CubicNavigator - Tutorial

CubicConnector links cubic format QuickTime VR panoramas into virtual tours that can be exported as multinode movies or HTML-based single node movies.

Where can cubic format QuickTime VR movies be used?

Either embedded in web pages as "single nodes" linked by hotspots, or as "multinode movies" in multimedia projects created with authoring packages such as LiveStage Pro, iShell, or Director.

Is it time-consuming to connect nodes together?

No. CubicConnector's overriding design goal was to make it fast and easy to link many nodes together, reducing the number of clicks and scrolling required. Its connection area allows visual correlations to be made easily between a hotspot and its destination.

I'm used to the QuickTime VR Authoring Studio. Will I have any trouble?

No. CubicConnector aims to do for cubics what the QTVRAS did for cylinders: make it very easy to create VR tours from separate QuickTime VR movies.

What else can be done with the multinode tour?

Maps can be added to give a sense of orientation to the tour.
Auto-rotation can be added to the movies to remind new VR users that an image on a web page is interactive.
Sound can be added to play when the node is entered, to continue playing to provide an ambient background, or to be directional based on where the viewer is facing.
QuickTime VR Object Movies or still images can be connected to hotspots, allowing closeups of features of interest in the panorama.

What can projects be exported as?

Either as a self-contained multinode movie (one .mov file contains all the nodes) or as a folder of single-node movies for use in embedding in HTML web pages (separate .movs link to each other, meaning that the entire tour doesn't have to be downloaded at once).

What do I need to run CubicConnector?

The current version (2.0) requires either Mac OS 9.1 or later, or Mac OS X 10.2 or later. Both require QuickTime 6.x. Newer versions will require Mac OS X 10.3 Panther or later.

Is there a Windows version?

Not yet. Currently, the Windows version costs $578 and comes with a free Mac mini.

Can I buy a boxed version of CubicConnector from a shop?

No. Purchasing is done purely online from http://www.clickheredesign.com.au/pricelist/

You download the software and receive a license and serial number by email which activates the functions not available in the trial.

2. Using CubicConnector

How do I get started?

A comprehensive set of tutorials is available online at:
http://www.clickheredesign.com.au/cubicconnector/tutorials/

These tutorials include both a step-by-step written guide accompanied by illustrations, and a video showing the tutorial steps being performed.

What subjects are covered?

I want a hotspot with a URL link to target a FRAME. Can I do that?

Yes. QuickTime uses a special syntax for targeting frames. It uses the symbols:
"A<>" and "T<>" to indicate destinations using frames, eg,
A<http://www.somesite.com/somepage>T<someframe>

A new window (popup) can be targeted using: A<http://www.somesite.com/somepage>T<_blank>

There is more documentation on the A<> T<> notation at: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/tools_tips/tutorials/hreftracks.html

I've imported a single node to add auto-rotation and now I've lost the preview?

You've probably exported it as a multinode movie, rather than a single-node movie. Multinode export, even though there may be only one node, does not preserve previews because they are of little use when the movie is loaded from a hard drive or CD-ROM. Single-node movies on the other hand are usually embedded in web pages where the preview is relevant.

Re-export your movie using the Single-Node method and the preview should be intact.

I've added a map to a web tour of single nodes and they seem bigger. What's wrong?

Maps exist as QuickTime sprites, which are compressed using a lossless "transparent PICT" format, which doesn't reduce in size as much as a JPEG. If it is a large map and there is a lot of detail in the image, the size could increase the size of the .mov by a fair proportion.

To reduce the size, you can reduce the dimensions of the map, or ensure it has a lot of "flat" color areas, which compress much more in a lossless format than random detail.

Can CubicConnnector import already existing hotspots?

No. CubicConnnector maintains its hotspots in a vector format whereas a QuickTime VR movie stores them as image data. They would thus have to be converted into vectors, which is non-trivial to do. The next version will support this in a similar way to how CubicNavigator turns QTVR hotspots into OpenGL objects.

I'd like to also have other QuickTime media as part of the same movie. Can you recommend a tool?

Yes. LiveStage Pro:
http://www.totallyhip.com/livestage_detail.asp

I want to re-order and optimize the contents of my movies. Can you recommend a tool?

Yes. DeliVRator:
http://www.vrtools.com/index.html

I'd like to add a video clip and other effects superimposed over the QTVR. Can you recommend a tool?

Yes. VRHotwires:
http://www.vrhotwires.com/

What does the Preferences > Movie Settings > "Include User Data for PTViewer Java Applet" checkbox do?

It's generally only there for people who know they want it. PTViewer is able to show linked QuickTime VR tours when the destination information is added in the form of QuickTime metadata. This is documented on the PTViewer page here:
http://www.path.unimelb.edu.au/~dersch/PTVJ/ptmvj.html under the section "(b) Authoring suitable QTVR-Panoramas"

CubicConnector can generate this metadata thus bypassing the need to use PlugInHelper to add it manually in the way described in the above PTViewer documentation.

The other thing required to have PTViewer correctly display cubic format QTVR movies is adding an order tag to allow the applet to correctly determine the tile order of the cube faces. This simply requires adding an extra line to the HTML, eg,

The return-from-object button isn't available when I export as single-nodes. Why not?

The return button is a QuickTime sprite which is not included in single-node export for use in HTML pages. A normal web page link should be used instead.

How do I change the "down state" image of a node marker?

Go to the menubar menu: Movie > 'Choose Active Marker...'

I want parts of my map to show as white, but CubicConnector makes them transparent?

Any white on the map image because transparent as white is the transparency key for QT sprites. To show white on the map, make a slightly off-white color. For example, in Photoshop set an RGB color of 245, 245, 245 will look white and not become transparent.

Can I include more than one sound per node?

No. While each node in a multinode movie can have its own sound, it isn't possible to have more than one sound per node. This feature has been requested and is on the Desired Features list for the next version.

Can I include a .mid sound file?

No. While a midi file produces sound, it really contains a sequence of instrument instructions for the synthesizers built into QuickTime to produce music. You will need to convert .mid files to .mp3 or AAC (.mp4).

Can I link from object movies to panoramic nodes?

No. You can only connect TO object movies, you can't link FROM them to other panoramic nodes. There are in effect leaf nodes off the main branches of the tour.

I've found a bug. Do you want to know about it?

Yes. Please email bug reports to feedback@clickheredesign.com.au. If possible, include a list of steps that reproduce the bug.

I'd like to see feature XYZ in CubicConnector, how do I get it there?

Please email feedback@clickheredesign.com.au where we maintain a Requested Features list for future versions.

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