Igor

User who bought previous versions of PicturesToExe can continue to use for free version 5.0 except of VideoBuilder. if they want to use VideoBuilder and burn DVD-Video discs, they have to pay for upgrade $20.

Please send all project in ZIP archive (in main menu | File | Create backup in ZIP archive) I just sent you PM message with details.

Dear friends! We're glad to present PicturesToExe Deluxe 5.0 http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/apr-deluxe.zip (4 MB) Build 5.04 Updated: October 12, 2007 We're very grateful to all people who helped us during two years of development of version 5.0. Thank you for your new ideas, advices and bug-reports - all it made better PicturesToExe! I will happy to continue our common work for the next versions. Key features of version 5.0 - New graphical engine which uses all power of your video card. - Burning of DVD-Video disc with your slide shows right in PicturesToExe. - Pan/Zoom/Rotate effects in real-time with high quality. Sharp picture and smooth animation. Special option "Perspective correction for Zoom" to reach natural looking zooming. - Completely new editor of objects and animation. Proportionally scalable objects. Improved Text objects, drop shadow or glow can be applied for any object. Seven skins for Button objects. - New cool view of Navigation bar. - Tree of folders in main window of PicturesToExe. - PNG images support. - Improved quality of music player. - Improved support of Windows Vista (in main program of PicturesToExe). - Undo/Redo feature. Example of slide show created in PicturesToExe Deluxe 5.0: http://wnsoft.com/apr/show/PteShow.zip (8 MB) And many other slide shows: http://wnsoft.com/download.htm Base version of PicturesToExe 5.0 is free for all existing registered users. If you want to burn DVD-Video discs you have to pay $20 for Upgrade to Deluxe edition: https://www.regnow.com/softsell/nph-softsel...e%20to%20Deluxe Full list of new features in version 5.0: + New Visual editor where you can add Pan/Zoom/Rotate effect. See "Objects and Animation" button (Ctrl+ on the main window. > Added "Drop Shadow and Glow" option for objects (see Objects and Animation window). > Added "Diagonal" style for Rectangle objects. > Added alpha parameter to color of Rectangle objects. You can set alpha 255 for one side and 0 for another side and make partially semi-transparent rectangle. > Added "Perspective correction for Zoom" option for objects. See "Objects and animation" window. With this option enabled we simulate true movement of a camera to an object. > You can adjust any non-linear speed for Pan/Zoom/Rotate effects for objects. + Added Undo (Ctrl+Z) and Redo (Ctrl+Y) features. See Main menu | Project | Undo (Ctrl+Z) and Redo (Ctrl+Y). + Transition effects: + All transition effects work much more smooth with new graphical engine, especially "Curling of page" + You can change center of appearance for "Circle" effect. + Improved Navigation bar. > New Navigation bar themes. > Fade in/out effects. > New parameters. > Added support of skins. You can add any images of buttons and background, Navigation bar can be semi-transparent and has a shadow. See folder "NavBar" in PicturesToExe's folder. Just add new folder to create new style of Navigation bar. + Added tree of folders to main window. See Main Menu | View | Show tree (Ctrl+G) + Added support of PNG images files (including PNG with partial semi-transparency). + You can quickly remove slide(s) from Slide list simply dragging them back to File list. + You can quickly press Enter to show "Customize slide" window for selected slide(s). + Main image of a slide can be transparent GIF or transparent PNG now. + Added new function to Main menu | File. "Create backup in ZIP" which compress all files of your project into one ZIP archive. It can be useful for moving project to another PC. + Vastly improved speed of work of PicturesToExe's main window. Instant response now. Especially when you work with 1000 or more slides in the Slide list. + Added new style of background image of a slide: "Fit to screen". + New view of color dialog. + Added option "Keep slide aspect ratio" (1,3333 by default) to correctly draw slide + Added "Scale keypoints in objects (on time change)" option in properties of a slide, "Main" tab. This option useful if you have complex animation (with several keypoints) and you need to change slide time from 4 seconds to 12 seconds, for example. + AVI video output window: + Added "Anti-flicker filter" which is turned on by default. + Added "HD-1080" mode. If you slideshow has 4:3 aspect ratio it produces 1440x1080, if 16:9 then 1920x1080 + Added "HD-720 progressive, 50/60 frames" mode. + Fully rewritten music player and improved quality of sound. + Vastly improved quality of video output (AVI, DVD and HDTV). + Ability to insert comment or description from EXIF info of JPEG images. See Project options | Comments tab | "Set comments for all slides as" | "Display EXIF". on various displays (usual 4:3 and wide screen). See Project options | Screen tab. + Added compatibility of main interface of PicturesToExe with Large font (120 dpi) mode of Windows. + Main interface of PicturesToExe supports "Clear type" font mode of Windows XP. + Various improvements in File list in the main window. + You can customize double click in the Slide list: show Slide window or Objects and animation window. See main menu | View | Advanced options. + Enlarged size of preview area in "Customize synchronization" window. + Added text macros. + New "About PicturesToExe" window. + New Welcome Screen. + Added "Loop this slide", "Pause at the end of this slide", "No actions after this slide" options in properties of a slide, "Main" tab. + New drive bar (in main window). + You can create screensaver from any EXE file with slide show which created in v5.00 or later. Just rename SlideShow.exe to SlideShow.scr + New drive bar (in main window). + Added "Pause when window of slide show becomes inactive" option (Project options | Main tab). + Added global option "Allow modification of EXE file with slide show" (Main menu | View | Advanced). This option disabled (by default) and if EXE file with slide show damaged or infected, it will warn that slide show damaged and will not run. When this option enabled, you can use EXE packer/crypors to pack or additionally protect EXE file. + Added compatibility of main application of PicturesToExe with Windows Vista. + Added compatibility of main application of PicturesToExe with restricted user accounts in Windows. + Improved installer. Updated build 5.01 * Fixed bug with incorrect size of shadow for JPEG images in slide show when "Hardware acceleration" option disabled. * Fixed bug when Distance of shadow for a button object changes according length of caption. * Fixed bug with earlier appearing of a next slide where set "Quick transition" when "Hardware acceleration" option disabled. Updated build 5.02 + Updated Polish language file. * Duration value didn't show on the status bar when you visually changed duration of a transition effect on the timeline. * Fixed rare bug of previous versions when "Select all images" action in popup menu not always worked for the File list. Updated build 5.03: + Creating of ISO image of DVD disc in VideoBuilder works much faster now. In 10x faster. * Fixed bug under old Windows 95/98/Me in the slideshow engine. When Help window, or startup screen adjusted without an image appeared, slideshow crashed. * Fixed bug when startup screen with an image could be larger than current screen resolution (for example, if you used huge 3500x2200 image). Updated build 5.04: + Added link to Complete User Guide for PicturesToExe Deluxe 5.0 (By Lin Evans and Jeff Evans (Appendix G By Ray Waddington) (127 pages, PDF file, 7 MB) to Help file. http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/PicturesToExe_v5...erManual_en.pdf * PicturesToExe didn't support 8-bit grayscale PNG images with alpha channel. The problem fixed now.

