Contest: Find Hidden New Feature, Win a 1-Year Pro Subscription!

We're ready to release a new feature in the Prezi editor this week, and we want you to name it.
Oh…and for the sake of excitement, you have to find the new feature by exploring the online Prezi editor. We'll give you a hint: it's not a spectacular something, still it will be very important in the future.

Rules:

To enter the contest, add the following experimental extension to any prezi URL: http://prezi.com/************/edit/experimental/guess-what

Every contest needs a reward, right? So, the first Prezi author to send an email to contest@prezi.com with a screenshot, name for the feature and a short feature description will win a 1-year Prezi Pro upgrade!

The contest starts now. It lasts for one week only, so start zooming! We accept submissions between 00:00 Monday March 15. PST and 00:00 Monday March 22. PST.

The winner will be introduced in the next Prezi newsletter at the end of the month, and also here on the blog. We'll post hints to our Twitter account @prezi two times during the contest, so keep your eyes open!

New: Full Control Over YouTube Videos

Embedding videos to a presentation can give extra value to a talk. Film is indubitably the most powerful story telling tool, choosing to present your ideas with the aid of an embedded video can add a dramatic effect to your topic. We kept this in mind when we have developed YouTube integration to Prezi. Many presentation tools can handle video files, you can upload them from your hard drive to the presentation. With Prezi, you can do this too of course. However it was a logical step for Prezi - an online presentation tool - to go beyond this approach and offer a much simpler and faster solution.

Embedding YouTube videos to prezis opens new possibilities for the presenter. You just need to create a new textbox by double clicking the canvas, then paste a YouTube video URL and press OK. That's it. Should it be a spectacular ballroom presentation that you have created to stun your audience, or a business meeting where you need to deliver hardcore data and information, this option always comes handy.

Our recent upgrade allows you to play, pause, adjust and control the volume of embedded YouTube videos right in the editor or in show mode while you present. Prezi's new navigation bar for YouTube videos is a feature we have just released, so check the screencast below, and try it out with your editor now!

Feature Release: New Prezi Editor

Less menus, more options. Easier text editing, upgraded Transformation Zebra and YouTube integration: the new editor has half the menus of its predecessor, while it has more features and a welcome video as a bonus.

See the complete feature list and changes after the jump. For detailed feature introduction, see the updated Prezi Manual or watch a prezi of all the changes complete with keyboard shortcuts!



Edit Mode:

1. Text and Place modes have been merged into a single bubble called Write.


2. Double click anywhere on the canvas to create new texts or edit existing ones.


3. Click any object once to select it and use the Transformation Zebra tool.


4. Text and paragraph styles are now shown and can be switched when a textbox is created/edited.


5. Import YouTube videos by double-clicking to open a textbox, then paste in the YouTube video's link.

Show Mode:

1. Use Show mode to navigate and present your prezi.


2. In Show mode all the menus, including the main menu, are set to autohide, and appear when you move your mouse near them.


3. Use the UP and DOWN arrow, your scrollwheel, or the Zoom buttons for zooming while presenting, but not SPACEBAR, since it is the mode switcher key now. Press SPACEBAR while Editing to quit a submenu, press again to switch to Show mode, and again to switch back. You can do this forever, or even just hold down SPACEBAR, to enter Show mode temporarily as long as you release the key. Takes longer to describe than to do it: just go ahead and try it now.


4. Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to step forward and backward while presenting.


5. Full screen now can be reached from the Show menu as well as from the bottom-right Navigation tools.

Transformation Zebra:

There is a new button, a + sign, on Prezi's emblematic editing tool indicating a new sub-menu: Bring Forward (previously Up), Send Backward (previously Down), Duplicate, Delete and Select more (add new objects to a group selection).


Path:

1. Pressing Path will enable you to add an object to your path right away.


2. Press Delete All to delete the whole path.


3. New feature: Capture View, indicated by a camera icon, creates a bracket frame from the current view, and adds it to the end of the path.

Name changes:

1. Style is now Colors & Fonts.


2. Line menu is now called Shapes. You can find Shapes under the Insert menu.


3. Media menu is now called Insert. You can upload a file to your prezi under Insert menu.

Hotkey changes:

1. Pressing SPACEBAR serves as a toggle between Show and Edit mode. If you are in a sub-menu, pressing SPACEBAR takes you back to the main Bubble menu.


2. Pressing and holding SPACEBAR will take you temporarily to Show mode. While there, you can navigate or click with the mouse, or use the LEFT/RIGHT arrows to move back and forth in the path the path. When you release SPACEBAR, you get back to Edit mode.


3. ESC serves to remove fullscreen, if applicable.


4. In Show mode the LEFT and RIGHT keys will move you on the path backward and forward respectively. UP and DOWN keys will zoom in and out. Zooming out with the DOWN arrow works as Smart Zoom: it brings you up to the next largest enclosing or crossing frame object.


