Cedric Dawnhawk

When a PTE8 project that uses the help window is opened in PTE9 (v 9.0.12), it is no longer possible to view or edit the help window. After some research it appears that the reason is that in PTE8, the help (and startup) windows are special versions of custom windows. In PTE9 the help window can be any of the custom windows. The startup window no longer exists. I have sorted out a workround involving editing the PTE8 project file before opening in PTE9. However this is a pain to do for the many PTE8 projects that I have which use the help window. In the past PTE project files from older versions of PTE could be opened in newer versions without a lot of problems. Could we have a fix for this issue in the next version of PTE 9?

I think you are misunderstanding the meaning of the Alignment setting. Left, Centre and Right are only relevant when there is more than one line of text within a text object and determine how lines are positioned within the bounding box round the text object. When making a menu, create one text object with correct font, colour etc and using the longest piece of text. Set its centre X and Y settings to -100. Drag it to a suitable size. Turn the grid on, select a suitable number of divisions, bearing in mind how many lines you will need, and turn snap to grid on. Position the text so it snaps into place. For the rest of the text items just copy and paste the first one, drag and snap into position on the grid and change the text. Andrew

No I agree my previous post was not correct. Apologies for getting confused (and for the typos). After some more tests I am confident that the answer lies in a difference in behaviour between creating an executable and a safe executable. I have revised my previous post as follows. The project file contains two entries which record the path and file name of the last executable file and last safe executable file that has been created. In a new project these are blank. When you attempt to publish a show, these will be the suggested file names, unless the entries are blank, in which case the program suggests the name of the project file as the name of the executable or safe executable. The entries in the project file are updated when the project file is saved after an executable file has been created. This is the explanation of the prompt, stating that the project has changed, that appears when you attempt to close a project after creating an exe file, even though you have saved the project file immediately before creating the executable file. The entry for the last executable file is also cleared when the project is saved under another name. However the entry for the safe executable is not cleared. Therefore if you open slideshow 006.pte, containing an entry recording the last safe executable as slideshow 006.zip, modify it and save it as slideshow 007.pte, then the entry still points to slideshow 006.zip. So when you create a safe executable file, the program suggests slideshow 006.zip. However if you open slideshow 006.pte, containing an entry recording the last normal executable as slideshow 006.exe, modify it and save it as slideshow 007.pte, then the entry is cleared. When you try to create an executable file, the program sees the entry is blank and therefore suggests slideshow 007.exe, the name of the project file. To demonstrate this, create a new project. Save it as Project1.pte. Make an executable called Project1.exe and a safe executable called Project1.zip. Save the project as Project 2.pte. Attempt to create an executable. The suggested file name will be Project2.exe. Attempt to create a safe executable. The suggested file name will be Project1.zip. This happens consistently with PTE version 9 and version 8. Personally I don’t think the name of the executable should be cleared when the project is saved under another name. In other words the behaviour for normal executables should be the same as for safe executables.

My understanding of the way this works is as follows: The project file contains two entries which record the path and file name of the last executable file and last safe executable file that has been created. When a new project is created these are blank. When you attempt to publish a show, these will be the the suggested file names, unless the entries are blank, in which case the program suggests the name of the project file as the name of the executable. Therefore you would not normally expect the expect the name of the suggested executable file to be the same as the project. The entries in the project file are only updated when the project file is saved after an executable file has been created. If you open slideshow 006, which contains entries recording the last executable as slideshow 006.zip, modify it and save it as slideshow 007.pte, then the entries still point to slideshow 006.zip. So when you create an executable file, the program suggests slideshow 006.zip. If you manually change the name to slideshow 007.zip and create it, you then need to save the project file again to record this change. This is the explanation of the prompt, stating that the project has changed, that appears when you attempt to close a project after creating an exe file, even though you have saved the project file immediately before creating the exexutable file. Hope this may explain the mysterious behaviour.

Can I point out it is only necessary to have the menu and sequences in the same folder. It is not necessary to remove the full path. If the menu cannot find the sequence using the full path it will check in the folder containing the menu.

