goddi

Yes...thank you. Now I remember I had been through this some time ago and I could not get it to work. I chose Cinepak and it just made a video. I forgot the need to change the PTE video codec. Many months ago, I had tried a dozen or more codecs but nothing really worked well. Now, it looks better. Wonder if Igor tweeked it to work better. If I don't do it frequently, I get brain-lock!! Thanks... Gary

Ok...I am sure this subject has been beaten to death. I have always had problems with it and just gave up. I tried to get answers by using Search on 'AVI' but the Search will not work with 3 letters, and I tried 'Create AVI', etc., but no luck. So I apologize for bringing this subject up again since it seems I am the only one having questions/misunderstandings about it. I also read the Help file but it does not answer my question. I'd like to make an AVI of a PTE without having to burn it to a DVD. It seems this is the only way to do it??? Why can't I just make an AVI right to my harddrive??? I click on 'Create AVI file' and it does make an AVI file. And I can see it and play it off my harddrive if I do not hit 'Finish'. I notice, however, that none of the fade transitions work. If I hit 'Finish', the AVI file gets dumped. I thought, Ok, I will outsmart this thing and renamed the file. However, the renamed file only plays the music with a black screen. I'd like to know if it is possible to create an AVI file straight to the harddrive. If not, why not? I have created DVD's just fine. But what's the hangup with creating an AVI's straight to the harddrive that works??? It seems that 'Burn DVD-Video disc' is used to burn the PTE to a DVD using PTE's engine, and 'Create AVI' is used for burning the PTE using an external program, like Ulead's DVD Movie Factory. Is this concept right? But why can't we create an AVI video to a harddrive without involving the process of burning it to a DVD???? Thanks... Gary

Lin... Not to beat a dead horse, but, at least in my slideshow, it did not matter that some of the still images (with no animation) did not have a keyframe at the beginning. So I don't see why you say it "must". Not arguing but just wondering still. I see it "must" if you want to add Text the way I was trying to do. But if no animation is involved, why "must"? And now I see why I had the non-animated slide with no initial keyframe. Here is why it happened: Say, in slide#1, I had one non-animated image and a second image that zoomed/rotated in. Then, in the next slide in the slidelist, I wanted to replicate the images in slide#1, but not have the second image zooming/rotating in, but have a third image zoom in. So I copied/pasted the two images from slide#1 into the next slide. But I had to dump the initial keyframe of the zooming/rotating image to have it match its final position exactly as it was in the previous slide. Hope this makes sense. I guess I could have gotten the Pan/Zoom figures off the Animation Tab in slide#1 and entered that data to set the image's position in slide#2's initial keyframe (after dumping the second keyframe). Am I getting dangerous now? Gary

Barry... I tried Googling this Sony model you mentioned but it is not listed even on the Sony site. There isn't even a "CD" model. It this just a British available model? Thanks... Gary (USA)

Lin... I really have been trying to understand your explanation. However, I am still at a loss. Lets look at the 'gary1', where you say it must have a keyframe at the beginning of its timeline. When I look at 'gary1', you have highlighted an image that is stationary. I only inserted the image as a still image with no text. It is the other image that zooms in. So this is my first confusion as to why it " there must" be a keyframe at the beginning of each timeline......" when this image has no timeline, it just is a stationary image? Later....Ah...But...I NOW think I see what you are saying when it come to the image that zooms in with added Text. After trying many times, I have been successful in adding Text and getting the handles (insuring that there is a beginning keyframe in its timeline). AND, I just figured out how to make the Text pan from left to right within the image as the image panned left to right. Wow!!! Thanks for getting me to see the forest for trees. Gary

Lin... Thanks for looking at my slideshow. I read your reply several times but I do not see any difference between my version and what you sent me. I tried to understand your methodology but I, apparently, just don't understand what you are instructing me to do. I think I am doing what you say...however, I still get the Text block that does not have any handles. Well, my method eventually got me the handles and it worked so maybe there is more than one way to get the handles to appear. The only difference I see is that I used 'Clone a Keyframe' and you used 'Add a Keyframe', if I understand what you are saying. Either way, the Text block does not have handles. But thanks for the help. I just can't seem to rap my head around your method. I think I DO have a Keyfram at the beginning of the object's timeline and then just do a Clone a Keyframe to get the ending action in the timeline. I'll keep working on it to see if I can see any difference... Thanks... Gary

Menu_May31_2008_14_44_17.zip

Lin... Yes, I was looking at the effect of the "child" relationship when I added a Text block. In my test, I did not chose any object, so the Text was not a "child" of any object. As I explained before, if I leave the image (that zooms/rotates in) to be at the beginning of its zoom/rotate animation (that is, a just a small dot), the Text comes in with the handles. However, if I bring out the image that zooms/rotates from the small dot to full size, and then add the Text, the Text block comes in without the handles and I have to click on "Create New Keyframe here" to get the handles to appear. Though, it is not a 'child' of this zoomed/rotated image, when I do this, the Text block is frozen in the middle of the screen until I click on "Create New Keyframe here". I just don't understand why the addition of the Text block acts differently depending on whether the image that zooms/rotates in is at the beginning or at the end of the animation. At least I now know how to deal with it; I just don't understand the logic behind it. Gary