5. There are new shortcuts for some of the menu functions. The Frames menu can be reached by pressing 'F'. Pressing 'S' takes you to Shapes menu. Loading a file is possible by pressing 'L' and Path menu can be reached by pressing 'P'.


6. You can use CTRL+D for duplicating an object, and you can use CTRL+Z, CTRL+Y and CTRL+S for Undo, Redo, Save respectively.

Other:

1. Easy to reach Zoom Buttons help you at the right edge of the canvas.


2. Undo/Redo, Save and Exit are now in the upper right corner, together with Help.


3. There is a friendly welcome video when you open the new editor for the first time: it helps you get up and running in 3 minutes.

Feel free to play around with the new editor while retaining access to the old editor. You can choose which one to work with till February 8 -- to avoid the stress of learning new features and names just before an upcoming presentation. On Feb 8, the old editor will permanently retire, and will have a nice poster in the Prezi Hall of Fame. Beware: once a YouTube video has been inserted, you can only open and edit your prezi with the new editor. We're excited to get your feedback!

New Release Features: Educational License, Reuse, Learn Center

Besides the new editor, we introduce three additional features today:

1. Educational license: long-awaited feature requested by students and educators.


2. Prezi Reuse: share a copy of your prezis with others to use as a template.


3. New learn center: multimedia lessons and a community space to share your thoughts.

See how these shiny new things work after the jump!

Educational License

In response to a growing demand, (read the open letter to the Prezi CEO, demanding a school license) we developed an educational license pack. Students and teachers can now create private prezis for free. They can have Prezi Desktop at a special price. Upon verification of student/teacher identity, Prezi EDUEnjoy is free and Prezi EDUPro comes with a special educational discount.

If you are a teacher/student and already use Prezi:

Have a Public account? - upgrade to EDUEnjoy for free.

Have an Enjoy account? - upgrade to EDUPro for free! (Enjoy and EDUPro have the same price: $59. As an Enjoy user, you need to provide your credit card data to buy EDUPro, since it's a different product. You can start using it straight away without being charged. In accordance with our recurring payment system, you will be charged $59 when your current license expires).

Have a Pro account? - You can switch to EDUPro once your current license expires. Cancel your subscription by hitting the "Cancel" button on your settings page. You can use your current account during the remaining time of the year. Once it expires, go and sign up for EDUPro!

Prezi Reuse

This new feature allows you to offer a copy of your prezis to everyone for content remixing. If you have a Public license, the reuse option is checked by default when you create a new prezi. Of course, you can uncheck it with a click to keep your content from being accessible by others. If you have an Enjoy or Pro license, you can share your published prezis for reuse by marking the dedicated checkbox. You can find prezis offered for remix in the reuse library.

Save a copy of interesting prezis, and use them as templates for your own work!

Why will you like this?

1. It's easier to get inspired as you play around with an existing prezi, replacing texts and images as you build your version.


2. Build a prezi just 10 minutes before a meeting: search for a prezi in the Reuse Library, save a copy to your own account, and replace the content.


3. Don't end the loop: offer your version for further reuse! The result will be a growing database of diverse open knowledge.

New Learn Center

When building our new learn center, we had three goals in mind:

1. Collect all written and multimedia information on one page.


2. Offer step-by-step, detailed lessons for authors on different experience levels about how to use Prezi. Video and prezi introductions, guides, walkthroughs, and how-tos now live in the Prezi Academy.


3. You provide great feedback on our community forums, and we are happy to take this to the next level. Live From Prezi Universe is a new, dynamic section to share tips and tricks, read inspirational Prezi experiences, and get advice from professionals.

You can also check the updated Manual for further guidance. If you can't find an answer to your questions anywhere in the Learn Center, visit our community forums for personal support!

Prezi License Upgrades: Recurring Payment, First 30 Days Free

This Sunday we have upgraded the license page, and made some core changes: (Log in and check the site here, or click here if you are new to Prezi).

1. Prezi payment is now recurring. This means your annual subscription renewal is automatic until you decide to unsubscribe. You can unsubscribe at any time (This does not affect existing subscriptions).


2. You can now pay with your credit card for a Prezi license too (earlier, users could only pay with an existing PayPal account).


3. Public and Enjoy subscribers can now try out the Prezi Desktop software for 30 days without any limitations (when the trial period expires, you won't be able to access the desktop editor, unless you upgrade. You can of course access to your online Public or Enjoy accounts, and show prezis exported from the desktop during the trial period).


4. Our subscription prices are now in US Dollars


5. Subscription period is now one year for both paying accounts. For both paying accounts the first 30 days are free of charge (your credit card will only be charged on the 30th day of use).

We hope you find the new page nice and easy to use. So why don't you give it a try and upgrade now?