Reference

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Create Panorama

• Extract: allows one to extract a single image from an existing panoramic image. You need to tell PTools the desired width and height and its current orientation in the existing panoramic image (yaw/pitch/roll/HFOV) using the dialog Create Panorama Options.
• Insert: lets you build a panoramic image from existing source images. You need to tell PTools information on the desired panoramic image such as width/height/HFOV. Furthermore add the orientation data of the source image you want to insert (yaw/pitch/roll/HFOV) using the dialog Create Panorama Options or a selected script. Create Panorama Options or a selected script.
• Read Control Points: In this mode PTools scans your image for control points and the image number flag you have placed. All control point markers and the image number flag have to be on one layer which is selected. The output is appended to an existing script file you have previously selected.
• Run Optimizer: This runs the optimizer which reads the output of the Read Control Points mode. The optimizer then can derive important parameters like yaw, pitch and roll from two or more source images and the polynomial coefficients for correcting barrel/pincushion distortion using the Correct command.

Create Panorama Options

Image

• HFOV: This parameter describes the horizontal field of view of your lens. It determines in how far the source image has to be distorted.
• Width: This parameter describes the image width of your source image. It is only necessary in Extract mode and can left blank in Insert mode.
• Height: This parameter describes the image height of your source image. It is only necessary in Extract mode and can left blank in Insert mode.
• Format: This parameter describes with what kind of lens your source image was shot with. For an ordinary camera this is usually Rectilinear. If you used a swing lens camera this is Panoramic. Other options are two versions of a fisheye lens. Rectilinear. If you used a swing lens camera this is Panoramic. Other options are two versions of a fisheye lens.
• Position: The three parameters of position describe the orientation (yaw/pitch/roll) of the camera while picture taking and dertermine the placement of each source image in the final panoramic picture. Your images are also tilted and rolled and warped to fit.
• Correct: Press the Correct button if you want PTools to apply Correction factors to your source images (e.g. correct barrel/pincushion distortion) before it is built into the final pano.

Panorama

• HFOV: This parameter describes the horizontal field of view of the final panorama. Though most panos are made for whole 360 degrees and wrapped arround, of course any other angle is possible. Imagine for example you are standing in one corner of a room - only a 90 degree pano would make sense. If you are not planning to make a 360 degree pano you should remember what the total yaw of the camera was while taking your source images.
• Width: This parameter describes the image width of your final pano. It is only necessary in Insert mode and can left blank in Extract mode. If you want PTools to automatically find the final pano size, set it to 0. Actually it's easy to calculate the width: imagine your source images are 480 pixels wide, the HFOV of your lens is 40 degrees and the HFOV of the entire pano is 160 degrees. Since 40 degrees correspond to 480 pixels, 160 degrees must correspond to 1920 pixels. But a panorama can be set to any desired width also.
• Height: This parameter describes the image height of your final pano. It is only necessary in Insert mode and an left blank in Extract mode. If you want PTools to automaticaly find the final pano size, set it to 0.
• Format: This parameter describes what kind projection PTools will apply to the final panoramic image it roduces. Rectilinear might be useful for mapping textures in VRML or any raytraycing software. Use QTVR for cylindrical projection (like QuickTimeVR movies require) and PSphere for LivePicture's Zoomit movies in 'Sphere' mode.
• Save to buffer: This option saves the result to the internal 'buffer', which can be used in further processing steps. If the buffer is not used, a panoramic image containing the view (warped and scaled properly) is generated. An existing buffer is overwritten. The buffer itself is a Photoshopfile 'pano12.buf' placed in your Preferences directory (Mac) or your Program directory (Windows).

Stitching

• Load Buffer: If you selected Load Buffer PTools attempts to load a previously saved buffer image and combines the images.
• and blend: This determines that PTools should place the seam of the inserted image into the middle of the overlap of the two images.
• or paste: This determines that PTools should paste the inserted image completely into the buffer. For hiding the seam you can select a feather (in pixels).
• Feather: In both cases a feather can be selected which hides the seam.
• Color Correction: Panorama Tools analyzes the overlap of the images, and tries to adjust the colour channels to match both images. The found correction can be applied to either one none or both of the images.

Prefs

If Source and Result are differently sized

(a) Display Cropped/Framed Result image: This replaces your source image with the transformed image. Please note that you not only loose image information, but also some image characteristics: The horizontal field of view changes! Other than that it is the most convenient mode, and default.

(b) Save full sized Result to File: This creates a temporary file which holds the total result image. You can select path and filename for this file. Panorama Tools adds a unique identifier and the extension '.tif' to this name.

(c) Open Result with Application: Chooses if and with which application the saved result file shall be opened. On the Macintosh this is always the currently running Plug-in host, so to the user it looks as if the result were returned by the filter. On the PC this works with some plug-in hosts (Photoshop 4, Picture Publisher 6) but not with some others (Paint Shop Pro). In this case you have to select another application to display the result (the file format is TIFF). For this option to work, you have to check (b) also!

GraphicConverter can handle size changes, and thus displays only option (a) and (b), (b) not creating a file, but displaying the full-sized result.

Finally, combinations of the options are allowed, eg displaying a cropped image and saving the full sized image simultaneously is possible.

NOTE! Since the Get Pano command is a 'Filter' as well, these settings are important here. The Get Pano command inserts the buffer file (e.g. pano12.buf) into your image if (a) is selected. Since this is not desired in most cases you should deselect (a) and select (b) and (c). If nothing is selected nothing happens when choosing Get Pano.