Lin... It will take a while to digest your explanation. Give me some time. However, I played with another slide I have in this Menu file. Here is what I noticed. It also has an image that rotates/zooms in. If I unrotate/unzoom the image so that it essentially disappears (it is at the beginning of the action) and I add Text, it automatically shows the handles and I can move/adjust it as you would expect. I don't have to click on "Create New Keyframe here". However, when I manually bring out this image to its final open size, and add a Text block, then this Text block has no handles and I have to click on the "Create New Keyframe here" to get the handles. Does this jive with your explanation??? Gary

Usually, I can add Text to a slide and then move/adjust it to where I want to place it. However, in my Menu file, in the 6th slide, when I add a Text block, it appears right in the middle of the image. But when I click on it, I don't get the handles and I can't move/adjust the Text block. I want to put this Text on an image that rotates and zooms in. When I highlight a stationary image, the Text block acts normally and I can move it. But when I try to add it to this specific image that rotates/zooms in, I can not move/adjust it within the image or get it to show the handles. What am I missing here??? (Using RC5). Thanks... Gary P.S. I just answered my own question. After I created the Text block, I just happened to click on the "Create New Keyframe here" and the handles appeared and I could then move the Text block around. This was just an accident that I did this. But I don't understand why this has to be done to get the Text block to become adjustable in this circumstance. Can someone educate me about this??? Thanks... Gary

Administrator Gary, You've wrote us PM message with suggestions. Please couldn't you duplicate it in "Ideas and suggestions..." forum? When I'll work on the next version I'll find and read it. And other users can discuss your ideas. ========================= Ok, here are my suggestions: 1- I'd like the font for the Buttons to be adjustable in size. Now, you can increase caption size by increasing size of an entire button. I would like the Font to be independent of the size of the Button (put a small sized text in a large sized Button). 2-I'd like to be able to add a sound effect to the action of a Button. 3-I'd like to be able to stop the music from playing in a Menu (or Index) slide when I click on a Button to continue on to a main slideshow that has its own music. I have made a work-around using a second slide but it would be nice to just be able to choose this from the Menu's Music tab to have its music stop when one of the Menu's slideshows are selected. Thanks... Gary

Igor... I attached the file but it is about 33MB. I don't think it was uploaded since I now see the max size is 2MB??? Where should I upload the file to be sure you get it??? Your old FTP login didn't work. Gary

Igor, Here are the files Zipped. The error happened when I played the second show ("Steps, Railings...") from the Index file. I just tried to replicate the error but it does not happen now. I hope this helps. Yes, I had just disabled the Hardware Acceleration in the Index file just before the error started showing up. I unchecked the HA box and then did a preview while in the PTE program. It happened only in the "Steps, Railing...." show. Thanks for looking into this. Gary

Igor... I got an Application Error when testing a slideshow in RC2. Here is the error message: Exception EAbort in Module PtePreview.exe at 000071D6. Asseertion with message: "Unhandled Exception at "TAffinn" Disiposing' (D:\D_Common\WnLib\Win32\WpTypes.pas,line:532). I had made the show in the last Beta but now I have the RC2 installed and use it. I was in PTE doing a Preview. The slidehshow has a Menu.exe. When I clicked on one of the slideshows to play it, I got the message and the PC locked up. I had to do a CtrlAltDel to stop the Preview (it showed it was Running). Got back to the PTE program. Then when I would click on the same show, the error message flashed on the screen and disappeared and the slideshow went on to play. I openned a similar slideshow but slightly different version. I went to play one of the slideshows off the Menu.exe and the monitor only showed the background colors, not the slideshow, but the music played. Hit ESC. Replayed and it then seemed to work OK for now. Got any ideas if it is my PC (Windows XP Pro) or the RC2??? Thanks... Gary

============================= Lin.... I didn't mean to hijack the topic but this thread brought up some good points that I did not realize before. Just one more question on the Hardware Acceleration. Does the jerkyness in the menu.exe with the HA activated happen when there is any animation or does it happen when there is extensive animation? My menu.exe only has some text that zooms in and I don't notice any problems with HA activated in the menu.exe. I have not made extensive use of animation yet in the menu.exe. I just re-read your post, Lin, and I think I understand it better now. It would not matter how much animation you would have in the menu.exe. It is just the fact that a HA from the menu.exe would be running with the HA that would be running in a main slideshow. Would the jerkyness that one might see in the main show depend on how much animation you have in the main show (while using HA in menu.exe)? I guess that if we see the jerkyness in the main show and we would then go back and uncheck the HA in the menu.exe? Is this a way to see if you need to uncheck the HA in the menu.exe??? I just did a quick test. I unchecked the HA in my menu.exe and I did notice that the zooming in of a block of text in the menu.exe was jerky. And then, with the HA checked in the menu.exe, I did not see any jerkyness in either of the main shows where I had some text zooming in. Thanks.... Gary

