Help
Media Matrix Instructions
:: Table of Contents
- Creating an Account
- System Requirements
- Portal Page
- Loading the Tools
- Editing User Info and Theme
- Finding Media
- Editing and Annotating:
- Media Tree
- Citation Layer
- Groups
- Presentations
- Problems and Support
To begin using MediaMatrix, visit the Create A New Account Page and submit the required information. You will be emailed an activation link that automatically activates your account when clicked on and launched in a browser. If a browser isn't automatically launch when the link is clicked, open a browser and copy and paste the link into it.
You can then go to the MediaMatrix Login Page and login to your account. If you ever forget your password, you can re-set it at the following location.
MediaMatrix is a cross-platform application that works on Windows, OS X, and Linux based computers. Some advanced image features (cropping and resizing), though, currently only work on WIndows-based machines.
In order to work with audio and video materials, the players for that media (Real, Quicktime, Windows Media) must be properly installed on your computer.
Your portal page is the central location for all of Media Matrix's features. It contains a link to your MediaMatrix preferences, links for loading media into the Media Matrix editors, links for editing your media tree and account information, links to create presentations, and the ability to join or visit any of the group pages of which you are a member.
:: Loading the Media Matrix Tools - 2 Methods
Both of these methods launches the exact same MediaMatrix tools except one works through your browser's bookmark feature and the other actually modifies your browser's contextual menu (what pops up when you right click or control click). Both methods can be used in tangent.
Method 1 - Bookmarks
The tools for finding and editing media using Media Matrix are located on your portal page in the "MediaMatrix Browser Tools" section. Each link looks for and loads media types into the appropriate editor. To load these into your browser, you simply need to add them as a bookmark to either your bookmarks/favorites or to your bookmark bar.
- For Internet Explorer for Windows
- Right-click on each link and click on "Add to Favorites." Then click the "Create In" button and select the "Links" folder. Anything put into this folder will appear on your links bar. If you don't want them on the links bar, simply save them into your favorites and the links will appear in your favorites list.
- You can't drag links directly to the toolbar in IE.
- For Firefox or Mozilla for Windows
- Drag the link to the link toolbar or right-click the link and click "Bookmark this Link." You can either place it in the Bookmark Toolbar folder (which will make it appear on the bar) or in the main Bookmarks section.
- For Firefox for OS X
- Drag the link to the link toolbar or right-click the link and click "Bookmark this Link." You can either place it in the Bookmark Toolbar folder (which will make it appear on the bar) or in the main Bookmarks section.
Method 2 - The Installer
At the top of your portal page, you will see an icon for using a "Quick-Click" installation tool to load the MediaMatrix tools into your browser. Mediamatrix will detect the browser you are using and load either the application for:
Internet Explorer 
or Firefox 
Double click the icon on your portal page and this will install the MediaMatrix tools. After restarting your browser, right-click or control-click on any web page and you will see the MediaMatrix Tools now loaded in the menu.
:: Editing User Info and Theme
On your portal page is a link to Edit Your User Info and Theme. This page allows you to change any of your user info and pick a customized color-skin for MediaMatrix. But most importantly it allows you to dictate how your computer handles MP3 and WAV audio files. Since there is no native application for playing these files, you have to pick the application you want to handle the playback of these files. Be careful to select a player that is installed on the computer you are using. If you are not sure which players are installed on your machine, the MediaMatrix Plugin Manager will inform you.
MediaMatrix works with any site on the internet. To load media into the Media Matrix editor, visit any web page that contains the media you want on the page and click the appropriate MediaMatrix bookmark or option from the contextual menu for the kind of media you want ("Find Sound" if you want to load an audio clip, "Find Image" if you want to edit and annotate a particular image, etc...). MediaMatrix searches through the web page you are on and isolates any media files of that type. If it finds one object for that media type (one image, one sound file, etc...), it automatically loads it into the editor. If it finds multiple files for that media type, it lists those files and allows you to preview and select one of the files to load into the editor. To preview a file in the list, click on the text link for the file. To load a file into the editor, click the circle next to the appropriate file and click the "Add" button.
