What is RoundMe?
RoundMe is a web service that allows you to upload 360 images taken with a GoPro Fusion 360, Samsung Gear 360, or other 360 camera and edit them into a virtual tour of a location. RoundMe is very intuitive to use, and allows users to seamlessly transition from one 360 image to the next, while also reading information from nodes inside the image. Making your own 360 tour with RoundMe is relatively straightforward.
Logging In
To start, open a web browser (ideally on your laptop or desktop computer) and visit www.roundme.com. If you already have an account, you can log in here. If not, you can create a new account by clicking SIGN UP in the upper right. Enter your email address and your desired username and password, then agree to the Privacy Policy and click Sign Up. You can then log in by clicking LOG IN in the upper right of the homepage.
Creating a Tour
Once you’re logged in, you can click the green CREATE TOUR button in the upper right to create a new 360 tour, or click your account icon to view your published tours and tour drafts. After creating a new tour, you will be prompted to add your 360 images. Either click and drag the photos you want to use from their folder, or hit browse and navigate to your photos manually.
- NOTE: Keep in mind that you can add more 360 images to your virtual tour at any time simply by dragging them from another folder into the browser window. The site will display a message when you drag an image file in, confirming it will add the new image.
With a free, non-Pro account, you can upload a maximum of 15 360 photos a month. Ensure your photos are less than 10,000 x 5,000 pixels and are in JPEG, equirectangular panorama format. If you are uploading from a GoPro Fusion 360 or Samsung Gear 360 camera, your photos should already be in this format.
Editing Your Tour
Whenever you upload a 360 photo to your tour, a thumbnail of the image will be added to the others in a row at the bottom of the screen, with whatever the current selected image is taking up most of the screen. You can click and drag this image to view the current image from any angle. Make sure you are in Edit Mode by clicking the slider in the upper right so it turns to a green pencil icon instead of a blue eye. This will allow you to make changes to your tour, such as naming each photo, dragging photos at the bottom to reorder them, and adding portals and hotspots. You can click the blue “i” button in the bottom to change the main tour preview or enter a tour description or the white gear button in the upper right to change the general tour information.
Interactive Elements
You can click and drag the white “i” circle in the upper right into the 360 image to add a “hotspot.” These hotspots allow you to place information into the scene so someone viewing your tour can read information about the location or an object in it. You can add a title if you wish, or leave it blank.
Similarly, you can click and drag one of the thumbnails of the other 360 images from the bottom of the screen into the current image. This allows you to create a “portal,” which will link someone to that new image when they click on it. You can add a title to this portal if you wish.
- NOTE: If you want people to be linked to a specific viewing angle of the new image, you can slide “Custom view direction” to ON. This will bring up a preview of the new image, which you can click and drag to manipulate it into the viewing angle you want. Without this, the portal will link to the default direction of the image, which may not be what you want. When you’re done, select SAVE PORTAL.
Testing Your Tour
If you wish to preview your tour and see it the way a visitor to the site would view it, you can tick the edit slider in the upper right back to the blue eye icon, changing the editor into Preview Mode. This will allow you to click on hotspots and portals without editing them, but will not let you edit/add them or reorder the 360 images.
Other Functions
If you want to change the way you navigate your tour, you can click the three dots in the upper right and change the autorotation, autofollow, slideshow, fullscreen, or WebVR options. (Yes, WebVR allows you to view your tour in virtual reality if your computer has a VR headset connected.)
Finishing Your Tour
When you’re done editing your tour, you can go back into Edit Mode by ticking the slider in the upper left back to the green pencil icon. You can then click the white gear in the upper left, scroll down to the bottom, then if you’re sure everything is presentable as you want, you can click the Publish slider in the bottom left to publish your tour to the website so other people can view it.
