Truelight

I haven't visited the PTE forum as much in recent months (quite honestly, I've been more intrigued by another piece of slideshow software as of late). PTE still remains the most flexible for .exe shows, but that is rapidly changing. Upon my return I also see we still have the same two forum categories... nothing new. I expected by now we'd see the additional categories. Has it been decided that isn't going to happen on the forum? - Rick

Hmmm... and I thought it was just me... Same problem here... Norton thinks mu PTE .exe files have this same virus. Funny because these files have lived on my PC for some time now and it is only in the last couple days that Norton reported an "infection." This thing must be date sensitive huh?? -- Rick

I'm guessing here, but have you checked to see how big the created .exe file is? With over 200 slides and 4 (are they .mp3 or perhaps... gasp!.... .Wav) audio files, you could easily have a very large show. I've usually found that when a show "chokes", it is because it exceeds the capabilities of the playback machine. What is the resolution of your photos? (I find that anything over 800x600 is usually overkill for PTE shows and results in HUGE .exe files). It isn't hard with this program to build a show that many older machines will have trouble running. (You can't pull a 40-foot trailer very easily with a Volkswagen Beetle either.) Try some techniques to make your show "leaner and meaner." -- Rick

It's been months now since this was discussed and was supposedly forthcoming. As the forum continues to grow it's becoming increasingly difficult to navigate. Just for starters, perhaps you could add an FAQ category? Or a "tips and tricks" category? An "Audio Issues" category? Anything! Just let us know this is not a dead issue.

The newest version of Xatshow allows you to drag your thumbnails around, putting them in the order you want for your show. Of course then you can go on to make your slideshow, (and Xatshow will put -both- a VCD and .EXE show on the same self-executing CD). Right now I'm watching the battle between Proshow Gold and Xatshow for "king of the hill." PTE still reigns in the .exe category and no one else has the kind of "object buttons" that PTE offers, but the inability to make VCD shows (for DVD player viewing) is a limitation. Fortunately, none of these programs is very costly. You can own 'em all and then use the best tool for your needs.

Forgive me if this sounds like a complaint, but I have to wonder what became of the exercise we went through when we were discussing categories for the forum. Yes, you have added a new category, but it is not one I recall anyone suggesting. We had polls, voted, suggested categories, etc. - what happened? This is your forum and I suppose you can run it as you see fit, but if you don't intend to implement the members suggestions, why bother asking? I don't mean to be harsh, I'm just puzzled.

Jim... Your method might be a way to figure this out, (though it sure could be simpler). Here was a test I ran: - Picked 10 slides (a nice round number to work with) - Picked a music cut that was 4:50 (or 290 seconds) - Selected Automatic Synchronization - Clicked the Timed Points Button and then Add Arranged points (I also turned off transitions - Quick/No Transition in the effects so as to not add any transition time) Now... one would expect the transition points to come each 29 seconds (290 / 10 = 29) Clicking on the timeline transition point, I see the first point is at 29 sec. 36 ms (not bad..) The second is at 58 sec 73 ms. Out at the 10th slide the transition point is at 4 min. 21 sec. 328 ms This is about what one would expect, (aside from the additional milliseconds). I'm curious... if I'm not using any transitions (cuts only) why aren't the marks -right on- ? (at 29, 58, 1:27, .... etc?) Why is PTE throwing in a couple extra milliseconds? It all seems to work, so I'm not complaining, but just curious. The short answer to my previous question is -- - To figure out how long each slide will display when doing an auto-sync to music: -- Add your slides to the show -- Add your music to the show -- Check the Synchronize Music to Music Duration box under the Main Tab -- Click the Customize Synchronization button -- In the timeline window, Click the Timed Points Button, then Add Arranged Points button -- See where the FIRST transition will take place (it will say - "to 2") -- Click on that point to highlight it and read the time in the window Since in an auto-synced show all slide durations will be the same, what is displayed --should-- be the slide duration for all slides. I still like the PSG interface better though... (sigh...)

