How to Create Interactive Presentations and Virtual Tours in D5 Render

This guide brings together the interactive presentation, virtual tour, stereoscopic panorama, and visibility settings described in D5 Render’s official documentation, with architectural visualization workflows in mind. Since the documentation does not specify which D5 Render version includes each feature, the guide is limited to the interface and options shown in the documentation rather than a version number. Depending on the project, the steps below can be used for client presentations, design option comparisons, or online space walkthroughs.

1. Turn scene states into an interactive presentation

An interactive presentation lets viewers change specific scene properties during a presentation. It can be used to compare material and furniture options, show different lighting or weather conditions, and review designs with the team. D5’s documentation describes the feature as an “interactive PPT”-like experience, but the presentation itself is built directly from scene variables and slides.

1. Click Presentation in the top menu to open the presentation editing and management interface. The presentation and slide lists are at the bottom, while the properties panel on the right contains the interaction parameters.

2. Choose a variable type for the scene. The documentation lists Material, Attributes, Environment Post-Processing, Visibility, Transform, and Shot. These cover surface materials; object-specific parameters such as light type, intensity, or color temperature; sky, fog, and tonemapping settings; object visibility; position, rotation, and scale; and camera properties such as viewpoint and focal length.

3. Set the relevant parameters in the scene, then click Add State to save the current state. Create multiple states for the same variable so you can select alternatives during the presentation. Note that displacement and terrain grass material templates are not supported in material interaction variables.

4. If you like, add a 3D trigger to the scene. Actor is an independent carrier that starts at the center of the view; Object is a single object selected to act as the trigger. Toggle cycles through states on click, while List opens the variable panel where states can be selected. You can use a text style to add a short description to the trigger and Always Face Camera to keep it visible from every angle.

5. Add slides and link the variables you want to apply on each slide. You can assign multiple variables to a slide; variables that are not linked will not change state on that slide. During playback, you can move between slides or use the triggers.

2. Create a panorama tour and stereoscopic output

Panorama Tour and Spatial Tour do not offer the same functionality. Panorama Tour combines panoramas without spatial data in a browser, enabling basic panorama navigation and location changes. Spatial Tour requires you to create and upload the project in the D5 client, and supports advanced features such as 3D shift, spatial hotspots, and measurement.

To create a Panorama Tour, go to the Create tab in Cloud Project. Upload panorama files to the empty panorama sequence through a browser; the files can be created in D5 or other rendering software. The system converts the spherical image into a view that can be rotated 720° and allows multiple panoramas to be uploaded. Panoramas can be added to a gallery in this tour, but depth information, 3D shift, ground camera, and flight camera are not supported. Hotspots added to a specific panorama location are visible only when viewing that location.

If you need a stronger sense of depth, consider the stereoscopic panorama option. Selecting Stereo under Render Image › Panorama creates a 360° image by simulating separate views for the left and right eyes. IPD adjusts the distance between the eyes’ viewpoints and the stereoscopic depth effect. Increasing the number of Slices can make transitions smoother, but it also increases render time. Stitching seams may appear on objects close to the eyes and on wide horizontal lines that are not near the horizon; the documentation notes that increasing the slice count may help reduce this issue.

The output can be viewed with a VR headset or a desktop or mobile player that supports the stereoscopic panorama format. Another option is to create a Panorama Tour project in D5 Showreel and upload binocular panoramas. Note that Spatial Panorama does not currently support binocular panorama images.

3. Check visibility and sharing settings

Small models in the distance may not appear in the preview or output because of culling settings. According to D5’s documentation, models with a diameter under 1.5 meters are optimized when viewed from a distance in the preview or map output to improve real-time performance; they may appear as solid colors in the viewport. By default, models are culled from the preview when the camera is more than 50 meters away, and from output when it is more than 1,000 meters away.

These distances can be customized under Preference › Rendering › Cull Distance. Outside the Viewport Cull Distance controls the visibility range of content outside the viewport and affects both the viewport and image/video output. You can set different distances for previews and renders; the settings are saved to the project file. The documentation also recommends enabling this option to address an issue where plants behind the camera disappear in transparent material reflections.

When sharing an interactive presentation remotely, Pixel Streaming sends the presentation to a browser in real time, allowing viewers to watch without installing D5 Render. The system generates a control link and a viewer link for viewing only. However, streaming currently works only on a local network; the sending and receiving devices must be on the same network. Before switching to the presentation in VR mode, enable the VR Widget under Preferences › Widget.

4. Common mistakes

• Expecting Spatial Tour features from Panorama Tour: Panorama Tour does not offer depth, 3D shift, ground camera, or flight camera. If you need these features, choose the project type accordingly from the outset.

• Setting the output culling distance below the preview distance: To avoid discrepancies with the preview, set the output distance to at least the preview distance.

• Increasing the slice count without accounting for render time: More slices can smooth transitions, but they also increase render time. Check for potential seams on nearby objects and horizontal lines in stereoscopic images, too.

• Expecting Pixel Streaming to work outside the local network: The documentation says streaming is limited to devices on the same network; plan sharing accordingly.