Your companion,
from first tap to final stop.

USER MANUAL

1. Start here

Get oriented before your first museum visit.

1. Open Explore and find the museum you plan to visit.
2. Open its card and check whether a collection and self-guided tour are available.
3. Review the museum’s own opening hours, admission requirements and photography rules.
4. Save the available images and lookup index while connected if you want them offline.

Exhibit Truth brings museum object records, source-linked scripture reflections and self-guided walking routes together. The app is currently in field testing. No store release is claimed on this website; contact NSF Labs for current availability. The app and its full use remain free. Donations support development and maintenance, not additional access.

After opening the app, use the five bottom tabs: Explore, Scan, Submit, Leaderboard and Settings. Explore is your starting point. You do not need a profile to browse or follow a saved tour. Menus and optional online features may differ with the connected server and app version.

USER MANUAL

2. Find a museum

Search the directory and understand availability.

Use the museum search and country filter to narrow the directory; US locations also support state filtering. Self-guided and collection filters help distinguish museums with routes from those with records only. A directory listing is not a promise that every object or a tour is available.

Near me requests location when you choose it. The nearest-museum comparison happens on the device. If location is unavailable or you decline permission, search by museum or city instead. A museum card shows its collection state, number of cataloged objects and available tour types.

Open the museum card to browse its collection. Gallery information is an observation, not live indoor navigation. Objects may be moved, lent, removed or unavailable. Confirm the display with the museum, especially when an observation is old or a location is marked unverified.

USER MANUAL

3. Prepare for an offline visit

Save images and understand what still needs a connection.

1. Open the museum and choose Save offline to reach Downloads.
2. Choose whether to include object-photo lookup. This builds a private image-matching index on your phone.
3. Choose Save images & index for the collection and keep the app open while it works.
4. Before leaving, open a few object records and the route you plan to use to confirm they are available.

Bundled and downloaded records, available tour text and your route progress can be read without a signal. Only permitted museum images are cached. An interrupted image download keeps the images already completed; retry when connected.

Scripture, museum and operator websites require internet. Email must be sent by your email provider. A wider online catalog search, server updates, public leaderboards and report delivery also require a configured, reachable server. Saving a collection is not the same as saving the external web pages it links to.

Use Remove download to remove saved images/indexes and downloaded material. The collection bundled with the app may remain available. See the on-device storage estimate in Downloads.

USER MANUAL

4. Follow a self-guided tour

Choose a duration, collapse the overview and move through stops.

1. On the museum card, choose Self-guided, then select a tour title.
2. Use Time for your visit to choose the 1-, 2- or 3-hour route. These are planning estimates, not museum reservations.
3. Read the top overview: tour name, visit time, stop count, walking route and rest guidance.
4. Use the overview’s arrow to collapse its details when you want more room for the current stop. The title remains visible.
5. At Step # of #, check the object title, accession, floor/gallery and observation date. Use the museum’s signage and staff to locate it.
6. Read Reflect on scripture and open its linked references. The separate museum section provides the object record and observation prompts.
7. Mark Complete when you are finished, then use Next stop or Previous. Expand All stops to jump to another stop.
8. Return to the tour later to resume saved progress on this device.

Each stop expands to fit its information. Underlined, gently pulsing links open sources; reduced-motion settings stop the pulse. The overview can be reopened whenever you need the route information.

Changing visit time changes the included stops. The app keeps the current stop when it is part of the new route, or moves to an appropriate following stop. Progress is saved locally; it is not automatically transferred to another phone.

Completing a tour stop is a personal checklist. It does not award leaderboard points or verify attendance. Routes are suggestions: allow for queues, mobility needs, closed galleries and breaks. Never touch an exhibit unless the museum explicitly permits it.

USER MANUAL

5. Read an artifact record

Separate museum facts from spiritual reflection.

Search a downloaded collection by title or accession number and use its gallery and relevance filters. Open an artifact card for the museum title, date, material, accession and location information. A missing image does not mean the record is unavailable.

Spiritual connections have their own explanation, source links and, when supported, relevance tier. Approved tour reflections also appear on the associated catalog record. There may be more than one connection for a single object. A record without enough supporting evidence remains ungraded; the app does not turn a possible association into a fact.

Museum manufacturing dates and Appointed Times chronology are separately attributed. A later painting of an event is evidence of that later artistic interpretation, not a contemporary record of the event. For a timeframe-only connection, the date overlap does not show that the object belonged to a named person or was present at the event.

