JEB

Hi, I'm sure many if not all of the suggestions for improving the usability of PTE for all users that we discuss from time to time are desirable. However, how they can be implemented is something else. I recall some months ago Igor suggesting that Wiki was being considered as a vehicle for providing support. This seemed to me to be, potentially an encouraging solution. I wonder how that is progressing? Regards John

David, I use Parallels with an iMac but it should, I expect, operate PTE exactly the same way as your setup. To get F4 to work also press the 'fn" key. That should do it. Regarding the lack of thumbnails, perhaps you have placed a tick alongside the "Table view of slide list" in the "Settings" drop-down menu? Cheers John

Hi, I totally agree with the sentiments being expressed by Barry. Points I have personally tried to express on many occasions in the past. The KISS principle comes to mind. John

Hi Jeff, Yes I think I was aware of that. I did play a bit with one of the early Betas. I sometimes find that there are occasions where I have a group of say five images associated with an audio clip and I sometimes move them about so that for instance slide one becomes three so linking has no real advantage till I have finally decided on what I want to do. I'm always tinkering and going back to sequences, sometimes months later! As you have said hearing how other people skin the cat can be valuable so no doubt I will revisit this technique. Cheers John

Jeff, I have just realised that perhaps I have not given as much attention to your specific question regarding my last sentence. If you can think of a clip made up of say three sentences of V/O that had been recorded in Audacity and you at a later stage realised that it would be better to leave some time between the second and third sentences to permit the inclusion of an additional image for example. In the past I would have gone back into Audacity, made a copy of the original clip and deleted the first two sentences from that copy and the last sentence from the original, saved them both and re loaded them into PTE. What I would do now is load the original clip in a second time into PTE and "hide" the third sentence by dragging the end of the clip in to the end of the second sentence. I would then do the same from the front of the copy clip "hiding" the first two sentences. I would then position each clip to wherever I wish them to start playing thereby creating silence between them. Hope that explains it in more detail. Regards John

Jeff, Sorry, I have not made myself clear. What I do is record in Audacity each segment of my V/O and then export them to a working folder. I then import them to a track (V/O Track) in PTE placing them at the appropriate position under a slide. Just as you do I think. I don't very often directly link them to a slide as on most occasions i prefer the flexibility of being able to drag the audio to start at any point of time on the slide/s duration. I think we are doing much the same thing, though I do on occasions duplicate a clip if I find I need to insert silence or even remove something. Yes I do mostly edit any error out while in Audacity if I have noticed it. One thing I used to do in Audacity was to cut any clicks that appear at the start or end of a recording. I don't bother now as I can more easily "hide" them by dragging the ends in PTE. Hope that clarifies things. John PS The rest of my workflow is a bit like Peter's but I use Aperture rather than Lightroom and Elements when necessary.

Hi Folks, I just thought I would add my penny worth! I have to say that I am delighted with the improvements that have been introduced in recent versions. I used to work in a very similar method to you Jeff. In the early days I would have Audacity open on my lap top and PTE on the desk top and run them side by side in an effort to match the voice over to the slides. Then while still in Audacity add the music/sound effects on separate tracks, adjust the volumes and then merge the tracks, insert into PTE and tweak the slides. A nightmare! My present method is much more flexible. I use Audacity to record my V/O from a script that I have previously read out loud to myself while running the PTE sequence, noting where the major silences are. Then when making the recording on Audacity I tend to make individual clips based on the identified gaps. If I make an error I pause and start again just before the error. I will then mostly delete the offending segment while still in Audacity. I mostly use the "multiple version" option of a clip in PTE to eliminate undetected errors or when I make a last minute adjustment to the image content and find I need a silent segment I hadn't anticipated. Very useful! I tend to use the "Amplify" facility on my V/O's before exporting from Audacty in order to get maximum acceptable consistent volume. This I find particularly useful if I have to make a new or additional V/O at a later date. It seems to improve consistency. As a rule of thumb I tend to reduce the Music track in PTE down to about 10 or at most 20% (depending on the music) and then raise it appropriately during the V/O silences. I have recently made a short sequence using particularly rhythmic music where I wanted quick transitions to come in on the beat and found that by expanding the timeline I was able to place the images very accurately. Overall I am very pleased with the latest improvements. I can't see me wishing to record directly into PTE as I think it likely that there would be considerably less control of the quality of the recording. Horses for courses is the phrase that comes to mind. Cheers John

