Jimat4DVideo

Thanks for the advice Ken. I've posted a new topic under: "Improve the "default" keyboard controls. Peter, you've got the idea. We employ sliders in that fashion to move through several (synchronized) video sequences. One final thought ... I didn't start out trying to improve PTE, I just couldn't find the keyboard controls for end-users (as opposed to developers of slideshows). If additional "default" keyboard controls are added, I suggest that a clear distinction is made between "hotkeys" used within PTE and the "default" controls used to manipulate executables. Thanks to you all. Jim

For small slideshows, it's relatively easy to run back and forth through (say) 40-50 slides with the arrow keys, but for much bigger shows (several hundred slides) getting around an executable slideshow is a drag if it has to be done one slide at a time. I'm suggesting that you add: 1. a "faster/slower forward (or backward)" capability to speed-up or slow down the show (in either direction, backward or forward), 2. a "skip n slides forward/backward" capability, where n is entered on the keyboard, 3. a "jump to slide x" capability, and 4. a way to display the current slide number and the total number of slides in the slideshow (a keyboard toggle). Justification: Consider, for example, a company/individual that is using a large generic sequence of slides to highlight the work of the company/individual--at a tradeshow, perhaps. Now a potential client appears at your booth and says, "I'd like to show my colleague that project you displayed five minutes ago". What now? Restart the slideshow, or click, click, click ... almost there! By the time you've found the slide the potential client has moved on to other things. I've got to believe there are other circumstances, similar to this, where people want to move around a large slideshow in a (more) efficient manner.

Thanks, Dave. I'll take a look at that. You may have noticed that I've avoided talking about programming my controls. Yes, I'm sure it would be difficult for end users to code controls "using a comprehensive list of hyperlinks", but if the developers of PTE made provisions for it in the source code, I think the "default" keyboard controls I describe could be implemented and made available. Without a better understanding of the source code, it's difficult to see how easy/difficult this would be. Anyway--some food for thought. Thanks again. Jim

Dave: Your new list under "Executables" is exactly what I wanted. Thanks a bunch. Yachtsman1, thanks also for your help. That said, I would like to respond to ... "I don't think there is any need for others". I think the way in which we each navigate an executable slideshow depends on how PTE is being used. For small slideshows, it's relatively easy to run back and forth through (say) 40-50 slides with the arrow keys, but for much bigger shows (several hundred slides) getting around an executable slideshow is a drag if it has to be done one slide at a time. I thought I might find a "fast/slow-forward/backward" capability, a "skip n slides forward/backward" capability, or a "jump to slide x" capability. These are commonly found in video players. In the first instance, a "hotkey" sequence would cause the slideshow to speed-up or slow-down, in the second instance, a "hotkey sequence" would cause the slideshow to jump forward or backwards by "n" slides, and in the third instance, a "hotkey" sequence would cause the slideshow to jump to a specific slide. (Don't know the slide number? Maybe a hotkey to show the sequence number of slides on the screen?) Consider, for example, a company/individual that is using a large generic sequence of slides to highlight the work of the company/individual--at a tradeshow, perhaps. Now a potential client appears at your booth and says, "I'd like to show my colleague that project you displayed five minutes ago". What now? Restart the slideshow, or click, click, click ... almost there! By the time you've found the slide the potential client has moved on to other things. I've got to believe there are other circumstances, similar to this, where people want to move around a large slideshow in an efficient manner No criticism of this fine product. I just thought there might be other "hotkeys" available for navigating large slideshows--so I asked. Again, thanks to Dave and Yachtsman1 for their responses. My immediate question has now been answered--and very efficiently.

Dave: Thanks for your swift response. I believe the list of "Hotkeys" I found in the on-line help is intended for those of us developing slideshows within PTE (as opposed to the end-users of the shows we create). In the documentation for Hotkeys I do see a reference to the spacebar as a stop/start toggle, but I see no reference to the L/R arrow keys. What I am seeking is a list of the default "runtime" hotkeys that I can pass on to those who will be viewing my shows--something I can put on the jacket of a CD with one of my slideshows. If I examine the on-line help for "Hotkeys" from that perspective, the information provided is both inappropriate (not applicable to end users) and incomplete (no reference to the arrow keys). I'm not trying to nit-pick, but the "hotkeys" provided for developers (for use withing PTE) and the "default keyboard controls for slideshows are quite distinct. I'm looking for a definitive list of the latter. Again, thanks for taking the time to respond.

I know this is a very trivial question, but I can't find a definitive list of the "default" keyboard controls--that is, the controls that are invoked by checking the "Permit Control of Show by Keyboard" box. By trial and error and reading these forums, I've found that I can pause and release a running slide show using the space bar. I've also learned that I can use the L/R arrow keys to move back and forth through my shows, one slide at a time, but are there other ("default") keyboard controls that I've not yet discovered? Are these documented? I thought perhaps I might find a "fast forward"/"fast backward" with say SHIFT L ARROW / SHIFT R ARROW--or a "jump to first slide" or "jump to last slide" with say CNTL L ARROW / CNTL R ARROW, but my "trial and error" approach is less than optimal. If there are other "defaults" out there, will someone please describe them to me--or tell me where I can find them in the documentation. Thanks in advance.