Why is Krpano not app friendly?

  • Hi,

    No harm in asking so just throwing the question out there to see what the response is. I know others are thinking about it *wink*

    Some people here have managed to get some sort of app going with Krpano but I’ve never seen a demo plus not sure if it’s just for iOS or Android.

    To make some real money out of virtual tours and not just scrape by with the odd job here and there then It seems like a no brainer to get Krpano up and running inside apps. The app also has to work in both iOS and Android to make it popular so none of this iPad only or Flash only solution as it's a waste of everyone's time and won't cut it in the professional world.

    At first I thought it was a download size issue as a tour with many scenes soon adds up in mb with all the image tiles or cube faces but then quite
    recently I installed the free Guggenheim app which was a whopping 135mb but well worth it. There’s actually additional download content within the app so the total download size is probably well over 200mb.

    Size isn’t the issue then because mobile tiles can be used instead of multires plus to get something that offers as much media as the Guggenheim app
    you’d never get it under 100mb.

    So perhaps it’s a coding issue and you have to be some sort of xml / Javascript wizard to work out the paths to folders, plugins and swf files? That’s the only issue I can think of that's holding everyone back.

    Looking at software that build apps, there’s mainly the monthly fee versions which to me is dead money. I know a person can build an app interface in Flash using the regular timeline and layers, movie clips etc. and then exports it to iOS and Android with very little problems. He obviously had to purchase the Adobe Flash software (or get sucked into the dreaded CC versions) but at least you have it there installed on your computer and you know the software will remain alive for many years to come with it being Adobe.

    If someone here has mastered the art of adding Krpano tours inside an app then good on you. How about sharing the process? You could quite easily charge us for the knowledge and most of us will gladly pay.

    Keep these 360’s that we all enjoy so much alive and in demand because at the moment we're missing out on a massive market.

    Thanks for your time,


    Andrew

  • I did a little more looking and came across the iOS only Kolor Eyes SDK.

    Looked at a couple of the free examples and look very nice. Bears 360, Geyser 360 & Vocano 360. Removing the video 360 would lighten the download size so a regular tour may not be so large.

    Have to email them for a quote so have done so and will add the quote price to this post. I'm guessing I would also need Panotour Pro costing €399.00 ($600AUD)

  • Hi!
    you don't need panotour or eyes (sorry Kolor ;) )
    all what you need is just framework for making apps for ios or android based on system builtin webkit.
    there is just html css and javascript, so you can simple embed krpano into such application.
    Btw, if you need desktop application for mac and win with krpano embeded tour just let me know ;) i can make it.

    Best wishes
    Andrey

  • Well I'm still plugging away and managed to get something up and running via Dreamweaver using JQuery. It's just a few pages and one page has a link to the index.html in the 'tour' folder. I then zipped the project, uploaded to Phonegap Build to create the .apk file for Android.

    After moving the newly created .apk file to a server then connecting directly to it via samsung phone browser I was able to download and install it for offline use. Multires tiles don't appear to be supported but I can get just the mobile tiles to show and rotate. Saying that only one tile appears to load fully and I think the rest is the preview image but it's a start *thumbsup*

    Scrolling text windows, map with radar, scrolling thumbnail bar works fine. My toggle audio button is visible but doesn't seem to load anything.

    Also found out that Phonegap Build (paid version) has a max upload zip size of 40mb and as most quality media apps would be way over 40mb I've no idea what use a subscription is other than testing small apps?. Very odd and judging from posts online it's annoying the hell out of app makers. Is Adobe making anyone happy these days.

    Next few days I'll be playing around with Eclipse and anything else I can find to see if I can work
    out how to create the .apk file on the computer instead of uploading all
    the time. Uploading 35mb is so slow.

    Anyone else interested in creating a packaged app (not a web version) for Krpano then please get in touch and we can bounce ideas around. I'm currently Android only but JQuery works just as well on iOS as Phonegap Build offers a file for it if you're a registered developer. I have an iPad Air for testing but no Apple based laptop / workstation.

    Cheers,

    Andrew

  • Hi.

    Thought I'd bump this original post to see if anyone has made any progress on making a KRPano Multires tiled virtual tour packaged app (not a web version) that can be downloaded via the Apple & Android store?

    I now have access to the Adobe products via cloud subscription and noticed this on their site so way better than the original 35mb. Looks like I have access to 1GB now *smile*

    Zitat

    New App Size Limits
    We are increasing our app upload size limits! The new limits are 50MB for free tier users, 100MB for standalone users and 1GB for Creative Cloud subscribers

    Even using this method I would have to upload each time I wanted to test and uploading speeds are generally awful from my home area. A 100mb - 200mb tour would be painful to upload. Local testing would be more ideal then the final finished version can be uploaded for packaging.


