IX LABStudioKit

User guide

What each tool is for, the steps to use it, and where people trip up. Every tool runs on your own machine.

Working with clients on a 360 tour

These three features turn a tour from a link people look at into the place where work gets settled. Turn them on in the tour editor; clients use them straight from the link, no account needed.

Clients annotate the photo

Clients click the exact spot in the 360 photo and leave a note there. The pin stays anchored to that spot, so nobody has to describe “on the left, near the lamp”.

Steps

  1. 01In the tour editor, turn on Let clients leave notes, then share the link as usual.
  2. 02Your client opens the link, enters their name once, clicks the spot and writes the note.
  3. 03Review every note in the tour editor and mark each one done.

Tip

Only you can change a note's status — clients write but can't tick things off, so the list always reflects what you've actually done.

Clients choose the scenes to keep

Send 20 scenes, your client keeps the 12 they want. Lock it and the link shows only those 12 — arrows pointing at dropped scenes disappear too.

Steps

  1. 01Turn on Let clients choose scenes in the tour editor.
  2. 02Your client opens the link, enters their name, then hits Keep this scene on each one they want. Kept thumbnails get a green tick.
  3. 03Check how many they kept, then hit Lock — show only chosen scenes. Unlock puts everything back.

Tip

Once locked, clients can't change their picks and dropped scenes vanish from the link — even someone who knows the image address can't reach them. The lock button stays disabled until something is chosen, so you can't send an empty tour.

Optimise photos for the web

A 360 camera photo weighs 5–6 MB. A 20-scene tour is over 100 MB for your client to download. This switch roughly halves it.

Steps

  1. 01In the add-scenes area of the tour editor, turn on Optimise photos for the web before uploading.
  2. 02Photos imported afterwards are resized to 6144px and converted to WebP.
  3. 03Existing scenes stay as they are — delete and re-upload to apply it to them.

Tip

The viewer only shows about a sixth of the width at once, so 6144px is still more than sharp enough on ordinary screens. Leave it off only when clients zoom all the way in on 4K displays.

Edit photos

7

Compress image

FreeOpen tool →

Shrink JPG, PNG and WebP files right in your browser. Pick a quality level and see exactly how much you save before downloading.

Steps

  1. 01Drop your images in — several at once is fine.
  2. 02Adjust the quality; 80% is usually the sweet spot.
  3. 03Check the savings, then download one by one or all at once.

Tip

Property photos have large flat sky areas, so they compress well. Start at quality 80 and only go lower if you're still over the limit where you're posting.

Convert image

FreeOpen tool →

Convert images to JPG, PNG or WebP on your own machine. WebP is typically about 30% smaller than JPG at the same quality.

Steps

  1. 01Drop your images in.
  2. 02Pick the target format and quality.
  3. 03Download the results.

Tip

Convert iPhone HEIC to JPG for clients and listing portals — many still can't open HEIC. Keep WebP for your own website, where it's lighter.

Resize image

FreeOpen tool →

Scale images down by their longest edge, to a fixed width, or by percentage. The aspect ratio is always preserved.

Steps

  1. 01Drop your images in.
  2. 02Choose how to scale and enter the size you want.
  3. 03Download the resized images.

Tip

Only scale down, never up: upscaling adds no detail and softens the image. A 2048px long edge is enough for most listing portals.

Crop to size

FreeOpen tool →

Pick a frame, drop in the batch, and every photo comes out at the same ratio and under your size limit. Runs in your browser; the photos never leave your machine.

Steps

  1. 01Pick a preset frame or type your own dimensions.
  2. 02Choose the anchor — exteriors usually keep the top, interiors the bottom.
  3. 03Drop in the batch, then download each photo or the whole zip.

Tip

Pick the anchor by shot type: exteriors keep the top for roof and sky, interiors keep the middle. If it still reports over the size cap, lower quality and crop again.

PDF ↔ images

FreeOpen tool →

Turn each PDF page into an image at the resolution you choose, or merge a batch of photos into one PDF to send a client. Runs in your browser; files never leave your machine.