Open Museum object record to see the institution’s current information. Use the in-app correction/report option if a location or record needs attention. Reports queue until they can be sent to the configured server; a saved report is not a delivery receipt.

USER MANUAL

6. Understand the five relevance tiers

A guide to the kind of connection, not a certainty score.

Tier 1 covers a documented contemporary association. It also includes museum-identified scripture-named materials or precious stones when the entire manufacturing date range is before 1 CE. The age of the raw stone is not the age of the object, and a material connection does not establish biblical ownership or use.

Tier 2 covers supported named subjects, events, confidently identified later or related biblical coins/weights, and scripture-named materials/stones without a confirmed pre–1 CE manufacturing range.

Tier 3 marks uncertain named settings, identities or coin/weight equivalences. Tier 4 covers religious artwork made from 301 CE onward and sourced connections to everyday life, customs, worship, writing and work. Tier 5 is a supported chronology overlap only.

Read each connection’s reason and references. The tier describes the association used by this app; it is not a claim that a museum or religious organization approved the interpretation. The detailed rubric is also in Settings → Sources & attribution.

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7. Use Scan or type an accession number

Find likely matches and verify them against the exhibit label.

1. Open Scan and choose the museum collection you are searching.
2. Enter a visible accession number, or choose a label photo for text recognition.
3. For object-photo lookup, first save that museum’s permitted reference images and visual index.
4. Review suggested matches. Confirm the title, accession and museum label before opening the record.

Label recognition and object-photo comparison run on your device. They offer possible matches, not guaranteed identification. Glare, angled labels, similar objects and incomplete reference images can affect results. A clear, tightly framed label photo often works better than a wide gallery photograph.

If no result appears, try typing the accession exactly, searching a short title, checking the selected museum or using Find an object · include unlisted records. The wider search needs optional online services. Google ML Kit may collect SDK diagnostics; the Privacy policy distinguishes this from the on-device processing of your scan image.

USER MANUAL

8. Suggest an object or connection

Prepare a complete review card with permitted photos.

1. Open Submit or choose Submit an object from a museum card.
2. Select the museum or enter a private collection name. For an existing record, use its suggestion option so the object identifier is included.
3. Enter the object title and any accession number, the proposed scripture connection, references and helpful notes. Add a suggested tier if appropriate.
4. For a new object, add an artifact photo and a readable label photo. If no label is available, select that option instead. For an existing record, explain the connection and supply a scripture/reference.
5. Attach GPS only if it is useful and you want to share it. It is optional.
6. Read and check both required agreements: permission to share and consent to send the review material. You can save an unfinished draft without checking them.
7. Choose Submit for review. Any missing requirements are explained, and the form takes you to the first issue.
8. Review the prepared email, its review-card attachment and photos in your email app, then tap Send there.

The app opens your email composer; it cannot independently confirm email delivery. On return it confirms that a local copy was saved. An “opened in email” label is not a request to send again. Check your email app’s Sent or Outbox if you are unsure.

Only photograph where permitted. Do not include faces, private documents or others’ contact details without permission. Avoid precise home locations for private collections. Review and publication are separate: sending a suggestion does not automatically add it to the public catalog.

USER MANUAL

9. Send several objects from one museum

Reuse museum information while keeping each object distinct.

1. Start an object suggestion and set the shared museum or collection.
2. Complete the first item’s details and photos.
3. Choose Add another item for another object from the same collection.
4. Use the item selector to switch between items; each keeps its own details, photos, label availability and optional location.
5. Remove an item if it should not be included. Check every item before submission.
6. Submit once to prepare one combined email with numbered item sections and photo attachments.

Save for later preserves the batch. Validation checks every item and identifies which one needs attention. Large batches may exceed an email provider’s attachment limit even when the app accepts the individual images; split the batch into smaller emails if your provider cannot send it. Use a separate suggestion for another museum.

USER MANUAL

10. Suggest a museum

Recommend a local museum that is missing from the directory.

1. Open Submit and switch to the museum suggestion option.
2. Enter the museum name, city/region and country, plus its address where known.
3. Add the official website and useful public contact details, such as a department, email address or telephone number.
4. Explain why the museum belongs in Exhibit Truth and identify relevant collections or objects. Add permitted photos if useful.
5. Confirm the required agreements, then review and send the prepared email.

Use public institutional contact information where possible. A suggestion is considered for directory inclusion and collection research; it does not guarantee a complete catalog integration or a self-guided tour. The form explains missing required information rather than silently failing.

