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Panotour - FAQ - Input, Output & KrPano

Input

What hardware do I need to shoot a virtual tour ?

If you want to easily create professional virtual tours, you need a DSLR camera with a fisheye lens. The fisheye lens helps a lot because you can shoot the whole sphere with just 6 or 7 images whereas you would need at least 15 to 20 with a standard lens.

With a fisheye lens, you can shoot 5 images horizontally, for instance, then the image of the ceiling (called zenith image) and the image of the floor (called nadir image). Some photographers don't shoot the nadir. They prefer to incline the camera 15° towards the floor to shoot the horizontal line, then taken a photo of the zenith. Then they quickly retouch the very small remaining empty zone.


Are there any limits to the amount of panoramas I can use in a tour ?

There is no limit, you can input as many as you would like! However, more panoramas there will be, more you will find the need for a very powerful computer. This 'limit' can vary depending on the size of your panoramas.

For tours with large amounts of panoramas panoramas, using this workflow is recommended, to save on memory and time:

  1. Add your panoramas in batches (of 50 or 100, for example, no more)
  2. Save your project
  3. Build your tour
  4. Re-save your project - This save is really important, the second one is optional. Just in case...
  5. Close Panotour Pro
  6. Re-open your project
  7. Start back at 1


Doing this you will save memory: at each build you will only build the new panoramas, and the previously build panoramas will load as a cached version. Once all your panoramas are built, editing and creating the interface will be quite fast since no more tiles will need to be generated unless you add more panoramas.


Is there a size limit for the panoramas ?

.


Which graphical formats are supported in input ?

See supported input file formats.



Supported Sytems and Browsers

The currently supported systems and browsers of the Panotour outputs are:

For Desktop

  • Google Chrome browser (Windows, Mac, Linux) : Google Chrome version 22 or higher is needed.
  • Mozilla Firefox browser (Windows, Mac, Linux) : Mozilla Firefox version 18 or higher is needed.
  • Opera browser (Windows, Mac, Linux) : Opera version 15 or higher is needed.
  • Safari browser (Mac) : Safari version 8 or higher is recommended.
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer browser (Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows RT) : IE 10 or higher is needed.
  • Microsoft Edge browser (Windows 10) : Edge 12 or higher is needed.

For Mobile and Tablet Devices

  • iOS Safari browser : Safari version 8 or higher is recommended.
  • iOS Chrome browser : Google Chrome version 25 or higher is needed.
  • iOS Firefox browser : Mozilla Firefox version 21 or higher is needed.
  • Android Chrome browser : Google Chrome version 25 or higher is needed.
  • Android Firefox browser : Mozilla Firefox version 21 or higher is needed.
  • Android Stock (WebView-based) browser : Android 4.0 or higher is needed.
  • Android Opera (Webkit-based) browser : Opera version 18 or higher is needed.
  • Windows Phone 8 Internet Explorer browser : IE 11 or higher is needed.

Output

Can I publish a virtual tour on Facebook or YouTube?

A virtual tour is not a simple image or video file, it is a group of files that have to be hosted on a web server (yours or your client's).

See our Web Publishing page for information about sharing on Facebook.


In which formats can Panotour Pro export the virtual tours ?

Panotour Pro enables you to export your virtual tours in the following formats:

  • HTML5 format, compatible with desktops, tablets and mobiles (including iPhone® and iPad®) and most of Android devices. Read also What is NOT supported by HTML5 player ?.
  • Adobe Flash® format (optional), compatible with all computers except tablets and mobiles.

Find our more about the export options of Panotour Pro in the Build Tab Section.

The tours are web pages intended for viewing online on a website and not offline.


How can I publish a virtual tour on the internet ?

A virtual tour is not a simple image or video file, it is a group of files that have to be hosted on a web server (yours or your client's).
Although Panotour includes a FTP Client to load your virtual tour on your server, a minimum of knowledge in web publishing is required. However, launching a virtual from your website is quite simple when all files are uploaded, just launch the .html file from your browser.

     Attention: Please note that web development and publishing is not a service that we provide, and as such we can not offer technical support on this matter beyond this documentation page on Web Publishing; nevertheless, you can use the if you have questions on this subject.



HTML5 Player

What kind of panorama is supported by HTML5 player ?

HTML5 supports:

  • Multi-resolution Full spherical panoramas.
  • Multi-resolution Planar panoramas.


