mhwarner

Hi John, I understand what you are wanting to do and why it might actually make sense. I use ThumbsPlus and sometimes would like to create a slideshow from a gallery (of images in different folders tagged with a common keyword). However, aside from the reasons why Lin has suggested that it might not be the best idea, I don't see any way that you can actually drag and drop photos on either the slide table/list in 5.1 or on the slide table/list or timeline in 5.5. It does not allow me to do it from either windows explorer or from ThumbsPlus (both of which can drag and drop into Photoshop or other graphics applications). So I think dragging and dropping is actually a moot point unless there is another trick which I do not understand.

Hi Brian, I expect Lin or somebody more technical than I will jump in here, but I believe the quick answer is that if you use version 5, even without Pan and Zoom and without hardware acceleration enabled, you will still not have some of the functionality available in version 4.4x. If you are dependent upon things such as "transitions from/to the desktop", or running your show at the size you have designed it (not full-screen and not in windowed mode), you will not have those features in v. 5 no matter what. On the other hand, if you want to quickly and easily burn your shows to DVD, easily add titles to your slides and animate them, or use other features of the O&A editor than just P&Z, you should consider v. 5. It's definitely a trade-off, but I suppose that if v. 4.x perfectly meets your needs, you should stay with it. Perhaps if you list the things that you particuarly depend on in v. 4.x that are not available in newer versions, someone might be able to suggest a workaround that will enable you to upgrade.

Dom, You are amazing and so very imaginative! A very cool effect! Thanks for sharing.

Igor, I didn't see it included on your list of what's new so I just want to be sure you have not yet added the fix for the ATI graphics cards because my screen still darkens when running a preview or a newly created slideshow. Will that fix be included somewhere in 5.5, or is it scheduled for 5.6? Otherwise, thanks for this update. I love the new welcome screen!

Patrick, I thoroughly enjoyed the show. The photography was lovely. As for the dark shadows issue, I did not really notice it as a problem. I only spent a few days in Amsterdam once many years ago so I can't remember the quality of light in that city, but I have spent a good deal of time photographing in New York City and found much the same issue with the light and shadows there. While I agree that it would be possible to bring out more detail in the shadows, I'm not sure that it wouldn't take away from the overall impression of the city. The human eye, of course, compensates for the difference and sees a broader dynamic range than the camera, but most of the detail was visible in the shadows of your photos and it did not detract anything as far as I am concerned. My only negative comment would be that I did not think the quality of the simulated line-drawing/watercolor painting of the windmill at the end was up to the quality of the rest of the show. If you are using Photoshop, you might want to experiment with this free action http://www.atncentral.com/download.htm#Watercolor_Tint (or one of the other sketch actions available here) to see what alternatives you might be able to create. Thank you for sharing and this show stays in my keeper list to watch again.

Hi Mike, Take a look at the cube action offered on Panos' site. It's only $12.99 US and has about 18 different effects. Could be a real timesaver and the result is very elegant. http://www.panosfx.com/index.php?option=co...9&Itemid=45 I think Dom had a free action to create a 3D book which I suspect could be adapted to making a cube. It is probably posted on his website. And he had a "Rotation" demo and template as well. I would assume they are still out there on his website somewhere. If you still really want to do it yourself, I had an old tutorial stored away which somebody had posted on dpReview a few years ago. I could find the original illustration photos online, so I sent you a pdf to the "Contact Us" email listed on your website. Let me know if you don't receive it.

Hi Dave, I enjoyed your show and in particular some of the photographs with late afternoon light and/or gathering storm clouds. I thought the music, background and titles were appropriate. I especially liked the "undulating road" (or whatever you called it). Not sure what to suggest about the signs. I wasn't particularly interested in reading all of the long ones, but that's just me. My only suggestion would have been to work some of the pictures with the very washed out skies in Photoshop (or whatever) to attempt to pull in a bit more detail. Thanks for sharing.

Nicely done! The colors and the transition techniques used compliment the photographs. I am also amazed at the amount of work that went into the actual sculptures. Who would have thought that such an elegant show could be created from an ancient cemetery! Thank you for sharing this. I wonder if you would be kind enough to tell us which transition and the settings you used to display the initial slide with the gradually appearing lines. Thanks!

Hi, Take a look at this thread: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8111 It sounds like it might be possible to add a video clip using a utility written by one of our members, Granot/Boxig (who, unfortunately, seems to have totally disappeared from the forum ). I haven't tried it yet myself but since Dom says it works, I will take his word for it! Here's a link to download the utility in case you want to try it: http://www.thailandphotoalbum.com/ShowVideoPTE.zip PS - does anybody know what's happened to Granot/Boxig?

Igor, it sounds reasonable to me. But maybe make it only 5 posts. At that point someone should have established him/herself as a serious user. And thanks for looking into this!

Thanks for the info. I have blocked. Hope it works.