You can also use the contextual menu tool "Add to MediaMatrix" to load a single item into the MediaMatrix editor. To do this put your cursor on the object or the link that launches the object, right or control click the object, and select "Add to MediaMatrix" from the contextual menu. Here, I have put my cursor on an image I want and have dragged down and clicked "Add to MediaMatrix." If the object is also a link to something else, it will ask you if you want the object or the link. Most of the time you will hit cancel which will load the object into the editor (in this case the image). Once the object is loaded into the editor, you are ready to segment and annotate it.
Audio - Once an audio clip is loaded into the editor, you have the ability to segment the clip, create an annotation for the clip, and place this entry in a folder on your media tree.
- Media Player - Media Matrix will embed the proper media player to control the playback of the audio
- Setting Time Offsets
- When you come to a portion of the audio playback you want to isolate, click the "set" button under "start recording" to set the starting point for the clip segment. Click the "set" button under "stop recording" to record the ending point of the clip.
- You can increase/decrease the starting/ending time offsets with the small arrows next to the display boxes. Clicking these increases or decreases the time parameters by 1/10th of a second.
- Reset either of the time offsets by clicking "reset" under the appropriate box and reset the the whole audio file by clicking the "reset source" button.
- Review your segmented audio clip by clicking the "review clip button.
- Creating An Annotation
- Place a title for your segmented audio clip and annotation in the "Title" box. Record your thoughts on the clip in the "Annotation" box.
- Place your new record into an existing folder listed in the "Folder" drop down menu or create a new folder for this clip. You can create a new folder inside an existing folder by selecting an existing folder and then creating a new folder.
Once a video file is located and loaded into the Media Matrix video editor, creating segments and annotations works as described above for audio. The one additional feature is the ability to resize the video playback window. To increase the the size of the video window, place new height and width parameters (measured in pixels) in the appropriate boxes and click "update".
Once an image is loaded into the editor, you have the ability to crop and resize it before loading it onto your portal page.
- To crop an image, place your mouse cursor over the image, hold down your mouse button, and draw a box around the portion of the image you want to retain. A red box will appear on the image where you have drawn it with your mouse. Everything on the outside of the box will be hidden when the image is displayed on your portal page. If the box is incorrect, simply re-draw it or hit the "clear" button and redraw it. You can preview your cropped image by clicking the "preview" button.
- To resize an image, click either the "smaller" or "bigger" button. This will increase or decrease the size of the image as it's displayed in the editor as well as when it's displayed on your portal page. Warning -- increasing the size of an image too much may distort it's appearance.
- Create an annotation and submit the information for this object as described above.
Bookmarks allow you to store a pointer to any page on the internet and record information about that page. Have the page you'd like to bookmark in your browser window and click the "Add Bookmark" link on your toolbar. This will launch the bookmark editor which automatically records the url of the page you are in and places it in the proper location in the editor. Fill in a title to be displayed on your portal page, your thoughts in the annotation field, and any keywords that might apply to this page. These keywords will allow you and others to search through and quickly find site that are bookmarked. File this information in the proper place on your portal and click the "add" button.
Your media tree lists the objects you have collected using Media Matrix Your tree contains folders and objects organized into those folders.
- Click the title of a folder to open it and reveal its contents or close it to hide its contents.
- Clicking the folder icon next to the title activates the folder controls on the left. The folder controls allow you to also open and close the folder as well as edit the folder's properties. Clicking edit allows you to rename the folder, position the folder in a different place on your media tree as well as change how other users access that folder. If "Global Access" is checked, other users will be able to view the contents of that folder when they view your tree. If it is unchecked, the contents will be hidden from public viewing. You can also deleted a folder with the folder controls. WARNING - all of the contents of a folder are deleted when it is deleted.
- Clicking on the title of any object on your media tree will launch the file (audio, video, image) you segmented for that entry.