I can describe what PTE needs to head off these problems in two words -- Error checking When the user creates (or tries to create) what will be an impossible scenario (i.e. transition duration is longer than slide duration) wouldn't it be nice if PTE would display a warning message indicating that this is likely to cause a problem? I'm also still waiting for the program to display the calculated slide duration when the user selects Automatic Synchronization. The program says that all slides will display for the same time and the show will be fit to the music duration. PTE has to calculate this for it to work. Why not display it??!! At the risk of incurring wrath, I will mention a program that does this (plus has the nicest user interface I've seen yet) - ProShow Gold. PTE still excels in a few areas, but could learn a lot from the way PSG does things.

You may enjoy this freeware program which will allow you to put multiple shows on a disc as well as setting up all the autostart stuff you need. The program is Erimarsoft Autostart. Find it here: http://www.softlookup.com/preview/dis8013.html

I know I've seen this discussed before, but do you think I could find it when I need it?? I created a one-slide menu with object buttons which launch sub-shows. All works fine.. but... I'd like to have music on the menu slide, and then have it quit when the user clicks a button to go to one of the sub-shows. But...when trying to do so, the menu music continues even after the second show starts so that both play together... ugh! I suppose I have to use the "Run Application and Exit" for my show button (which then closes the menu and starts the sub-show, yes) as opposed to "Run Application or Open File" It's nice to have the menu stay up behind so that when the sub-show ends, it returns back to the Main Menu, but perhaps this is not possible? Anyone had success with using music on a Main Menu? How'd you do it?

The only way I know how to do it is while displaying the time line. You start the show from the beginning and then, while it's playing, you click where you want on the timeline. The show will "skip ahead" to that point. If there's a better way, I'm listening.. It would be nice to FIRST go to the place on the timeline where you wanted to preview the show from and THEN click preview. The preview would begin from the chosen point AND display full screen, not in the little timeline window.

You can have a custom background for all slides without having to "paste every picture" in the manner you decribe. Here's how: 1. - Determine what size your program will run at - 800x600? 1024x768? 2. Make your background picture that size in an external photo editing program - i.e. Irfanview. 3. In Project Options, go to the "Screen" tab. At the bottom, check the box that says "Tiled Image" and then browse to where your Background image is. (It won't be tiled, as it is the full size of your screen) 4. Make sure the Full Screen Mode box is checked. Then under the "% of screen to show slide images" enter a number less than 100%. (Depends on how much of the background you want to show - I like about 80%, but use what you like) That's it. All your images will be displayed over the background image you picked. As for your text question, if all the slide captions will be different, you're kind of stuck with the object editor for placing them. If the default positions don't suit you, you will have to manually drag them with the mouse to the place you want. I agree -- it would be nice to be able to type numbers into the coordinates box. Something for the wish list.

I'd still like support for transparent .png files. Gif only supports 256 colors. .Png can be full 24-bit.

Al.... You write about the Adjustor program >>It is simple to operate, particularly if you are familiar with spreadsheets<< I thought I was familiar with spreadsheets... until I saw this...!! I'm not at all familiar with Visual Basic and when I follow your instructions, I'm lost very quickly. The buttons which would seem to control the program form "handles" around them when I attempt to click on them (as if I wanted to edit them). Double clicking on a button brings a message which prompts > - VBA Project Password - Huh??? I've tried to follow your instructions, but this looks like rocket science to me!! Any tips??

