you’re on a smart device, it will open up options for sharing (text, email, social media, etc). We’ll automatically place the unique link into whatever application you choose. If you’re on a computer or laptop, clicking the Share button will copy the link onto your clipboard. From there, simply open your messages, social media, email, etc., and paste the link to share it with anyone, family groups, etc. Since there is no app to install, family and friends can begin viewing content and adding their own tributes immediately, worldwide, from any computer, laptop, phone, tablet, or other connected device.
Installing Memorial onto a Headstone 🛠
Memorial can be installed either by adhering it to the outside of a Headstone or other memorial, or by inlaying it into it. Your Memorial tile comes with outdoor double sided adhesive already attached to the back. You can simply wipe the surface clean, remove the adhesive backing, and press Memorial into position and hold it for 60 seconds for a permanent bond. We recommend also applying clear silicone around the edges of the plaque.
Alternatively, your headstone shop can blast an inlay for the tile to rest inside. It normally looks best inlaid about half the depth of the tile. A quarter inch or so. In this case, your monument shop will apply their own epoxy to the inlay and press the Memorial tile into place.
OK, there you have it. Reach out to support@audiobiography.com with any questions at all. We're here for ya!
- The Team at Audiobiography