PanEdit Lite: Getting Started

Step 1: Importing images of the scene

PanEdit Lite initially presents an empty window, as shown in the following image. This is called the "main window" and it will be used to preview the resulting panoramic scene.


At this point, the only thing that can be done is to feed it some original images. This can be done in either of two ways:

In either case, additional images may be added to the scene by dragging and dropping the images onto the main window. Accidently import an unwanted image? Any image may be deleted by selecting the image in the Images Window and pressing the Delete key.

If PanEdit Lite is being used to work with an original panoramic image captured with a rotating panoramic camera, only one original image should be dropped onto the main window. One should then continue as described under Original Panoramic Images.

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The Preliminary Panorama

After importing a set of images into the main window, a preliminary version of the panoramic scene will appear in the main window. In addition, a row of small images will appear in the Images window below the main window. One can pan around this preliminary panorama, as well as zoom in/out using the standard mouse controls. The following image shows an example of a preliminary panorama:

Notice how the portion of the scene in the right portion of the left image is repeated in the left portion of the right image. This is a natural result of the overlapping areas captured in each of the original images. The overlapping areas shared by adjacent images are needed to perform the automatic stitching calculations, as well as the exposure balancing calculations, and the image blending calculations.

There should be at least 5 to 10 degrees of overlap between each pair of adjacent images. If the amount of overlap between a pair of adjacent images is too small, the automatic stitching calculations are likely to fail and one may need to use "manual" methods for aligning adjacent images. If there is a gap between a pair of adjacent images, it will be impossible to create a seamless panorama no matter how the images are aligned.

The preliminary version of the scene is not expeced to be seamless or attractive, because no stitching has been done yet. Before the images can be stitched, three conditions must be resolved:

  1. Do we have all of the original images comprising this scene?
  2. Is this a complete (360 degree) panorama or a partial panorama (less than 360 degrees)?
  3. Are the images in the correct order?

If any of the images comprising the scene are missing, find them and drag them onto the main window. Sorry, but the File Open dialog is not available for collecting any additional images.

The question of complete or partial panoramas is covered in Step 2 below.

The ordering of images within a scene is covered in Step 3 below.

The Images Window

Small copies of each of the original images can be seen in a small window located below the main window. This window can be separated from the main window, or it can be "docked" to the bottom of the main window. The sizes of the images in this window can be controlled by stretching or shrinking the vertical size of this window.

When docked, the width of the Images window matches the width of the main window. When floating (not docked), the width of the Images window can be increased or decreased to any size, up to a maximum width determined by the sum of all of the images.

Any image in the images window can be selected by clicking on it. The selected image is surrounded by a red line. The selected image can be removed from the panorama by pressing the Delete key. Removing an image from the panorama does not affect the original image file.

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Step 2: Partial or Complete Panorama?

This is controlled by the "Edit Scene" dialog illustrated in the following two images:

   

The Edit Scene dialog is opened automatically as soon as the preliminary panorama is created. If the set of original images represents a complete 360 degree panorama, make sure the "Wrap Ends" option is checked, as shown in the example on the right.

If the set of original images does not form a complete 360 degree panorama, make sure the "Wrap Ends" option is not checked, and enter the range of angles covered by the scene in the "Maximum Azimuth" box, as shown in the example on the left.

An "azimuth" is a horizontal angle about a vertical axis of rotation, such as turning one's head, or rotating a camera on a tripod. The "Maximum Azimuth" indicates the total range of azimuth angles covered by the images representing the panoramic scene.

But I don't know the range of azimuth angles in my panorama!

Don't worry. The "Maximum Azimuth" for a partial panorama does not need to be very accurate. A rough estimate, such as 120, 180, 240 degrees, etc. is good enough to get started. The Maximum Azimuth value can always be adjusted later at any time.

After specifying the Wrap Ends condition and the Maximum Azimuth angle, click on the OK button to continue with Step 3, putting the images into the correct order. Do not be concerned with the remaining values in this dialog until you are ready to save the panoramic image.

If the value specified for the Maximum Azimuth is too large or too small, then some straight lines may appear curved in the resulting panoramic scene, as seen in the main window after the images have been stitched. If so, click on the "Scene" button to re-open the Edit Scene dialog. Then adjust the Maximum Azimuth value up or down in steps of 10 degrees. Errors in the Maximum Azimuth of 10 degrees or less have very little effect on most panoramic scenes.

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Step 3: Put the images into the correct order

No matter how the images are selected within a File Open dialog, or for Drag-and-Drop, the ordering of the images seen in the preliminary view and the Images window may not be what was expected. If so, the images may be reordered by selecting any image in the Images window and dragging it to a new position. When an image has been selected, it will have a red border and the name of the image will appear in the title bar over the Images window. When the (left) mouse button is released, the panoramic scene will be redrawn with the new ordering. Repeat this until all images are in the correct order.

Hint: When using the File Open dialog, press and hold the ctrl key, then click on each image in the reverse order (right to left). As each new image is selected, it gets added to the front of the list of images, thereby reversing the order of selection.

After all of the images are in the correct order, click on the "Stitch" button in the upper left corner of the main window to continue with the stitching operations.

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Last modified January 11, 2000.