Settings 

The VR-Suite has many important settings that can be modified from the iMenu, including the project’s preview image, how Welcome Text is to be displayed, what keystrokes to use to start Editor Mode, Conference Mode settings, and many others. To get the most from VR-Suite, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with all the items on this tab of the menu.

For many settings, changes require that the project be restarted before the change takes effect. This is noted when the words ** PLEASE RESTART!** appear in the lower-right corner of the iMenu.

Some settings can also be manually configured by advanced users in the XML files settings.xml and media.xml. In the settings.xml you will find general information that is specific to the device or the user, such as the name to be displayed during a conference or network settings (proxy). The media.xml file stores information specific to the presentation, e.g. the paths to the 360° media used or the Location of the HotSpots in the panorama..

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu 

Attention

When Expert Mode is off, some features are hidden to make everything easier to use.
Depending on your license type, Expert Mode is activated, deactivated or not available by default.
Enable the Expert Mode

To use the Settings tab of the iMenu:

Editor Start Mode
Launch the iMenu
Choose the tab Settings
Highlight the desired setting and click the option on the right-side of that item to change the setting.
Some settings have multiple options. Click again on the selected option to see the other choices.
There are multiple pages of settings available on this tab. Click the down-arrow at the bottom of the list to see the next page of settings.

Start & Conference 

Depending on the type of license and its configuration, the options for Conference might always be hidden, visible or only visible in Expert Mode.

Conference Mode 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

With the setting Conference Mode you can choose whether options regarding Conference Mode appear at the start of a project. Select from these options:

Start Tour Alone: No conference choice is shown at the launch. The project is always launched in single-user mode.
Choose at Start: At launch the user can choose if he wants to
- Start Tour Alone
- Start Conference
- Enter Conference (when a conference is already started by another participant).
Host Conference: Starts a conference automatically
Join Conference: Join the first available conference

During a conference, multiple users on their own devices can view the same project. The project must first be downloaded to all devices. The participants will see the view point of the others as laser pointers. For more information about Conference Mode, refer to: Conference and Mirror via Network

Your Name in Conference 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

Use Your Name in Conference to enter the name you wish to use in Conference mode. The default name is “User”. To change the name:

Click on the User to the right of Your Name in Conference
Enter the name you wish to use in conferences by clicking on the letter icons or typing it on the keyboard in non-VR Mode.
Click the green check mark or press the Enter key in non-VR Mode.

Conference Slideshow Sync 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

With Conference Slideshow Sync the leader can open and control the Slideshows for all participants. Video spooling is not synchronized.

When the leader starts a slideshow, all participants are brought to the same 360° Location and the Slideshow is opened. The participants cannot close the Slideshow. The Slideshow is closed when the leader closes it. By default, the status of videos is not synchronized. Change this setting by selecting:

On
OFF

Mirror via Network 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

With the Mirror via Network Receive setting, you can choose to mirror the view of a PC or mobile device onto another PC or Smart Device. For example, turn this on to mirror what a user with a VR headset is seeing on another monitor for others to view. The computer to be mirrored starts the conference (via Internet or LAN), then join the conference on the second device.

Choose Off to disable this option
Choose Receive from Leader to make this option active

Read important information: Mirror a View to a PC or Device

Set this as Start Location 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

Use this setting to define which location is initally viewed when the project is launched. The default starting location is the first location listed on the iMenu. To select a different starting location:

Choose the Locations tab (at the top of the iMenu).
Navigate to the location you wish to use to start the project by clicking the Arrow in a Circle icon.
Select the Settings tab.
Highlight Set this as Start Location.
Click Set Current to set the current location as the initial location.

Automatic Project Start 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

If you enable Automatic Project Start, the current presentation is automatically loaded whenever you start VR-Suite. In this case, the Project Portal is skipped and the user is taken directly to the selected project. This function is useful if, for example, only a certain presentation is to be shown at a trade fair or during an important presentation, or if the entire system is to start automatically after a power failure.

This setting has two options:

OFF
ON

Presentation Safe Mode 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

The Presentation Safe Mode has two possible settings:

OFF
On

When set to True, several functions are removed from the Project Portal. This provides a way to ensure your project cannot accidentally be altered, deleted, or duplicated by a person viewing it. In Safe Mode, only projects that are already downloaded are displayed. Presentations that are additionally available on the server are hidden.

In Presentation Safe Mode, these options are no longer available on the Project Portal:

Enter Portal Key
Enter Serial
Reload Settings
Duplicate Presentation
Delete Presentation
Delete Presentation from Server

When Presentation Safe Mode is set to On, a small lock symbol is visible in the Project Portal.

