Reel That In: User Guide

1Quick start

1. Save something. Share a link from any app into Reel That In, or press Add new and paste a link or write some text. It lands in your inbox.
2. Organize it. In List view, give it tags. In Map view, drag it from the inbox onto the map to pin it where you will remember it.
3. Find it again. Type in the search bar, or filter the map by tag.

Everything is saved on your device first and synced to your account when you are online, so it works with no connection too.

The main ideas

2Accounts & signing in

Reel That In works with or without an account, but an account is what lets your saved items, tags and maps follow you across every device.

Creating an account

1. Choose Sign up from the header (or the login page).
2. Either enter your name, email and a password of at least 8 characters, or choose Continue with Google or Continue with Facebook.

Signing in on a new device

Log in with the same details. Everything you saved, including your tags, pins and notes, syncs down automatically.

Forgot your password?

On the login page choose Forgot password?, enter your email, and follow the link we send you to choose a new one. The link works once and expires after a short time. If you are already signed in, you can change your password from My profile.

Logging out

Open the account menu and choose Log out. This signs you out on this device only.

3Using it without an account

You can try Reel That In straight away without signing up. A guest keeps links, tags and map pins on this device, so you can explore everything about saving and organizing. A banner at the top reminds you that you are browsing as a guest, with a Log in button.

• Some features need an account and show Log in to access this feature when you try them. Notes, sharing, importing and feedback are examples.
• Guest data lives in this browser only. Clearing the browser's site data can remove it.

4Installing as an app (PWA)

Reel That In is a Progressive Web App. It installs like a native app, with its own icon and window and the ability to receive content shared from other apps, yet it is delivered from the web with no app-store download. Once installed it also works offline: anything you have already loaded stays available, and anything you add while offline syncs the next time you are connected.

Updates

The app updates itself in the background. If something looks out of date after an update, close and reopen it.

5Sharing into Reel That In from other apps

Once installed, Reel That In appears as a share target on your device. From almost any app (a browser, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, a news app) you can send a link, text or an image straight to your inbox without opening Reel That In first.

On Android

1. In the other app, tap its own Share button.
2. Choose Reel That In from the share sheet (you may need to scroll the list).
3. The item is saved to your inbox, ready to be tagged or pinned next time you open the app.

On iPhone and iPad

It works the same way through the iOS Share Sheet, after Reel That In has been added to your Home Screen (see Installing as an app).

If you open the share screen with nothing to save, you are told so and can go home with one tap. Anything you share stays safe in the inbox until you file it.

6Adding links and text

You do not have to use the share sheet. Press Add new in the inbox (Map view) or + Add new at the top of List view.

1. Choose whether you are adding a URL or Text.
2. Paste the address (it must start with http:// or https://) or write your text (up to 10,000 characters).
3. Optionally add a title. If you leave it blank, the page's own title is used.
4. Pick any tags by tapping them, or create a new tag on the spot. Tags are optional.
5. Press the save button.

Links fetch a preview picture and title in the background, so a new card may fill in a moment after you save it. An item with no tags lands in the inbox and shows under Uncategorized in List view.

You can also add an image from a folder's own page (see List view).

7Importing from a CSV file

Moving from a spreadsheet, a bookmarks export or another tool? Import many links at once. You need to be logged in.

1. Open the add sheet (Add new) and choose Import from CSV.
2. Choose your .csv file. Commas, semicolons and tabs are all recognized.
3. Check the column mapping. We guess which column is the URL, title, text and tags, and you can change each one or choose (none).
4. Review the summary: how many links and text items are ready, and how many were skipped. Then press Import.

A simple file looks like this:

url,title,tags
https://www.google.com,Google,search
https://www.google.com/maps,Google Maps,"search, travel"

• Up to 500 rows and 5 MB per file. Rows beyond the limit are skipped.
• Rows that are duplicates of something you already saved, or that have no valid URL, are skipped, and the summary says how many.
• Tags in the file can be created for you automatically, if you tick that option.
• Imported items go to your inbox. Link previews fill in shortly afterwards.

