Sound Properties
Use Sound Mode to add directional and static audio to your project. Here, you'll find explanations of the Sounds Mode properties.
The sound properties appear in the Properties panel once a sound is added or selected in the Viewer.
Switch to Master Node – This button appears only when the selected sound comes from the tour’s master node while another node is open in the Viewer. Click it to switch to the master node.
ID – Each sound gets a unique ID, starting with Element01. Use the ID as
the target of an action in the Skin Editor, for
example to start or stop the sound from a button.
File – The audio file. To add or replace it, do one of the following:
- Click the folder button, then choose the audio file.
- Drag the file onto the File field.
- Drag the file into the Viewer.
Click the play button to listen to the sound. Right-click the file name to edit it or to show the file in Explorer (Windows) or Finder (macOS).
Alternative File(s) – Other versions of the sound in another format, for browsers that can’t play the main file. The player picks the best file the browser supports. Add up to three alternative files; a new field appears as soon as the previous one is filled. Use MP3 for the main file when you export for the web.
To add an alternative file, do one of the following:
- Click the folder button next to a field, then choose the file.
- Click the gear button next to a field to convert the main file with the built-in converter, which offers only the formats the current computer can write.
Copy files to output – Select to copy the sound file and its alternative files into the output folder. Deselect it to reference the files at their original location, for example on a web server.
Mode – How the sound is heard as the viewer looks around. There are six modes:
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Static – The sound plays at the same volume in every direction.
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Surround – The sound plays in every direction, but it moves between the left and right channel as the viewer turns, so it always comes from the direction where it is placed.
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Directional Rectangular – The sound plays at full volume in the center of a rectangular field (green in the Viewer) and fades out toward the edge of the field (yellow). Outside the field, it plays at the Ambient level. Adjust Horizontal Size, Vertical Size, and Field Size to shape the field.
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Directional Circular – The same with a circular field. Adjust Horizontal Size and Field Size to shape it.
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Effect Rectangular – The sound plays once its rectangular field reaches the center of the view.
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Effect Circular – The sound plays once its circular field reaches the center of the view.
Node Change – Select Keep to keep the sound playing when the viewer moves to another node.
Level – The volume of the sound, from 0 to 1. The default is 1, full volume.
Loop – How many times the sound plays. The default is 1, which plays the
sound once. Enter 0 to loop the sound endlessly, or -1 to keep it from
starting on its own, so that a skin action has to start it.
Ambient – The volume of the sound while the view is outside the sound field. Available for the Directional modes.
Horizontal Size – The horizontal size of the center of the sound field, where the sound plays at full volume. Available for the Directional and Effect modes.
Vertical Size – The vertical size of the center of the sound field. Available for the Rectangular modes.
Field Size – The size of the whole sound field, beyond which the sound
plays at the Ambient level. Available for the Directional modes. The lowest
value, -1, is shown as FoV and makes the field follow the current field of
view.
Position – Select Lock to keep the sound from being moved by accident. While it is locked, Pan and Tilt are unavailable.
- Pan – The horizontal position of the sound in degrees.
- Tilt – The vertical position of the sound in degrees.