Project Options 

Laser & Guided Tour 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

With Laser & Guided Tour you can switch on the use of a laser pointer for VR Mode. For inexperienced users, the Laser Pointer makes it easier to select icons, like HotSpots and Slideshows. We suggest to leave the Conference Name empty. Guided Tour activates an arrow that will always point to the Guided Tour HotSpot. This makes it easier to find the “next” HotSpot and not get lost in the project. Choose from these options:

Off
Laser
Guided Tour

iMenu Response 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

Use the setting iMenu Response, to adjust how easily the i Icon is displayed or to shut it off completely.

Off: the i Icon is never shown (except in Editor Mode). This affects also the Web Export.
Low: When in VR-Mode, you must move your head very precisely straight downward to access the iMenu. This is meant for advanced users, so the i Icon does not distract them too often.
Middle: Even with some sideways head movement, the i Icon is still displayed.
Everytime: The i Icon is always displayed. This is ideal for new users or for a frequently changing audience so they do not have to search to access the menu.

Show Welcome Text 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

The setting Show Welcome Text defines when Welcome Text is displayed

Show Once: The Welcome Text is shown only when the Location is loaded for the first time. (This can be reset using the x key)
Everytime: Use this option to have Welcome Text displayed every time the Location is loaded.

Hide all HotSpot Labels 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

The setting Hide all HotSpot Labels defines if the names of the HotSpots are visible or not.

Off default
On hide all labels

Hide all Slideshow Labels 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

The setting Hide all Slideshow Labels defines if the names of the Slideshow are visible or not.

Off default
On hide all labels

Reset on Inactivity 

If the VR headset is inactive for a specified number of seconds, the presentation will start at the defined Location the next time the headset is used. This is useful in a classroom or a conference setting where multiple people may be sharing a headset to view the same project.

Off
On

Advanced Reset on Inactivity Settings

Edit this setting in media.xml

<tourSettings>
    ...
    <inactivityReset enabled="true" idle_threshold="5" reset_location="1_2" />
    ...

enabled = false
Deactivate the reset
enabled = true
Activate the reset
idle_threshold
Time in seconds before reset
reset_Location
Location which will be started after the reset

Slide Duration 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

Set the duration that Slideshow images are displayed with the Slide Duration setting. Choose from these options:

2 sec
3.5 sec
5 sec
7 sec
Individual (With this setting, the duration to display individual imagess can be set by manually editing the file media.xml)

Note: This setting does not affect the duration of videos since they play to the end.

Number in Menu 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

Using the Number in Menu, in the iMenu, a numbering can be shown left of the Location.

Off
By Category The Locations in each Category are numbered starting at 1
Category one
Location one

Location two
Category two

1. Location three

2. Location four
Folder ID Shows the name of the folder 1_x. Attention: the Editor Mode always shows the folder ID
Continuous All Locations are numbered independent of the Categories
Category one
Location one

Location two
Category two

3. Location three

4. Location four

Advanced 

Editor Start Mode 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

To prevent the unwanted editing of a project, use this setting to temporarily change the method used to Start Editor. This is helpful when people are viewing the project who you do not wish to be able to change it. Choose between these methods to enter Editor Mode:

2 x spacebar
10 x spacebar + password (default received via email)

Whenever you change this setting, you must restart the project for the change to take effect.

Note

If you select 10-times click, you are also required to enter a password. We have sent your default password via email together with the license serial and it can be changed using the setting Change Editor Password.

Once you have started Editor Mode using a 10-times click, the project reverts to using the 2 x spacebar option. This makes it easier to temporarily get in and out of Editor Mode. Restart the project to return to using the 10-times click option.

Refer to this link for more information on how to enable the Editor Mode: Editor Start Mode

Change Editor Password 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

With Change Editor Password you can set an individual editor password. You must restart the project for the change to take effect.

Warning

Once you change your password, you will not be able to reset it!

Warning

The new password is valid for all devices associated with your Portal Key and will be synchronized over the Internet.

If you lose your password, we can reset it for you, but we need your serial number for authentication!

360 Recording Mode 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

With 360 Recording Mode you can start a special mode to capture a 360° video of you project. The rotation will not be recorded because it will be done by the user in an interactive 360° video player or it can be added in the post production with e.g. Adobe Premiere. The movement of the laser pointer and all interactions will be recorded. During the recording, the laser pointer will be scaled larger. This will help the viewer to follow the interactions more easily.

The video files are stored in the folder 360 Recordings inside your project folder.

There are two different modes for recording. Advanced users can set it here: Advanced Recording Settings

Mouse Mode: For normal mouse operation. Buttons are simply clicked.
VR-Simulation: The image is rotated with the mouse. Buttons are triggered when the crosshair in the middle of the screen are moved over the buttons.