Thanks Igor... I appreciate your action on this item. Forgive me if I've been a bit pushy in seeking some attention regarding this. I will remove my poll (if I can do that). I'd say start out with just a few categories and add more as needs dictate. The most important thing is stay involved with the forum or appoint a Sysop to do so. Your forum is your link to your customers (and potential customers) and it's one way PTE rises above the competition. Very few software companies have something like this... make the most of it! For-what-it's-Worth (FWIW) - In my opinion, the Digital Photo Review Forum is the best run on the web. Though it is much bigger, you could do worse than emulate the way things are done there. Regards.... -- Rick

Question --If I decide to make a PTE show which synchronizes the slides to the music duration, how can I see how long each slide will be displayed for?? Let's use an example -- What we want to know is how long each slide will be displayed - Solve for "X" where X = Individual slide duration (Remember...We're talking about checking the box that says "Synchronize slide show to music duration -- NOT a Customized synchronization) In theory, each slide duration will be the same length. Let's say I have a music track I will be using which is exactly 3:00 minutes long (which is 180 seconds, right?). Now, I have 70 slides I want to show and I want a 1 second transition time between each. So... with the calculator I see that -- 180 / 70 = 2.57 sec. for each slide duration. But that doesn't figure in the 1 second transition time, so we also must factor that in. 1 sec x 70 transitions = 70 sec. Now, to have the show work so that the music and the slides end at the same time we must also factor in the transition times. If I understand correctly, PTE must be using a formula like this -- (Remember ...we've solving for "X" here which is Individual slide duration) (Music Length) = (Number of slides x individual slide duration) + (Number of transitions x individual slide transition time) Now to plug in our example numbers -- (180 seconds) = (70 x X) + (70 x 1) so....(still with me?) 180 seconds = (70 x X) + (70) or 180 seconds = (70 x 1.57) + (70) 180 seconds = 109.9 + 70 180 seconds = 179.999 (close enough, yes?) X (or individual slide duration) = 1.57 sec. Because PTE can take a music track and a collection of slides and make them end at the same time, it must use a formula something like this (and likely even more sophisticated to compensate for other issues) and be calculating "X" - The Individual Slide Duration! So.... why keep this number a secret??!! PTE has calculated it... let's see it!! Using these same numbers, if I saw that my slides were only going to display for 1.57 each, I might decide to use fewer slides or pick a longer music track. It might also be nice if PTE would display an error message if I had decided I wanted a 2 sec transition and because my slide duration could only be 1.57 that I'd created an impossible scenario. Perhaps I'm the kind of "driver" that want to see a bit of what's going on "under the hood." PTE needs some "dashboard gauges" so we can better see what's going on. (and we haven't even discussed a formula which calculates custom synched shows!!) There is a simple solution... (at least for the guy who doesn't have to program it... grin) is to allow a right-mouse click on the gray bar(s) on the timeline which represent the slide duration, to show the duration time and the same right-click on the gaps between each slide (the transition time) to show that information. Lacking that... how about something that would print out the "Show script" which might look like this: Slide 1 - Duration X seconds Transition 1 - Type - Dissolve - Time X seconds Slide 2 - Duration X seconds Transition 2 - Type - Rectangle to center - Time X seconds etc. etc..... To give credit where it is due... PTE goes MUCH, MUCH further than any other program of it's kind in allowing customization. Many programs like this are template based... simple, but hardly flexible. So... how'd 'bout it WnSoft? Can you add some "gauges to the dashboard" or at least a printout of "engine performance?" We know you've built a hot-rod here, but for those of us who want to "race-tune" it, we need a bit of help.

What I'd like to see is the -calculated time- PTE has determined each slide will be when you do a non-custom synchronized show. This should be the total length of the music, divided by the number of slides = slide duration. Yes, I can figure this out with a calculator, but PTE must be doing it anyway, can't it be displayed somewhere?

Yes, I would have preferred to have allowed multiple choices (instead of just one) and am also baffled as to how the forum software considers you as having voted even if all you do is look at the posting. I suspect the software was simply installed and left to run (not tweaked), much as seems the case for the management of the forum in general. Oh well... at least WnSoft has provided us with a forum, many software developers haven't even done this much, so I suppose I should be grateful. See if you can vote despite the obstacles. At least WnSoft will get a sense of what we think is important.

