Enscape allows you to generate 360° panoramas in both stereo and mono. Stereo exports can be used with Google Cardboard. Panoramas exported from Enscape can be saved locally as a file or uploaded into the cloud where mono panoramas from the same CAD project can be combined to make a Gallery or a Tour that can help to showcase a project.

Individual panoramas are assigned a QR code which can be scanned to open the panorama on a mobile device, for example. Once a panorama has been uploaded to the cloud, whether single panoramas or sets of panoramas that are created as either a Gallery or Tour, they can be shared via a link, a QR code, or direct via email. These can then be viewed with a web browser on both desktop computers or mobile devices.

If you render a stereo panorama for Google Cardboard you can enable the cardboard mode on your mobile device by clicking on the cardboard ‘glasses’ symbol on the device when the panorama is open.

If you haven’t done so already, go ahead and create a panorama as outlined above. Come back to the Upload Management dialog, select the project listed under the Projects section of the dialog and any associated panoramas for that project will be shown in the dialog window.

It’s possible to manage and edit panoramas that have been created in another project whilst having another unrelated project open in the CAD.

Hovering your mouse over any of the panorama thumbnails in the Upload Management dialog will display a set of buttons, as well as some information about which project the panorama is associated with, when it was created, its resolution, and if it is a mono or stereo panorama.

Thumbnails for stereo panoramas will additionally display a ‘glasses’ icon, as well as indicating the Type of panorama when  mousing over it.

The three buttons along the bottom of the thumbnail allow the following functions:

Save panorama as file… – will prompt you to save the file locally. You will be able to choose from a JPEG Image (*.jpg, *.jpeg), Portable Network Graphics (*.png), or Windows Bitmap (*.bmp).

Delete panorama – file (only available when the panorama is not uploaded to the cloud.

Upload panorama to cloud – This will result in the selected panorama being uploaded to the cloud so it can be shared and be used in the Gallery / Tour feature.

Once a panorama has been uploaded to the cloud, the thumbnail will display a small cloud symbol at the top right of the thumbnail image to indicate that image is now also stored in the cloud. If you hover your mouse over panorama thumbnails you will notice the above three buttons have changed slightly to reflect some more functions that become available to a panorama that is stored in the cloud.

You can still download the panorama as a file locally, but deleting it is disabled, and a new button appears.

Clicking on the 3 vertical dots will reveal the following menu which, as well as providing an option to view the panorama in your web browser, also provides a QR code which can be directly scanned or which can be saved as a file locally, or which can be directly copied and then pasted into a document. The Copy link option will copy the panoramas URL.

In the Enscape settings, you can modify the overall rendering quality of panorama files, and this can be found in the Visual Settings‘ Output tab. This also affects the panorama rendering time and quality. Medium generally produces great results at a high speed, Ultra provides the highest quality but takes the longest time.

The resolution can be specified in the Output tab from the Panorama – Resolution drop down menu. Be aware that only the height is taken into account. The width is adjusted accordingly.

If you already have items uploaded to your Enscape Cloud, and you want to migrate them to Chaos Cloud using Enscape 4.1.1, click on the migrate button inside your upload management window. The Migrate Uploads window will open and give you an overview of items waiting for migration. This will include the number of Panoramas, Web Standalones and Panorama Galleries available to migrate. Once you are ready to migrate, click Migrate All Items.

Once the migration is complete, you can review your uploads in the relevant project folders on Chaos Cloud.

When you are logged in to your Chaos Cloud account, open any project folder to access a feature that allows you to Create Virtual Tour made up of multiple panoramas or images. Make sure to refer to this Manage Uploads article to understand how having an account will allow you to log in and access this feature.

Once you have uploaded a panorama to the cloud, a project will be automatically created using the same name as the CAD Project the panorama has been exported from.

Any panoramas that are uploaded to the cloud will use the name, date, and time as their file name by default. These files can be renamed in your Cloud Account if required. 

