In the previous Create a layer section, we came across several mandatory fields that are needed in layer creation. In this section, we will have a look at the rest fields and how to customize a layer using these fields.

To edit a layer (we will take layer "firsttutorialxuan" with Layar Vision enabled as an example), click on "Edit" button for this layer to open the layer editing page (see screenshot 1 below).

screenshot 1 - layer editing page (General tab)

In total, there are 11 tabs:

• General - The basic information about this layer, such as layer status.
• API endpoint - Mainly the POI URL for developer's web service that provides hotspots response.
• Listing & Indexing - Mainly Layer listing on the phone and indexing in Layar Stream.
• Look & feel - Manage the appearance of the Camera view on the phone.
• Coverage - Define layer country region and set up bounding box for local layers.
• Filters - Set up filter settings for a layer.
• Permissions - Assign different publisher and add viewers to a layer.
• Reference images - Upload and manage reference images to Layar server. This tab is not visible, if "Layar Vision" is not enabled.
• Vision Usage - For Vision enabled layers, you need to choose a Layar Vision usage tier. This tab is not visible, if "Layar Vision" is not enabled.
• Pricing  - Set up the price tier for your premium layer.

Each tab will be explained in detail as below:

1. General tab

In screenshot 1, basic information about this layer is provided, such as layer status and layer developer / publisher emails. Again, layer type can be changed here. NOTE that Once Layar Vision is enabled, this will also change the Layer type to 3D and 2D objects in 3D spaces and the Minimum API version to version 6.0 automatically after the settings are saved.

2. API endpoint tab

screenshot 2 - API endpoint tab

As we can see that API endpoint URL (which was defined when this layer was created) can be modified here. 

Since Layar client 5.0 release, it is possible for users to upload screenshots taken from the camera view directly to layer developer's web server. This can be defined under Hosted screenshots section. The detailed description of each field can be found below:

For more information on how to implement this sharing feature, please read the "share a screenshot to a developer defined URL" section on Sharing API page.

If you want to check genuine requests from layar, OAuth signature can be used. Detailed definition for OAuth signing is provided in the following table:

3. Listing & indexing tab

• Listing, fields related to layer listing in layar application on the phone are discussed here. 
  

screenshot 3 - layer listing

As we can see that "Title" and "Short description" fields (which were defined when this layer was created) can be modified here.

To get an idea on how these fields fit in layar application on the phone, please see the screenshot below:

screenshot 4 - layer listing

• Indexing,   fields related to layer indexing in layar application on the phone are discussed here.

screenshot 5 - layer indexing

Layar Stream is a patent pending Stream Technology used in layar's Reality Browser. Layar Stream supports any location based object published into Layar such as check-ins, coupons, status updates, gaming, information, 3D models and more. Publishers will also benefit by seeing their content, for the first time, served up at time and location most relevant to their users. For more information on layar stream, please visit here. 

4. Look & Feel

screenshot 6 - Look & feel

• General

• Custom POI Indicator Widgets (CIW)

      By default, hotspots in camera view are represented by black disks. Instead of this default disk shape, developers are able to specify custom CIWs.

      Each CIW set has four states:

• Focus: when it is selected
• Inner: when it is located in the inner (closest) ring of the radar
• Middle: when it is located in the middle ring of the radar
• Outer: when it is located in the outer ring of the radar

       The custom CIW object is returned as:

     Instructions for making a good custom CIW:

     Your icon should be build in the following way in order to stand out regardless of the background the camera is pointing at:

• Make a clear icon, preferably plain color, that fits in a 1.) 90x90 pixels box for the focus and inner icons, 2.) 60x60 pixels or 3.) 40x40 pixels, respectively, for the middle and outer icons.
• These transparent icons fit in their respective templates: 1.) 110x110, 2.) 76x76, 3.) 56x56
• Add a two pixels white border around the icon. 
• Add an eight pixels black drop shadow, at 40% opacity

     Some guidelines:

• For the focus icon, use a color that matches your BIW, this is more pleasing to the eye
• For the inner, middle and outer icons, use three colors with the same base color, fading to lighter colors for the icons further away. This gives a more realistic image.

