davegee

Hi Barry, Just to answer part of your question - it must be fully workable: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....913&hl=ipod DaveG

Tom, It has been doing that on my computer since 5.1. DaveG

Hi Stu, I am aware of what you say - it is the AVOIDANCE of the System folder that led me to write this. I don't want to be bothered with the system folder and I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way. I was purely pointing out that it is not a fault that the screensaver cannot be chosen from the list of default screensavers if changed for some reason - it is just a different, EASIER, SAFER, way of doing it. DaveG

Peter, The procedure is the same for both XP and Vista. The current screensaver I am using was made prior to 5.6 Beta 10. DaveG

Peter, Yes - XP. I'm trying to avoid the System folder route. I will get back to you later. DaveG

Screensavers the easy way: 1. Create a folder on your HDD called, for example, “My Screensavers” 2. Open your screensaver project in PTE and “Create Screensaver” in your “My Screensavers” folder 3. Close PTE 4. Go to your “My Screensavers” folder 5. Right click on your “xxxx.scr” file and choose “Install” (see diagram 1 below) 6. Set the waiting time (see diagram 2 below), click OK and you’re finished If you edit/modify the project and save to the same file in “My Screensavers” the screensaver will be automatically updated without need for further action by you. If you want to change to a different screensaver saved to your “My Screensaver” folder simply choose the new screensaver and follow steps 5 and 6 above. You can use an existing .exe file as a screensaver by COPYING the file to your “My Screensavers” folder and changing its name from “xxxxx.exe” to “xxxxx.scr”. Then follow steps 5 and 6 above. Your chosen screensaver will only remain in the list of screensavers when it is installed. If you change to another of your screensavers via the method above or change to a Windows screensaver your original screensaver disappears from the list. To re-install one of your screensavers follow the procedure from 4 above. Edited to confirm that the procedure is the same for both XP and Vista. In Options/Main set "Repeat show until ESC is Pressed". I have not tried chaining Screensavers but it should be possible if the last show is linked back to the first. DaveG

Peter, I copy what you say about 5.52. When did that facility get dropped? "And, of course, "Create backup as Zip" will always pull everything together into one place" Agreed, but the possibility exists, during a lengthy project, that the "Backup in ZIP" will not occur until the very end and in the meantime things could get moved around. Two possibilities: Either IGOR puts some sort of warning in when copying and pasting OR do as I do and manage your images and folders yourself. I can see where a complicated sequence would be easier to copy and paste rather than rebuild, but the chances of a c**k up occuring are increased if some sort of system is not in place. It has to be intuitive and any suggestion made to Igor should have the INTUITIVENESS built in. He's the one who gets the flack if he blindly follows all suggestions. DaveG

More details for these good people here please? Which version of PTE? How big is the file? What Audio file are you using? etc You can try a couple of things: Just create the MPEG2 file on your HDD (untick the Burn DVD disc) and if successful you will know where your problem lies. The MPEG2 file should open in Windows Media Player / Quick Time or similar. Create the ISO file on your HDD (untick the Burn DVD disc) and if successful use whatever DVD authoring software you have to burn the ISO file. I use ROXIO 8/9 and that burns ISO files with no problems. In ROXIO you just double click on the ISO and Burn DVD opens automatically. Have you tried (in v5.6) creating HD video for PC and Mac? This will put an MPEG4 file on your HDD which you will be able to play with Quick Time etc. Find out how far you can go WITHOUT wasting DVDs. If you can't create the MPEG2 file, the ISO file or the MPEG4 report back with more detail. Also if any/all of the above suggestions are succsessful and you still can't burn the DVD come back with more details of your system. DaveG

The Behringer unit, whilst perhaps not as versatile as the Edirol, should be exactly what you need. At £19.99 it's a bargain. http://www.dv247.com/invt/32730/ DaveG

Peter, Xaver, Whilst not disagreeing with either of you, the procedure you are suggesting could cause problems with images coming from multiple folders. The usual procedure is to make a template when the project is completed. During construction (and before the template is made) the distribution of images across multiple folder can, as you know, cause problems. DaveG

Just look at the spec and the inputs/outputs. If they are suitable the quality is very good. It might be just a tad pricey but it will do the job. DaveG

The EDIROL - Optical to USB Interface that I use is two way i.e. both in and out. Presumably they make a suitable non-optical interface. The UA-1EX looks about right: http://www.ediroleurope.com/products.php?subcat=UFA OR http://www.rolandus.com/products/productli...px?ParentId=114 Their USB speakers are perhaps worth a look also - depends on the size of your audience. http://www.ediroleurope.com/product_overvi...&country=GB DaveG

Hi Ron, Welcome back. Do you create menus? Do you have Vista? If the answer is yes to both you would have had problems in the past with menus - this cures it. Not, only that but "Run Slide Show with Return" is excellent and worth trying for yourself. DaveG