Tony, I assumed you were using a Magic Mouse. On that basis I mean moving one finger up or down (as opposed to swipe) the face of the mouse as if you were using a scroll wheel. That works for me provided I have Ctr and Shift selected and also have the time line window selected. John

Tony, On my iMac (Mavericks/Parallels9) Ctr + Shift + one finger up/down on Magic Mouse does the business. John

HI Steeplejack, What you do in PTE is to load multiple versions of your soundtrack. Then the way I do it is to use the facility of dragging the ends (front and rear) to the point you wish to start and end at on each version of your soundtrack you have uploaded. Effectively, though you may have uploaded your track several times when PTE creates the .exe file only one version will be used. You can do this also from the Projects and Options Audio Tab by inserting the start and end times but personally I find the afore mentioned method more straight forward. Hope that helps, Regards and Happy New Year to all, John

Hi, Do I detect a consensus beginning to form regarding usability? John

Hi, As above, works very well with Parallels 9 and W7 on following spec. Model Name: iMac Model Identifier: iMac12,2 Processor Name: Intel Core i7 Processor Speed: 3.4 GHz Number of Processors: 1 Total Number of Cores: 4 L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB L3 Cache: 8 MB Memory: 8 GB I'm no expert but though RAM is important I believe that the Graphics are equally important. I have a friend with an older Macbook who has difficulty in running Mac versions of shows I create that are reminiscent of the graphics card problems older PC's had in the past. Regarding working with Parallels I have come to the opinion that a Mac version of PTE is now less important as Parallels and presumably VMware are, with each new issue, making Windows run just like any another app. Regards John

Hi Barry, I should have guessed it would be you who would come to the rescue. Excellent work. I feel much more confident about Styles. Not only have you given a superb demonstration of how to create them but also, for me, made me realise some of the potential uses. The time I could have saved in the past! I think I have been converted from a sceptic to an enthusiast. Thanks. John P.S. Anybody who has felt as I have that they are not comfortable with styles - get the video - NOW.

Hi Dave, I am reluctant to answer your question here because I would prefer not to detract further than I have been guilty of doing allready from the original post. I will simply say that I have not as yet found the inspiration to devote the time and energy that for me, I believe will be necessary, to get to grips with this topic. Perhaps sometime elsewhere on the forum this could be discussed. Thanks for your interest. John

Hi, Firstly let me make it clear that I have no particularly strong desire for a tool to resize images. I happen to believe that it would be an asset but I have managed up till now without it. However, I fail to see how providing such a tool (AS AN OPTIONAL FUNCTION) would be a bad thing. I make no apology for muscling in on this topic as it adds fuel to my campaign to see PTE made more user friendly. I repeat again, as I have said on many occasions in the past, I think that sometimes those of us who have been using the product for many years forget how much there is to learn for the newcomer. Let's not forget that whenever we started, PTE it was considerably simpler than it is now. We have been able to absorb the changes and developments over time, unlike new users of today. But perhaps more importantly and sadly, I believe that there are many artistically talented potential users who have limited computer/technical talents, who are quite definitely put off by the complexity of the product as it exists today. If by making is simpler to use (without removing manual intervention) how does that affect those who have lived with the product for many years and delight in its idiosyncrasies and complexities? They can still use the old ways and stretch its potential to the benefit of us all. Why should the facilities of PTE only be for an elite group of enthusiasts? Take Styles for example. Surely the provision of this facility is not too dissimilar to the argument for having a tool that would resize original images. As I understand it, those who understand the process of creating styles can and I'm certain will, design their own styles. Those of us who can't get our minds round the process are just going to have to make do with the standard issues. Yes and those kindly provided by the "elite". Provided that is we can understand the totally inadequate explanations that have been provided. Sorry, perhaps that's a bit below the belt. However, it raises a related reality and that is that currently no adequate central teaching resource exists. Yes, I know all the reasons for this and about all the generous material that our senior members provide that is scattered about the web and that Igor has plans for Wiki etc., etc.. My reasons for regularly campaigning in this way are sincere. I love using PTE, I am not interested in any other product. I have no way of knowing but can only assume that Igor and Wnsoft have to continually develop not only the product but also the user base. So why put up barriers against potential users? It is in our interests that PTE continues to evolve otherwise it could eventually disappear. That is a virtual certainty. Regards John P.S. Yesterday a friend remarked to me that he didn't like the parking sensors on his car but that the manufacturer had provided the option to switch them off ! As the youngsters might remark "Cool" !

