Getting Started

Get Started quickly by using the Project Wizard. And then learn the basic workflows of Pano2VR.

Create a Project using the Project Wizard

The Project Wizard is a tool to create a tour in the most simple and fast way.

When you first open Pano2VR, you’ll be greeted by the Welcome Window.

1. In the Welcome Window, click New Project. This will open the Project Wizard.

2. Follow the prompts. The first prompt is to drag in your images. If you need images to start with, you can download some here.

3. Click Continue in the upper right corner of the wizard.

4. The second step or second prompt is to Select a Skin. A skin is the interactive overlay that is used to create hotspots, menus and more. Choose from the selection provided. Hover your mouse over a preview to see a larger detail. Select a skin and click Continue.

   Since the tour nodes are not yet linked, there won’t be any point hotspots. However, most skins have

5. The final step, Step 3, you can customize your skin before exporting it if you choose. Click Configure the Skin. This opens a window that lets you change the accent color and more.

6. Finally, click Generate the Output.

You’ll be prompted to save your project.

After the project is saved, the output is generated and it will automatically open in your browser. It is not on the internet or public! Pano2VR runs an Integrated Web Server that allows us to view our projects before uploading them to a web server.

Now that you’ve created your project and generated your output, you can go back and refine it.

Pano2VR Basic Worklow

The easist way to start a project and quickly put together a tour is to use the Project Wizard. But you might want to do more the tour. Reach on to learn the general workflow of bulding a virtual tour built in Pano2VR.

Prepare the Project Files

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

1. Create a folder for your project.
2. Add all the input media (panoramas, models, and video panoramas) to that folder.
3. Use subfolders for all the project assets (pinned media, hotspot images, sounds, etc.). This is suggested workflow. You don’t have to use subfolders!

Pano2VR has built in organization tools. For example, when you drag in a folder of input media, the folder name is added as a Tag. So if you have multiple nodes in a single room, you could create a subfolder called Kitchen. When you drag the Kitchen folder in to Pano2VR, 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.

There are multiple ways to get the content into Pano2VR:

• Select the input media in your file browser and drag them on to the Viewer or the Tour Browser, or to the Project Wizard

• Drag a folder containing the input media to the Tour Browser or Viewer.

• Click the input button in the Toolbar and navigate to your input media

Learn more about dropping media into Pano2VR

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.

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:

1. 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.

2. In the Viewer, spin the panorama to where you would like to place the linked hotspot.

3. Drag the node that should be linked from the Tour Browser 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.

1. Open the Output Panel.

2. Click the green plus sign to select an output format and choose Web.

3. Choose a skin (a graphical interface that applies icons to interactive areas) from the Skin grid or menu. For example, the quaranta.ggsk skin.

4. Output the project by clicking on the gear wheel.

   

   The tour will open with in your default browser via the Integrated Web Server. This allows you to see and interact with the project locally, on your computer. 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.

See also…

• Project Set-Up

• Working with 360º Video

• Organizing in Pano2VR

• Garden Gnome Package

• FAQ: Why don’t I see my output?

• What’s New