# Carousel, image, text, thread, poll

> Eight formats, three editors, one set of limits per platform. Picking the right format up front saves redoing everything later.

Updated 2026-09-22

Don’t mix up two words that look alike. The **post type** — educational, behind the scenes, testimonial, opinion poll… — says what the post is about, and comes from your strategy. The **format** says what gets published: a carousel, an image, a text post, a thread, a poll. The format is what decides which editor the post opens in.

## The eight formats

| Format | What it is | Platforms |
|---|---|---|
| **Carousel** | Several slides to swipe through | Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, Pinterest |
| **Image** | A single visual slide | Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Threads, Facebook, Pinterest |
| **Story** | Full-screen vertical, ephemeral | Instagram, Facebook |
| **Pin** | Vertical visual with a link | Pinterest |
| **Text post** | Text only, optional image | LinkedIn, X, Threads, Facebook |
| **Thread** | A series of linked posts | X, Threads |
| **Poll** | A question and 2 to 4 options | LinkedIn, X |
| **Animation** | A short video: moments that reveal themselves, exported as an MP4 | Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X |

A ninth one, **Short video**, is announced but not yet creatable: the app shows “Coming soon: video editor”.

## Three editors, not one

- The **slides editor** lays out a visual: canvas, templates, generated images, text areas, and a caption kept separate. It serves the carousel, the image, the story and the pin.
- The **text editor** works on the words: one or more text blocks, a per-platform character counter, an optional image, poll options. It serves the text post, the thread and the poll.
- The **animation editor** works on time: moments that follow one another, their motion, their background photo, and a preview that plays. It serves the animation.

> **The format opens the editor**
>
> You don’t choose an editor: you choose a format, and it opens in the right place.

## The limits, platform by platform

Every format × platform pair carries its own bounds, and the editor enforces them:

- **Carousel**: 2 to 20 slides on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and Threads; 2 to 10 on Facebook; 2 to 5 on Pinterest.
- **Image**: a single one, except on X, which takes up to four in the same post.
- **Story**: 1 to 10 slides, on Instagram and Facebook.
- **Text post**: 3,000 characters on LinkedIn (210 visible before “more”), 280 on X, 500 on Threads, 63,206 on Facebook (125 visible).
- **Thread**: 2 to 25 posts on X, 2 to 20 on Threads.
- **Poll**: 2 to 4 options everywhere. LinkedIn: a 140-character question, 30-character options, 1 to 14 days. X: no separate question — the post text serves as one — 25-character options, 5 minutes to 7 days.

Ratios follow the same logic: 1:1 recommended on Instagram (it’s what the eye expects of a post there, and a square carousel crops into the profile grid without loss), 4:5 on LinkedIn, Facebook and Threads, 9:16 on TikTok, 2:3 on Pinterest, 16:9 on X.

## The image of a text post

A text post, and each post in a thread, can carry an image — a poll can’t. Under the text, the “Add an image (optional)” icon opens a window: the image in the platform’s format on the left, with “Import a file” and “Choose from the media library,” and on the right the same “Image” panel as for a slide — versions, a description with its @s, the recipe, generating, retouching.

- **The format follows the platform**: 16:9 on X, where the preview isn’t cropped in the feed; 4:5 on LinkedIn, Facebook and Threads, where a portrait takes up the most room. The recipe spells it out: “16:9 · X format.”
- **Nothing goes on top**: the image is published whole. No series and no focal point; finishing comes down to the alt text.
- **It’s only generated once described**: a slide can start from its text, a text-post image can’t. Describe what it shows — a [reference](/en/guide/call-a-reference-in-an-image/) is called with @ here too, as anywhere else.

In the writing column, click the thumbnail to rework the image, write its alt text right next to it, and “Remove image” takes it off without losing its versions.

> **Cost**
>
> In high quality, which posts get by default, a text-post image is estimated at ✦ 23 on X and ✦ 17 at 4:5. A reference it calls attaches its sheet, and the cost counts it before anything is generated.

## Choosing when you create

In the **New post** window, the first screen is a grid of formats: only the ones that exist on the chosen platform are offered, each with its editor and a one-line summary of its limits. A banner at the bottom repeats the trio you picked, for example “Instagram · Carousel · Slides editor”.

## Changing format later

In the editor toolbar, the **Post format** menu switches from one format to another — **but only inside the same family**. A carousel becomes an image or a story; a text post becomes a thread or a poll.

> **Changing family is a different gesture**
>
> Going from a carousel to a thread, or the other way round, doesn’t happen in place: it creates a new post linked to its source, through **Convert**. The original never changes. See “Turn a text into slides”.

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Source: https://joli.studio/en/guide/carousel-image-text-thread-poll/