---
title: "Word Cloud"
url: "https://help.cbook.de/en/article/word-cloud"
language: "en"
last_updated: "2026-10-14T08:54:01.835Z"
---

# Word Cloud

This article describe the new word cloud core slide, first released in April 2026.

### What Is the Word Cloud Slide?

The Word Cloud is an interactive Slide type that lets participants submit and select tags (keywords or short phrases). All submissions are visualized together as a word cloud, where the most frequently mentioned tags appear larger. It's a great way to collect ideas, opinions, or associations from your audience in real time.

The Word Cloud is a community feature — it requires the engagement server and participants must be logged in.

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### How It Works

The Word Cloud supports two types of input:

-   **Predefined tags (suggested tags)** — Tags you set up in advance. Participants can select them with a single click.
-   **Custom tags** — Participants type their own tags using a text input field.

You can use both together, or set the custom tag limit to 0 to create a selection-only Word Cloud where participants can only choose from predefined and community tags.

All tags from all participants are aggregated and displayed as a visual word cloud. Tags that are submitted more often appear larger and in a different color.

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### Setting Up a Word Cloud Slide

When you create a Word Cloud Slide, you work with two sidebar tabs: **Settings** and **Appearance**. The main area shows a live WYSIWYG preview of the word cloud.

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### Settings Tab

**Predefined Tags**

Add up to 25 predefined tags that participants can select. Type a tag into the "Add tag" field and press Enter or click the Add button. Tags appear as removable chips below the input field. Duplicate tags (case-insensitive) are prevented automatically.

These are the tags participants see as "Suggested tags" on the Slide. They make it easy for participants to contribute without having to think of their own keywords.

**Additional Settings**

-   **Maximum new tags per person** (slider, 0–10, default: 3) — How many custom tags each participant can submit. This only counts tags the participant types in themselves, not predefined tags they select. **Set this to 0 to hide the text input field entirely** — participants will only be able to select from predefined tags and tags submitted by others.
-   **Maximum interactions per person** (slider, 1–10, default: 5) — The total number of tags a participant can contribute, combining both custom tags and selected predefined/community tags. For example, if set to 5, a participant might submit 2 custom tags and select 3 suggested tags.
-   **Maximum tag length** (1–100 characters, default: 30) — The character limit for each tag. Participants see a character counter in the input field.
-   **Input placeholder text** — Optional hint text shown inside the tag input field (e.g., "Enter a keyword...").

**Live Updates**

-   **Enable live updates** (toggle, default: off) — When enabled, the word cloud automatically fetches new community data every few seconds. Participants see a status indicator and can apply updates when they're ready. When disabled, the cloud shows the data as it was when the Slide loaded.  
    Note: Live updates can make the experience harder for people using assistive technologies. Keep this off when strict accessibility is required.

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### Appearance Tab

**Background Image (optional)**

Upload a background image for the Slide in landscape and/or portrait orientation. You can apply filters to the image: blur, grayscale, sepia, brightness, and contrast.

**Interaction Image (optional)**

Upload an additional image that appears on top of the background, behind the word cloud. Same filter options are available.

**Word Cloud Colors**

Customize the colors for five frequency tiers. Tags are colored based on how often they were submitted:

-   **Tier 1** — Most frequent (largest tags)
-   **Tier 2–4** — Intermediate frequencies
-   **Tier 5** — Least frequent (smallest tags)

For each tier, click the color picker to choose a custom color. A reset button appears next to customized colors to return them to the theme default.

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### What Participants See

When participants open the Word Cloud Slide, they see two main areas:

**Left panel — Input area:**

-   **Your tags** — A list of all tags the participant has contributed, with a delete button on each
-   **Tag input field** — Where participants type custom tags, with a character counter and an "Add" button. Two counters are shown: how many new tags have been added (e.g., "1 of max. 3 new tags added") and how many tags in total (e.g., "3 of max. 5 tags total"). **If custom tags are set to 0, the input field is hidden entirely.**
-   **Suggested tags** — The predefined tags you configured, displayed as clickable buttons (shuffled randomly). If there are more than 10, a "Show more" button reveals the rest.
-   **From others** — Tags submitted by other participants, also shown as clickable buttons. Already-selected tags appear disabled. This section remains available even when custom tags are disabled.