- Clicking on the icon next to the title displays some brief information about the object and launches the object controls on the left side. These controls allow you to view all the information you've recorded for the object, delete the object, or edit it. If you click edit, the object is loaded back into the appropriate media editor allowing you to make changes to it.
The citation layer allows you to keep information on the nature and projected use each of the digital objects submitted to your media tree.
- To turn on the citation layer, go to your person portal page and click the "Turn on citations" link. The citation layer will automatically appear after you have normally edited a digital object in the Media Matrix editor.
- To re-edit a citation for a digital object, simply click on the entry for that digital object on your media tree and click the "edit" button located in the object controls. This will place the digital object in the editor. Simply hit the update button in the editor and the citation information will appear for editing.
- To view the citation information for an object, simply click on the entry for that object and then the view button located on your object controls.
- When submitting a digital object, you can skip the citation layer even if it is turned on. Before submitting the edited digital object, there is a "Do not use citations" checkbox located directly above the submit button. If this is clicked, it will submit the entry to your tree with a blank citation. You can always enter a citation later by editing that entry through your media tree and unchecking the skip citation box.
- You can turn off the citation layer by clicking the "Turn off citations" link on your personal portal page. This will not delete your citations, just hide them and allow you to submit entries to your portal with no citation. You can re-display existing citations by simply turning on the citation layer again.
A project is a special kind of folder or division in your media tree. Project are specifically used to organize a paper, assignment, or research project. A project asks you to define and think through the purpose of your research before you begin the task at hand. To create a project, simply click the "Create a project" link on your portal page. Fill out the information and click submit. The project will appear on your media tree and is edited like any other object. You can place entries into a project by selecting the project from the folder drop down menu when submitting or editing an object.
Groups are collections of users who use a common workspace to share parts of their media trees. Groups are usually created for academic classes or based around academic interests. You can request the creation of a group by emailing mmatrix@matrix.msu.edu.
- Media Matrix users must be invited to join a group by being sent an access key by the group administrator. Once you have received a key, go to your portal page and find the group you want to join in the "Join Group" drop down menu. Select that group and click the "Join Group" button. You will be asked for the access key - enter the key and press the "join" button.
- You will be taken back to your portal page. The group you just joined will now be listed in the "My Groups" drop down menu. Select the group and click the "Group Page" button. This will take you to the section dedicated to the members of your group.
- View Group Tree - allows you to view the members in your group and the materials they are sharing when you click on their user icon.
- Leave Group - allows you to leave membership in that particular group.
- Change Access - allows you to pick the folder from your media tree you want to share with this group. The materials and sub-folders of the folder you choose will appear on the group tree to all members of the group. No other materials from your tree will appear unless you select the "Full User Tree" which will display all publicly accessible materials in your tree.
MediaMatrix gives you the ability to embed any of the objects you collect from the internet into and online presentation. To create a new presentation, click "Create a Presentation" which is locate in the "User Options" on your portal page. This will open up the Presentation Editor. To create a presentation:
- Author and Title - fill in your name and the title of your paper or presentation.
- Entering Text - Click into the large box under the Author and Title field. You can start entering text as you would with any word processing application. Once text is entered into the box, you can highlight any portion of text and use the bar above the editing box to format or align that text.
- Embedding Objects - To embed an object you have collected from your tree, put your cursor where you want the object to be placed and click the appropriate "Add" button (Add Image, Add Audio, Add Video, Add Bookmark). The objects you've collected will then be displayed. Select the object you want to be inserted and click "Add Media." The object will be placed on the page and will be a live link to the full display of playback of the object (the link will only work after you save it).
- When you are happy with your presentation, click the "Add" or "Hand In" button at the bottom of the page:
- Add - Add saves the presentation to your media tree
- Hand In - Saves the presentation to your media tree AND allows you to hand in the assignment for an assignment created by one of your groups. NOTE - when you click "Hand In," you must then select the assignment you want to hand it in for.
- You can edit a presentation by clicking on its icon on your media tree and clicking "edit" in the controls menu.
If you experience any problems or have questions about Media Matrix, please submit them via our feedback page.