8Header & navigation

The header gives you quick access to the core tools:

The welcome screen

The first time you visit (or when you press the logo) you see two cards: Open Map view and Open List view. At the bottom are links to the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Contact, Feedback and LinkedIn.

9The inbox

The inbox is the landing strip for everything you save before you decide where it belongs. It runs along the bottom of Map view, so it is always in reach.

• Anything shared into Reel That In from another app lands here first.
• Anything you add with Add new and no tags also lands here, as does anything imported from a CSV file.
• Drag a card onto the map to pin it at a specific spot, or tap it to open it and choose a tag without placing it on the map.
• On touch screens, press and drag a card the same way you would drag it with a mouse.
• The ✕ on a card moves it to Trash.
• To take a pin off the map, drag it back onto the inbox. If it has shortcuts, you are asked first, because moving the original removes them.

10List view: tags & folders

List view is the traditional way to browse. Everything you saved is grouped into sections, each with a count.

What you see

• Items (folders): if you have folders, each is a section with its icon, name and item count. Tap the name to open the folder's own page, where you can add items, including images, to it. The bin deletes it (only when it is empty).
• Tags: one section per tag, listing every item that carries it. The pencil next to a tag opens Manage tags where you can create, rename or delete tags. Deleting a tag removes it from everything it was on and cannot be undone.
• Uncategorized: items that have no tags and no folder.

Working with items

• Tap an item to open it. See Pins in detail for the detail sheet.
• Edit (pencil) changes the title, URL or text and the tags. You can also tick Hide this item on the map view, which keeps it off the map, and off any shared map link, without unpinning it.
• Drag a row onto another tag or folder section to refile it, or onto Uncategorized to clear its tags. This works with touch as well as a mouse.
• Delete (bin) asks you to confirm, then moves the item to Trash. Its shortcuts go with it.
• Press + New tag to create a tag. You cannot have two tags with the same name.

11Map view

Map view is what makes Reel That In different from a normal bookmark tool. Instead of a flat list, your saved items live as pins on a pannable, zoomable map. Many people find this a more memorable way to organize: group ideas by place, by visual layout, or by whatever arrangement feels natural.

Placing a pin

• Drag a card from the inbox onto the map and drop it where you want the pin.
• On touch screens, press and drag an inbox card.
• Press Add new to add something and place it directly.

When you place a pin, a short sheet lets you:

• Choose its picture: tap the circle and pick an emoji or icon (the picker has a search box), or leave it and use the link's own preview picture or a letter avatar.
• Set a title. Optional.
• Choose tags, or create one on the spot. Optional.

If there is already a pin very close to that spot you are warned, so pins do not hide each other. You can place it anyway.

Moving, resizing and panning

• Drag a pin to move it.
• Drag empty space to pan.
• Zoom with a scroll wheel, trackpad pinch, two-finger pinch, or the + and − buttons.
• Resize: the two size buttons make all pins bigger or smaller. Select one pin first and they resize just that one. The ✕ button then deselects it, so the buttons affect all pins again.
• The other toolbar buttons are zoom to fit all pins, 1:1 (reset to the default view) and fit whole map image (show your custom map uncropped).

Previewing

Hold the mouse over a pin for a preview card with its picture, title and tags.

12Pins in detail

Tap a pin, or a row in List view, to open its detail sheet. Press and hold a pin for about half a second to open it too.

• Open the link in a new tab. On a pin you can also double-click a link to open it straight away.
• Edit: change the title, tags and, for a pin, its picture.
• Notes: read and add notes. See Notes.
• Create shortcut: place another copy elsewhere. See Shortcuts.
• Delete: move it to Trash.

Text items show their full text in the sheet. Items you do not own, for example in a map shared with you, are read-only unless the owner allowed adding.

13Shortcuts: one item, pinned in several places

Sometimes the same item belongs in more than one spot. A shortcut is a second pin that stays linked to the original: edit the title, tags or content on either one and both change.

1. Open the original pin's detail sheet.
2. Choose Create shortcut.
3. Tap the spot on the map where the second pin should go. You can cancel placement before you tap.