Quick Time works well on both platforms. DaveG

Igor, I accept your recommendation, but I have already changed full path to short path and transferred files to a USB drive to play on my Vista laptop and they work very well from the new folder. What problems could happen? DaveG

Agreed Peter, I did this quickly today just to see how it works. If I start again on a different set I would definitely do what you say. It's less than a dozen links so I will have a go. Thanks, DaveG

CHAINING SHOWS Having mastered (I think!) the art of Menus with “Run Slideshow With Return” I wondered if CHAINING SHOWS would be just as easy? Not quite, but it is possible, once again without the flashing to the desktop in Windows XP – perhaps I will be get around to Vista a little later. I used the same Menu and four shows that I used to create the original menu and added an extra button to link to the chain. I linked from the Menu to Show1.EXE using “Run Slideshow” in Options/More. I linked from the Show1.EXE to Show2.EXE using “Run Slideshow” in Options/More. I linked from the Show2.EXE to Show3.EXE using “Run Slideshow” in Options/More. I linked from the Show3.EXE to Show4.EXE using “Run Slideshow” in Options/More. I linked from the Show4.EXE to the Menu using “Run Slideshow” in Options/More. Each of the four shows has to have a new/different EXE file because of the interlinking which is not necessary when linking to shows via “Run Slideshow With Return”. So, to sum up my menu is now able to access each one of four shows individually or in a chain. It would be possible, by adding three extra buttons, to start the chain at Show2.EXE, Show3.EXE or Show4.EXE and return to the Menu automatically and without flashing back to the Menu. The whole project/folder contains a Menu and eight EXE files (two for each show). A problem that I envisage is that transferring the whole project/folder to another computer might be a bit of a nightmare. More later……. DaveG

Good logic. I think I will do some serious playing around with it. DaveG

Just to clarify, are you asking what we would do? Or are you asking what you can do to satisfy the "client"? If your show is going to be 3:2 aspect ratio then I suspect that your only way forward is to present the images within some sort of "frame" within the 3:2 canvas area. You cannot have what appear to be something like 4:3 images fill the area without either stretching or cropping. Stretching would be a no-no for me and cropping appears to be a no-no for the "client". (The Neville Chamberlain image appears to be 16:9 or wider so a frame is your only answer there. Same goes if you make your show 4:3 - you will have problems with the 3:2 images. The ONLY alternative is to present each image in a frame within the 3:2 or 4:3 canvas without stretching. Under the circumstances I think that I would go for a 4:3 show as it would better suit any of the current range of projectors available. DaveG

Hi Peter, You said: "For me, it is not a problem to Create again all my sequences using v5.6..." Is it simply a matter of opening an old project in V5.6 and then doing "Save as" or is there more to it? DaveG

Aaaaah, I'm off to the opticians tomorrow morning!! Thanks, DaveG

"Added "Pause" button to "Object and animation" editor. " Can anyone point me toward this - I can't find it? DaveG

The rate that things are moving - 2002 - ancient! DaveG

If we take your original scan at 1604x1052 that is pretty close to (but not exactly) 3:2 aspect ratio - same as 35mm slide. To get an accurate 3:2 image from that you need to crop it to something like 1578x1052 using the crop tool set to those dimensions. That will take a little from one or both sides of the image. Having arrived at a 3:2 image you can now go to IMAGE in Elements and, with "Constrain Proportions" ticked, you can enter the pixel size you require for either the height OR the width and it will be re-sized to the correct 3:2 aspect ratio automatically. For example if you alter the width to 1200 you will see that the height will automatically be set to 800 preserving the 3:2 aspect ratio of the "original" (cropped) version of your image. If you set the width to 1024 you will see the height automatically go to 682.666666666666666666 because it is impossible to set a 3:2 aspect ratio of 1024 wide and have the height come out as a whole number. It's better to set something like 1200 pixels wide or 1026 pixels wide and fit to screen in PTE. That way the 3:2 aspect ratio will be accurately preserved. Once again, crop to the desired aspect ratio, be it 3:2 or 4:3 or 16:9, and THEN re-size in IMAGE/Re-size using a figure for the desired width and letting the "Constrain Proportions" set the height. Alternatively set the crop tool to 1200x800 (or 1026x684 if you want to get closer and still be accurate) and use that to crop and re-size at the same time. Fit to Slide in PTE in a Fullscreen 3:2 (15:10) project will then FILL the screen ACCURATELY with your image. DaveG P.S. Here's you boat accurately cropped to 3:2 at 1026x684 pixels.

I have obviously not tried every make and model of DVD player, but I have never come across a player that will not play a region free DVD. I'd be interested to know what specific make and model will not play a region free DVD for future reference? It is possible that the age of the player is relevant - ancient players will not play BOTH Pal and NTSC but more modern units USUALLY play both Pal and NTSC and also play region free DVDs. DaveG