Q. When I try to run a tour I just see a black screen, or I don't see the tour at all. What's going on?

A. The "black screen" or not being able to view the tour at all is caused by one of two probles:

1. The new flash viewer requires Flash Version 7.0 or greater to run. Click here to download and install Flash.

2. If this doesn't fix the problem, your computer almost certainly has Adware or Popup blocker software that's blocking the tour. You must configure your Adware or Popup blocker software to allow content from www.VisualTour.com.

Q. Why aren't any photos showing in my flyer? How do I select which photos are shown in the flyer? How do I select the order in which they are shown?

A. From the Advanced Options screen, select My Tours, then select "Photos" beside the tour you wish to edit. Select Flyer from the upper right corner, then select the 5 still images that you wish to have shown in your flyer. Only still (non panoramic) images can be used in the flyer. By default the first 5 still images are shown in the flyer in the same order as they are in your tour.

Q. My voice recording doesn't play any more. Can I add voice to my existing tours that have already been uploaded?

A. In order to add voice to an existing tour it must be re-uploaded. The new viewer uses a different voice compression technology that results in much higher quality voice recordings. It is not compatible with the older technology used by the previous viewer. Also see "Can I make the viewer use the old Java viewer to display my old tours?" below.

Q. My photos don't look as good in the new viewer as they did in the older, smaller viewer. Why is that, and what can I do about it?

A. Your older tours were uploaded using smaller image sizes than the new 5.1 software and online viewer uses. If you wish to have larger images, you will need to re-upload your tour. To preserve your tour links, do not upload the tour as a new tour. Instead use the re-upload feature described below.

If you have been running the VisualTour Studio Version 5 software that was released in June 2005 (a free upgrade) your scenes should look good in the new viewer. If you continued to use the older version of the software you may want to re-upload any tours that you feel need to look as good as they possibly can.

BE SURE TO UPGRADE TO STUDIO 5.1!

Q. Why do my still photos and my panoramic scenes look clearer than my full 360° scenes?

A. The new viewer uses Flash technology. Flash has a limit on image size of 2,880 pixels. If you create a full 360° scene by taking pictures with your camera in its normal horizontal position the scene will be MUCH wider than it is tall far exceeding the 2,880 pixel limit. Because of this we must resize the images to 2,880 pixels, and to do so we must adjust their height accordingly. This reduces their overall quality.

Solution 1: Take your full 360° photos with your camera turned vertically. This will make the height to width aspect ratio greater and it will allow the entire scene to be viewed without exceeding the 2,880 width limit. This will require that you take more photos, and it normally requires the uses of a tripod.

Solution 2: Consider using more panoramic scenes and still images, and less full 360° scenes. These types of scenes are faster and easier to create, they are faster to download and view, and they focus the person's attention that's viewing the tour on what you want them to focus on.

Q. How do I re-upload an existing tour?

A. To re-upload an existing tour, first, make sure your client software has been updated to the latest version by selecting "Help - Check for Updates and following the prompts.

After updating your software, open the tour you wish to re-upload, and click Send to VisualTour on the left.  Log into your online VisualTour account as normal, but instead of filling out the tour information for a new tour, click My Tours in the upper left, Select the Photos button beside the tour that you want to re-upload, click Add Photo(s), then select "Re-Upload Tour - Overwrite" and follow the instructions. Bear in mind that any hot spots, text changes, etc. that you have previously made to your tour online will be lost when the tour is re-uploaded.

Q. Can I add music to my tours that have already been uploaded?

A. Yes. Go to My Tours, Info, then select Background Music. You can also go to Viewer Setup and select Background Music to set your default music selection to be played on all tours if another music selection has not been made for a specific tour.

Q. How do I select the transition effects for the scenes in my tours?

A. If your VisualTour has already been uploaded, Go to My Tours, select Photos beside the tour you wish to change, select Edit beside the first photo, then select the transition effect at the bottom of the screen. You can also select the transition effects as you are creating your tour with your new VisualTour 5.1 software. Click here for instructions.

Q. How do I hide the Map - Property Details - Flyer - Mortgage Calculator - Large View etc. feature so that it doesn't appear on the viewer?

A. Go to the Advanced Screen, select Viewer Layout, then uncheck the options that you do not want shown on your viewer. If your tour does not have an address in the property details, the mapping option will be hidden automatically.

Q. Can I make the viewer use the old Java viewer to display my old tours?

A. Yes. From the Advanced Options screen, go to Viewer Layout, Viewer Options and select one of the last two options. Note that the Java viewer will be phased out in approximately one year due to its declining popularity and lack of support. The only advantage to showing your VisualTour in the old Java viewer is that it will still play the old style overviewer voice. However, if voice is important to you simply re-upload the tour and it will then contain much higher quality voice, and you can have voice on every scene. As an added bonus the scenes will be uploaded with much higher resolution than they previously had!

Q. How do I make my tours automatically run when they start?

A. From the Advanced Options screen, go to Viewer Layout, then select "Autoplay on Start" from the Viewer Options.

Q. The address that I entered isn't showing up correctly on the map. What can I do?

A. From the Advanced Options screen, go to My Tours, then select "Info" beside the tour that you wish to review. Double check the address that was entered, then select "Test Map." If the map is not shown correctly and you are certain the address is correct, there is a problem with Google mapping that is out of our control. If this is the case you will need to select "Hide Map" to hide the map for this listing.

Q. Why don't the options like Flyer, Map, Tools, Property Details, etc. appear on the CD based tour?

A. These options require an Internet connection to be functional. Since the offline viewer is designed to be used when the user is completely disconnected from the Internet they cannot be accessed from this viewer.

Q. Can I include photos to be shown in the flyer but exclude them from being seen in my tour?

A. Yes. When you are creating a tour in your client software just select "Flyer Only" from the photo edit screen. When the tour is uploaded the photos (up to 5) will be shown in the flyer but not in the tour. The flyer can only use still photos. It cannot use horizontal or vertical panoramic images.

Q. How do I link my property details to the tour's listing information on Realtor.com?

A. If you link your tour to Realtor.com (either by paying the $19.95 linking fee or if you are a Showcase listing customer and link your tour for free) the listing's link (URL) from Realtor.com will automatically be placed in your tour's info. When a customer clicks your tour's "Property Info" button they will see the information that you've entered, and they'll also see a link to the listing on Realtor.com

If you do not automatically link your tour to Realtor.com, you can manually create the link (URL) that will allow the person viewing your tour's property details to click on a link and see the listing on Realtor.com. To manually create this link, find the tour first on Realtor.com, copy the URL, then log into your account on VisualTour.com and copy the Realtor.com URL into the appropriate field in the tour's info page (My Tours - Info.) If you need help contact the VisualTour customer support team.

Q. How do I enter or change the contact information (phone, cell, pager, fax) that is shown on the new viewer beside the agent photo and on the flyer?

A. Go to Viewer Layout from the main Advanced Options screen.