| About | |
| Services | |
| Software | |
| CubicNavigator | |
| Tutorials | |
| FAQ | |
| CubicConverter | |
| CubicConnector | |
| Samples | |
| Contact |
Viewing a Panorama
Viewing a panorama in CubicNavigator is very similiar to QuickTime VR, if you've ever used one before. If you haven't, it's very easy. This section explains the basics of moving panoramic images around the viewer window.
So that we have a common reference point when talking about multinode movies, load the "Sample Tour" by clicking its bookmark in the drawer at the right of the viewer window.
Move the view by clicking the mouse near the center of the image and drag. You can drag left, right, up or down and the panorama will track your movements.
The more you move the mouse from where you first clicked, the faster the panorama will move. (This is why you should click somewhere near the center: so that you have more room to move the mouse without running out of window area.)
Moving the panoramic image around in this way is often referred to as "panning."
As you pan, you may notice the cursor changing slightly indicating the direction you are moving, and in this Sample Tour, you'll also see it change to a pointer when you are facing the pavillion or the bridge on the right. (Ignore these for now, they are covered in the next section under "hotspots" for multinode movies.)
You can increase the size of the region of the panorama you are looking at by zooming. This can be done by pressing the SHIFT key to zoom in, or CONTROL to zoom out, while the mouse cursor is over the panorama area of the window.
If you have a two button mouse, you can also use the right mouse button to zoom by right-dragging left and right, and if you have a mouse with a scroll wheel, the wheel will also adjust the zoom.
Up to now, viewing a panorama has been similar to what you would see using normal QuickTime VR or a Java applet, though perhaps you've noticed how much more fluid and smooth the movement is.
However, viewing fullscreen is when the power of OpenGL accleration really comes into its own. You can have a panorama fill the screen of a 20" or larger monitor with no frame rate lag and pan it around just as fluidly and smoothly as the smaller, windowed view.
To enter fullscreen mode, simply click the "Fullscreen" button on the toolbar, or use the shortcut key command-F.
The panorama will then take over the entire screen. You can pan and zoom it in the normal way (you may want to zoom out a bit as you are now seeing a wider area).
To exit fullscreen mode, press the ESC key, or again use the shortcut key command-F.
The next chapter discusses the buttons at the bottom of the window, but for now click the [K] button to display the "keywords" associated with the bookmark that the Sample Tour was accessed with.
Keywords are arbitrary pieces of text which you can enter when you create a bookmark. Most of the sample bookmarks included with the download contain the location of the panorama and the photographer's name prefixed with a © symbol.
Keywords can be searched in the bookmarks list or, as shown here, displayed on the panorama. You can choose the position where the keywords are shown on the panorama in the Preferences.
Now that you know how to view and move panoramas around, in the next chapter you can learn about VR tours which have more than one panorama: Multinodes & Maps.
Watch Movie of Tutorial Being Performed [1:03]