Hi Tim, In case you are not aware of it, you can download a fully functional trial version of Photoshop Elements (I think it works for 30 days) and try it out. I agree with Barry that it is likely to just about everything you will need to edit your photos and make slideshows. Also, if you ever decide that you do need to move up to the full version of Photoshop, you can get a very decident upgrade price on it because you previously purchased PS Elements. I just recommend Elements to a friend the other day who is not at all a graphics person and she was delighted with the ease with which she was able to modify photos and create graphics for some websites using the package. Try it -- you have nothing to lose. Perhaps you can find a package that is cheaper, and with some maneuvering might do what you want, but unless you have way more time than money (and it sounds like you will need to spend much of that time on the scanning process), you will be doing yourself a favor in purchasing the package. The other thing to keep in mind is that PS Elements (and of course, Photoshop itself) are so universally used that there are many, many tutorials out on the net explaining how to do just about anything you are likely to want. (And don't forget Barry's excellent tutorials as well.) Whatever you decide, best of luck and we wil be waiting to see your first slideshow!

I've looked around and not found any way to notify a moderator. I received an annoying personal message through the site this morning and wonder if others have as well. I thought perhaps Igor or another moderator might have a way to delete the sender's id before it gets worse. Thanks.

Thanks! Nicely done and a great learning tool. A couple of comments: When I clicked the "Preview" mode button, I couldn't see that anything was happening other than the central "slide list" (for lack of a better term) window just changes to black and displays what appears to be another "Preview Mode" button with the messages "Allows you to view just the default ...". Clicking that "Preview Mode" button has no effect as far as I can tell (unlike clicking the "Help" button which displays when you have clicked "About") and the slides that appear in the upper right hand window are the same as when you are not in "Preview Mode". Am I misunderstanding something about preview mode? After I have clicked the "Create Template" button the red "Complete" button opens in the upper right corner. Click that button does open PTE. However, I was expecting that it would open the program with the newly created template/slidehow opened and that does not happen. Also, it was not clear to me where I would find the new template and I had to rummage through directories until it hit me that it might be in the same directory I had created to install your program in. Perhaps an additional item in the instructions file would be appropriate. Otherwise, it's a pretty intuitive program and has showed me some great ways to make transitions and animations.

Thank you, Igor! It will be much appreciated!

I like the idea! I have a monitor with 1920 x 1200 resolution. I usually make shows smaller because I end up burning them to DVD for customers. However, if I want to look at them on my monitor, the clarity is just not as good when they are being "upsized" to fit full screen (even with the amazng interpolation that Igor is able to accomplish). I would just as soon see them in a window with whatever color I have selected as a background (or even a default of black) filling out the rest of the screen. I like the window idea, but don't want to see the rest of my desktop while watching.

Mark, Thank you so much for sharing this lovely presentation. I was awed and inspired by the beauty of a place I am unlikely to have the opportunity to visit in person. The music and the narration were, in my opinion, just right and the photos were well-chosen. I must admit to having had goose bumps at the end. Well done and most enjoyable!

Hi Glenn, Have a look at this thread and download and experiment with Tom's utility: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7959 It may not be exactly what you want, but it is a very easy (and cool) way to add animation effects to a slideshow. It is also a great learning tool if you spend some time looking at the effects created to understand how they were done. If you have questions, I'm sure Tom or others using the utility would be happy to help.

Hi Dave, Check this out and play the attached mp3 file for a sample: http://www.nextup.com/index.html Voiceovers.mp3

You need to create an AVI or MPEG4 file from the PTE project (using the video builder). Here are some tips: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5034 http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....ost&p=49089 http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/...amp;topic=10523

Lin, Thanks so much for this tutorial (as well as all your other tutorials). I am in the process of creating a slideshow from 2 months of travel from AZ to Montana and back as well as another from AZ through New Mexico and Colorado. I have been collecting maps for just such an addition to the shows. Your tutorial will make the job almost a snap. I was thinking of a series of layered .jpgs with a progressively moving route line, but this is so much easier! Thanks again for sharing. Please know that your efforts are thoroughly appreciated!

Just an observation which may or may not have anything to do with the problem ... In the first show which has the "cannot load images" file, it says that the images are on your "E:" drive. Is that an external drive or a CD drive? If so, perhaps there is an issue of PTE not being able to load the images quickly enough. If not, then nevermind, but it was just a thought.

Hi Mike, I have just looked at and downloaded some of your templates. I just want to compliment you on the layout/arrangement of that area of your website and the nice demos you have provided for your templates. Good job, and thanks for sharing! Looking forward to playing with the templates when I have a minute.

Not sure what your problem might be, but I will give you my experience from the other day. I created an .avi to upload to YouTube. Following some instructions I had found here on this forum, I set the format to 320x240 15fps DivX 6 codec. It was a small show of about only 20 slides, but I had no problems. Experiment with various codecs to see if that makes a difference. With regard to the PTE codec, I may be wrong here and if so, I'm sure somebody will jump in and correct me, but I believe that is only useful for creating an .avi that will be used more or less immediately in another program. There is a temporary .avi of sorts created, but it is only valid/available for as long as you keep that session of PTE open. You can pull that temporary .avi into another program (ULead or Roxio or Nero) and do something with it, but you must then save it from the other program or convert it to another format or whatever. That's the way it worked in version 4x anyway. You should read these forum threads and I believe you may find at least some of your answers: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....76&hl=codec http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....96&hl=codec http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....65&hl=codec

No luck for me. I have a Dell laptop with ATI Radeon X1400. The driver for that card does not list Dell among the manufacturers and when I ran the little utility to tell me if the driver update was compatible, it said to check with the manufacturer. When I went to Dell's site, the latest driver I found was 7/2006 -- almost 6 months before I bought my computer. Bummer. I will have to wait for Igor's solution.