Steps

  1. 01Pick a direction: PDF to images, or images to PDF.
  2. 02Set the DPI and format, or the page size and margin.
  3. 03Drop your files in and download the result.

Tip

The page box accepts ranges like "2-3, 5" — type it exactly that way. 150 DPI is fine on screen; use 300 if it will be printed.

Batch rename

FreeOpen tool →

Drop in the folder, set a prefix, download a tidy numbered zip. Nothing is decoded or re-encoded — the image bytes come out exactly as they went in.

Steps

  1. 01Drop in the files and choose how they should be ordered.
  2. 02Set a prefix and numbering; the table below shows old and new names instantly.
  3. 03Download the zip and unpack — names fixed, photos untouched.

Tip

Turn on accent stripping for listing portals — many reject accented names and spaces. Photos are not re-encoded; the bytes come out identical.

Responsive images (srcset)

FreeOpen tool →

One photo becomes several widths, plus the HTML that lets the browser pick the smallest one that still looks sharp. Without srcset a phone downloads the full 2400px file for a 380px slot.

Steps

  1. 01Pick the widths you need and the output format.
  2. 02Drop in your images — each one gets its own set and snippet.
  3. 03Download the zip, upload the files, paste the markup into your page.

Tip

Widths larger than the source are skipped. Remember to paste the snippet into your page — uploading the files without srcset means browsers still fetch the largest one.

Get ready to post

5

Watermark

FreeOpen tool →

Upload your logo once, then drop in the whole batch — it lands in the same spot at the same size on every photo. Runs in your browser; the photos never leave your machine.

Steps

  1. 01Upload your logo — a PNG with a transparent background works best.
  2. 02Pick the position, size and opacity, and preview it below.
  3. 03Drop in the batch, then download each photo or the whole zip.

Tip

Put the logo in the emptiest corner — usually the sky. 30–50% opacity is recognisable without ruining the shot.

Check photos

FreeOpen tool →

Drop in the batch and get a list of what falls short: too small, too heavy, still carrying GPS coordinates, too dark or blurry. Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

Steps

  1. 01Set the thresholds for wherever you are posting.
  2. 02Drop in the batch — each photo is inspected on its own.
  3. 03Fix the flagged ones, then post.

Tip

The blur warning is normalised by contrast, so dark or flat images are skipped rather than falsely flagged. Use it to sweep a whole shoot before delivery.

Redact photos

FreeOpen tool →

Drag a box over what needs hiding, pick a style, and download. The original pixels are overwritten, not covered with a layer. Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

Steps

  1. 01Drop in one photo.
  2. 02Drag a box over each area to hide — as many as you need.
  3. 03Pick a style and download the result.

Tip

The redaction is baked into the image and cannot be undone — keep your original. Use it for number plates, faces, and paperwork left on tables.

Favicon generator

FreeOpen tool →

Drop in a logo, preview it at the real 16px a browser tab shows, then download the whole set — favicon.ico, iOS and Android icons, and site.webmanifest. Runs in your browser; the image never leaves your machine.

Steps

  1. 01Drop in your logo — a transparent PNG works best, square is ideal.
  2. 02Adjust padding, corners and background, and check at real size that the logo still reads at 16px.
  3. 03Download the ZIP, unpack it into your site root, and paste the four lines into your head tag.

Tip

Check the 16px preview before downloading: a detailed logo turns into a smudge. For Android to mask the icon, leave at least 21% padding.

Listing card

FreeOpen tool →

Drop in the hero photo, fill in the price and specs, export Facebook, Instagram, story and portal sizes in one go. Runs in your browser; the photo never leaves your machine.

Steps

  1. 01Drop in the property's hero photo.
  2. 02Fill in the price and specs; the preview updates as you type.
  3. 03Tick the sizes you need and download — several sizes come as one zip.

Tip

The preview uses the Facebook size. Text wider than the card is trimmed, so keep the headline short and let the price be the loudest line.

Metadata

2

Remove metadata

FreeOpen tool →

Phone photos usually carry GPS coordinates, camera model and capture time. This tool cuts that out without re-encoding the image — the pixels stay bit-for-bit identical.

