Zooming In and Out

This tutorial explains zooming in 360 panoramas and virtual tours on Kuula.

Zooming allows viewers to get a closer look at the details or take a wider view of the scene, enhancing the immersive experience. We'll cover the default zoom settings, adjusting zoom levels, and how to avoid zoom-related issues when embedding panoramas on a webpage.

Zoom Settings in the editor

By default, Kuula enables zooming in and out in 360 panoramas. The initial zoom level is set to the middle point between the maximum zoom-in and zoom-out extents. This balance provides a starting point for viewers to explore the panorama.

To view or change zoom settings in your photo, go to the "Zoom Settings" section. This panel allows adjusting the initial zoom level and set limits on the zoom range using the slider and the brackets. You can fine-tune the starting zoom level and customize the maximum zoom-in and zoom-out extents based on your preference and in the examples below:

1. Zoom allowed, initially zoomed at default level
2. Zoom-in blocked, zoom-out allowed
3. Zoom allowed, initially zoomed out
4. Zoom fully blocked at default level

Zoom in the player

Desktop

On desktop computers, your visitors can use two different methods to zoom in and out within the limits you set in Zoom Settings.

The most common way is to use the mouse wheel. By scrolling the wheel forward or backward, the view will zoom in or out accordingly. Users on laptops can perform a two-finger scroll on the trackpad to achieve the same effect.

An Alternative method is to use keyboard shortcuts. Pressing Z will zoom in, while pressing Q will zoom out.

Mobile and Touch Screens

On mobile devices and touch screens, viewers can zoom in and out using a pinch gesture. Simply place two fingers on the screen and move them closer together to zoom in or farther apart to zoom out. This intuitive gesture provides a seamless zooming experience for mobile users.

Zoom in the embedded player

When embedding a Kuula tour in-line within on a long scrolling webpage, using the mouse wheel for zooming may interfere with vertical scrolling, limiting the user's ability to navigate the page.

To improve the user experience, there is an option to disable mouse wheel in embedded tours. To prevent this issue, when exporting a link in the Export Editor, make sure to uncheck the "Enable zoom" box under Options:

Conclusion

Zooming in and out in 360 panoramas on Kuula provides viewers with an interactive and immersive experience. By adjusting the zoom settings, you can control the initial zoom level and limit the zoom extents.

Additionally, be mindful of potential zoom-related issues when embedding panoramas on long scrolling webpages, and disable zooming if necessary.

Now, go ahead and create virtual tours that allow viewers to zoom in and explore all the details of your panoramas!