davegee

Hi Lin, Sorry I couldn't reply properly last evening. I agree the shadow can be made any colour. Here's the one I did yesterday using photoshop. DG

hi lin my requirement would be text with moving image as per yours with text stroked by WHITE line. i don't think black would work. dg (from Kindle)

You need to look at MASKS. DG (from Kindle)

I think that for what I want the Photoshop route is going to be quicker and easier. DG

Well, the reason I mentioned it was because I was in the middle of a project and hadn't done the title. Your post spurred me into using that technique again. I couldn't see a way of getting the stroke line when doing it completely in PTE so I reverted back to CS4. DG

STROKING = Photoshop for a thin (or thick) line around the text providing seperation between the moving element inside the text and the background. I used it 3-4 years ago on my Westonbirt show - I don't know if it is still around. DG

Lin, I can understand how using PTE is useful for making the mask "in-house" but the more traditional method of using Photoshop to make the PNG allows for "stroking" the text to provide seperation between the "moving" text and the background slide. I'm not sure if the "in-house" method will do this? Also the possibility of using video in place of an image with PZR is intriguing but will add a whole lot of "bulk" to the file size. Nice idea though! DG

One solution: Make a PNG frame in Photoshop with the desired cutout size (60%) being transparent. Place the Frame so that it is "above" the image in the Objects and Animations > Objects Pane. Now arrange the Keyframes for the image so that it moves independent of and behind the frame. DG

John, The HDMI and Memory Key approaches are SUPERBER!! DG

If your images are 16:9 in a 16:9 show your DVD you should get what you require. However, turning OFF the Fixed Size of Slide button will allow the 768x432 show on the DVD to fill the screen of the TV (by interpolation). It could be that? If your TV is equipped with a USB input and a Media Player then a better option is to make the show at 1920x1080 and create an H.264 MPEG4 for showing via a Memory Stick. DG

One way forward would be to investigate TEMPLATES. Create a folder somewhere on your drive and nominate that as your Templates Folder in File>Manage Templates. Then create a Template from you Title Slides Project in File>Templates>Create a Template. As well as your Title Slides you could set up the Project Options the way you want them to Default when opening a New File. Then, when starting a New Project, open the previously created Template (File>Templates will show a list of saved Templates) and rename it as required. All of your Title Slides and your Project Options will then be readily available for use. Save (again) as a Template using the new name and that will result in a copy of the original Template Folder into which you can transfer new images for use in the Project. Just one way of doing it? DG

All valid points but PTE must cater for all types of users - hopefully all at the same time and I don't think that I am advocating anything that any standard of user couldn't cope with. It just seems to me to be more efficient to be able to load what you want from the outset than to load "something" and change it to what you want. Templates is a very powerful tool and can be used for a variety of purposes. DG

Barry, I am advocating a CHOICE which the beginner can ignore and the advanced user can take advantage of. It need not be anything more complicated than an option in the AR drop down box to "LOAD A TEMPLATE". From my experience the beginner USUALLY doesn't have a clue what ASPECT RATIO is all about but will soon learn. I have always taught Aspect Ratio and the benefits of Templates at an early stage when I am dealing with beginners in PTE. DG

Peter, I (almost) totally agree with your approach of setting a Default Template for New Projects. It allows for pre-setting all parameters normally used in a show providing that you use the same format each and every time. Nav Bar OFF; Slide Duration etc are all set in advance. I am tending to alternate between 3:2 and 16:9 lately and (since you can only have ONE Default Template) I have to load up, for instance, the 16:9 Template and then go into PO to change the settings for 3:2 OR go to Templates to choose a different one (3:2). What I would like to see is the choice of Template to use being offered when FILE> NEW is clicked. I have noticed that when the Default Template is chosen in Manage Templates we are not offered a choice of AR when FILE>NEW is chosen (because we have already made that choice in Templates) so the opportunity to change is not offered. DG

Not really sure what you mean Barry. We discussed this recently, I don't want to go over old ground. DG

I agree with Gary about the Nav Bar. It's another case for "Load Template" where the Template that you load is set up exactly as you require it. Please can we have a LOAD TEMPLATE option in "File>New"? DG

It is difficult to see how this work work in view of the widely held belief that everything related to an individual project should be in ONE folder. DG

I can confirm that behaviour in Beta 6.......although you are asking for file info on something which is not a file? I would expect some kind of error message like "No file info to show". DG

Again, my opinion: It is better to resize your images to 1080 High (in your case) to get the optimum quality/ PTE file size. The JPEG compression will depend on your camera and its resolution. If you intend to Zoom into or out of images then the images need to be larger in direct proportion to the Zoom percentage used. If you are into batch processing then use the 1080 figure for your first run. Then, if you find that you want to zoom into one or more images go back and resize the originals (of the zoomed images) to suit the zoom percentage being used. If you zoom into or out of an image by 150% then the image needs to be 1.5x1080=1620 pixels high. Good luck, DG

Here's one opinion. You would be better off (in this case) making two shows. IF you were to try making one show to fit both scenarios it would have to be a 1920x1080 show to suit your TV which would then be interpolated down when showing on your Projector. The Aspect Ratio (16:9) would then be Letterbox shaped (1024x576) on your 4:3 projector with black bands top and bottom. The alternative scenario would be to try a 4:3 show 1080 high. This would fit the height of your TV screen and be interpolated down (acceptably) and fit the 4:3 screen when projected. The down side is that on the TV you would get black bands on the both sides. A COMPROMISE would be a 3:2 show at 1080 high which would reduce the thickness of the black bands on both the TV and the Projector compared the the examples above. One final point: When connecting to the TV the OPTIMUM quality is obtained via a HDMI cable (NOT VGA). Good luck. DG

Oh, all right then - I'll play! DG Project1_May2-2011.zip

Start out with your square base and swivel it on the centre line running through it. Then attach the trianges to the square - base of triangle to side of square. The result is a four pointed star looking from above. Swivel point of all triangles are their bases. Then you can do your swivelling of all objects. By careful use of "show front" and "show back" you can have different effects or images on the outsides and insides of all objects. DG P.S. Forgot to mention - the Base is a "child" of a frame and the sides are "children" of the Base.

It's a bigger/better challenge if you do it yourself and you learn a whole lot more!! DG

In Photoshop File / New 1024x768 - transparent New layer Select all (Ctrl-A) Edit / Stroke - 3 pixels White Save for the Web - choose PNG 24 Save to your PTE folder. Done.

I would question the wisdom of 1 pixel against 2 or even 3 but........... a transparent PNG with an x pixel white (stroke) line would be easiest (IMHO). DG