Steps

  1. 01Drop your images in — worth checking them with the metadata viewer first.
  2. 02Decide whether to keep the ICC colour profile.
  3. 03Download the cleaned images.

Tip

Phone photos usually carry the property's GPS coordinates. Strip metadata before posting publicly — especially for occupied homes.

View metadata

FreeOpen tool →

Read the capture settings, camera body, lens and GPS coordinates hidden inside an image. The file is only read locally — nothing is uploaded.

Steps

  1. 01Drop an image in.
  2. 02Read the values grouped by category.
  3. 03If you see GPS coordinates, strip them before sharing the photo.

Tip

Use it to inspect photos a client sent: what camera, what date, any GPS. It's also a quick way to tell whether a file has been edited.

360 & interactive

6

360 photo check

FreeOpen tool →

Drop in your 360 shots to see which are tour-ready and which have the wrong ratio or too little resolution. Much faster than uploading and finding out afterwards.

Steps

  1. 01Drop in the whole batch of 360 shots.
  2. 02Read the result: red means it won't work, amber means usable but worth fixing.
  3. 03Fix the flagged shots before moving on to the tour builder.

Tip

Only a red dot (wrong 2:1 ratio) must be fixed; amber means usable but worth a look. Run this before building a tour so you don't upload first and find out after.

Offset a 360 photo

FreeOpen tool →

Shift a 2:1 panorama sideways — what leaves one edge comes back on the other, exactly like Photoshop's Offset filter. Use it to hide the stitch line or to change which way the photo opens.

Steps

  1. 01Drop one 360 image, or a whole set, into the box.
  2. 02Click each image on the strip to adjust it — positive numbers turn right, negative turn left. Every image remembers its own setting as you move between them.
  3. 03Hit download: one image comes out as a JPEG, several as one ZIP. Images you didn't touch go in as the original file, never re-encoded.

Tip

On a 15000px-wide photo a full turn is 15000 pixels: 3750 turns 90° right, -7500 turns half way round. Only horizontal shifts are offered — shifting vertically would drop the sky into the ground, because latitude doesn't wrap the way longitude does.

3D model viewer

FreeOpen tool →

Drop in a model and start orbiting, with the triangle count and real dimensions so you can tell whether it's light enough for the web. Nothing is uploaded; the file never leaves your machine.

Steps

  1. 01Drop in the model. For OBJ, drag the .mtl and texture files in at the same time.
  2. 02Left-drag to orbit, scroll to zoom, right-drag to pan.
  3. 03Read the stats to judge whether it's web-ready, and grab a screenshot if you need one.

Tip

SketchUp .skp can't be read in a browser — export GLB, OBJ or DAE first. For OBJ, drag the .mtl and texture files in at the same time.

Build a 360 tour

License requiredOpen tool →

Upload several panoramas, connect the rooms with jump points, then send clients a single link. Nothing to install.

Steps

  1. 01Create a tour, then upload the panorama for each room.
  2. 02Click on the image to place a jump point or a note.
  3. 03Publish the tour and send the link to your client.

Tip

360 shots should be exactly 2:1 with a long edge under 8192px. Put scene links where a visitor would actually walk: doors, stairs, hallways.

360 spin

License requiredOpen tool →

Upload the sequence you shot around the object and drag to spin it. Frames sort themselves by filename, and you can preview locally before saving.

Steps

  1. 01Shoot the object on a turntable, rotating by an even step each time.
  2. 02Drop the whole set here — order follows the filenames.
  3. 03Adjust the speed, name it, and save to get your share link.

Tip

Shoot evenly around the subject at a constant distance and height. 24–36 frames looks smooth; more just adds weight the eye can't see.

Before / after

License requiredOpen tool →

Pair each original with its retouched version and collect the whole property into one link with a drag slider. Password-protect it if you like; it stays smooth on phones.

Steps

  1. 01Create a project, then add pairs: one original, one retouched.
  2. 02Label each pair — usually the room — and put them in order.
  3. 03Publish and send the link. Add a password if it shouldn't be public yet.

Tip

Both images must share an aspect ratio or the slider drifts. The safest route is exporting both from the same crop in your editor.