Difference between JS viewer (html5) fullscreen and Flash fullscreen on Safari ( Desktop / Laptop )

  • Hi

    Before posting this I tried to see if there were similar postings, I did find....

    any method for fullscreen in ipad/iphone?

    ...but my enquiry is regarding the safari desktop browser running the JS viewer and some of this thread was not clear to me, in particular the term "fullscreen" has been used to mean different things.

    To save confusion over definitions of full screen may I suggest the following terms?

    1. "Pano full screen" - the panorama occupies the available physical screen (the browser menu and frame is not visible)

    2. "Browser full screen" - the browser occupies the available physical screen but the panorama is smaller dependent on the browser menu bar, frame, sliders and so on.

    3. "Pano full browser" - the panorama grows to fill the browser window but the browser itself does not change size, the browser may or may not be "browser full screen".

    I suppose we can combine the last two in various combinations.

    "Browser full screen - Pano full browser"
    - ( pano div is expanded to fill available browser window, other window content such as webpage text is displaced and not visible until the pano is switched back to its former size ).

    "Browser full screen - Pano partial browser" - ( pano div is displayed smaller than available browser window, other content such as webpage text may appear ).

    I have embedded panos in divs ( for example ) 600 pixel by 400 pixel ( for use on laptop and desktops ) so the pano is by default surounded by text and other
    media on the webpage, I am using... switch(fullscreen) ... to go fullscreen.

    The behaviours are different for flash and JS viewers...

    case 1/ The flash viewer gives "Pano full screen" - the entire physical screen is given over to the panorama - this is the result I want.

    case 2/ The JS viewer ( running on Safari on a laptop ) only delivers type 3 which is not really "full screen" but rather "Pano full browser", if my browser is sized
    smaller than the screen then the effect is considerably less dramatic and less emersive than in case 1 but even if my browser is full screen, the impact and clutter
    of the browser menu and other bits and pieces significantly detracts (in my opinion) from the full immersive feel that the flash version gives.

    I was a little disapointed with what I observed for the JS viewer, I think the true "pano full screen" that I see with the flash version is much more immersive and therefore impressive to customers.

    I do not want to start another thread on the future of Flash but I do consider the HTML5 future of krpano with considerable interest since I am delivering panoramas
    for clients and a commercial situation demands forwards thinking on this matter even if the scare mongers are wrong.

    I appreciate that HansNyb has mentioned "workarounds" for Safari but this relies on the user performing a set of steps which is not really what I have in mind.

    So my questions are...

    1. Is true "Pano full screen" (definition 1) available for the JS viewer running on a html5 desktop browser such as safari ( without HansNybs workarounds )

    2. If not then is it a future development that might be considered?

    Perhaps respondents could use the definitions I have suggested or provide better ones as any discussion of "full screen" is apt to mis-understandings
    unless we have common terminology?

    "Pano full screen" / "Browser full screen" / "Pano full browser"

    Kind regards

    Jonnie

  • No, Flash's full screen is based on a plugin... that's why it can be "full fullscreen".
    In JS, fullscreen can only be browser fullscreen, and that's all there were ever be.
    I guess if you wanted to resize the browser, you can alsor call a js function to do so... but the JS version is "Mainly" for ipads, iphones etc and not for safari desktop.. although it's still pretty good if not great. Point being.. resizing browser doesn't make any sense for idevices.

  • Thanks Sacha

    Yes I guess this is a Javascript restriction - interesting that browser vendors and javascript have developed in such a way as to decide against true full screen
    being available from JS but Flash has gone the other way. I read a lot of comments in various quarters regards usability issues which are of course valid since
    taking away the users controls is a usability no-go area unless care is taken (my wife is a usability consultant of many years standing so I am never allowed to forget this side of the coin), however the widespread use of full screen when people are using Utube suggests to me that this is perhaps an overly conservative decision - the desire for full screen media viewings can only increase and if flash does start to disapear from the map then the remaining mashup of HTML5 and JS or whatever replaces them will I hope address what will otherwise represent a degradation of functionality (depending on your view of how wisely or unwisely full screen is deployed by flash developers).

    I take note of your comment regards the intended devices for the JS viewer but I consider it necessary to look seriously
    at the future with regard to flash.

    Kind regards
    Jon

  • Hi,

    the reason is there is no 'Pano full screen' available/usable in HTML5/JS at the moment in the most browsers today (especially on iPhone/iPad),

    Mozilla and Webkit (and probably others too) are working on a 'Fullscreen API' for HTML5 but it might still take some time until using it make sense,

    see here:
    http://caniuse.com/fullscreen

    best regards,
    Klaus

    Hi Klaus

    Thankyou for that useful information - I was not aware of these plans for fullscreen within html5 so very useful to know, I am glad that full sreen experiences have not been neglected in the brave new world of html5, its a subjective view but personally I feel the "experience" is doubled when the entire screen is used.

    Kind regards

    Jon

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