Getting Started

The documents in this section outline the basic workflows, installation, and project set-ups.

Pano2VR Basic Worklow

Learn the basic workflow of bulding a virtual tour built in Pano2VR.

Download example files to work with: Building_a_tour.zip.

Prepare the Project Files

Good practice is to keep all the files organized in one location.

Create a folder for your project.
Add all the input media (all media that is added to the Tour Browser; the
main content).
Use subfolders for all the project assets (pinned media, hotspot images,
sounds, etc.).

★ When putting the project together, keep in mind that Pano2VR has some
automatic organization tools. For instance, if you drag in a folder of input
media, the folder name is added as a Tag. For example, if you have multiple
nodes in a single room, you could create a subfolder called Kitchen. When you
drag the Kitchen folder in, each image in that folder will have the tag,
Kitchen.

Learn more about organization in Pano2VR.

Import Input Media

Input media refers to the images or videos that will be added to the
Tour Browser. This is your main
content.

★ Pano2VR does not stitch. You must first bring your 360 media into
stitching software like PTGui,
Hugin, or
Mistika VR to stitch the media.
Make sure the files are equirectangular with a 2:1 aspect ratio before
importing them in to Pano2VR.

There are multiple ways to get the content into Pano2VR. Dragging in a folder
will give the images within the folder a tag with the folder name.

Select the input media in your file browser and drag them on to the Viewer or
the Tour Browser.
Drag a folder containing the input media to the
Tour Browser or
Viewer.
Click the input button in the Toolbar and navigate to your image/s.

Learn more about dragging and dropping in Pano2VR

This is a good time to save your project. Save the project file to the
project folder: File > Save.

Add User Data

In the Project Properties, give
the project some metadata. To start, give the Project a title. This will be
the title of the HTML page.

Also give each input media a Title in
User Data. This title can be
used in menus and as tooltips.

Exif data is imported with the images and will be added to User Data according
to what is set in the
Preferences/Settings.

★ Tip: Use keyboard shortcuts to
quickly move through the nodes: ⌘[, ⇧⌘P or Ctrl+[, Ctrl+Shift+P for
previous and ⌘], ⇧⌘N or Ctrl+[, Ctrl+Shift+P for next.

Learn more about adding User Data.

Patch

Patching is generally used to remove a tripod at the nadir. But it can also be
used to blur faces and license plates or to edit a section of the panorama
without distortion.

Learn more about Patching.

Leveling

In some cases, the panoramas might need to be leveled or fine-tuned. Hold down
L and drag on the sides of the Viewer to
level.

Learn more about leveling.

Add North

Make sure is North is added to the images if the project will incorporate maps,
floor plans, or be added to Street View.

Learn more about adding location data.

Link the Nodes

Now you’re ready to link everything together. Tour Nodes are linked together
using hotspots. Point Hotspots will provide
a point of interaction, providing the link to the next node.

Here is one way to link nodes together:

Enable Point Hotspot Mode by hovering your mouse over the graphic in the
upper left corner of the Viewer and choose the Point Hotspot Mode. You
can also use the keyboard shortcut, P, to change to Point Hotspot mode.
In the Viewer, spin the panorama to where you would like to place the
hotspot.
Drag the node that should be linked at that point from the Tour Browser and
drag it to the Viewer.

A point hotspot will be created, including
its connection to the panorama.

For a faster way to connect the nodes, use Automatic Linking.

Learn more about linking nodes.

Output the Project

The last step is to export the project from Pano2VR.

Open the Output Panel.
Click the green plus sign to select an output format and choose Web.
Choose a skin (a graphical interface that
applies icons to interactive areas) from the Skin menu. For instance, the
feather_box.ggsk skin.
Output the project by clicking on the gear wheel. The tour will open with
the Integrated Web Server that allows you
to see and interact with the project locally. It is not being uploaded to
the internet unless you choose to use Gnome Cloud for hosting projects.

You can then take the output folder and all of its contents to your
self-hosted webserver, or send it to a client to upload to their webserver.

Alternatively, you can also output a package format output that you used to
upload and embed the project in your
CMS site. Or upload the
project using Gnome Cloud.

Learn more about exporting.