Renaming, moving, copying, deleting, and sharing, as well as uploading newer file versions, can be achieved via the 3 dots menu next to each file in the cloud. You can now add or copy existing files or panoramas to the newly created virtual tour project, or you can upload new files to it. All files added to the virtual tour folder will be included in the tour.

File Info

From the three dot menu, you can access the File info option, which opens the Information panel. This panel contains information about the date of creation, size, format and creator of the file.

Panorama mode – When in this mode, panorama images are displayed like such. When switched off, the panorama image appears flat.

Premultiplied alpha – Marks the uploaded image as an image with premultiplied alpha and visualizes it as such.

Edit the Virtual Tour

From the Edit button, you can start editing all of the files added to the virtual tour project. The files will load in the editor, and two options will become available to choose from – Hotspots and Highlights.

Hotspots

Hotspots are navigational elements placed inside the image that help the viewer “move” between the images.

To add a hotspot, you can drag an image from the gallery onto the opened image; click on the opened image or use the Add button. You can change the:

Target image from the drop-down.

Title – Add a title for the hotspot. You can adjust its visibility later.

Title Visibility – Select a visibility option: On hover, Always or Not visible.

You can choose from a range of icon and color options and adjust the size of the hotspot. Save the hotspot from the Save button or the check icon on the image.

To automatically adjust the orientation when moving from one panorama to another using a hotspot, make two hotspots in the two panoramas that are cross linked. This way the movement will seem as if the viewer is moving forward through the space. If there is no two-way link between panoramas or you are using the gallery to move to a new panorama, it will be opened with its default orientation.

Highlights

Highlights allow you to add contextual detail and design options for your virtual tour. You can fill them with a textual description, image attachments, and links to express your design ideas. You can use the Add button to create a new highlight or click anywhere in the image with the tag pointer.

The title, description, and any image attachments will be shown in the highlight bubble. You can choose from a range of icon and color options and adjust the size of the highlight.

Adding a Floor Plan or Minimap

You can set any flat image as a floor plan. Use the three dot menu on the file card (in Folder view) and find the option Set as floor plan.

Once you do that, a Floor plan tag will appear on the image file.

You can remove the setting from the same place – Unset floor plan.

To make the floor plan interactive and add a mini map to your virtual tour, link the panorama files to the correct place in the floor plan by using hotspots. Once you link the panoramas, a mini-map will appear at the bottom right. Moving between the spaces will make the mini map indicate where you are located on the floor plan.

You can also open the Floor plan at any time and move through spaces by using the hotspots there. Use the map icon  to open the Floor plan.

Viewing Files

Markers Visibility toggle  – Temporarily hide any existing comment/hotspot/highlight markers from the viewport, so you can enjoy an unobstructed view of the current file.

Sharing

To share a Virtual Tour with someone, all you have to do is to click the three dots on the bottom right of the tour folder. From the dropdown menu click Share. A window will pop up and you will be able to choose from various sharing options. 

You can either use the Copy button to copy the URL which can then be pasted into an email or document. Or, you can invite collaborators directly to an email address by adding the recipient’s email address and clicking the Send Invitation button. You can set the person as a Viewer or Editor.

The link access can have one of the following access levels:

Same as parent – The item inherits the same setting as the folder or project has.

Invited only – Only invited people are able to access the item.

Anyone can view – Anyone who has the link can view the item.

Anyone can comment – Anyone who has the link can view and comment on the item.

The Lock comments option can be set to either lock or unlock the comments to collaborators for this item. This will prevent new comments from being added, but the comment section will still be seen. It can also be set to Same as parent, which is the same as the parent folder or project setting. View the full list of user permissions here.

If you haven’t done so already, go ahead and create a panorama as outlined above. Come back to the Upload Management dialog, select the project listed under the Projects section of the dialog and any associated panoramas for that project will be shown in the dialog window.

It’s possible to manage and edit panoramas that have been created in another project whilst having another unrelated project open in the CAD.