Mike, You use very very old beta. Latest build - Pre-Release and final version will be soon.

Peter, Please report to ATI about this problem. See the URL below. Thanks in advance.

Alain, Limitation of this layout. But I can't quickly fix it, sorry. Strange. Unzip this project to some another folder, say C:\MyFolderWhat path will be displayed in this case? I'll try to fix it quickly.

Alain, Please remind me what video card you have installed? p.s. you forgot to attach log file.

Alain, Thanks. Concerning scaling of keypoints. You're right. It's more a logical problem than a bug. I knew about it. We wrote keypoints system 2 years ago in absolute time values and too late discovered that keypoints can't be in two variants - in percents and in absolute time. I wrote manual scaling for some cases, but it's not enough to care about all possible cases when correction necessary. To fix this problem it's necessary to vastly rewrite keypoints code and I hope we'll do it in version 5.1 Sometimes I regret about complexity of some features in PicturesToExe - too many professional options and it becomes difficult to manage all it. p.s. I've replied you in another topic on your question with three slide's project.

Alain, I don't see any problem with your project. Log files shows that all is OK. Probably it is a visual impression? Do you always see this problem (if run 2nd, 3rd time, etc)? Please run notepad, type: Project1.exe -log -frametimes Save this file as Test.bat and put it to same folder where located your Project1.exe file with 3 slides. Run Test.bat file and when it finishes, you'll find Project1.log text log file. Please send it to me (as attachment to the forum message).

Dave, Thanks for details! I think it is a bug in Photoshop 7, if other program had similar problem. We use very well known JPEG library which is used in thousands of products.

I just published a little updated build of Pre-Release with minor changes and new language files. It should be final code. Final release will be on Monday.

Gareth, What video card used in your laptop? If it's an integrated graphical solution and overall system memory 256 MB, video card might take 64 MB for own needs, so you have only 192 MB of system memory in slide show. 1) First possible reason - lack of video memory. 2) Lack of system memory. Or both reasons together. To handle very large images in slide show it's necessary to have NVIDIA or ATI video card. Newest laptops with integraded graphical card based on Intel 965 platform (codename "Santa Rosa") also should be enough fast. p.s. Lin adviced very well solution for this particular image which will keep same high quality and smoothness of animation on your laptop.