Start in 360° Recording Mode

Editor Start Mode
Launch the iMenu
Choose the tab Settings
Scroll down to 360 Recording Mode and click on Enable

The VR-Suite will restart now.

Create a Recording

Start in 360° Recording Mode
Press p to start the recording
Walk through your project
Press p to stop the recording
In the following dialog, choose whether you want to stop this recording or whether you want to Inject Metadata.

Inject Metadata

Only available on Windows PC.

When is an injection of metadata important?

Do the injection to display the 360° video interactively turnable in players like Facebook and YouTube.
To use the video inside|the VRS|or produce a HD 16:9 Video in Adobe After Effects for example, it is not necessary to do the injection.

After you have stopped the recording, select in the following dialog Inject 360° Metadata to your Video the option Yes
Wait until the Spatial Media Metadata Injector has opened.
Click on Open
Select your latest recording file and click Open
Mark My video is spherical (360)
Click on Inject metadata
Click on Save to save the new file into the same folder.
Close the Spatial Media Metadata Injector

Advanced Recording Settings

Open the following info box to see more options like Control Mode, Laser Pointer and Graphics Card Options.

Advanced Recording Settings

It is possible to set some options manually in the settings.xml.

Control Mode

<EquirectRecordingSettings>
...
    <control_mode>default</control_mode>
    ...
normal non-vr controls
default

vr-click aim with center of screen
vr_simulation

Laser Pointer

<EquirectRecordingSettings>
...
    <laserpointer_override>GuidedTourNoName</laserpointer_override>
    ...
Options

true for enabled

trueNoName for enabled with the Username hidden

GuidedTour for enabled with arrow shape that points to next tour hotspot

GuidedTourNoName for GuidedTour Mode with the Username hidden

Default: GuidedTourNoName

Laser Pointer Size

<EquirectRecordingSettings>
...
    <laserpointer_scale_override>2</laserpointer_scale_override>
    ...
For better visibility, we recommend to scale the laserpointer larger when recording.

Default: 2

Resolution

<EquirectRecordingSettings>
...
    <resolution_override enabled="false" width="3980" height="1920" />
    ...

FPS

<EquirectRecordingSettings>
...
    <fps_override enabled="false">24</fps_override>
    ...

Graphics Card Options

In some cases it is possible to improve performance by adjusting these settings.

Default case
<EquirectRecordingSettings>
...
    <ffmpeg_options_override enabled="false" file_ending=".mp4"></ffmpeg_options_override>
    ...
User specific Case
<EquirectRecordingSettings>
...
    <ffmpeg_options_override enabled="true" file_ending=".mp4">-pix_fmt yuv420p -preset ultrafast -crf 1</ffmpeg_options_override>
    ...
Set enabled to true if you want to change the settings

Default, Software Encoding with High Quality:
-pix_fmt yuv420p -preset ultrafast -crf 1

Example Nvidia GPU Encoding:
-c:v h264_nvenc -pix_fmt yuv420p

Example AMD GPU Encoding:
-c:v h264_amf -pix_fmt yuv420p

Logo & Splash Registration 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

It is possible to customize VR-Suite to place your own logo in the iMenu, the Project Portal, and the Global Loading Image that appears when you launch the program. Both files are valid for your Project Portal.

To the right of Logo & Splash Registration, click on Change Image to bring up a dialog box with options used to change the Global Logo and the Loading Image.

Global Logo: Click Change to select and embed the logo for that will appear on the Project Portal and the iMenu.
Global Loading Image: Click Change to select and embed the image that will be shown when a Project is loading.
Logo filenname: logo.png and splash.png
Path: xxx-xxx/data_mypresentation (where xxx-xxx is your Portal Key)
Logo dimensions: 990 x 338 px
Splash dimensions: 1024 x 400 px
File Format: .png transparency is supported

The License Key will be entered in the Project Portal. See chapter Enter the License Key

Project Preview Image 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

Preview images are shown for each project in the Project Portal. To select a new preview image for the currently loaded Project:

Highlight the setting Project Preview Image
Click on Change Image
Browse to find the desired image and click Open

Preview image dimensions: 1280 x 720 px Visible area: 550px height

Quality Settings for Headsets 

How to find the Settings Tab of the iMenu

With Quality Settings you set the rendering quality of all content using a ranking from * to *****.

Choose ***** For the Best rendering quality. When using this quality setting, make sure the computer or Smartphone is capable of displaying the content at this level.
Choose *** For Good rendering quality which is acceptable on most devices.
Choose * For Lowest image quality that can be displayed even on older and low-speed devices.

Video Tutorials

Visit our Youtube Tutorial Video Channel