14Search & filtering

The same search bar works in List view and Map view. Its hint reads What are you looking for?

• Type to filter by title, URL, text or tag name. Matching items stay visible and the rest dim.
• Matches inside saved notes are found too, a moment later while that search runs.
• Press Enter or the search button to jump to the first match: the map pans and zooms to it, or List view scrolls to it. If nothing matches you see No matches.

In Map view, the tag filter next to the search bar shows only the pins with one tag. Choose All to clear it. The search bar and tag filter appear in Map view once there is at least one pin on the map.

15Notes

Notes let you, and anyone you have shared your map with, leave written context on a pin. You need to be logged in to add notes.

• Open a pin and choose Notes. The sheet lists the notes on that pin and has a box for a new one.
• Format with bold (Ctrl+B), italic (Ctrl+I), underline (Ctrl+U), bulleted and numbered lists, links (Ctrl+K) and images from a link. Use the Remove link button to undo a link.
• A note can be up to 2,000 characters.
• You can edit and delete your own notes. Deleting asks you to confirm.
• Notes need a connection. Offline you are told so.
• When you share a map you decide what viewers can do with notes: read and add, read only or can't see notes. See Sharing your map.

16Trash

Deleting an item from List view, Map view or a detail sheet never removes it immediately. It goes to Trash first.

• Open Trash from the account menu to see what you have deleted recently.
• Restore puts an item back where it was, with its folder, tags and position. You are told where it went.
• Delete permanently removes one item for good. Empty trash removes everything in it.
• Items are removed for good automatically after 30 days.

17Sharing your map

You can give someone a link that lets them open your map, or just part of it, without needing your login. Sharing requires an account.

Creating a share link

1. In Map view, press the Share map icon in the header.
2. Optionally name the link so you can recognize it later, for example For Mom.
3. Choose what to share. Leave all tags unchecked to share your whole map, or tick specific tags (and Uncategorized) to share only those.
4. Set Who can use it: the number of people who can claim the link, from 1 to 1,000. The default is one person.
5. Set what they can do with your notes: Read & add notes, Read notes only or Can't see notes.
6. Press Create share link and copy the address to send it.

How a link is claimed

The first person to open the link claims one of its places. Once every place is taken, the link no longer works for anyone new and shows This link has already been claimed by someone else. People who already claimed it keep access.

Changing what is shared

Re-open the sharing panel to change the shared tags, update the notes permission, or Revoke link. You can see how many links you have made for the map, with a shortcut to manage them.

Only the map owner can manage sharing. A pin you hid with Hide this item on the map view is never shown in a shared map.

18Managing share links

Open Map shared & received from the account menu. It has two lists.

Your map links

For each link you have made you can see its name, a copy button, how many places are claimed (for example 2 of 3 claimed, with the claimants' email addresses), and when it was created.

• Edit opens the link's settings. Change How many people can use this link (it cannot go below the number who have already claimed it) and save.
• Delete removes the link. Everyone who has it loses access.

Shared with me

Every map someone has shared with you, with the sender's name. Open shows it in a window. Stop sharing removes it from your account; you would need a new link from the owner to get back in.

19Opening a map shared with you

Open the link you were sent. A window shows the owner's map, titled Viewing [name]'s shared map, with the same zoom and fit buttons as your own map.

• Logged in: opening the link claims it for your account. It then appears under Shared with me and is yours to reopen any time.
• Not logged in: you can still view it as a guest. A banner shows how many days you have left to log in or sign up, after which access is lost.
• You can read pins and hold the mouse over them for previews. Notes follow the permission the owner chose.
• If the owner allowed it, you can also add a link or text to the shared map.
• Close the window with the ✕ at its top.

If you see This map link is invalid or has been revoked, ask the owner for a new link.

20Profile & account menu

Tap your avatar in the header to open the account menu.

My profile

• Name: edit it and save.
• Email: enter the new address. Your email changes only after you open the confirmation link we send to it.
• Password: enter your current password, then the new one (at least 8 characters) twice.

