Peter S

Tim, It is important to recognise that synchronise does not mean synchronise it means make the time for the slides match the time for the music. I think this can result in a slide show where the slide changes are totally out of synchronisation with the music and to get a really professional result you are much better doing it manually anyway. A bit tedious but worth the extra effort. Peter

Igor, In my previous post you will see I have tracked down the speed problem to CA antivirus and as you know this has caused other problems. I will switch this off and try some further tests to check the mouse cursor issue and answer the two questions below. Does this problem with wrong mouse cursor always happen on your PC or rarely? Will it occur if create a show with only one slide and one text or button? Will this problem if set windowed mode for this slide show? Let me know, please, what version of Windows you have installed? I am running XP SP2. Kind Regards Peter

Hi Everyone, I have tracked down my start time problem and it is caused by my anti virus programme. As other people did not seem to have the same problem I started looking at possible causes in my system. I have been using Computer Associates (CA) Internet Security Suite and it is proving to be very toroublesome. I reported to Igor a while back that it actually altered the extension of a file he sent me - I only discovered the cause by searching for the offending extension using google. I checked my Task Manager to see if anything was hogging resources and found nothing so I tried turning off programs running in the background one by one. Once the Anti Virus is disabled the start up times match those that others reported. If anyone can recommend a reliable anti virus, spyware and firewall set up, that does not interfere with PTE, I would be most grateful. Having taken Lin's advice to use Xsoft and found that detected a file missed by CA's spyware I think I have had enough of this particular package! Hawk, Thanks very much for your PM. One of the first changes I made to my menu was to use your method rather than using a path but it made no difference to the start time. That set me looking for other causes. Your method is however neater and I will use it in future. Great pictures - I really enjoyed them. Was there a reason for using the Apps Mill button as a child of d while having the other buttons as stand alone parents? I don't know if any advice has been put anywhere on the forum regarding potential problems with security software if not it might be an idea to add something in the Tutorial Thread. Thanks for your input. Kind Regards Peter

Hi Lin, Thanks for your reply. I will try to answer your questions. When you say "from a menu slide" do you mean that you have an executable menu file calling other executable files or do you refer to a button call from within your slideshow calling an outside executable file? I basically used the same menu slide that you kindly tested yesterday. I created an exe file from this single slide. It had 2 buttons one for the slide show (also the same one you downloaded yesterday) which is in the same directory as the menu on my hard drive and a second button with a path to CS2. CS2 is in fact on a different hard drive on my system. I like to keep my programs on a different drive from all my photos and slide shows. Are you including a path or does the executable file you are calling reside within the same folder as the slideshow? Although the slide show exe is in the same directory and folder as the menu exe the button on the menu calls the exe via its path on my hard drive. It's difficult to troubleshoot without some specifics. For example what is the load time for the actual executable file being called when not called from your button but rather from the run command or from a shortcut on the desktop? The 11 seconds I mentioned in the post is the time it takes from using the Open command from Explorer or from the Run command. Perhaps we could get to the bottom of this by preparing a simple executable menu which calls some commonly used and widely available program which everyone will have on their computers. Then we could all use the identical code and see if there is a difference among various systems and operating systems in how long it takes. If you create a little "menu.exe" file and use 1.) a button call to open Wordpad and also 2.) a text object call to open same, then if you post your zipped executable we could compare how long it takes on different systems versus your system and each report how long it takes to load from the Windows shortcut, etc.?? I added another button and tried Wordpad. I again used a button and Run application or open file with mouse click with a path to Wordpad. This was very quick to load, not more than 2 seconds. Menu_test_2.zip Here is a zip file containing my menu exe file. I am not clear how others can use this as surely they will have different paths to their programs anyway - even Wordpad? I like your idea you posted in the tutorial thread but I would like to get this time to load issue sorted before I get into that too deeply! Past my bed time now but I am more than happy to do some more tests tomorrow. Peter

I have continued with some menu testing using buttons as well as text and have been surprised at how long it takes for a show to be activated particularly from a menu slide. My trial show activated directly from Explorer is taking around 11 seconds to start and prior to its actual start I can see the windows hour glass that tells me something is happening. The same show started from a menu slide takes 17 to 20 seconds to start. The user sees the button "blink" once but then there is absolutely nothing to indicate that anything else is happening. This seems far too long to leave someone sitting looking at an inactive screen and I wondered if anyone else had tested this yet? As a further test I looked at Photoshop CS2 loading times. Within 2 seconds of asking explorer to open CS2 the outline screen appeared and it fully loaded in 11 seconds. I then tried loading CS2 from my menu slide. The outline screen appeared again in 2 to 3 seconds but the programme took nearer to 18 seconds to complete its loading. But at least it was obvious that something was taking place. Peter

Igor, I had a problem I posted earlier which have repeated here as the second part is directly relevant to Stonemason's point. I agree with him and Ron that the user needs some indication that action is happening as a result of their mouse click. Esc key mis-function? I have just created an autorun CD with a one slide menu and a single short sequence. I had expected that pressing the Esc key would take me back to the menu but it simply freezes the sequence. A second press of the Esc key returns me to my desk top. Is this a bug or have I misunderstood the role of the Esc key in this situation on a CD? The Esc key worked perfectly when running the same menu and show from my hard drive. The files are all in the root directory of the CD. I also noticed that when I put my cursor on the text which has the link to the main sequence it stays as an arrow and does not change into a hand. The hour glass appears after some time but some users could start clicking several times before it is obvious anything is happening. I did this myself and opened two versions of the show which caused some strange effects! I would also appreciate your comment on the Escape key question. Peter

Hi Lumenlux, Thanks for another interesting version of a menu. A couple of questions. How do you keep your first slide on screen until the option is chosen? In PTE do you simply duplicate the slides and have one show follow the other? Peter

Hi Ken, I think the answer is you can't. I had to open my menu show in PTE change the settings in Project Options/Screen, as Lin stated, and then use Create to make a new exe file. Peter

Hi Lin, Thanks so much for solving this problem. Everything works perfectly with hardware acceleration off in my menu slide. Thanks also for your post in the Tutorial section. It might save other members quite some time! I have read in the last few months various complaints about the lack of a manual and the way in which PTE is developed but I have to say I think the process is excellent. The product is superb and the support from Igor's team and the forum provides a resolution to each problem as it is identifed. It will be interesting to hear whether this particular issue is a bug or not. Thanks again. Thanks also to all those others who took time to run the test. I hope you weren't too bored by the content! Peter

Hi Ken, Thanks. Based on these results I will post this as a bug and ask Igor to have a look at it. Peter

Hi Limey, Thanks very much for taking the time to try this. It looks as if the menu slide, which is set to remain open so that users can return to it at any time actually interferes with the smooth running of the show. It will be interesting to see if others have similar problems with either my show or their own shows using this previously well tried menu system. Thanks again Peter

Hi Lin, Thanks for your suggestion. I have put the menu file and the show file in a single zip on mediafire. It can be downloaded from: http://www.mediafire.com/?72mgiinhwvu Pleaase be aware that the zip is around 10MB and it took about 7 minutes to upload. Although there are 3 options on the menu only the Overview is linked to a show. I would very much appreciate it if anyone can find the time to test this. I would also be interested to know how the Esc key works. It worked fine for me on my PC but did not work on a CD version I burnt with the same files. Peter

I was not sure where to post this as I am not sure what is creating the problem (bug or my system or my poor execition?) but I would appreciate any comments or help. The version is 5 Beta 11 a. I have a show that runs perfectly on its own. I created a menu slide and the show mentioned previously is currently the only one linked to it and it uses a text link. When I click on the text link the show is activated but the PZR effects all show unacceptable levels of hesitation. My video card is an NVIDIA 6600GT PCI Express Video Card (but this does not mean much to me!). Peter

Hi Richard, I don't wish to but in but .... In an earlier post regarding a problem I was having Igor mentioned that PTE does NOT support mp3 pro. He told me to use standard mp3 files. I just wonder if this makes any difference to your show?? Peter

Hi Geoff, If you enetr a text object in O & A and go to the "Common" tab you will find a load of options under "Action on mouse click" which I think offer all the possibilities that you would previously been able to accomplish with a hyperlink. Peter

Hi Lin, I downloaded the tutorial and as with your write up found it straightforward and easy to follow. Very nice for what you call a "quick and dirty" effort! I did understand how to apply the effect following your notes but in my previous post but I was trying to make an observation about a behaviour that still surprises me. I was simply experimenting but may not have explained my observation very well but here is an alternative try. Let's say you have a linear movement with the first key point plus three others. No zoom, no rotate. Apply "accelerate" to any one of the key points. If you then play the sequence the two middle key points are totally ignored. If you look in "Setting up" the first and last key points are bracketed but I had not expected that everything connected with the middle ones showing the "Separate here" option would be ignored unless this option is selected. Thanks for ther tutorial Peter

Hi Lin, I hope your tutorial didn't already cover this but...I started to download and it looked like an hours worth so I will try again later. In the meantime - I found that if I make an object, in linear mode, bounce from top to bottom af the screen as it moves actross the width and then change the mode to accelerate the bounce vanishes and the motion becomes a straight line. I fI then go to Setup and "glue" the key points the bounce comes back with acceleration starting afresh at each key point. I am not sure what to do with this information but it was not what I had expected! Peter

Hi Dom, Great to see your site back up and running. It looks great and must have been a lot of hard work. Congratulations. Peter

Igor, Many thanks for this latest version. The new features are excellent. The navigation bar is just what I was waiting for and works beautifully in my trials so far. I am struggling a bit to see what precisely is happening with the accelerate decelarate options when I use three or four key points but I am sure all will become clear in due course. Great work. Peter

Igor I would be more than happy to upgrade to the Deluxe edition now but I cannot see any way of doing this at present. Is this only going to be possible after the final release? I am also considering a small commercial venture and am happy to pay an additional sum to cover the additional cost of the commercial license. The difference used to be $6 - extremely reasonable - but what will it be to include an upgrade to Deluxe and to the commercial version license at the same time. When would you like the money??? Peter

Igor, An expression such as "Lock music to slides", or perhaps better "Link music to slides" makes good sense. Synchronise implies that the changing of the slides is timed to match the beat in the music. I know this is not how it has been used in the past but I think that is how it would initially be interpreted by anyone completely new to the programme. "Link music to slides" might be better as "Lock" implies something that cannot be changed without unlocking it. In our case there is nothing to stop the producer of the show from removing the music and replacing it. Peter

Tom, Many thanks. I look forward to being able to experiment with this feature. It looks as though you have a large well organised library of screen shots to answer other members questions! Or do you have a quick way of producing these rather neat explanations? Peter

Gerdi, If you go to the properties tab for your text in O&A the little icon indicated in Tom's reply (that you would expect to take you to a file browser) actually takes you to a colour picker. You can use this to select any colour you wish for your text. In a previous post Igor has said that he will cahange this to a more conventional indicator in a forthcoming release. Peter

Apologies if this is a bit of a simplistic question but I would dearly love to know how this works. Some long time ago a member called Andrew Chadwick produced a rather good tutorial (vertsion 4.42) showing how to create a menu. In his tutorial he used a little tool bar in the bottom right hand corner with a house (home) left and right arrows, pause, exit and help buttons - just like a form of video control. Can anyone please explain how this is done and if it will be possible in the final version of 5? Peter

Lin, I tried this and got a very slight pulsing - I had to watch hard to see it. I then used a very small object (a round ball) zoomed out to 3.8, placed it over a green backgound and ran a similar trial. The ball showed a very obvious hesitation. I tried moving the ball left to right, right to left and vertically. I got the same hesitation in each case. It seemed to be around 1/4 of the way along its path. I tried with other similar sized objects and got the same result. Resizing with zoom to 12 still produced the same hesitation. Peter