**Right panel — Word cloud visualization:**

-   A visual word cloud where word size reflects frequency
-   Hovering over a word shows its text and count as a tooltip
-   Up to 80 words are displayed
-   If live updates are enabled, controls appear at the top:
-   -   A status dot (green = live, red = paused, orange = new data available)
    -   A "Pause/Resume updates" button
    -   An "Apply updates" button when new data is pending
-   An export button lets participants download the word cloud as a PNG image

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### Tag Limits Explained

Understanding how the two limits interact:

| Setting | What it controls | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Maximum new tags per person | Only custom (typed) tags. Set to 0 to disable custom input entirely. | Set to 3: participant can type up to 3 of their own tags. Set to 0: no text input shown. |
| Maximum interactions per person | Custom tags + selected suggested/community tags combined | Set to 5: participant can contribute 5 tags total (e.g., 2 typed + 3 selected) |

Once the total interaction limit is reached, the input field and all tag buttons become disabled.

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### Selection-Only Mode

If you want participants to only choose from predefined tags (and tags others have submitted) without typing their own:

1.  Set **Maximum new tags per person** to **0**
2.  Add predefined tags that participants can select
3.  The text input field will be completely hidden for participants

This is useful for guided brainstorming where you want controlled vocabulary, or for quick polls with a fixed set of options.

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### Evaluation Tab

The Evaluation tab in the editor lets you review all participant submissions.

-   **Select a learning group** from the dropdown to filter results
-   A **table** shows all tags and how many votes each tag has received.
-   **Export to Excel** — generates an .xlsx file with submissions (you can select multiple learning groups)
-   **Print** — opens a print-friendly view in a new browser window

### Flagging inappropriate content

As an evaluator, you can flag WordCloud words that are inappropriate. Flagged content disappears for all learners, and only its author still sees it. Nothing is deleted, so you keep a full record of who wrote what, and who flagged it and when.

**Who can flag:** Anyone who can open the **Evaluation** tab of the slide.

#### Flagging a word

1.  Open the WordCloud slide's **Evaluation** tab and pick the learning group.
2.  Find the word in the list. **Added by {names}** shows who entered it.
3.  Click **Flag as inappropriate**. Click **Remove flag** to undo it.

**Good to know:** A flag applies to the word itself, not to a single entry. Every learner who entered that word in this learning group is affected, whatever its capitalisation. If someone enters the same word later, it's hidden right away too.

#### What you see in the evaluation

-   Flagged words stay in the list, greyed out, with the notice **"Flagged as inappropriate by {name} on {date}"**.
-   Flagged words don't count in the evaluation's totals. They're still included in exports, with a **Flagged by / on** column.

#### What learners see

-   The word disappears from the word cloud for everyone else. This happens immediately, even if **Enable live updates** is off.
-   **Learners who entered the word** still see their own copy, greyed out and marked **Removed by an evaluator**.

#### How quickly does a flag take effect?

Learners who open the slide afterwards never see the flagged content. Learners who are already on the slide see the change within about a minute, or when they come back to the browser tab.

**Older cBook exports:** Flagged content is hidden in every cBook, including SCORM packages exported earlier (before October 15th 2026). The greyed-out notice for authors only appears after you export the cBook again.

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### Step-by-Step: Creating a Word Cloud Slide

1.  Add a new Slide and select the **Word Cloud** type
2.  Set the Slide title and optional overline, caption, and description in the preview area
3.  Open the **Settings** tab in the sidebar
4.  Add predefined tags (up to 25) that participants can choose from
5.  Adjust the limits:
6.  -   How many custom tags per person (default: 3, set to 0 to hide the input field)
    -   How many total interactions per person (default: 5)
    -   Maximum tag length (default: 30 characters)
7.  Optionally set an input placeholder text
8.  Decide whether to enable live updates
9.  Switch to the **Appearance** tab
10.  Optionally add a background image and/or interaction image
11.  Customize the color tiers for the word cloud, or leave them at the theme defaults
12.  Check the preview to see how the word cloud will look

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### Tips

-   Start with a good set of predefined tags to give participants inspiration and ensure consistent terminology
-   If you expect many participants, enable live updates so the cloud grows visually during the session
-   Keep maximum tag length short (20–30 characters) to keep the cloud readable
-   The total interaction limit should be equal to or greater than the maximum new tags limit
-   Set custom tags to 0 when you want a controlled vocabulary — participants can only select from your predefined tags and tags others have selected
-   Use the evaluation tab after the session to export results and analyze submissions