Icons in the 360-degree View

The VR-Suite includes multiple icons, or Icons, that are used in a project to show the position of HotSpots, Slideshows, sound sources, the direction of a view, and so on. You can also import icons of your own design to use instead of those that are included.

Start Editor Mode

To change select or change any Icons in a project, you must be in Editor mode. Refer to: Editor Start Mode

Types of Icons

HotSpots

_images/icon-360-hotspot.png

HotSpots are used to jump between panoramic images. You may want to use separate Icons to differentiate which HotSpot jumps to the next image in a sequence and which HotSpot jumps backwards.

  1. Editor Start Mode

  2. Look at (in VR mode) or place your cursor (non-VR mode) on the desired Icon.

  3. Click the … button at the upper-right of the Icon to select another Icon.

  4. To see all the Icon options, keep clicking the … button.

See also Add Custom Icons to a Project and customization of the complete Interfaces: Skin Customization

HotSpot Target View Direction

_images/icon-360-gealview.png

By default, the Icon above points in the direction you will be looking when you enter this panoramic image via the connected HotSpot.

  • The name with the Icon tells which HotSpot relates to this view.

  • For the image, above, when the user jumps from the Location “1_1 Foyer” to the current Location, they will be looking in the direction of this arrow.

  • The HotSpot Target View Icons will be placed automatically if the Target View Icon is auto. See also HotSpot Target View Automation

  • If the Target View Icon is set to manual, manually drag the HotSpot Target View to be pointing in the desired direction.

  • When viewing a project (not in Editor Mode), the HotSpot Target View Icons are normally hidden by default. To make them visible refer to: HotSpot Target View Automation

_images/icon-360-startview.png
Start View

Besides using HotSpots, it is also possible to enter Locations by selecting them from the iMenu or using the right/left arrow keys on the keyboard. The Icon above points in the direction you will be looking when you enter this panoramic image with either of those methods

If you want the user to always look in a specific direction when they enter a Location, regardless of the navigation method used to get there, drag all the HotSpot Target View icons and the Start View Icon on top of each other.

Slideshow

_images/icon-360-slideshow.png

Slideshows are collections of images or videos that are activated by clicking a specific Icon in a Location. Any Slideshow Icon can be changed with these steps:

  1. Editor Start Mode

  2. Look at (in VR mode) or place your cursor (non-VR mode) on the desired Icon.

  3. Click the … button at the upper-right of the Icon to select another Icon.

  4. To see all the Icon options, keep clicking the … button.

See also Add Custom Icons to a Project and customization of the complete Interfaces: Skin Customization.

Audio as looping 3D Sound or Button with Autoplay

_images/icon-360-sound2023-3D-Sound.png _images/icon-360-sound2023-button.png
3D Sound and Sound Button

As the project editor, you can place sound sources in any Location using the iMenu, Media tab. Position them freely in 3D space by dragging the speaker Icon, shown above. In the 360°-View you can chose how the sound should behave:

  • as a looping 3D sound

  • as a controllable and visible sound button (The icon currently cannot be replaced by an individual symbol.)

Autoplay for Sound Buttons

Sound Buttons can start playing automatically when enter a location.

Add _autoplay to the filename for autostart a SoundButton on entering location.

Example: mysound_autoplay.mp3

Background Sound

Sound files with a filename that ends in _bg, like soundname_bg.wav, will be played in stereo and not shown as Icons. For more information on adding sounds to your project, refer to Step by Step Import. See also Audio Files / Sounds

Lensflare Effect

_images/icon-360-lensflare.png

When in Editor Mode, add the Lensflare effect to any Location using the iMenu, Locations tab. Drag the Lensflare Icon, shown above, onto the visible position of the sun in the panoramic image. Close Editor Mode to see the effect.

Point of Interest

_images/icon-360-poi.png

The project editor can place multiple “Point of Interest” labels in any Location using the iMenu, Media tab. Position the labels in 3D space by dragging the Icon, like the example shown above. For more information on adding sounds to your Point of Interest labels, refer to Step by Step Import.

HotSpot Target View Automation

You can handle a few concepts to manipulate the viewing direction after entering a Location via a HotSpot. As default you can not see the Target View Icons and the automatic mode Logic View is enabled.

Related information:

Moving HotSpots and Icons

Moving HotSpots using VR Glasses

While in VR mode, follow these steps to position the HotSpot Icons:

  1. Editor Start Mode

  2. Look at the desired HotSpot Icon

  3. Push and hold the button you used to enter Editor Mode (GearVR: Touchpad)

  4. Move your head to the desired position.

  5. Release the button

  6. The HotSpot is moved to the new position.

Tip

  • The positioning of Icons is especially easy standing up.

  • Arrow up will take you to the next 360 degree scene.

  • Every time you enter Editor Mode, a backup of the media.xml will be made into the folder Backups.

Using the Mouse

In non-VR mode, there are two methods to move HotSpot Icons using the mouse:

  1. choose the desired Location

  2. Editor Start Mode

  3. Position the mouse cursor on the desired HotSpot Icon.

  4. Hold down the left-mouse button and drag the mouse to move the Icon. This is useful for moving longer distances, since the panorama rotates with the mouse movement.

You can fine tune the placement of any HotSpot Icon by nudging them, like this:

  1. Position the mouse cursor on the side of the Icon in the direction you want to nudge it.

  2. Press the space bar a single time. (Do not press it twice quickly since this closes Editor Mode.)

  3. The HotSpot is nudged a short distance towards where the cursor was placed.

Using Controller

Find all controller options here: Controller

Adjusting the Distance in Stereoscopic Locations

Find all options to controll the depth position of HotSpots and Icons here: Controller

Add Custom Icons to a Project

You can change the icons for every individual HotSpot and Slideshow.

_images/icon-360-slideshow.png

  1. Create an image with .png format with the dimensions 512 x 512 pixels. Transparencies are supported.

  2. Browse to the subfolder icons that is located in the folder xxx-xxx/data_mypresentation/. In this example xxx-xxx is the name of your Portal Key and /data_mypresentation/ is the data folder for the project you want to edit. If the subfolder icons does not exist, create it.

  3. Copy the new icon files into this icons folder.

  4. Press Sync Media, in the upper-right of the iMenu, to initialize the new icons.

  5. The new icons can be exchanged via the … button next to the icons in Editor Mode.

To use other default icons for all HotSpots and Slideshows please follow these advanced instructions: Skin Customization

Restrictions in Editor Mode

See Editor Start Mode

In Editor Mode, icons are positioned in the Location, but they do not perform their normal function. For example, you cannot click on a Slideshow icon in Editor mode to view the Slideshow. You must leave Editor mode for the icons to perform their function.

Advanced Settings

Video Tutorials

Visit our Youtube Tutorial Video Channel