Hovering your mouse over any of the panorama thumbnails in the Upload Management dialog will display a set of buttons, as well as some information about which project the panorama is associated with, when it was created, its resolution, and if it is a mono or stereo panorama.

Thumbnails for stereo panoramas will additionally display a ‘glasses’ icon, as well as indicating the Type of panorama when  mousing over it.

The four buttons along the bottom of the thumbnail allow the following functions:

Save panorama as file… – will prompt you to save the file locally. You will be able to choose from a JPEG Image (*.jpg, *.jpeg), Portable Network Graphics (*.png), Windows BitMap (*.bmp), or Tagged Image File (*.tif, *.tiff)

Delete panorama – file (only available when the panorama is not uploaded to the cloud.

Replace uploaded panorama in cloud… – As long as there is already a panorama uploaded to the cloud, then the Replace uploaded panorama in cloud… will become available to the user. This allows the panorama selected in the Upload Management dialog to replace a panorama that is already uploaded to the cloud. When replacing a panorama, any QR Code or URL associated with the panorama in the cloud to be replaced will be adopted by the panorama that replaces it.

Upload panorama to cloud – This will result in the selected panorama being uploaded to the cloud so it can be shared and be used in the Gallery / Tour feature.

Once a panorama has been uploaded to the cloud, the thumbnail will display a small cloud symbol at the top right of the thumbnail image to indicate that image is now also stored in the cloud. If you hover your mouse over panorama thumbnails you will notice the above four buttons have changed slightly to reflect some more functions that become available to a panorama that is stored in the cloud.

You can still download the panorama as a file locally, but deleting it is disabled, and two new buttons appear.

Clicking on the 3 vertical dots will reveal the following menu which, as well as providing an option to view the panorama in your web browser, also provides a QR code which can be directly scanned or which can be saved as a file locally, or which can be directly copied and then pasted into a document. The Copy link option will copy the panoramas URL.

Note that, if you use the Replace uploaded panorama in cloud… the QR code associated with the file being replaced will be retained and used for the panorama that replaces it.

The last button, a cloud with a line through it, will remove the panorama from the cloud if clicked. The panorama will remain in the Upload Management window until deleted via the Delete panorama button.

You will be prompted to confirm deletion from the cloud.

To replace a panorama in the cloud you will need at least one panorama already uploaded to the cloud and at least one panorama that is not uploaded to the cloud but is listed in the Upload Management dialog.
Once these requirements are met, click the Replace uploaded panorama in the cloud… button which will open a dialog where you can choose the file you’d like to replace.

Click Next to confirm the replacement, here in this example you’ll notice were replacing a mono panorama with a stereo panorama:

Go ahead and click the Replace button if you are sure you would like to continue. A ‘Replacing’ progress bar will indicate replacement is processing. Note, the Reference Link will stay the same for the newly uploaded panorama.

On completion you will then be informed replacement has succeeded by the message ‘The panorama has been replaced in the cloud’. Click Close.

In the Enscape settings, you can modify the overall rendering quality of panorama files, and this can be found in the Visual Settings‘ Output tab. This also affects the panorama rendering time and quality. Medium generally produces great results at a high speed, Ultra provides the highest quality but takes the longest time.

The resolution can be specified in the Output tab from the Panorama – Resolution drop down menu. Be aware that only the height is taken into account. The width is adjusted accordingly.

The Gallery Editing mode can also be set to full screen by clicking the button located at the bottom right side of the browser window. Press [Esc] to exit full screen mode.

You can then use the full URL and embed a single Panorama, Panorama Gallery, or Panorama Tour into a web page by adapting the following html snippet into the <body> of your markup:

<html>
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.3.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(function () {
$("#enscapeframe").on("mouseenter", function() {
$(this).focus();
});
});
</script>
<iframe id="enscapeframe" src="<your panorama / gallery / tour URL placed here>" width="882" height="520" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
</html>