Here's some of the categories I've seen suggested in the exchange that's been going on over the past few days. If I understand the voting system here, you will only be allowed to pick one of the 10 I've listed and you will only be allowed to vote once. So... Pick the one that is the most important to you. After a while, we should be able to rank the top categories people want.

We know this is possible because there are already 2 categories in this forum - Important Topics and Forum Topics. The site is becoming very difficult to navigate and ofen threads will get buried before a person has a chance to read and respond to a user's questions. The "regulars" have been pleading for this for some time. Is there a Sysop for this forum or was it just created and left to operate on its own? We're begging WnSoft.... PLEASE create a bit more structure here with some Category groupings!! If you need us to suggest some category headings, I'm sure we will be only too happy to suggest some.

You can do this within PTE. Here's how... 1. Enter a slide in the Slide List 2. Right click on the slide and then click "Copy Slide" 3. Right click on a blank area of the Slide list and then click Paste slide 4. Do this again. You will then have three copies of the same slide 5. Add your text to the "middle slide" in the group of three with the Object editor in PTE 6. Apply a transition to these three slides (Fade works nice, but any other will work too) 7. Preview the show Because the only thing that changes between the slides is the text, it will appear like the text has a transition effect. This is why a lot of us urged for a long time the ability to easily copy and paste slides within PTE. I'm glad to see it available just for this reason.

Those of us who've mentioned other programs in this forum have been "flamed" in the past for doing so. Suffice it to say many of us believe DVD-playable shows are where the future lies and we puzzle over why WnSoft remains silent about whether this will EVER be a direction PTE will take. If there are no plans for this in PTE, so be it, but for the record it would be nice to hear WnSoft's position on the issue. If you do want to discuss such things, perhaps you'll join us in one of these forums: Digital Photo Review - PC Tools Forum or Bart & Cindys Portal

While PTE has the option to make a screensaver file, there is no utility that will automatically run so that upon inserting an autorun CD, it will automatically prompt the user, asking them if they wish to install the show as their default screensaver. Other competing programs have this and it would be nice if this might be added as a function of PTE. Lacking that... perhaps some of you handy programmers (Boxig? No Beef Stu?) might create something like this. Many users seem to have no familiarity with folders, let alone how to manually install a screensaver and make it the default. If you need an example of a program that does this, e-mail me. I've learned not to mention other programs in this forum. - Rick

Anyone remember the old video editing program that ran on the Commodore Amiga computer - the "Video Toaster?" It had a transition it called "falling sheep." It looked like sheep raining down from the sky. Sure... it was funny.. the first couple times. After that it was just cheesy. I use one transition 99.9% of the time - the fade, (or as it's called in the video world, the dissolve). If you look at most of the PTE shows on Beechbrook, you will also most often see dissolve transitions. They are classic and PTE has a very smooth dissolve (unlike those you see on programs that make -- ugh... .mpg "movies" on their way to slideshows). I know, many cry for more transitions (and some people also really think the "velvet Elvis paintings" are art). Each to their own I guess, but as for me I'd much rather see Igor devote his efforts to something really -useful- rather than add a whole lot of cheesy transition effects. >Rant mode off<

Do I recall that this new version of PTE was going to support image transparency (such that if I insert a .png file in the object editor which has an alpha channel that the image will show transparency?) "Brand X" now has this and it is very nice. Transparent .gif files would be ok, but they can only be 256-color. The .png format supports 24-bit color --and-- transparency too. They've also added the capability for creating a Main Menu which will then launch multiple shows from there. (Yes, I know people have been doing this with PTE for a long time now, but it must be done manually.) It would be nice if PTE had a function that said "Create Main Menu" and then one could designate which shows should be included. Thanks to guys like NoBeefStu, and Boxig, nice "add-ons" have been developed for PTE, but isn't it time these things were incorporated into the program? Go Wnsoft! The other horses are running ever faster!