Hi, I vote "yes". I agree with Tom, but for the use of the word "professional" - splitting hairs perhaps? John

It doesn't put me off. Most images have to have a certain amount of post processing, straightening, cropping, sharpening etc. IMO re-sizing is just another step along the way to perfection. :Pstyle="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; color: rgb(28, 40, 55); font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(250, 251, 252);">/>/> However I've reduced my PP by having a camera that I can change the aspect ratio to match my show size. <br style="color: rgb(28, 40, 55); font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(250, 251, 252);">Yachtsman1. Hi, I agree with what you are saying. Like most of the people who participate on this forum I have grown up with this approach and accept the benefits. However I KNOW that many potential new users are put off by this type of "complication" as they see it. If the user base is to increase then PTE NEEDS to be made more user friendly at the outset. Regards John

Hi Jack, et al, This is just the sort of facility I believe Igor should be considering for the future if he hopes to broaden the user base. I know that having to resize images is one of the BIG off-putting aspects of PTE for potential new users. Regards John

Thanks Lin, As ever a full explanation. That was what I thought you were referring to. Initially when I read your first reply I thought it possible that someone could have misinterpreted it in the way I suggested above. Cheers John

Hi Lin, I fuller explanation of you last sentence would be appreciated, by me at least, as this is something I was not aware of. "As I'm sure you know, PTE automatically resizes all images to fit the display resolution of the display device within the selected aspect ratio." Leaving aside the zooming/panning element my interpretation of the above suggests to me that there is no need whatsoever to resize - this surely can't be true? Cheers, John

Canico, Basic answer to basic question. Navigate, Drag and Drop.

Igor, I think I speak for the other members of the forum when I say that we recognise the wonderful work and developments that have taken place in Vs 7.5, 8 and 8.5. Particularly, I'm sure we all appreciate you taking the time to respond in such a positive manner to our requests for more. It is most encouraging to know that there are plans for the future that appear to be addressing the concerns being expressed here. Thank you, John

Hi, I think I read recently on the forum a reference to Wiki as a possible solution for some PTE situation. This reminded me that Audacity use Wiki as a means of managing their "Help". If you are not familiar with this it may be worth having a look. I have used it in the past and found it very effective. As an open-source program Audacity can't be a million miles from PTE in terms of available resource to support such a facility. Regards John

Barry, I understand what you are saying with regard to identifying potential improvements but this is not the point of the exercise at this time. What I am trying to establish at this stage is whether or not it is generally thought that there is a need to improve the usability of the program. If that is shown to be the case then we have to take it from there, and yes there will be issues to address as you have so correctly indicated. As has been pointed out by you and others, many of the active forum members are extremely competent users of PTE. Unfortunately it would appear that perhaps not all give sufficient thought to beginners, the less well informed and those with limited technical ability who may well have other talents that could be expressed through AV and particularly PTE. I have been trying in my own little way to encourage camera club members to take up AV. Many people I speak with declare an interest but I believe are reluctant to put in the effort to learn what they see as a complex piece of software with limited documentation and erratic tutorial support. I, and presumably others, know that this is in part true but understand the reasons. My motivation is simply to make a contribution to the development of PTE that could help open it to a wider user group. If my views are shared by people recording their GENERAL agreement here then we can consider how to move forward, clearly only with Igor's commitment. Regards John

Hi, It was not my intention at this time to create a list of things that could or should be improved or provided, this already exists to a large extent in this section of the forum. I wanted to achieve two things. General support from the community that there is a need to address the issue and ideally agreement from Igor that he would be willing to consider looking at possible options. Regards John