Viewing, Managing, and Sharing 360° Panoramas

The information in this article appliesto:

QUESTION

How do I view, manage, or share a 360° Panorama using Home Designer?

ANSWER

360° Panoramas can be exported from within the Home Designer 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*

1. Open the plan you would like to export a 360° Panorama from, navigate to 3D> Create Camera View> Full Camera , and click and drag to create a camera view.
   
   In Home Designer Pro, navigate to 3D> Create Perspective View> Full Camera .
   
   

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

   
   
2. From the menu, select File> Export> Export 360 Panorama .
   
   
   Note: A camera view must be open for the Export 360 Panorama option to be available. 
   
   
3. In the Export 360 Panorama File dialog that opens, check the Save to Chief Architect Cloud box, supply a Name and an optional Description, then click OK.
   
   In Home Designer 2023 and newer program versions, select the Create New or Replace Existing radio button under the Save to Chief Architect Cloud section. The Replace Existing option allows you to Browse existing panoramas that are located on the Cloud and replace/overwrite them.
   
   
   
   
   Note: You can also choose to save the 360 Rendering to a file location of your choice, as well as specify the Width and Height values (in pixels) here to your liking.
   
   
   
4. If you're not already logged in, the Chief Architect Account Login dialog will display. Login to the online account that is associated with your Home Designer license.
   
   

   If you do not have a Chief Architect online account, please follow the instructions in the "Creating a Chief Architect Account" resource located in the Related Articles section below.
   

   
   
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 Online Account.
   
   

To view, manage, or share a 360° Panorama

1. Sign in to your Chief Architect Online Account and 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 online account, click on the Deactivate button next to the panoramas name.
   
   
   
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.
     
   
   

To view a locally saved 360° Panorama rendering directly on our website

1. Navigate to: https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/products/360-viewer/
   
   
   
2. Click on the Load Your 360° Rendering button. 
   
   
   
3. Browse for and select a 360° Panorama rendering that is saved on your system. With the rendering now loaded, you can rotate and navigate within the scene.