What is NOT supported by HTML5 player ?

HTML5 does not support:

  • Multi-resolution partial panoramas: Partial spherical panoramas are not yet supported in multi-resolution, so viewing that panorama will be limited to the resolution of the generated cube faces. Solutions to counter this are:
    • Force your panorama as a full 360°x180° spherical panorama in Autopano (see here), which will result in a black strip in the area where there was no photos to use, and then use the Crop Tool in the hotspot editor.
    • Set the projection to Planar if the panorama content will fit this projection.
    • by editing the software registry. - This is an unsupported feature, so use at your own risk. We will not be able to offer support on software having used this 'hack' as there could be unforeseen issues elsewhere in the software or tour.
  • Lens flares.
  • Directional Sound Spots.
  • Directional Sound on Video Spots.
  • Rectangular spots only fit in the standard projection. They may move slightly if you change projection (in Flash they could be distorted correctly).
  • Animated gifs are not supported in the scene, however they do work if part of the interface or in external elements such as the Gallery, Website box, etc.


What is NOT supported by HTML5 player in VR mode ?

Same as HTML5 player limitations plus :

Features removed :

  • Autotour & Autorotation
  • Splash screen & Little planet intro effect
  • All spots tooltips (on over and permanents ones)
  • All transitions with animation/displacement
  • All plugins (only the Previous/Next Keys plugin can be added for Oculus exports)
  • All partial panoramas (1)
  • All planar panoramas (1)
  • Video scenes are not recommended for VR Mode as they require user input to start playing.

(1) If your first panorama is planar or partial the tour will be broken in VR mode.

See Notions - VR Mode.


Which plugins are HTML5 plugins?


KrPano & licensing

What is KrPano ? How can I use it ?

Panotour is a front end Graphical User Interface (GUI) for KrPano. KrPano is a partner software used to generate the players of the virtual tour.

KrPano also offers many additional scripts that you can use to customize your tours. If you are an advanced user and if you feel at ease with the XML programming, you can go on the KrPano website and use the scripts and examples provided in your own virtual tours. Panotour Pro includes a hidden KrPano licence, which you can retrieve by launching PTP > Help > licences > KrPano.

     Technical support of the features that strictly belong to KrPano is made through the KrPano website, on the forum available in English and German. Kolor does not offer a technical support for KrPano.


I have a KrPano licence but haven't bought Panotour Pro yet, is there any kind of discount I can get?

Yes, owners of an up to date KrPano licence can get a 100€ discount on the purchase of Panotour Pro, since Panotour Pro comes with a KrPano licence included. .


I have bought Panotour Pro, how do I retrieve my KrPano licence?

You can retrieve it by launching your registered version of Panotour Pro > Help menu > Licences > Get KRPano licences...


Can I add KrPano plugins to my tour?

If you own Panotour Pro, then yes, you can.
You can either add them to your built tour, by editing the xml to incorporate the additional plugins, or if you have the skills, you can adapt the KrPano plugins to be used directly from Panotour Pro as a plugin, so you won't need to edit your tour manually afterwards.

Either way some knowledge in xml and KrPano coding are required.

     Technical support of the features that strictly belong to KrPano is made through the KrPano website, on the forum available in English and German. Kolor does not offer a technical support for KrPano.


I bought a Panotour licence and registered, why does my tour still have watermarks?

If you built a tour with the trial version, before you registered, you will have to re-build the tour entirely to remove those watermarks. In the Build Tab, select Generate all panoramas, or build the tour in a new folder.
Also make sure to empty your cache, if the watermarks are still visible.


There is a link to Kolor and KrPano in my right-click menu, how do I get rid of it?

If you want to remove the links to KrPano and Kolor websites in the contextual menu (right click menu) you will need a Branding Free licence.


I have a Branding Free licence from KrPano, is it the same as the one on your store?

Yes it is. Make sure it is up to date, as KrPano has changed the format of their licences, which now present themselves as a long code instead of a file.
See here to register your branding free licence.


I bought a Branding Free for Panotour Pro 1.8, will it still work with Panotour Pro 2.0?

Yes, the Branding Free licence will work in the new version but you'll need the updated version as it's format has changed (it's now a textual licence instead of a file).

If you bought it from us, you can find the updated licence in your .
If you bought it from KrPano, you will have to update the licence.
See here to register.








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