Session Metadata & Document Safety
How session data is preserved within your Photoshop files, the golden rules for protecting managed layers, and best practices for safe file saving and project recovery.
How Session Data is Stored
PanoView Editor does not rely on external databases or temporary cache folders to remember your editing sessions. All session tracking data, camera orientation angles, and view associations are stored directly within your Photoshop document.
Because all session information travels with your master Photoshop file, you can move your project between different computers, share files with colleagues, or archive projects for years without losing your multi-view editing history.
Self-Contained File Architecture
Everything needed to reconstruct your sessions resides inside the PSD or PSB container. When you reopen the panorama in Photoshop, PanoView Editor reads this internal metadata and restores all session cards and view thumbnails instantly.
Photoshop Layers panel showing only the user-relevant PanoView Editor-managed document and layer structure that users should avoid altering.
The Five Rules of Document Safety
To guarantee uninterrupted session continuity and clean projection results, follow these five golden rules:
Do Not Rename Managed Layers
PanoView Editor identifies components using standardized names such as 360 Edit Source - View N and 360 Projection - View N. Renaming these layers breaks automated document linking.
Never Rasterize Smart Object Layers
The editable source layer is an embedded Smart Object containing your perspective workfile. Rasterizing it flattens the file into static pixels, permanently locking out the ability to unpack and edit that view.
Protect Background/Reference in Edit Documents
Inside perspective edit documents, keep the Background/Reference layer locked and untouched. PanoView Editor requires this clean baseline to isolate your retouching changes for reprojection.
Maintain Panorama Dimensions
Do not crop, scale, or resize the panorama canvas once sessions have been established. Reverse projection calculations depend on the exact original pixel dimensions and 2:1 aspect ratio.
Leave Managed Metadata Untouched
PanoView Editor maintains internal metadata structures inside the document container. Do not attempt to modify, merge, or delete these managed structures.
Saving & File Formats
To preserve your complete editing sessions and multi-layer stacks, follow these saving standards:
Photoshop Document (.PSD): Ideal for panoramas under 2 GB in file size.
Large Document Format (.PSB): Required for panoramas exceeding 2 GB or 30,000 pixels on any dimension. Both formats preserve all Smart Objects, metadata, and layers.
Flattened Raster Exports: Saving as flattened formats (such as JPEG, PNG, or flattened image outputs) collapses the Photoshop layer stack and strips session relationships. Use layered PSD or PSB documents while working, reserving flattened exports for final web or VR distribution.
Reopening Documents
When you reopen a saved PSD or PSB file in Photoshop:
- PanoView Editor validates the document dimensions and aspect ratio.
- The extension detects the embedded session records stored inside the file.
- The 360 Edit Sessions panel populates with all previously created views, restoring camera readouts, status badges, and action controls.
A reopened panorama document with its associated sessions restored and visible in the 360 Edit Sessions panel.
Resolution & Recovery Guidelines
If an attention badge appears in the 360 Edit Sessions panel, refer to these straightforward recovery actions: