davegee

Now, if all of you PTE users who are also Nikonians can keep an eye on the thread and update it when it seems to be falling down the list it could prove to be an invaluable advert for Igor's product. If you are a Nikon user but are not Nikonians, think about joining. There's plenty to keep you interested and it is free to join. You can read for free but need to join to be able to ask/answer questions. Ronnie has already jumped in and he's a Canon man! There's a lady there asking about suitability for MAC - can anyone give an authoritative answer to that? DaveG

I'm always looking for opportunities to promote PTE and did so here at Nikonians: http://www.nikonians.org/dcforum/DCForumID36/20171.html It seems to have worked, once again. DaveG

Thanks Al, I thought you were refering to some method of "automatically" returning to slide 1 WITHOUT the mouse click. It could also be done, I suppose, by putting an "invisible" button in, for instance the bottom right corner of each slide thus doing away with the need for the black slide. DaveG

Al, Please remind us how to: ""program" each dark slide to return to the map image"? Many thanks, DaveG

Hi John, Yes, Actual Pixels = Original If your Project Screen Size is 1024x768 (to suit your projector) and your image is no more than 1024 wide or 768 high then “fit to slide” is the same thing as “original”. If your Project Screen Size is 1024x768 (to suit your projector) and your image is exactly 1024x768 then: Fit to slide = Original = Cover Slide DaveG

Hi Ian, That's what I meant - see you Sunday. DaveG

Hi Ian, Thanks for the replies. I don't think that "fit to screen" is a problem with "oversized" entries, however if an entry is undersized fitting to screen can produce a pixilated result. On the one occasion when we were faced with this problem we used actual pixels and displayed the image on part of the 1024x768 screen. I will probably be seeing you in the near future in this neck of the woods and will introduce myself. DaveG

Ian, In the case of those images NOT 1024 - do you project at "fit to screen" or "actual pixels". DaveG

Ian, Could I ask what the "arrangements" are regarding resolution of submissions and also the resolution of your projector there? DaveG

Stonemason, With regard to re-sizing, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink? All members are fully conversant with Photoshop Techniques but most are Printers and not Digital workers. It might take a while to get the concept fully home. DaveG

Stonemason, The judge is given a prepared PTE show 2 weeks in advance of the competition date along with the actual 1024x768 images for individual viewing in Photoshop etc. (I don’t necessarily agree with giving judges the individual pics but that’s the way it is done). At present, we are restricted to 1024x768 by the size of the projector in use but this will change in future. It is a MANUAL show and is advanced by an operator on the competition night. It is also possible to open PTE and run the whole thing in PREVIEW mode. If you have a situation where images are eliminated or you want to show highest scoring images etc it only takes a moment (or a tea/coffee break) to put the required images into a new show and run once again in preview. An alternative to a NEW show would be to remove the images not required and re-arrange the order (if required) using the “Fullscreen View of Slidelist”. The only problematic images are those which are less than 1024 wide or less than 768 high because PTE defaults to “Fit to Screen” and therefore interpolates images upwards. If we were able to GLOBALLY set “Actual Pixels” it would make life MUCH easier. DaveG

Gwynfa CC (one of the largest in the Welsh Photographic Federation) uses PTE very successfully for both Club Competitions and Inter-Club Competitions. Last Saturday saw the second PIXELS competition with four entries from each of 25 clubs from throughout Wales. The advantage of using PTE is that the images can be shown at ACTUAL PIXELS - a very important consideration for this type of competition. We have been running a Digital section in monthly competitions for around 3 years alongside Prints and Slides and the number of Slide entries has dwindled over the 3 years. If you want more details or want to send someone along on the last Thursday in every month please feel free - you will get a warm welcome. You know where to get more details if you want them, Ron. DaveG

If there are going to be potential monitor/projector mis-matches use WINDOWED MODE 1024x768 and (I think!!) you cannot go wrong! This also prevents viewers from running 1024x768 "Fit to screen" shows at 1280, 1600 or 1920 pixels monitor/projectors and thus interpolating shows up beyond their optimum viewing resolution. It also helps to put "Best viewed at xxxx x xxxx resolution" somewhere at the beginning of a show to tell the viewer what to expect. I see very few people actually doing this. DaveG

Using "Create Template" might be just what you are looking for. It will move all used JPEGs to wherever you decide you want them. DaveG

Hope you don't mind me saying this guys but you are covering OLD GROUND. We discussed it a while ago - the GLITCH was in PS6 or 7 a few years ago and has possibly turned up again in Elements 5. Ever since CS you are able to create a JPEG or PNG from a greyscale file. Al should have reference to it somewhere - Igor was delighted to hear that it was Photoshop problem. DaveG

The same problem existed in PS7 with Greyscale JPEG images. Try converting the Greyscale image to RGB and then save as PNG24. That might work. DaveG

Try using the CROP tool as follows: Select the whole image (with the CROP TOOL) and then ALT/Drag from any corner to the dimension you require. (ALT/Drag will drag toward the centre). When you have the desired portion drag four guides in to mark the boundaries. Hit escape to clear the crop tool and then choose the marquee tool. With SNAP TO on it should be easy to snap to the guides. It works in CS3 - it might not work in Elements. DaveG

http://www.gwynfa.org.uk/index.php?file=mi...s/cms&id=53 DaveG

Thanx to all. I did a search of my Windows folder for ".scr" and found nothing so was confused. I'll try your suggestions. DaveG

Has anyone here created a “Screen Saver” in PTE and used it with Windows XP? If so I would be grateful for any hints or tips on how to get my PTE SCR file to work as a screen saver. Windows XP only seems to give the option of using a folder of images as a screen saver with various transitions of its own. Thanks, DaveG

I would like to pick up on one point mentioned above with regard to WHEN to start or end a PZR effect. After much tinkering I have come to the conclusion that I prefer to see a PZR effect continue whilst fading into the next image which, if it contains a PZR effect, is moving whilst fading in. It is the stop/start part that annoys me when using PZR. However, when the audience starts requesting sea-sickness pills I know that I have gone too far!! Watch how some of the better cinematographers handle these effects - there is much to be learnt there. As for the other points, speed of PZR effect is determined by the subject BUT my preference is for S L O W effects. DaveG

As a rider to the above post, remember to deselect the next slide before Ctrl V or the object will be added as a child rather than as a seperate object. DaveG

This is one of the best PTE 5 shows that I have seen so far. It played without glitch from a USB 2 Memory Key. I didn’t have to transfer to my HDD. Beautiful photography and no sign of over-zooming or any resolution problems whatsoever. A couple of instances of shimmering but only slight. Subject matter was first class. A couple of points aimed as CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and just MY opinion. 1. Tell the viewer the optimum resolution for viewing. 2. Slow down SOME of the faster pans. DaveG

In Video Builder: Edit/Show TV Safe Zone DaveG

What you need to do is make a black PNG mask which has a clear area around 50 pixels smaller than your 1024x768 images and superimpose that on all images in the show. Having done that, you can resize all images to fit inside the mask. When you are making your DVD or ISO file you can then view the TV Safe zone to make sure that the mask is the same size as the dark area. If all is well continue to burn. There is probably a different/better way to do this but this one works. DaveG