    If anyone wants to get involved then I'd love to hear from you and more than happy to split costs.

    Many thanks,

    Andrew

  • Why do you not make an iBook.

    Its really easy, anyone can do it with the free iBooks author.

    I am working on one now that will be 1 gb in size with around 80 panoramas.
    Full support for multiresolution which you can not get in an app.

    I started testing 1,6 gb which also worked fine but I have since then tuned it down to 1 gb

    Have just done tests and panning works even better than Safari.
    Also video and sound works fine.

    And you can distribute them without using the app store,

    There are several 360 iBooks in the official store which are based on Krpano.

  • Thanks for the reply Hans.

    I'll certainly look into iBook as an option and would be very interested to see your final product. Let us know when it's out and I'll buy it. Will have a look over the next few days and how things are created for iBook.

    It's creating a tour for both Apple & Android that seems to be a headache. Years ago it was common to see everyone with an iPad but now Samsung Galaxy pads are all over and such a large market to miss out on. The app was really a way to offer the customer a choice. iPhones are obviously still everywhere but it's an actual Pad / Tablet that most seem to use in homes rather than a desktop. I'm the same. Love my desktop for design but use the tablet for everything else.

    Perhaps it's still not time for a dual tour as there isn't a design solution?

    Cheers,

    Andrew

  • Andrew, Hans, Klaus,

    I have just started investigating using Krpano within a phonegap app, targeting both iOS and Android and ran across this thread. I have a website with hundreds of multires panos (gcpano.org). I would not expect to create an app containing all the pano content since it would be far too large. What I ideally would like to do would be to allow the user to download portions of the content, say up to around 30 panos at a time, and then allow the user to see just that subset offline, while the full content would always be available online. The user could rotate the subset of content they keep offline over time.

    I do not see iBook as an option - I want to maintain as much of the interactivity that I have in the web version as possible, and I could not possibly do that in an iBook, not to mention the size with hundreds of panos.

    Hans you state that it is not possible to do multires offline. Like I said I'm still just investigating so I haven't tried it. Why is it not possible? You can't pass a file:/// url in the xml or Klaus's code can't handle it? I hate to give up multires in an app. It works beautifully now in my web version and the panos are stunning on a retina display on an iPad or Android tablet. If it's a shortcoming in Klaus's html5 code has anyone asked for a fix?

    I want to find a way to make this work, but I don't want to bang my head on a wall uselessly.

    Cheers,
    Larry Wieland

  • Larry , I assume that if you can use the Krpano inside an app you can probably also use the multireolution.

    But I never seen an app with a functional Krpano tour inside.

    For iBook you simply import your tour as a widget so you keep the functions exactly like it is in you web site.

    After you made some templates for the index.html and the very simple text file that connects it to the ibook it is all
    just a matter of making a template for the ibook and then just convert your krpano folder to a widget by adding .wdgt to the name.

  • Hi,

    from krpano perspective itself it doesn't matter if on the web or locally in an app - there everything is the same.

    BUT - several browser engines are restricting the file:// access - and that's nothing that a script like krpano could change. That's a core/fundamental limitation of the browser itself. The best solution for this would be use an app-internal localhost server to load/serve the files.

    Best regards,
    Klaus

  • Hans and Klaus,

    Thanks for the replies. That is enough encouragement that I am going to have a run at creating an app. I'll post progress or lack thereof on this thread. I'm confident I can get my tours to run, given the way I have them structured. I've created my own JavaScript wrapper around the KRPano engine and don't use KRPano for much more than switching the viewed panorama or positioning and swings within my tours.

    Cheers
    Larry Wieland

  • Hans and Klaus,

    Thanks for the replies. That is enough encouragement that I am going to have a run at creating an app. I'll post progress or lack thereof on this thread. I'm confident I can get my tours to run, given the way I have them structured. I've created my own JavaScript wrapper around the KRPano engine and don't use KRPano for much more than switching the viewed panorama or positioning and swings within my tours.

    Very nice.
    If you could go into more detail as I plan to give it a go myself (as soon as I port my old Krpano work to HTML5).
    You don't have to give the code if you don't want to, but general ideas/guidelines would help.
    Heh, no sense in reinventing the wheel.

    PS: You GCP is enormous and awesome. I'm working on a similar project, albeit much humbler in scope, just 50 VRs so far

  • Hi!
    dunno is it correct post for such thread but
    i'm using node-webkit for making desktop app with krpano
    btw i make working app for demonstration pano on more then one monitor in any combination
    on pc with few monitors
    or
    few networked pc's
    anyway, i think node-webkit is good enougth for making desktop app

    Hope i help to somebody :)

    Andrey *thumbup*

  • Thanks Andrey. I've never heard of the node-webkit and will look into it.

    It's really making a native IOS and Android app that has been a challenge (without any need for an internet connection once it's installed and preferably multires) although the past couple of weeks a few code wizards here have got a few things up and running which is fantastic news.

    No one wants to actually tell
    anyone else how they did it at the moment so I guess the rest of us will
    get there eventually and we can all enjoy making apps with KRPano *wink*

    Cheers,

    Andrew

  • Hi Andrew/Andrey

    have you had any success on this? I have developed a Pano for a customer and he wishes to have this as an app in android (and/or) ipad. Andrew, any update on your using Kolor eyes SDK?

    I have just 6 panos and a few still images for my package and so assume this would be a very small file (the app) which can even be sent by whatsapp to all.

    I had earlier used the apk function in EasyPano (and successfully uploaded the same to Google Play), but had to move away from them due to their pathetic handling of customer queries and the bugs in the product.

    Rgds
    GP

  • Hi GP,

    Yes I've managed to get an Android app up and running by using Adobe Phonegap Build to compile the file. They upped the max file upload to 1GB so it now seems like something worth while using if the need arises for a larger tour. The zip file I uploaded is basically just the regular tour directory as PB looks for index.html. PB gives you a All strange things happen with any image plugins as they are either too small or too big but that can be fixed through trial and error in the vtourskin.xml file. I also make it HTML5 only. Once compiled PB gives you a QR Code and you just scan it with your Android Phone / tab to install the app file.

    The pano images I used were only the mobile versions at 1024 X 1024 and they still look pretty good on a Galaxy Tab. I'll try and up the resolution a little though and see how far I can go before it crashes. Normally the mobile 6 tiles are approx 2mb so want to go up to at least 4mb if it's a smaller tour.

    Got a Mac Mini last week but haven't had the time to use it so hopefully next week will attempt the IOS version and let you know. Have to get a Apple developers license first to compile it in PB. I don't bother with the Windows app as most people I know use either IOS or Android apps.

    Forget Kolor eyes SDK...... not needed *wink*


    Andrew

  • Hi Andrew

    thanks a lot for the quick update and also for sharing the process. Really appreciate it. I will try Phonegap right away as I notice I can access it with my CC license.

    I am really impressed with the support I am getting from krpano and all the users which is way different from my last one year experience with EasyPano.

    Good decision to have switched to krpano....

    Rgds
    GP

  • No problem. Hope the trials go well. I too have the CC subscription so can use the 1GB max. To start off with just make a mini version of your tour with only two scenes and the mobile tiles then it's quicker to upload and install. If all works well add the rest of the scenes and compile the app.

    I've had pop up windows working, also hotspots, thumbnail scroll bar, image gallery, even the image map with radar feature. Can't get the damn sound to work even with two sound formats but will need to work on that when I get the time.

    Yes it's good here. Tourweaver Pro is ridiculously over priced and even Panotour Pro is pretty OTT. Save your money and look at the examples and previous posts here on the forum for regular online tours. If there's something that really gets you stumped in xml and you need it as a feature for a client drop a pm to one of the regular coding guru's here on the forum and they'll help you out at a reasonable cost, plus you learn from the code they create if your interested. You can also buy pre made plugins but make sure they work in both Flash and HTML5 as no one uses flash only anymore. Also check the designer is still around on the forums to offer support for the plugin as I've noticed a few have disappeared but still sell the plugin.

    I have noticed though that the whole app thing for both Android & IOS seems to be quite secretive here which is a little disappointing as some have cracked it but don't want to share even for a price but the rest of us will get there eventually *wink*


    Andrew

  • I guess the main point when creating an app that has HTML/JS/CSS is that it needs to be WebView based.
    Google has a step by step document here https://developer.chrome.com/multidevice/webview/gettingstarted

    The things with frameworks like PhoneGap is it wraps up all files into one .apk file and there's no option to create expansion files. This is fine if you only wish to manually copy and install the apk on the device for offline viewing and the size of the apk file doesn't matter.

    However, if you want to submit your app to Google Play, the apk file has to be under 50MB. If your app has a lot of scenes/resources and is over 50mb, then expansion files need to be created and submitted also. This is where Android Studio would be the way to go.

    As for iOS, I think the ipa file can be up to 4GB now so using a framework like Phonegap could be fine.

    Cheers
    Red

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