PTE version 8.0.17 1. Even with no audio files in a project, the lock all tracks option (Ctrl + L) can be applied. This then has some curious effects on slides in the timeline view. Individual slides can be moved by dragging their 'number' tags. However they can't be moved by dragging the 'thumbnail' of the slide. The length of the transition can't be changed by dragging but can be changed in slide options. Should 'lock all tracks' be affecting the slide timeline at all? 2. The 'lock all tracks' option seems to be saved as a preference (sav_lockalltracks in apr.ini) so that it remains applied even if PTE is closed and reopened. Surely it should be a project option? If it is a preference, then why isn't in the main preferences dialogue, say on the timeline tab?

In case anyone reads this topic again, I would like to point out that things are even simpler than PGA suggested. You can set up your menu with the target exe files anywhere on your hard drive without publishing them to the same folder. Obviously you need to enter the full paths to the target exe files. The menu can then be tested. To run on another PC, copy the menu exe file and all the other target exe files to the same folder on the other PC. You don't need to change anything in the menu exe file as if it can't find the target exe file at the path specified, it looks in the current folder.

See my post on similar sort of problems with mp3 files http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?/topic/18008-custom-mp3-bitrate/

In the Audio tab of Project Options it is possible to link two or more audio clips in the same track to one and the same slide. However the numbers of the linked slides change from black to red. If you try doing this in timeline view using the audio clip context menu, it is only possible to link a slide to one of the set of audio clips in any one track. This does not seem to be consistent. Also what is the red colour of the linked slide numbers supposed to signify? Shouldn't the linked slide numbers in timeline view also be red when they are red in Project Options?

I reported this some time ago but it still seems to be a bug in version 8.06 Make a new project. Go to Project Options | Audio tab and click on the microphone icon. In the Record Voice Comment window click Browse... and select an existing audio file. Click Save. A dialogue (file exists replace it?) appears. Say Yes. Back in the Record Voice Comment window click Record and record some sound.Click Stop then Save and Exit. Click OK in the Project Options. The file that appears in the project is the original one that was supposed to have been replaced. If you look in the folder containing the original file you will find a hidden file with a name that looks like a GUID. This contains the new recording.

I had a quick look at Reporter and it does seem very comprehensive and the html view of slide thumbnails is interesting. However I don't think it calculates the duration of individual slides which is what Peter wanted nor does it produce a simple report. It managed to open a v8.01 pte file, although with a warning and some missing information. Incidentally I'm not sure whether running macros in Excel is any less hazardous than opening exe files which we do whenever we run a downloaded PTE sequence or Reporter for that matter!

Glad to oblige. Hopefully it might be of use to others or could be adapted to extract other information from the project file. Andrew

I have uploaded an Excel workbook containing the VBA routine. I have tested this on Windows XP & Windows 7 and with Excel 2000 and Excel 2010. There are some instructions in the workbook but if you have any problems get in touch via the forum or the email address in the workbook. Andrew PTE Info.zip

I should be able to upload it to the forum. However it will take me a few days to finalise it so please be patient! Andrew

The information you require is contained in the project file but buried amongst a lot of other parameters. Out of interest I have written a VBA routine that I think will extract what you require to a spreadsheet. If you are still interested in doing this let me know and I can upload the routine. Andrew Chadwick

If, like me, you are interested in harmonising slides to music, then being able to precisely adjust the position of the slide on the timeline and the length of the transition with respect to the music is crucial. Achieving this may mean reviewing and adjusting each transition a number of times. In earlier versions there was a handy feature that made this easy. When the mouse button was depressed on the timeline to make an adjustment to position or transition, playback paused. When the mouse was released playback resumed. This meant that a transition could be adjusted by dragging it and then, by simply clicking in the timeline before the transition, the revised transition could be played again for review. In later versions the behaviour changed subtly. When the mouse button is depressed to make an adjustment, playback continues. When the button is released playback stops. To start playback again you need to press the space bar. Is there any reason why the original behaviour can't be restored? I would much prefer it, and presumably as others have not complained, they wouldn't mind either way. The difference in behaviour occurred somewher between version 7.07 and 7.5 so it presumably was not due to major changes in the internal working of PTE.

Igor Are you sure Media Player Classic HomeCinema has not auto-converted it to a more standard format? On my Windows XP workstation: Windows Media Player 11 reports 101kbps. 4:26 Windows Explorer says 101kbps On my Windows 7 laptop Windows Media Player 12 says102kbps. 4:25. Windows Explorer says 102kbps If I add the music to a new project using PTE 8.01 on either the workstation or the laptop, the audio tab on Project options reports the length as 4:43 If I view the timeline with waveform showing, the waveform shaded area extends to 4:43. However the waveform itself only extends to 4:25. When I play the music it plays as though its length is 4:43 so it gradually gets out of sync with the waveform. Unfortunately the test project you sent is not long enough to see if the music is in fact playing more slowly than it should

Thanks for the replies davegee & MUR: I know you can zoom in but the zero point remains hard at the left. Moreover, having zoomed, in other slides are now off the screen to the right I'm surprised no-one else has commented on this. If you use dual monitors with PTE open on the right-hand one, trying to work at the left-hand edge often ends up with the cursor outside the PTE window. Even if there weren't useability issues, it still looks a mess.

Thanks for the replies Igor: The offending mp3 file can be downloaded from http://www.newlandeng.karoo.net/ReverieMixDown102.mp3 denisb: This was a CBR format PGA: Yes I gathered it was to do with the 'non-standard' bit rate. My point was that either PTE should cope with it or refuse or warn about using it in the first place.

I accidentally saved my audio in Cool Edit in 44100Hz, 102kbps CBR mp3 format. When I used this in a Pictures to Exe project, the waveform display and the actual music gradually went out of sync as the music played. Eventually I worked out what was happening and saved the mp3 file in a more standard format and things were fine. For an experiment I added the 102kbps mp3 file and the more standard mp3 file to different tracks of the audio. The standard was shown as 4:26 long, the 102kbps as 4:43. However the waveform displays were identical except for an additional "flat line" section on the 102kbps to make up the 17s difference. When I played them together the audio gradually went out of sync as expected. Opening both files in Media player showed them as 4:26 long. Is there a restriction on the mp3 formats that can be used in Pictures to Exe? Should there be a warning if this sort of thing is going to happen?

Starting I think in version 7.5, the zero of the timeline scale is positioned fully to the left of the timeline window so it is very difficult see or work in that region. In version 7.0 and before the zero point was offset slightly to the right of the left-hand edge of the window which looked much better and was a lot easier to work with. Do other people experience this or is it just me?

Glad you managed to reproduce it in the end! Andrew

Thanks for your interest. The problem is that when you try to save a new recording to a file with the same name as an existing file, PTE appears to save the new recording, but in fact does not do so. The original file is not replaced. Instead the new recording remains in a hidden file which is possibly a temporary file created whilst the recording is being made. However the 'temporary' file is not deleted when PTE is closed. Your suggestion will work, but only because if you remove the existing audio file first, then click the record button, PTE suggests a new file name that is different from any existing ones. However if you manually select the removed file name before recording, PTE will not overwrite it. Andrew

By this do you mean that when you try it, the second recording does overwrite the first one? Andrew

I found a problem in v7.04 with recording comments directly to slides which I reported in the forum back in Jamuary. I've just tried the same thing in v7.07 and there still seems to be the same issue. To reproduce it do the following: 1. Select a slide, Click Add Sound or Voice | Record Voice Comment. Record then click Save and Exit. 2. Select the same slide, Click the Add Sound or Voice button (now labelled with the file name) then Record Voice Comment. The filename and the path show the previously recorded sound file. Record another comment and click Save and Exit. I assumed this would overwrite the previous sound file but it doesn’t. I tried browsing for and selecting the original file and confirming yes to replace it before recording the new comment. The original was still not replaced. What seems to happen is that temporary hidden sound files are left in the selected folder. These files persist and are not deleted when Pictures to Exe is closed. If the original file is not supposed to be overwritten then a message stating this would be useful, and the dialog saying the file will be overwritten shouldn’t really appear. Maybe someone could try this and confirm that I am not missing something? Just noticed version 7.5 is available. I have checked and the problem is still present. There is also another bug. If I right click on a slide with a comment attached, and select Edit Audio Comment I get an error "Invalid class typecast."