would it be possible once a tour has been created and the xml code been modified by the user to place some protection tags around own code to not get it overwritten the next time the tour is created again (maybe due to new panos added, or just tesing)?
it's not the autopano has to place the protect tags but recognize them and keep the code between.

like:
<protect on>
own xml code
<protect off>

Isn't that the purpose of the customisable templates that let you customise a preset HTML and XML template to your liking and keep using that everytime you build the tour?

Is it possible to also reference an external XML file from the template and call that in your main preset and keep all your custom code protected in this external xml file?

_________________
Test System Spec: 15" Retina MacBook Pro, 2.7GHz i7, 16GB RAM, 768GB SSD, OS X 10.8.5