Tour and Panorama Configuration Options

This guide explains the main configuration options available in 360are for both single panoramas and virtual tours.

These settings help you control how your panorama or tour appears to visitors, how it behaves when opened, how it can be found through search, and how it can be saved or published.

Some options are shared by both single panoramas and virtual tours. A few options are available only for virtual tours, single panorama settings, or paid plans.

Opening Configuration Options

You can access configuration options by clicking the title of a virtual tour or single panorama from the All Assets or Dashboard pages.

You can also open configuration options from the asset drop-down menu on the All Assets page:

  • Edit VR Tour opens the virtual tour editor.
  • Edit Settings opens the single panorama settings page.

The settings are grouped into these sections:

  1. General
  2. Camera Control
  3. Geo & GSV
  4. Advanced Controls
  5. Hotspots
  6. Save, Preview, and Publishing Options

General

The General section contains the most commonly used settings. These options help describe your project, prepare it for search, control the first view visitors see, and generate a thumbnail.

tour-editor-settings

Project Description

Use Project Description to describe your panorama or virtual tour.

A good description helps visitors understand what they are viewing. It can also help with search visibility when your content is public.

Good descriptions are clear, specific, and useful.

Examples:

  • “A 360° virtual tour of a modern apartment with living room, kitchen, bedroom, and balcony views.”
  • “Panoramic view of a hotel lobby and reception area.”
  • “Interactive walkthrough of a real estate property in Tampa Bay.”

For best results, describe the location, space, purpose, and important details.

SEO / Search Tags

Use SEO/Search Tags to add keywords that describe the panorama or tour.

Tags help organize your content and make it easier to find. They may also help with search-friendly public pages.

Examples:

  • real estate
  • apartment
  • hotel
  • restaurant
  • showroom
  • school
  • office
  • museum
  • beach house
  • Tampa
  • Florida

Use short, meaningful tags. Avoid unrelated keywords.

Set Initial Viewpoint

Use Set Initial Viewpoint to choose the first camera angle visitors see when the panorama or tour opens.

To set the initial viewpoint:

  1. Open the panorama or first tour scene in the editor.
  2. Drag the view until it is facing the direction you want visitors to see first.
  3. Go to General settings.
  4. Click Set Current View.

This is useful when you want visitors to start by facing an entrance, main room, product display, scenic view, or other important area.

For virtual tours, the initial viewpoint is especially important because it sets the first impression before visitors start navigating between scenes.

Generate Thumbnail

Use Generate Thumbnail to create a thumbnail image from the current view.

To generate a thumbnail:

  1. Open the panorama or tour scene in the editor.
  2. Move the view to the angle you want to use as the thumbnail.
  3. Go to General settings.
  4. Click Generate Image.

A good thumbnail should clearly represent the space. Choose a clean view with good lighting and a recognizable subject.

The thumbnail may appear in asset lists, profile pages, tour previews, or other places where your panorama or tour is displayed.

Scene Navigation

Available for virtual tours.

Use Scene Navigation to show a thumbnail drawer on public virtual tours. This allows visitors to jump between scenes without only relying on transition hotspots.

Scene Navigation includes two options:

Enabled

Turns scene navigation on or off.

When enabled, visitors can see scene thumbnails and move directly to another scene.

Show on Load

Controls whether scene navigation is open automatically when the tour first loads.

Use Show on Load when you want visitors to immediately understand that the tour has multiple scenes.

Use it carefully if you prefer a cleaner first view with less interface visible.

Enable AI Chat

PLUS+ feature or add-on.

Use Enable AI Chat to add AI Chat to the panorama or tour page.

AI Chat can help visitors ask questions and receive guidance about the space. For best results, your project should include a clear title, useful description, relevant tags, and geo information when available.

The settings panel may include Validate AI Readiness to help check whether your project has enough useful information for AI Chat.

For best AI Chat results:

  • Use a descriptive title.
  • Add a helpful project description.
  • Add meaningful SEO/search tags.
  • Add location information when relevant.
  • Add useful scene descriptions and hotspot content when available.

Camera Control

The Camera Control section controls how the viewer behaves when visitors open and interact with the panorama or tour.

Enable Auto-Rotation

Use Enable Auto-Rotation to automatically rotate the panorama horizontally.

Auto-rotation can help visitors notice that the image is interactive. It is especially useful on public pages where visitors may not immediately realize they can drag the view.

Turn auto-rotation off if you want the view to stay still until the visitor interacts.

Auto-Rotate Delay

Use Auto-Rotate Delay to control how many seconds the viewer waits before auto-rotation starts.

A short delay starts movement quickly. A longer delay gives visitors more time to look around before the panorama begins rotating.

Typical values:

  • 3–5 seconds: starts quickly
  • 10–15 seconds: balanced default
  • 20+ seconds: waits longer before moving

Field of View

Use Field of View (FOV) to control how wide or narrow the view appears.

A lower FOV feels more zoomed in. A higher FOV shows more of the scene at once.

Typical range:

  • 50: narrower, more zoomed-in view
  • 75: balanced default
  • 90: wider view

Use a wider FOV for small rooms where visitors need to see more of the space. Use a narrower FOV when you want a more focused, less distorted view.

