Viewing, Managing, and Sharing 360° Panoramas

QUESTION

How do I view, manage, or share a 360° panorama using Chief Architect?

ANSWER

360° renderings can be exported from within the Chief Architect software, and then viewed, managed, and shared by utilizing the tools available in your Chief Architect Account.

To export a 360° panorama to the Chief Architect Cloud

360° panoramas must first be saved to the Chief Architect Cloud before they can be shared or embedded.

1. Access the plan you would like to export a 360° panorama from, navigate to 3D> Create Perspective View> Full Camera , and click and drag to create a camera view.
   
   

   For best results, position the camera as near as you can to the center of the scene before exporting.
   
   

   
   
2. Once the view is setup to your liking and is using the preferred rendering technique, select File> Export> Export 360 Panorama .
   
   
   Note: If you do not have a camera view open, the "Export 360 Panorama" option will be grayed out and inaccessible.
   
   
3. In the Export 360 Panorama File dialog that opens, check the Save to Chief Architect Cloud box, select the Create New or Replace Existing radio button, supply a Name and an optional Description, then click OK.
   
   If you selected the Replace Existing option, you must click the Browse button and choose an existing panorama to replace/overwrite.
    
   
   
   

   You can also specify the Width and Height, in pixels, as well as choose to save the panorama to disk or save it as a backdrop. To learn more, please access your program's Help documentation. 

   
   
4. If you're not already logged in, the Chief Architect Account dialog will display. Login to the online account that is associated with your Chief Architect license.
   
   
   
5. The upload will start, followed by an Information message confirming that the upload was successful. Your 360° panorama can now be viewed and managed within your Chief Architect Account.
   
   

To export a 360° CPU ray trace rendering to the Chief Architect Cloud*

*CPU ray tracing has been deprecated and is no longer available in X17 and newer versions. If you're using X17 or a newer version, utilize GPU ray tracing and follow the steps above. 

1. From the menu select 3D> Create Perspective View> Full Camera , then click and drag to place the camera.
   
   

   For best results, position the camera as near as you can to the center of the scene before exporting.
   
   

   
   
2. From the menu, select 3D> CPU Ray Trace .
   
   
   
3. In the CPU Ray Trace Current View dialog that opens, click the Edit button.
   
   
   
4. On the General panel of the CPU Ray Trace Options dialog. check the Generate as 360° Panorama box, specify the Dimensions and Resolution of the image, as well as any other ray trace options that are desired, then click OK. 
   
   
   
   
   
5. Click Ray Trace to start the CPU Ray Trace engine.
   
   
   
6. When the ray trace has reached the desired result, select File> Stop Ray Trace from the menu, then navigate to File> Export 360 Panoramic Ray Trace to Cloud .
   
   
   
7. If you're not already logged in, the Chief Architect Account dialog will display. Login to the online account that is associated with your Chief Architect license.
   
   
   
8. In the Export 360 Panorama File dialog that opens next, select the Create New or Replace Existing radio button, supply a Name and an optional Description, then click OK.
   
   If you selected the Replace Existing option, you must click the Browse button and choose an existing panorama to replace/overwrite.
   
   
   
9. The upload will start, followed by an Information message confirming that the upload was successful. Your 360° ray trace rendering can now be viewed and managed within your Chief Architect Account.
    

To view, manage, or share a 360° panorama

1. Sign in to your Chief Architect Account using a web browser, then click on Manage 360° Panoramas.
   
   

   You may notice an "Upload Panorama" button here; this allows you to upload 360° panorama files that may have been saved to your local computer, directly to the Chief Architect Cloud.
   

   
   
2. Click the View button next to your 360° panorama to view it in your web browser. 
   
   
   
3. If at anytime you want to remove or deactivate a 360° panorama from your account, check the box next to the Name of the panorama, then click Deactivate Panoramas. Click Yes to confirm the deactivation of the panorama. 
   
   If you want to later reactivate a deactivated panorama, or delete panoramas entirely, scroll down and click on View Inactive Panoramas; on the Inactive Panoramas page, check the box next to the Name of the panorama you want to reactivate or delete, then either click the Reactivate Panoramas or Delete Panoramas button. Click Yes to confirm the action. 
   
   Deactivated panoramas will be deleted automatically after 1 year. 
   
   
   
4. Panoramas are private by default. A panorama needs to be made public before it can be shared or embedded. Click the Make Public button to enable sharing.
   
   
   
   To make a 360° panorama private, click on the Make Private button. Any users that had access to the panorama lose access immediately and any open instances of the panorama will be closed.
   
   
   
5. Once the panorama is made public, click the Share button to bring up the different sharing options.
   
   
   • Direct Link
     Click the Direct Link tab to directly share your Panorama. Copy the link and paste it to wherever you're sharing it.
     
     
     
     
   • E-mail
     Select the E-mail tab. Click the Send E-mail button to open the default mail application on your computer (Outlook, Microsoft Mail, macOS Mail, etc.). Click the copy button if your primary e-mail is a web-based e-mail (Gmail.com, Outlook.com, Yahoo.com, etc.). This will copy the text to your clipboard. Go to your web based e-mail client and start a new e-mail. Then paste the text to add it to your new e-mail.
     
     
     
     
   • Embed
     Click on the Embed tab, copy the HTML code, and paste it into the source code for your website; or provide the code to your webmaster and ask them to add it to your website.