Lin, I also was not able reproduce this problem even with EXE file KGHalbe sent me. By the way, using of "Desaturate" action in Photoshop to make grayscale image give not perfect result. Because it just removes color information without analyse of color components. Green, Red and Blue colors have different brightness in our eye. So true converting color image to grayscale should know about this moment and sets different brightness. It's interesting, but calling "Grayscale" option and then back "RGB" will do correct converting to grayscale image. Please look on attached screenshot: p.s. PixBuilder Studio performs correct converting to grayscale image.

Al, It's because in v4.48 slide show ignores time for loading of images (not synchronize mode): Loading 1st slide + time of slide + Loading of 2nd slide + time of this slide, etc. In v5.0 slides show exactly specified time as you see on the timeline.

Dave, Amazed! Without your help I couldn't solve this problem! Please say me - this problem happened only with grayscaled JPEGs saved in Photoshop 7 or with later versions, too? And this bug occured in v5.00 only or in v4.48, too?

Al, v4.48 renders simple slide with main image faster than version 5.0, because in old version it always fully opaque rectangular image which can be quickly copies to the screen. In the new version slide may contains animated objects, semi-transparent images - rendering of such potentially complex slide a little more long process. We can't write individual codes for every case, we have to use universal code. Version 5.0 still small 270 KB slide engine with built in support of JPEG, MP3, PNG, BMP, GIF. And two graphical engines. All Pan/Zoom effects and other code in 270 KB of code. Main purpose of PicturesToExe - displaying of slide show with usual time interval - several seconds and Pan/Zoom effects. And I hope version 5.0 operates well for this task. p.s. Probably you're still using old Pre-Release build, log file says that it is not latest version.

Al, Please add additional parameter: effective-av_5-0.exe -log -frametimes And send me again log file. Also let me know what screen resolution you use? Absolutely right because compressed log in ZIP in 4-20 times smaller.

Al, Thanks, I created two EXE files in v4.48 and version 5.0 from your project files. I see identical results in both variants - no skipping of slides and same smoothness. You can test speed of loading of slides. Start notepad. Type: effective-av_5-0.exe -log Save this file as "Log.bat" Run this bat file, after closing of the slide show you will find log file created in this folder. Preload time means time spent for loading of a slide. p.s. please don't forget to use newest Pre-Release version published yesterday. It contains vast optimizations for transition effects when hardware acceleration disabled.

I think overall value of FPS you will reach same in v4.48 and 5.0 (just v4.48's slide show plays longer). In v4.48 you may have difficulties with synchronization of slides to music for this task. Probably v4.48 better for this task. But in v4.48 you can't use Pan/Zoom effects

Al, I would like to correct my previous posting. There is major difference in behaviour of version 5.00 and v4.48. In old version if set close interval between slides (say 10 ms) PicturesToExe shown all slides, but duration of slide show was much longer than duration of a slide x number of slides. For example if you show should be 1 minute, it could take 3 minutes. Opposite version 5.0's slide show works exactly specified time. But if it can't load all slides in time, it skips some slides. For this reason, (even when Hardware acceleration not used) you may thought that version 5.0 loads slides in 5 times longer that v4.48, but it's not so.

Al, Version 5.0 converts GIFs to 32-bit format (almost as PNG). I suspect that very well optimized GIF smaller than our format. But in other cases size of an EXE file should be same. Slide slide engine of version 5.0 is 276 KB in v4.48 - 250 KB. Unfortunately it's impossible to create well optimized engine for such different tasks. If we optimized it for Pan/Zoom effects with ideally smooth animation, we couldn't optimize it for fast show of slides.

Al, Thank you! I only would like to recommend use only PNG for text. Because high quality text has smooth edges and only 32-bit PNG image can keep partially semi-transparent edges of a text. Transparent GIF is a very limited storage for a text and it gives such artefacts as aliasing on edges, especially noticable when you use animation.

Today I discovered that the most popular cracks/discussion forum in Russia (about 2500 new messages every day in various topics dedicated to particular products) contains a topic "PicturesToExe" which is pinned to the top of a forum (no other pinned topics for other products). Cracks published in this topic are not fully workable so it's not a problem, but I think we will see new customers soon. Thanks to this funny "advertisment".

I think VMWare, Virtual PC and Paralles will provide much faster work of graphics in emulation of Windows soon. Because they want to support new 3D graphical interface of Windows Vista which uses DirectX 9.

Of course! p.s. I move this topic to "Ideas and suggestions"