Create and manage multi-chapter tours

Feature availability

Tours can turn even the most complex health topics into clear, engaging stories—chapter by chapter.

About tours

Tours are embeddable slideshows of interactive 3D anatomy, physiology, or treatment visualizations that make complex medical topics easier to grasp and retain. (Learn more in What is a tour?)

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There are hundreds of ready-made tours available in the BioDigital Library (under the Explore tab) that you can save to My Library as-is or customize for your audience. But the possibilities don't stop there—any model in the BioDigital Library can become a tour.

Learn how to create and manage tours below.

 

Build a tour: the basics

To build a new tour from scratch:

  1. Open a model in Studio
    Start by finding a model you'd like to use as the foundation for your tour and open it in Studio. On the left side of the page, you will see the chapter list, which shows all chapters in your current model or tour. If the model has just one chapter, you will be starting fresh. If it already has multiple chapters, you can either edit it or build onto it.
  2. Add chapters
    Add more chapters by either duplicating an existing chapter or importing a different additional models. See Add chapters to a tour below for details.
  3. Customize each chapter
    Select a chapter in the list to make it active, edit it as needed using any of the tools in Studio, and repeat for each chapter. 
  4. Save your tour
    When you are done, save your work to My Library to reference, share, or embed later.

 

Add chapters to a tour

There are two ways to build your tour chapter by chapter: by importing models or duplicating the one you're already working with.

  • Use this method when your tour spans different models—for example, showing the progression between stages of a disease or comparing different conditions that affect the same region of the body.

    To import a model as a new chapter:

    1. Click the    plus button at the bottom of the chapter list.
    2. Select Import chapter(s) from the drop-down menu.
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    3. In the Import Chapters window, search or filter to find a model. Switch between the BioDigital Library (i.e., Explore) and My Library using the menu on the left.
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    4. Hover over the model you want to add to your tour and click Import.

  • Use this method when you want to show different views or stages of the same model—for example, subdivisions of the nervous system or stages of a procedure.

    To duplicate a chapter, either:

    • Click the    plus button at the bottom of the chapter list, or
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    • Click the    drag handle icon next to chapter in the chapter list and select Duplicate "[chapter name]" from the drop-down menu.

 

Edit a tour

Whether you are customizing a ready-made tour or modifying one you created, the process is the same:

  1. Click any chapter in the list to make it active.
  2. Edit the chapter using any combination of authoring tools.
  3. Repeat for any additional chapters you want to adjust.

 

Reorder chapters

  1. Hover over the chapter you would like to move until the    drag handle icon appears.
  2. Click and drag it to a new position in the list.

 

Delete a chapter

  1. Hover over the chapter until the    drag handle icon appears.
  2. Click the drag handle and select Delete chapter from the drop-down menu. 
  3. In the confirmation window, click Delete.

 

Edit chapter settings

  1. Hover over the chapter until the    drag handle icon appears.
  2. Click the drag handle and select Edit Settings from the drop-down menu. 

From here, you can configure the following options:

  • Transition
    Choose how the chapter loads:
    • Fly to this chapter (animated zoom)
    • Jump to this chapter (non-animated "jump cut")
  • Text to Speech Narration
    Check this box to enable automatic narration of the chapter description. See Add audio to a model for more details.
  • Alt Text
    Add screen-reader-friendly descriptions of the 3D visuals in this chapter for accessibility.

 

Next steps

Once your tour is complete, you can:

  • Preview and test it to make sure your chapter visuals, labels, and other content flow as intended.

  • Share it with learners or colleagues using a direct link or by embedding it into your website, LMS, or app. See Publish a 3D model for more details.

  • Keep iterating! You can open your tour in Studio at any time to make updates, add new chapters, or refine your content based on feedback. If your tour has already been shared or embedded, all changes you save will be reflected in the live version automatically.