krpano 1.24

Hi,

the next krpano version is ready: krpano 1.24

This release is mainly about core krpano tools updates, image-processing improvements and several workflow improvements.

A lot of work went into improving the krpano Tools performance.

Creating panos with the MAKE VTOUR droplet / makepano tool is now much faster. The tools now make better use of modern hardware, use more optimized image-processing paths and more parallel processing.

For example, the sphere-to-cube conversion has a new optimized processing path for 8-bit RGB/RGBA images that fit into memory, and all cube faces are processed together in parallel. Image resizing and tile generation have also been optimized and are now processed more efficiently. Depending on the system and the input images, this can reduce the processing time a lot. Here is a comparison video showing about a ~7x speed improvement.

The krpano Tools are now also available as native ARM64 versions for all common systems, including native Apple Silicon support on macOS.

The image format support has been extended too:

The tools now support WebP and JPEG XL / JXL images. WebP is especially useful for transparent images and provides better image-quality at higher compression factors. JPEG XL can provide even better compression, but is currently still less widely supported by browsers.

Transparent pano images are now supported much more completely: from format conversion, resizing, tiling, sphere-to-cube / cube-to-sphere conversion, preview generation, up to rendering and runtime capturing.

Some of these changes were originally started while working on future Gaussian Splats LOD rendering support. That feature is not included yet in this release, but some of the necessary groundwork for it already became useful for normal pano image processing. For example, WebP support was needed for compressed LOD tiles, and while working on the image-format support, it made sense to also add JPEG XL and improve some of the the related image processing tools.

The krpano Testing Server has also received several improvements.

It now includes a built-in web-based krpano Code Editor with krpano syntax highlighting and special mobile/touch editing support. This editor originally started as research for a editor component, but has grown into a full-featured code editor. It runs directly from the local testing server and includes a custom virtual keyboard for code editing on mobile devices, which makes it also useful for remote editing workflows.

I am already using it myself for many of my own code edits now.

The krpano Testing Server also has built-in HTTPS support with automatically generated self-signed certificates, optional HTTP authentication and dark-mode support.

Additionally, the krpano documentation, website and forum now also support an optional dark mode.

And there are a few smaller improvements and fixes, like improved splat sorting accuracy, improved VR headset support (Pico VR), WebGL-textfield-whitespace handling, PNG writing support, and more.

Please see the full release notes here:

krpano 1.24 - Release Notes

Best regards,
Klaus

Quote from jeromebg

I tried the online code editor (https://krpano.com/codeeditor/) but wasn't able to load a file ?

The editor needs the krpano Testing Server backend for file/folder-browsing.
Without backend, it's only possible to open local files or files by url on the same domain.

E.g. all xml files links here on the example pages are automatically opened in the editor:
krpano.com - Examples

For local usage, start the krpano Testing Server and enable the 'Edit Mode' in the settings. Then files can be directly opened from the servers directory listing, and the editor can use file-dialogs and a side-explorer to open or save files.

Quote from indexofrefraction

just fyi, the two Droplet apps do not work on Sonoma (can’t use with this version of macOS)

Thanks for note! Indeed, I have unfortunately forgotten to add the 'macosx-version-min' build flag on those droplet files (which are basically just links). Will release a fixed version in the next days.

Quote from PanoramicWEB

Are there any plans to support large-scale Gaussian Splat scenes in a more streaming/LOD-based way

I'm working on it.

Quote from jeromebg

With the editor some xml files won't open and I have RangeError: Invalid inner parse ranges given: [{"from":160,"to":160}] in the console (or other numbers).

The error comes from CodeMirrors syntax-parser/syntax-highlighting and something causes a problem, but it doesn't mean the xml itself is invalid.

Can you send me such xml file.

Quote from indexofrefraction

just fyi, the two Droplet apps do not work on Sonoma (can’t use with this version of macOS)

Quote from jeromebg

With the editor some xml files won't open and I have RangeError: Invalid inner parse ranges given

Hi,

there is a new build available (no new version number):

There the code editor xml-parser bug is fixed and the droplets work now on OSX versions from 11.0 on and higher.

Additionally, macOS package relocation has been disabled. This ensures that applications are always installed into the intended destination folder instead of replacing an existing copy elsewhere on the system.

Quote from Tuur

- is it correct that the 'tour.js' must be at the same level as the index.html?
- when i visit: https://krpano.com/codeeditor/
i am not able to open a local xml file,,
Perhaps i misunderstand here..(?)

- for some scenes i use hardcoded online url's like <cube url="https://www.virtualtuur.com/...
These don't show with the testingserver at all. How can i make them show as well?

The tour.js can be anywhere, just set the right relative or absolute path to it in the html file.

For editing local files, start the krpano Testing Server and able the 'Edit Mode' in the settings. Then open the testing server directory listing and from there you can open files in the editor.

About 'hardcoded urls' - that shouldn't matter, but there was a xml-parser bug in the editor, maybe that was affecting also your case. Try the new release from today.

Quote from Fernando

Hi, Klaus, unfortunately I'm having trouble running version 1.24 on a Chromebook with Gallium (Linux) installed. The previous version 1.23.3 ran perfectly; this one installs but nothing works, even though the menu is visible in krpano tools. I'm even unable to use my license code.

Any ideas about what might be wrong?

The 'glibc' version of your Linux system is unfortunately too old.

Generally, I'm typically trying to use the oldest possible build system to ensure the broadest possible compatibility, but some libs and features can't be build on older system anymore. In this case especially wxWidgets for the testing sever UI, libjxl für JpegXL support, and also some SIMD code for faster processing, that can't be compiled/built on older systems.

Best regards,
Klaus

Quote from Tuur

well it does not work, also not with this new version, here on the mac with Safari and also tested in chrome. OSX Tahoe 26.5.
I tried:
<script src="../../../tuur.js"></script>
<script src="../../tuur.js"></script>
<script src="../tuur.js"></script>

The only one that works is:
<script src="tuur.js"></script>

When i just trigger the whole thing with the index.html all variations works fine.
I often use tuur.js on a different location..so i understand how that works, obviously.

Display More

That sounds a bit like using the wrong local folder as server root...

Note - the local folder you select in the testing server is the root folder for the server, that means any files outside that folder can't be accessed. To allow access, select a local folder where are all required files are included and then browse in the directory listing into the folder you want to view.

Quote from Tuur

This also still not works for me.
ERROR: loading of 'https://www.virtualtuur.com/panos/tulips_1…/1/l1_l_1_2.jpg' failed!
Maybe i try without a domain limitation.. pending..
nope.. also not:

Do you mean accessing these files from your local server?

This is typically not possible, because 'cross-origin-access' is not allowed in a browser by default.

To enable it, you need to explicitly allow it by telling the server to send a 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' http-header with the files.

In this most cases this can be done by creating a .htaccess file on the server (only within the folders where you want to allow access) with the following content:

<IfModule mod_headers.c>
  Header set Access-Control-Allow-Origin "*"
</IfModule>

More information here:
enable cross-origin resource sharing