USER MANUAL

11. Reopen or remove saved suggestions

Local copies and email messages are separate.

Open Leaderboard / Contributions to find My submissions. Tap an unfinished suggestion or its edit control to continue. Save for later is available before the form is complete. The device can keep up to ten saved submissions; a multi-item batch is one saved submission.

Use a saved copy’s delete control to remove it from the app. This does not remove email drafts, sent mail or anything already received by the review team. Manage those in the email app or contact info@NSFlabs.org to request deletion of our copy.

Uninstalling or clearing the app’s storage can erase local drafts and tour progress. There is no automatic cross-device draft sync. Send or otherwise preserve anything you need before replacing or resetting your phone.

USER MANUAL

12. Choose whether to join a leaderboard

Optional public names, separate kinds of participation.

Contributor rankings require a configured server with the feature enabled. Open Contributions and choose Join the public leaderboard to opt in. Only a public display name and reviewer-accepted unique-object count are shown. Duplicate submissions and submission volume do not earn points. Emailing a suggestion does not automatically link it to a server profile or award credit.

Use Edit leaderboard name whenever you want to choose a new name. It must contain 3–32 permitted characters. Duplicate names and other validation failures are explained. Do not use offensive names or personal contact information: moderators can replace a name and restrict repeated misuse.

Contributor periods are daily, weekly, monthly and all time, using UTC; weeks start Monday. Turning off public participation hides your ranking. Delete my submissions and profile removes the current server identity, uploaded submissions and credit; it cannot recall emails.

Museum visitor participation is a separate optional feature that may be disabled. If enabled, join in Settings and explicitly mark objects visited. It counts distinct self-reported objects, not verified attendance. Edit its name or leave/delete it in Settings. A self-guided stop’s Complete checkbox does not count as a public visit.

USER MANUAL

13. Settings, sources and accessibility

Find policy information and adjust the app to your visit.

Settings contains appearance choices, the mission statement, support links, the operator directory, full privacy policy, source attribution and relevance tiers. Device text-size settings are supported. The app reduces its startup/link motion when the operating system requests reduced animations. Light-mode titles use a deeper sandstone tone for readability.

Optional online services lets you configure a server address for wider catalog search, shared leaderboards, updates and report delivery. Browsing bundled data, self-guided tours and preparing email suggestions work without one. A local pilot address only works where that server is reachable; it is not a public service address.

Do not enter an unfamiliar server address: the operator of that server handles requests you send to it. Production builds require HTTPS. Switching servers does not merge identities, credits or deletion requests; profiles belong to the device credential and server that created them.

Buy me a coffee is optional support for ongoing development and maintenance. The app and its full use remain free. Support goes to NSF Labs, not to Watch Tower, a museum or a tour operator.

USER MANUAL

14. Book an independent guided tour

The operator handles bookings, prices and availability.

Choose Guided on a museum card to see its listed providers, or open All guided-tour operators in Settings for the complete current directory. Each operator has a link to its official website. Check the route, language, access requirements, date, price and cancellation policy directly with the provider.

Exhibit Truth does not make reservations or receive your booking details. Directory inclusion does not mean the operator is endorsed by NSF Labs or that the app is endorsed by that operator or Watch Tower. Museum admission and an operator’s tour booking may be separate arrangements.

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15. Troubleshooting and help

Common problems and the next useful action.

A link will not open: check internet access and whether the source’s website is available. The link leaves the app. Try your browser; a saved museum pack does not include the source website.

Submit does not open email: read the listed missing requirements, check every batch item and both agreements, and set up an email account in an app that accepts attachments. The app keeps a local copy for retry. If delivery fails, check your email provider’s Outbox and attachment limits.

A collection or leaderboard will not load: confirm the server address and network reachability under Optional online services. A development computer must be running and reachable. You can still use saved collections and prepare email suggestions.

The object is not where the app says: check the accession against the label and ask museum staff. Gallery changes and loans can make observations stale. Send a correction with the object and the new location if known.

Camera, photos or Near me are unavailable: review the app permissions in device settings. Typed search and manual museum selection remain available.

A name cannot be saved: read the specific validation, duplicate-name, connection or moderation message. Contact support if editing was restricted incorrectly.

For help, email info@NSFlabs.org with the app version, device/platform and steps that produced the issue. Do not send private profile credentials. Use the privacy/deletion contact for personal information rather than a public GitHub issue.