Creating and Using Components

Components are a group of skin elements that are saved as a single element in the Components Toolbox and can be reused.

Understanding the Components Toolbox

The Components Toolbox is a feature in Pano2VR that allows you to store skin
elements for reuse or sharing across different projects. It comes with built-in
components that are free to use.

• Accessing Built-in Components: Open the Toolbox from the
  Toolbar or from Tools >
  Components Toolbox.
• Component Information: Click on a component to see details, such as a
  description, tags, and a preview image.
• The built-in categories are organized in Categories, while the components you
  create can be added to the User Defined category, or to a new category you
  create.
• Components Toolbox Interface

Adding Components to a Skin

To add a component:

1. Double-click or drag the component into the canvas.
2. Alternatively, use the context menu. Right-click and choose Add Component to
   Skin.

Example:

1. Open a new skin.
2. Add the Feather Box Point Hotspots component. This provides all the buttons
   and actions needed for all the point hotspot types. They will be arranged in
   a seemingly odd order. But because the hotspot template’s location in the
   skin arbitrary, there’s no need to rearrange them.
3. Change the button’s background color to all buttons using the Color Tool.
   Make sure no element is selected and then open the Color Tool. Find the blue
   color and double-click the color in the right column to open the color picker
   to change the color.
4. Save the skin and add it to your project. You now have a button set for all
   your hotspots.

Searching and Filtering Components

The Components Toolbox allows you to search and filter components by text or
tags.

• Filter by Tags: Search using specific keywords (e.g., “feather”).
• Combine Filters: Narrow results by combining tags and text searches.

Example:

1. Select all the Built-in Categories. Shift-click the last built-in category to
   select all the in list.
2. In the Text Filter, type menu. A number of menus should appear.
3. Now refine the search using Tags. Find the tag, Categories and hit enter to
   filter. Now you should have menus that support categories/submenus.

Creating and Saving Custom Components

1. Right-click the desired element in the tree or a group of components and
   select Create Component from Selection.
2. Add it to an existing category or create a new one.
3. Provide a title, or replace an existing component.
4. Click, OK, to add it to the Components Toolbox.

When the component is saved, it’ll take a screenshot of the skin’s Canvas or
element for the preview image. You can change this preview image by
right-clicking in the Preview and choosing Change Preview Image. Then navigate
to the new image to set the preview image.

Sharing Components

Sharing components with collaborators or the community:

Exporting:

1. Right-click a category in the toolbox.
2. Select Open Category Folder in Finder (macOS) or Explorer (Windows).
3. Share the component file. The file uses the extension, ggskc like
   map_popup_feather.ggskc. It’s a package file and can be shared to any other
   Pano2VR or Object2VR user.

Importing: Recipients double-click the GGSKC file to add it to their
Components toolbox.

See also…

• Skin Editor

• Using the Color Tool

• Forum: Skin Components