Outdoor umbrellas come with a whole range of options from color and size to tilts and cranks. If you are wondering what all of this means you are not alone. Tilting umbrellas can be made in a number of different ways, from a manual tilt to an auto tilt which tilts the umbrella either by cranking it or rotating it to the tilting position. A pulley and pin system is basically when you manually lift or lower the umbrella and then place a pin in the umbrella pole to hold its position. Just knowing you have options, is a great thing when you start your shopping for outdoor umbrellas.