Thanks... I just noticed the reference in Lin's Help PDF about not activating the Hardware Acceleration in the Menu.exe. But he says to have it checked in the main slideshows. So, if this is done, what happens when you have run both shows from the menu.exe. Will two Hardware Accelerations be running at the same time? What if someone runs the shows several times without exiting the program? Will there be several Hardware Accelerations running at the same time??? What might happen if this does occur??? Thanks.... Gary

Geoff... Would you please explain why you recommend that the hardware acceleration should be turned off in the menu.exe. I just main a slideshow that has a menu.exe that has two buttons to run separate PTE shows. I did not turn off the hardware acceleration in my menu.exe but everything works OK. What am I missing? Thanks... Gary

Super! I told Fly that I tried to reproduce the problem but could not. Hope you squished the bug. But, what is "Win+L"? Thanks... Gary

Igor... While I was trying to do a copy/paste of some text from one PTE show to another PTE show, I got a few error messages. I can not remember if I was in Beta 9 or 10 when this happened. It might just be my system (Windows XP Pro), but just in case, let me pass some of the error messages I got. Maybe it will mean something to you. -"Exception EAssertionFailedin module apr.exe at 000D58F4" -"Access violation at address 004648CF in module apr.exe. Read of address" -"Access violation at address 7C918FEA in module NTdll.dll write of address 00000010" After getting out of the error message, everything continued Ok. Hope this helps... Gary

Hawk... Ok...!!! I transformed my slideshow to work as your Index files work. Thanks... It was a bit of re-working but I got it done. Now, the music on the slide#1 in the Index file will play a music file until I click on its button to proceed to the slide#2 in the Index file, which now has 2 buttons for two independent slideshows. The music that was playing on the slide#1 stops as it goes to slide#2, and then when I choose either one of those slideshows, their music will start when either of the slideshows start. I put in slide#3, but I could not figure out why I needed it. So I remove it and everything works as it should. Can you tell me why it was there??? The Action on Mouse Click was to take you to slide#2...but I don't think we needed it (?). Kinda of a hard way just to stop the music on slide#1 from playing when you continue to the next slide, but it works. The unfortunate thing is the sound effect plays when you go from slide#1 to slide#2. What we need to be able to do is to have the capability for a sound effect to be place directly on a button. Also, is there a way to change the font size on the text you place in a button????? I've searched high and low, but no luck. Gary

Hawk... This morning, I took another look at your files and it is slowly sinking in. All the files work and I (I think I) see what you have done. Very cool. I am going to see if I can duplicate it with my show. However, one of the things that perplexes me is that the music file in Slide #1 of the Index slide list repeats itself. This is good. However, I don't see why it does. I see the music file is inputed using Customize Slide/Music. I would think it would play only once. I also looked in the Project Options and its Music tab has the 'Repeat music after playing' greyed out. I am confused as to what makes this music file repeat and what made the 'Repeat music after playing' to be greyed out. I hope this clear enough.... Gary

Hawk... Thanks so much for the reply and the shows. Let me digest what you sent and fiddle around with it. It looks like you have done what I need to do. I just need to understand how you did it. Thanks so much. I'll let you know later how it turns out. Gary =============================

Thanks, Igor, for clearing up this question. I thought I was going a bit nuts. I didn't realize you could have control over whether Windows would allow the association or not of an installed program. And let me add my thanks for all the improvements and work you and your crew are doing. I'd like to ask further if it would be possible to allow sound files to be added to the buttons we can create in O&A. And, is there is a way to stop the music from playing in a menu slide as soon as a button transfers you from the menu slide to a slideshow which has its own music? Thanks... Gary

thedon.... I gave it a try. But I don't think it will work the way I have it set up. If I understand what you suggest, it appears that I would have to have only one slideshow, instead that of my 3 slideshows (a menu slideshow and 2 primary slideshows). I need to have them separate because the 2 main slideshows are synch's to different lengths of music. Maybe I could combine them but it is above my head at this point to try to rearrange everything. But I don't think I would be able to get each button to have a different sound effect to be played. I just don't see how it would allow me to put a sound when I just click each of the buttons. Anyway...I am confusing myself so I must really be confusing you. I just hope Igor could provide the ability of adding a sound to a button and have the ability to stop the music of one slideshow when you want to run to another slideshow....... It gets too complicated when you have to do a work-around for something like this. Gary