Installation Guide for the Panorama Applet
Running the demonstration applet
Click on the file pan.zip. When the Winzip window appears
click on the EXTRACT button. In the top left hand text field entitled Extract To:
enter the directory where you want the Panorama files. Then click Extract
on the top right hand corner. Inspect the directory to confirm the files have been extracted. The Winzip window can now be closed. To run
the demonstration click on the file pan.htm and the applet will appear in your
browser in a few seconds. The applet control buttons should be self explanatory.
Applet dimensions
The default dimensions of the applet are a WIDTH of 326 and
a HEIGHT of 240. The HEIGHT of 240 includes 200 for the image height
and 40 for the height of the control buttons.
These values are set solely to fit the demonstration
web page and can be adjusted to any size. However you will need to
amend the HTML code for the layout of your text as necessary.
The dimensions of your image files
The width of the input image for each of the 4 scenes should be at least twice the value of
the applet WIDTH parameter in order for effective
scrolling to operate. The height of the image should be at least the
height of the applet HEIGHT parameter. The demonstration version has
a limit of 700 pixels on the total WIDTH of the images in any one scene. The registered version
has no limit on the image dimensions. Secure ordering is available at CNET -
http://panorama.store.com
Creating panoramic images
For true panoramic scenes the extreme rightmost 326, or "applet width" number of, pixels of the image
should duplicate the leftmost 326 pixels. When scrolling this will give the
effect of a smooth continuously rotating image. If the applet width is different
to the default value adjust the duplication as necessary.
An image editor will be required for cropping and resizing.
Irfan View
is an excellent freeware program which allows resizing to within a resolution of one pixel.
It uses minimal space on a desktop so multiple copies can be run concurrently allowing
inspection of several images at the same time.
An easy to use stitching facility is available
in iPhoto Express. This allows you to join up your images seamlessly. This program is available from
Ulead Systems .
Image compression
If you are uploading the applet to a web page it is important to keep
the image byte sizes as small as possible. If they exceed, say,
100Kb in total your visitor may have to wait several minutes for
them to download and may decide to leave your page. Image compression
programs are widely available, many of them free. JPEG Imager is an
excellent product and a free version is available from the following URL:
http://www.geocities.com/vas_b/ji1rc.zip
Setting up the applet PARAMETERS
The VALUEs for the images are the names of your image files. They do not have to be named
"image0.jpg" etc. as shown here.
The other basic PARAMETERS are:
- speed - An unfortunate name! The higher the value the slower the scrolling will be.
It actually refers to the wait interval in milliseconds between repaints of the image.
- backgroundcolor - This uses the R(ed) G(reen) B(lue) hexidecimal coding for colours
as used in HTML. A table with 256 colours and their associated hexidecimal codes can be downloaded from www.linda.com
<APPLET CODE="pan.class" WIDTH=326 HEIGHT=240>
<PARAM NAME="image0" VALUE="image0.jpg">
<PARAM NAME="image1" VALUE="image1.jpg">
<PARAM NAME="image2" VALUE="image2.jpg">
<PARAM NAME="image3" VALUE="image3.jpg">
<PARAM NAME="speed" VALUE="50">
<PARAM NAME="backgroundcolor" VALUE="#FFFFFF">
</APPLET>
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Additonal PARAMETERS
The following PARAMETERS allow you to turn off selected buttons in the control bar.
Setting "showbuttons" to "no" will turn all the control buttons off.
If "numberbuttons" is set to "no" the buttons "1", "2", "3", and "4" are turned off.
The remaining parameters refer to individual buttons.
<PARAM NAME="showbuttons" VALUE="no">
<PARAM NAME="numberbuttons" VALUE="no">
<PARAM NAME="firstbutton" VALUE="no">
<PARAM NAME="secondbutton" VALUE="no">
<PARAM NAME="thirdbutton" VALUE="no">
<PARAM NAME="forthbutton" VALUE="no">
<PARAM NAME="pausebutton" VALUE="no">
<PARAM NAME="slowbutton" VALUE="no">
<PARAM NAME="directionbutton" VALUE="no">
<PARAM NAME="fastbutton" VALUE="no">
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Controlling Panorama from JavaScript
In the default configuration of the applet the control bar is hardcoded in Java.
It is possible to turn these buttons off with the PARAMETER "showbuttons" set to "no".
Using the following or similar code the buttons can be positioned any where on your
web page. You can of course chose to display a subset of the buttons:
<FORM>
<INPUT TYPE = BUTTON VALUE ="Pause" onclick="actionPerformed('Pause')">
<INPUT TYPE = BUTTON VALUE ="Slow" onclick="actionPerformed('Slow')">
<INPUT TYPE = BUTTON VALUE ="<-|->" onclick="actionPerformed('<-|->')">
<INPUT TYPE = BUTTON VALUE ="Fast" onclick="actionPerformed('Fast')">
<INPUT TYPE = BUTTON VALUE ="1" onclick="actionPerformed('1')">
<INPUT TYPE = BUTTON VALUE ="2" onclick="actionPerformed('2')">
<INPUT TYPE = BUTTON VALUE ="3" onclick="actionPerformed('3')">
<INPUT TYPE = BUTTON VALUE ="4" onclick="actionPerformed('4')">
</FORM>
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Using this script when a JavaScript (not Java) button is "clicked" the function "actionPerformed()"
is called which passes the relevant argument to the Java applet. The effect will be just as if a
Java button had been pressed. The code for this function is as follows:
<SCRIPT Language="JavaScript">
function actionPerformed(str)
{
document.applets[0].javaScript(str)
}
</SCRIPT>
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If you would rather have a textual description of the control buttons, that is, do not
use a control bar, a script similar to the following could be used:
<A HREF="#" onclick="actionPerformed('1')">Garden</A>
<A HREF="#" onclick="actionPerformed('2')">Kitchen</A>
<A HREF="#" onclick="actionPerformed('3')">Lounge</A>
<A HREF="#" onclick="actionPerformed('4')">Bedroom</A>
<A HREF="#" onclick="actionPerformed('Pause')">Pause</A>
<A HREF="#" onclick="actionPerformed('Fast')">Fast</A>
<A HREF="#" onclick="actionPerformed('<-|->')"><-|-></A>
<A HREF="#" onclick="actionPerformed('Slow')">Slow</A>
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Included in the downloaded zip file is a HTML script entitled "pan.htm".
This contains example HTML and JavaScript that will implement the various options. Script starting with "<!--" and ending with "-->" has
been disabled and can be activated by deleting these delimiters.
Example Upload to a website
You will need an FTP program such as WS-FTP or Cute FTP. Trial or free versions of these
programs can often be found on CDs provided with Internet monthlies. Windows 95/98 has an
upload wizard which is quite easy to use.
Upload the file pan.class, pan.htm and your image files to same directory
on your website. In your homepage enter the following:
<A HREF="/directory_name/pan.htm">My Panorama Page</A>
Troubleshooting
When loading the applet it is recommended not to resize
your browser until the applet and all images are loaded. There is the possibility of
breaking the Java thread and disabling the scrolling function.
If you have any problems with the Panorama applet send an email to:
philipmorgan@freezone.co.uk
and we will do our best to help.
Thank you for downloading the Panorama applet.
Registration
The Panorama demonstration applet is fully functional and has no expiry date.
There is a limit on the width of non demonstration images of 700 pixels.
The registered version has no limits on image sizes and can be obtained from:
http://www.freezone.co.uk/philipmorgan/panorama/pan.htm
Last Updated:
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