21Map settings & custom map

Open Map settings from the account menu.

Custom map

Replace the default world map with your own SVG image: a floor plan, a diagram, an illustration, a mind map, a poster. Anything that can be saved as an .svg file works.

1. Press Choose SVG file.
2. Press Save my memory map.

• Only SVG files are accepted. If its size cannot be read, default proportions are used.
• Pins keep their positions. If the new image has different proportions they may no longer line up.
• Switch back to default map restores the world map.
• Open your map at least once before changing it.
• People you share your map with see your custom map too.

Map brightness

Dim or brighten the map background with the − and + buttons. This is a per-device preference. Anyone you share a link with always sees the map at its default brightness.

22Notifications

Reel That In can send a quiet push notification to your other signed-in devices when something changes, such as a new pin, an edited link or a new note, so every device stays in sync.

1. Open the account menu and switch Notifications on.
2. Your browser or device asks permission to show notifications. Allow it.

• The setting is per device. You can have it on for your phone and off for your computer.
• If the menu says Blocked in browser settings, allow notifications for the site in your browser and try again.
• On iPhone and iPad, the menu says Add to Home Screen to enable until the app is installed (see Installing as an app).
• If your browser does not support push notifications, the option is not shown.

23Gestures & shortcuts

24Privacy & security

• Your map and saved items are private by default. Only you can see them unless you create and send a share link.
• A share link has a fixed number of places and each is claimed by one person's account or guest session. You can revoke or delete any link at any time from Map shared & received, which cuts off access immediately.
• Guest data stays in your browser until you create an account.
• We do not sell personal information and we do not show advertising. We use simple usage analytics that count actions (for example placing a pin) without recording the content you save.

For full details, see our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. To ask for a copy of your data or to delete your account, write to admin@reelthat.in.

25Feedback & support

We read every message. You can send one from:

• Send feedback in the account menu, or
• the Feedback link at the bottom of the welcome screen, or
• the button below, which opens the app with the feedback form ready.

Choose a topic (a problem report, a suggestion or a question), describe it in as much detail as you can (up to 2,000 characters) and send. You need to be logged in; if you are not, you are asked to log in first. Your account's email address is added automatically so we can reply, so there is no email box to fill in. To prevent misuse, the number of messages per hour and per day is limited.

Send feedback

You can also write to admin@reelthat.in.

26Troubleshooting

I cannot log in, or the login page keeps coming back.

Check your email and password, or use Forgot password?. If you use Google or Facebook, use the same button each time. If the app looks stuck on an old version, close and reopen it, or clear the site's data in your browser and sign in again.

I do not see the search bar or tag filter.

In Map view they appear once there is at least one pin on the map. In List view they are always available.

I deleted something by accident.

Open Trash from the account menu and restore it. It returns to where it was, as long as it is within 30 days.

Can I use Reel That In on more than one device?

Yes. Log into the same account anywhere and everything syncs, including changes made offline, which sync the moment you are back online.

My share link does not work for the person I sent it to.

Check how many people it allows in Map shared & received. If every place is claimed, increase the number or create a new link. If you revoked or deleted the link, it will say it is invalid or revoked.

A pin I hid is not on the shared map.

That is intended. Hide this item on the map view keeps an item off the map and off every shared map link. Untick it in the item's Edit sheet to bring it back.

My custom map was refused.

It must be an .svg file with a readable size. Re-export it as SVG from your design tool.

My pins no longer line up with my new map.

Pins keep their positions when the map changes. Drag them to where you want them, or switch back to the default map.

Link previews are missing.

Some sites do not provide a preview picture, or block automated visits. You get a letter avatar instead. The link still works.

Notifications are not working on my iPhone.

Add Reel That In to your Home Screen from Safari's Share Sheet first (see Installing as an app). iOS only allows push notifications for installed apps.

Notes will not load or post.

Notes need a connection and a logged-in account. If the owner of a shared map set notes to read-only or hidden, you will see that message instead.

Still stuck?

Press Send feedback in the account menu, or write to admin@reelthat.in and tell us what you were doing.