Steps in producing and publishing a panoramic image from component images are automated such that a user can simply click a single button to stitch and publish a panoramic image. The stitched panoramic image is automatically cropped, compression quality is automatically adjusted according to the quality of the stitched panoramic image, a thumbnail image of the stitched panoramic image is automatically generated, and wrapping of the stitched panoramic image is automatically detected—all without user intervention. The resulting panoramic image is completely viewable without further intervention by the authoring user.