Prepare photos for AI Auto Connect

A few minutes in the Scenes tab of Virtual Tour Studio before a run give AI Auto Connect a cleaner set of photos: a result that needs less fixing, and fewer AI edits, since each scene in a run uses 1 AI edit. Go through the steps below, then start AI Auto Connect from the Elements tab. Still shooting? See Capture 360° photos for a virtual tour.

Remove duplicate photos

A duplicate is the same spot photographed twice: a retake, a photo uploaded twice, or the same shot exported twice, such as an HDR and a normal version.

Look through the Scenes tab for photos that look the same, and keep the best one of each.
Delete the others from the scene’s Scene Menu (three-dot icon, or right-click the scene) with Delete.
To keep a photo in the tour but out of the run, untick it instead when AI Auto Connect lists the scenes to connect (Change on the Check scenes step of the guided flow).

A duplicate adds nothing new, costs an AI edit, and puts two dots on one spot, with arrows between them that lead nowhere.

Remove photos taken too close together

Two photos taken less than about 1 metre (3 feet) apart look almost the same. Keep the better one.

Keep photos taken in doorways, in hallways and on stairs, even close to another photo: they join one room to the next.
An arrow between two photos that close barely moves the visitor, and a photo squeezed between two others can stop those two from being connected.

Keep only indoor 360° photos in the run

Flat photos, 360° videos and 3D (3DGS) scenes stay in the tour but are left out of the run. So are scenes hidden from the Street View Arrows add-on: unhide any that should be connected.
360° drone photos can’t be placed by AI Auto Connect: they are taken high above the ground and far apart. Untick them in the run, and connect them by hand or on a map, with the Street View Arrows add-on’s On a Map mode.
Outdoor photos, such as a garden, connect less reliably, and rarely to photos taken inside. Put them on a floor of their own (step 6).

Name your scenes

Give each scene a name that says where it is, such as “Living room”, “Kitchen” or “Bedroom 2”: open its Scene Menu and use Change Name.

Names show on the result and on the floor plan, so a scene in the wrong place is easy to spot, and visitors see them in the tour.
Number the names in the order you walked: “1 Entrance”, “2 Hallway”, “3 Living room” and so on. Sorting by name then puts the scenes in walking order.

Sort the scenes by name

In the Scenes tab, click Sort scenes (the sort icon above the list) and choose Name A–Z. Numbers sort as numbers, so “10 Bedroom” comes after “9 Bathroom”.

On a floor with more than 30 scenes, AI Auto Connect connects the scenes in walking order: the order the photos were taken, when every photo records when it was taken, and otherwise the order of the Scenes list. A list in walking order then gives the best result.
On any floor, a list in walking order makes the result quicker to check, and the tour’s scenes follow the same order.
To fine-tune the order, drag scenes in the list, on a computer.

Decide the floors

Scenes are only connected to scenes on the same floor.

Photos taken on one level: choose One floor when AI Auto Connect asks.
Photos taken on several levels: choose Several floors, name the floors, and pick the floor each scene was taken on.
Give a garden, a terrace or a separate building a floor of its own.
Each floor needs at least two scenes.

Before you start: a checklist

No duplicate photos.
No two photos less than about 1 metre (3 feet) apart, except in doorways, hallways and on stairs.
Only indoor 360° photos ticked for the run.
Every scene named, numbered in walking order.
Scenes sorted by name (Name A–Z).
Floors decided.

Tutorials:

Last updated: October 16, 2026