Pitch / Tilt

Use Pitch / Tilt (X-Axis) to adjust the view up or down.

This can help align the panorama if the horizon feels too high or too low.

Pitch is useful when:

  • The camera was slightly tilted during capture.
  • The scene opens looking too far up or down.
  • The vertical balance of the image feels incorrect.

Roll

Use Roll (Z-Axis) to rotate the view clockwise or counter-clockwise.

This can help straighten a slanted horizon.

Roll is useful when:

  • The panorama appears tilted.
  • Walls or horizon lines look slanted.
  • The camera was not level when the image was captured.

Use small adjustments and preview the result.

Geo & GSV

The Geo & GSV section contains location-related settings and Google Street View options.

Latitude

Use Latitude to add the geographic latitude coordinate for the panorama or tour.

Latitude helps identify where the content was captured.

Example:

28.0836

Use accurate coordinates when the location matters for search, maps, Google Street View, or AI Chat.

Longitude

Use Longitude to add the geographic longitude coordinate for the panorama or tour.

Example:

-82.7637

Use both latitude and longitude together for best results.

Google Street View

Available from single panorama settings. PLUS+ feature.

Use Google Street View options to connect a Google account and publish a panorama to Google Street View.

Available actions may include:

  • Connect Google Account
  • Connect / Reconnect Google Account
  • Publish to GSV
  • Update on GSV
  • View on Google

Use this when you want a single 360° panorama to appear on Google Street View.

Before publishing to Google Street View, make sure:

  • The panorama is high quality.
  • Geo coordinates are accurate.
  • The image represents a real physical location.
  • You have permission to publish the image.

Advanced Controls

The Advanced Controls section contains more detailed viewer behavior settings.

Most users can keep these at their default values.

Zoom Target FOV

Use Zoom Target FOV to control how far the viewer zooms during zoom-in effects.

A lower value zooms in more. A higher value zooms in less.

Typical values:

  • 20: stronger zoom
  • 30: balanced default
  • 40: lighter zoom

This setting can affect transition effects and viewer focus.

Max Tilt Angle

Use Max Tilt Angle (Vertical) to control how far visitors can look up or down.

The default value is typically near 85, which allows broad vertical movement while preventing extreme viewing angles.

A higher value allows visitors to look farther up and down. A lower value limits vertical movement more strongly.

Use this if you want to prevent visitors from looking too far toward the top or bottom of the panorama.

Hotspots

Hotspots are interactive points that can show information, open videos, redirect visitors, display webpages, or connect scenes in a virtual tour.

The settings panel may include hotspot options such as:

  • Info Hotspot
  • Video Hotspot
  • Redirect
  • Webpage
  • Transition Hotspot

Hotspots are documented separately because they involve their own workflow, placement steps, styles, and editing behavior.

Learn more here:

Supported Hotspots

For virtual tour creation steps, including transition scenes and navigation hotspots, see:

How to Create a Virtual Tour

Save, Preview, and Publishing Options

After editing configuration options, save your changes.

Depending on your account type and project state, you may see options such as:

  • Save
  • Save as Draft
  • Save & Publish
  • Save as Private
  • Preview

Save

Use Save to save your current changes.

Depending on the project status, this may save the current configuration without changing visibility.

Save as Draft

Use Save as Draft when the panorama or tour is not ready to be public.

Draft mode is useful while you are still editing descriptions, thumbnails, hotspots, scene order, AI Chat content, or other settings.

For virtual tours, Free users can build and preview tours in draft mode. Publishing a full virtual tour requires a paid plan.

Save & Publish

PLUS+ feature for virtual tours.

Use Save & Publish when the panorama or tour is ready to be shared publicly.

Publishing makes the content available through its public link.

Before publishing, review:

  • Project title
  • Description
  • Tags
  • Initial viewpoint
  • Thumbnail
  • Camera behavior
  • Hotspots
  • Scene navigation
  • Visibility settings

Save as Private

PLUS+ feature.

Use Save as Private when you want the content saved but not openly public.

Private visibility is useful for internal review, client previews, restricted sharing, or work that should not be publicly listed.

Preview

Use Preview to open and review the panorama or tour before sharing.

Preview helps confirm that:

  • The initial view looks correct.
  • The thumbnail represents the project well.
  • Camera controls feel natural.
  • Hotspots work correctly.
  • Scene navigation appears as expected.
  • AI Chat or other add-ons are ready.
  • The public viewing experience looks good on desktop and mobile.

Before sharing or publishing, review the following:

  • Add a clear project description.
  • Add useful SEO/search tags.
  • Set the initial viewpoint.
  • Generate a clean thumbnail.
  • Confirm auto-rotation behavior.
  • Check field of view.
  • Add geo coordinates when relevant.
  • Validate AI readiness if using AI Chat.
  • Preview the experience.
  • Save as draft, private, or publish based on your goal.

Need Help?

If you encounter issues while configuring your panorama or virtual tour, contact the 360are support team:

Contact 360are

Start creating and sharing immersive 360° experiences with 360are.