Garden Gnome Software

Does the Skin Editor create skins that are fully compatible in both Flash and HTML5?

Do all actions and effects that work in Flash also work in an HTML5/CSS3 capable browser, like Safari?

If there are any exceptions are they documented?

HI Timmy,
The short answer is no because of limitations with devices such as the iPad.
This is not a fault with the skin as the features work with HTML5 and desktop computers, but restrictions in IOS prevent some functions.

Please see the Knowledge Base and tip documents found in the User Guide section on our website.
Regards,
Hopki

Thank you for replying, Hopki. I'm not looking to pin fault on any aspect of this; I just don't want to waste time crawling around in the dark trying to figure out why an HTML5 output doesn't behave exactly as it did in Flash. I realize there's the additional variable of whether I'm using Safari without Flash installed or an IOS device or an Android device running 4.1 (no flash). That's why I asked if there's a list.

I had read "HTML5 Output Settings (Pano2VR)" and watched the tutorial video previously. The text version describes the labels but it doesn't deal with the differences between Flash and HTML5. Moreover, there are the occassional inconsistencies, missing definitions, or misused terms. When expectations aren't defined (or clear) the user is forced to experiment in search of how a function might work - wondering all the time if it is supposed to work at all.

For example, under the Advanced Settings Tab there's:

Double-click: Fullscreen option.
* Toggle Fullscreen: Selects the fullscreen mode on double click or double tap when using a touch screen device. With this option a skin is not required to enter and exit Fullscreen mode.
NOTE: This will only work if Fullscreen is unselected in the HTML tab.

Yet, later, under the HTML Tab:

Fullscreen: Select this to ensure the panorama fills the browser window when in fullscreen.
TIP: Double-tap the panorama to enter fullscreen mode.

So... should Fullscreen be selected or unselected in the HTML tab? Do any of these selections affect the function of the more familiar "fullscreen control button" in the skin? And most important of all: does Fullscreen in HTML5 mean the same thing as it always has in Flash (fully filling the entire screen, obscuring all evidence of the browser)?

In this situation a longer answer seems appropriate because, as they say, "The Devil's in the Details". What's needed, IMHO, is a chart listing all the actions, functions, whatever that are available in Flash output with a comparison to what is possible in HTML5. If the differences are also device dependent, like an IOS device can't perform a specific HTML5 trick quite like Safari on a Mac can, well, footnote it.

My post is not meant as criticism. Please consider it simply a reminder that not every reader has been involved since the beginning. I realize you're probably totally wrapped up in working on the new version, preparing to promote it at shows, etc. So anything you can do to clarify the differences will undoubtedly help people who have just tuned in. I suspect the overarching problem is what's inherent in any product support forum: people new to the forum have missed all the posts during the development phase, which is probably why most of the regulars here seem to already know and accept the unadvertised idiosyncrasies of HTML5 output, especially when played on IOS devices.

Hi,
Answered in PM.
Hopki