 The following screenshot shows how these fields are applied in Layar application on the phone.

screenshot 7 - Camera view

5. Coverage

screenshot 8 - Coverage

Some more NOTEs on Bounding boxes: 

Layers with bounding boxes are called "Local" layers. When searching for layers in Layar client, these are the rules applied:

• Featured: A local layer can still be featured. Therefore it is important that you still indicate in the detail description where your layer is supposed to be used. 
• Favorites: A local layer can still be made favorite. Same as above.
• Popular: A local layer is indexed for popularity but if it's very local it's popularity rank is likely to be lower than a more global layer. 
• Local: A user will only see a local layer if his current location is within the bounding box(es) of the layer. The smaller the bounding box, the higher in the list will the layer appear (more local relevancy). If the user is roaming (is currently in a different country than the default country of his phone), this list will also show the country-specific layers for the country he's roaming in. These layers will appear after the local layers.
• Search: A local layer will be found like any other layer using the search feature.

6. Filters

There are five different filters that can be associated with each layer. The values of each filter will be sent in the request for hotspots. They are all optional.  The screenshot below shows two of the filters (Range Slider and Textbox).

screenshot 9 - Filters

The detailed definition of each filter is listed below:

• Text box: limited to 3 text boxes per layer

• Slider: limited to 3 sliders per layer

• Range Slider: limited to 1 range slider per layer

• RadioButton List: Limited to 1 RadioButton list per layer

• Checkbox List: Limited to 1 Checkbox list per layer

All these filter settings will appear in the layer settings page in Layar application on the phone. If "Show filters before loading layer" is checked, this layer settings page will always appear before camera view is shown. The following image shows how these filters look like on Layar client.

screenshot 10 - Filters on Layar client

7. Permissions

Under "Permissions" tab, publisher name which was defined while layer creation can be edited. At the same time, the ownership of a layer can be transferred from current publisher to another publisher. Developer can also add a viewer for a layer so that this viewer can see this layer on Layar client even it is still in development.

screenshot 11 - Permissions

• Assign new publisher  

By default, the layer developer is also the publisher of this layer. The ownership of this layer can be transferred to another publisher by following the steps below:

1. Click on "Assign new publisher" button.

2. Fill in the email address of this new publisher.

3. An email is sent to this email address to notify this publisher on his role and assignment. Meanwhile, it explains what this publisher needs to do in order to see this layer in the publishing site environment.

• Add viewer

By adding viewers to a layer, other people can see this layer on Layar client even it is not in public status. This is especially useful when you want to show it to other people, such as project clients. To Add a viewer:

1. Click on "Add viewer" button.

2. Fill in the email address of this viewer.

3. An email is sent to this viewer to notify him/her on this assignment.

4. If this viewer already has a Layar account (with the same email address), he/she can directly start viewing your layer on Layar client after logging in.

5. If not, he will then need to create a Layar account on layar website (www.layar.com) first in order to see this layer on layar client.

8. Reference images

For Vision enabled layers, reference images can be uploaded and maintained here.

For the uploaded reference image, the following information needs to be provided:

screenshot 12 - Reference images

Once a reference image is uploaded, the legend below is used to show ratings assigned by Layar server based on the quality and clarity of images and their ability to be used for Layar Vision.

• GREEN - Green means the image is good to go. It should function properly with Layar Vision.
• YELLOW - Yellow means the image will function properly under certain conditions, but we recommend that a better image is used. Try boosting contrast or increasing brightness to improve the image’s clarity and definition.
• RED - Red means the image will most certainly not function properly under most conditions. Make sure images are focused with high contrast, definition and brightness. If you need more help making a good image, see our more detailed guidelines here.

9. Vision Usage

In order to publish your Vision-enabled Layer, please select a Layar Vision usage tier under this tab. 

screenshot 13 - Vision Usage

Please NOTE that this is only needed for Vision enabled layers. for more information about tiers, please read here.  If you have created a geolocation layer which does not use Layar Vision feature at all, please make sure that you do not enable Layar Vision feature on the publishing site. Layar will not charge anything for creating geolocation layers. On the other hand, developers can create paid layers which means users need to pay to use your layers. You can manage the pricing of a paid layer under the "Pricing" tab below.

10. Additional Settings

Under this tab, some more layer level settings can be configured to support complex mechanisms in a layer.

screenshot 14 - Additional settings

Explanations for each field can be found in the table below:

lon=4.933156943889342&
lat=52.373196116536235

The button which has these additional settings enabled can be found on the layer filter settings page in Camera view on layar client.

screenshot 15 - additional settings button

11. Pricing

This tab is for defining and customizing premium layers. For more information on our premium layer program, please download this document. Download Layar-Paid-Countries.pdf to see which countries support paid layers.

screenshot 16 - pricing

This is the end of layer editing section. Please do not forget to save changes made to layer editing. You will probably come back to this section from time to time to configure the best options for your layer.