Macula.Link is named after the oval-shaped pigmented area near the center of the human eye's retina, responsible for central, high-resolution color vision. Just like macula enables clear vision, Macula software provides exceptional clarity and precision for image display. It serves as a real-time image processing and CDN, ensuring swift and accurate image rendition for seamless embedding and sharing on any platform.

Macula allows you to upload and share any file format, be it an image, a video, or an HTML document. Depending on the file format, you will get additional features, such as on-the-fly transformations and editing pre-sets for images; copyright protection, and slick UniLink previews for images, videos, and audio.

Macula enables you to upload and share files in any format, whether it's an image, video, audio, or HTML document. Depending on the file type, you gain access to additional features, such as on-the-fly transformations and editing presets for images; copyright protection, and slick UniLink previews for images, videos, and audio.

To share your works or make them public, you need to publish the chosen file. Watch this quick 1-minute step-by-step video to guide you through the process.

Creating a transformation is currently available for images only; for other formats, you can skip this step and head directly to the Publish tab.

Click publish, confirm… and voila! Macula generates a UniLink for you to copy and share.

You can choose what you want to copy:
- A direct link to the file (choose this option for embedding in forums, web pages, email signatures, and virtually anywhere).
- A preview link (great for social media sharing and promotions: contains your copyright, chosen license, and preferred contact channels).
- A JSON data source (to access and quickly fetch info from the metadata). This option proves useful when building responsive and stunning UIs using your media assets.

To learn more about UniLinks and what makes them so handy, read on in the next question.

UniLink (universal link) is a new mechanism for sharing media online. It's a powerful tool for growing and gaining exposure while still staying in control over your content. UniLinks provide the flexibility to share content in various ways, depending on your needs, serving as a direct link to a file, an SEO-enhanced preview, and a source of metadata.

With a direct link, you can view or embed the file anywhere you need. UniLink Preview is a web page that contains information about the file and your contact details. By sharing UniLink Previews, you don't upload the content to third-party platforms, which allows you to maintain control over how your content is seen and used.

Furthermore, UniLink Previews are indexable by search engines and include structured metadata crucial for SEO. This means that your images will also display a “Licensable” badge in Google Images search, along with your copyright information and the license you chose when publishing.

The metadata source allows you to retrieve information about the file without loading the file itself simply by appending a data format to UniLink (for example, .json). This proves useful for building websites and creating rich media experiences.

Learn more about UniLinks in Macula Docs.

Macula provides the following ways to transform the image: resizing/cropping, sharpening, blur, flip, reduce, lossy and lossless compression, and reformatting with auto format function. This list will keep growing!

When you make a new transformation, the default option is to save it. Saving transformation creates a copy of the file according to the edits you've made. Think of it as exporting an edited file from your image editing software. Each saved transformation carries over the metadata and is linked to the original file, so you can manage them consistently without making a mess.

Additionally, each transformation can be individually published with a different license. When publishing an image, you can enable on-the-fly transformations. This means that by appending special parameters to the URL, transformations will be applied before displaying the image, without altering the original. For example, adding `?w=700` to the URL will adjust the width of the image to 700px.

The choice between saving a transformation or enabling on-the-fly transformations depends on your specific needs. If you anticipate frequent requests for a specific version of an image, such as a thumbnail, it's advisable to save it and display the copy. For greater flexibility, enabling on-the-fly transformations allows you to reuse the image in various contexts or permit others to remix your image without saving it or using image processing software.

On-the-fly transformations don't take up space (since they're not saved anywhere) but consume bandwidth. See more in the Bandwidth section.

Data Sources are a way to learn more about a file without loading it. For the time being, Macula provides a JSON Data Source, which provides complete file metadata in JSON format. It is useful in different contexts, from making media galleries to streaming and copyright protection.

Learn more about Data Sources.

With Macula's UniLink, you no longer need to rely on third-party services to track who viewed your image and when. By checking the *Stats* page for the published asset, you can gain insights into how your content is performing across platforms. With built-in support for UTMs and advanced analytics, running content campaigns becomes even easier.

In the current early Beta version, analytics data is presented in a plain raw format. However, we are actively working on an improved UI/UX to bring you the most valuable insights. Check our feature roadmap for more upcoming features.