What Is the 360 Edit Layer?
The 360 Edit layer is the primary working canvas generated by PanoView Editor inside every perspective edit document. It represents the active surface on which all user modifications, healing strokes, clone operations, and painted corrections should be executed.
When PanoView Editor creates a perspective edit document, it duplicates the extracted perspective pixels onto the 360 Edit layer and sets it active. As you work in Photoshop, your changes modify this layer. During the subsequent Apply View Edits phase, PanoView compares this modified layer against the untouched reference beneath it to isolate your edits.
Photoshop Layers panel with the 360 Edit layer highlighted as the primary editable working layer.
Layer Roles: 360 Edit vs Background/Reference
Understanding the clear division of responsibility between the two managed layers is vital for trouble-free panorama synchronization:
| Attribute | 360 Edit | Background/Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Layer Position | Top layer (active) | Bottom layer (underneath) |
| Primary Purpose | Target for painting, cloning, healing | Stable comparison baseline |
| User Editing Allowed | Yes, fully editable | No, keep untouched |
| Role in Apply | Evaluated for modified pixel content | Subtracted to isolate change delta |
| Layer Name | 360 Edit (exact) | Background/Reference (exact) |
Photoshop Tool Workflows on 360 Edit
Because the 360 Edit layer exists within a standard Photoshop canvas, you can apply your established retouching techniques naturally:
Spot Healing & Clone Stamp
Remove tripods, microphone stands, stitching seams, and optical artifacts directly on the 360 Edit layer with seamless pixel sampling.
Brushes & Blending
Paint localized color corrections, light wraps, edge touch-ups, or texture fills using your standard Photoshop brush library.
Selections & Layer Masks
Use Lasso, Object Selection, or Quick Selection tools to isolate complex objects before applying corrections or removals.
Curves & Levels
Fine-tune local exposure, contrast, and color balance to correct localized lighting mismatches or lens flare artifacts.
How PanoView Uses This Layer During Apply
When you return to your panorama and click Apply View Edits, PanoView Editor performs a high-precision differential calculation:
Pixel Diff Detection
PanoView compares every pixel coordinate of the 360 Edit layer against the exact corresponding pixel on Background/Reference. Unmodified pixels evaluate to zero difference.
Inverse Spherical Projection
Only pixels that differ from the baseline reference are sampled and reprojected into the 2:1 equirectangular spherical space according to the view camera orientation.
Managed Layer Generation
The remapped pixels are placed onto a new managed projection layer in your panorama document, seamlessly composited over the original panorama.
Preservation & Structural Safety
To ensure that the automatic diff detection and reprojection engine functions reliably, follow these strict layer management rules:
360 Edit. Renaming this layer causes the plugin to report that the editable view source cannot be located.360 Edit layer. If you use temporary auxiliary layers, ensure your intended visual changes are committed to 360 Edit so PanoView can evaluate the composite result.