Lin Evans

Hello Hartmut, I can't tell you why these particular AVI files respond as they do, but the problem is not your computer because I have plenty of resources on my own system and they do the same (green rectangle). The work-around is to convert them to another format. I converted them via the freeware program (Video Pad Video Editor) to WMV format and they then work fine. I have uploaded the two zipped videos in wmv format for you. They are a good bit larger now in size, but they work fine in your project. Just replace the originals (I renamed the Alphorn one for simplicity) with the wmv versions and everything should work fine. By the way, very nice photos of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau and surrounding area! Link below: http://www.learntoma...mos/alphorn.zip Best regards, Lin

Hi Igor, Possible bug since 6.5 or earlier..... See my post about obscuring icons when window is resized..... Thanks, Lin

Hi Peter, I suspect there is a bug which has been around since 6.5 at least. On earlier versions such as 6.5 the "waveform" icon was on the bottom right but has been moved in the new beta versions to above the waveform display. When you drag the screen to the left with the vertical bar, it eventually actually "obscures" several of the icons including the waveform on or off icon. It obscured icons in the earlier versions too, but not the waveform icon which was located in a different position. I don't think that the display bar "should" move with the vertical line but they should remain separate displays. Best regards, Lin

Beta 12 cured issue with WMV sound and video sync - Thank's Igor!! Lin

Hi, It's always been possible to minimize PTE. If you are working in the program, you minimize just like any other Windows software. If you create a slideshow and want to be able to minimize while the slideshow is running, you must create it in the Windowed Mode (Project Options, Screen, Mode). When created this way you will have the same minimize options as with other programs running in such a mode. Best regards, Lin

Hi John, Sadly, there is not a way to do this. Best regards, Lin

Hi Igor, Sound is still not in sync with video on WMV files - I'll email you a link to a wmv file to test..... Best regards, Lin

Dave, That's been my question all along.... "If we can already do it, why change to automate end of music at end of last slide at create time?" We can already do exactly what you suggest "without" adding a track of the same MP3 set to silent. All you need to do is click on "Timed Points" then on "Set End Last Skide at End of Music." Now add the scrips slide and it's done. No need to add an additional track of same music and make it silent. This discussion began when Peter asked why it wouldn't be feasible to perform the task of setting music and slides to end together at creation of show time. I said but what if you wanted silence on the last slide? You "can" do it as you suggest, but it's already possible without changing any existing feature and without using a silent MP3 ...... In other words, the only "reason" to use a silent mp3 would be if PTE were altered to automate setting last slide to end of music, etc., as Peter was asking about..... Best regards, Lin

Hi Dave, I now see what you are getting at - thanks! That would work I think, and not add any additional resource load. It is, however a bit convoluted in my view, when as is, you can just use existing features to do it without adding the same mp3 to another track. Best regards, Lin

Hi Stu, I'm not certain whether it works yet as intended, but in order to get the timings to work as they do in 6.5, you must select all points then "set time of points" to the slide duration. After doing this, things are as in 6.5, but just clicking on the "hold points" doesn't achieve that, at least not on my system. Best regards, Lin

Hi Paul, Thanks for the offer to proof read - if we do this, that would be a big help! Best regards, Lin

Hi Dave, Yes, that's the new way Igor described. To have it the old way you would select all points then click on "Timed Points" then "Set Time of Points" then specify the time as 6.5. Or in keeping with the new way of beginning of transition to end of next transition, just change as you did. Best regards, Lin

Hi Dave, Assuming you want the normal full MP3 to end at the penultimate slide with a silent script scroll at the end. You then have the present choice of running your sound track and having it end in synchronization with the next to last slide and the final script slide silent. For discussion purposes one mp3, ten slides plus a script slide. That's a count of eleven slides and one mp3. Using a silent MP3 to create silence for the last slide equals eleven slides and two mp3's. MP3's have size. Presently, we don't need a silent mp3 so it's adding to the resource load. Now is you wanted to cut the last mp3 short and fade it out then make the last portion silent to allow the script slide it would not add to the resource load, but generally, I like to have my full sound track play. Best regards, Lin

Copied from PTE forum to Bug Report..... Lin Bonjour Igor, J'ai installé la version 7 Beta 10 sous Windows XP SP3. Lors de l'ouverture d'un projet soit déjà existant en 6.5, soit un nouveau sujet, les couleurs des vues de la table de montage sont modifiées. Cela ne semble pas avoir d'effet sur la visualisation ni même sur l'exécutable généré. Cependant la vidéo HD, qui semble se servir de la table de montage, produit un résultat avec les couleurs modifiées. La version 6.5,que j'utilise toujours, ne présente pas ce problème. Merci de votre aide. Jean-Pierre Lavigne Hello Igor, I installed the Beta 10 version 7 on Windows XP SP3. When opening an existing project is in 6.5, or a new subject, the colors of the views of the timeline is changed. This does not seem to affect the display or even on the generated executable. However, the HD video, which seems to use the timeline, produces a result with the colors changed. Version 6.5, I always use, does not exhibit this problem. Thank you for your help. Jean-Pierre Lavigne Attached thumbnail(s) 0

Very nice Igor - might I suggest you also add a link to the Wikipedia PTE reference? Best regards, Lin

Hi Dave, You'r right, it could be done internally. - that is one "could" use the envelope feature to kill the sound on an MP3 to use as the silence "mask," but then it's still using additional resources (the file for the silent MP3) to do something which can already be done more efficiently. I guess it's just the "programmer" part of me who likes to keep it as clean and simple as possible. Best regards, Lin

Hi Dave, The reason I considered it a work-around is that right now, all the user needs to do is to put in all slides except the last one, click on Timed Points then from the drop-down on Set End of Last Slide to End of Music and then add the last slide. The penultimate slide will then end with the music and the last slide will be silent. If the situation were automated so that when one actually "creates" the show that the music and last slide were coordinated, to get the "desired result" would require the user to have and use a third-party software such as audacity or other audio editor to create the "silent mp3." Thanks for the help offer - I noticed that the offers to help were conspicuous by their absence - LOL. Perhaps when its a bit closer to the final 7.0 release, we can get a few more volunteers. Best regards, Lin

Hi Phil, Thanks!! It's amazing how, over time, pieces from a motion picture can be taken and made into something entirely different. It's good to know the source - something I'll probably purchase myself... Best regards, Lin

Of course that would be a viable work-around, but then the question becomes whether we need to create a situation where a work-around becomes necessary. Right now, it's simply a matter of understanding the features which already exist. The solution, to me, seems to be better user guides and this is something we can address once 7.0 is finalized. As I suggested a while ago, I believe the next definitive user guide should be made in a "modular" fashion so that it's not necessary to completely re-write when a new feature is added. For example, we could have user guides divided into categories such as sound, video, animation, 3D transforms, etc., without trying to make an overarching index which would need updating each time a new feature is added or a change occurs. I would be willing to write the guide in English, but would need help updating and maintaining it and also it would require cooperation to translate it to multiple languages. The difficulty of a user guide written by the PTE team is that it becomes difficult, I think, to work the intricacies in a foreign languages. Better for a native English speaker to do the English guide, a native French speaker to do the French guide, a native Russian speaker to do the Russian guide, etc.... This is not a problem unique to PTE. In recent years major software developers such as Microsoft, Adobe, Apple, etc., have encountered grave difficulties with user guides and owner manuals. It's become an online nightmare for new users to learn to use complex software and the developers have relied on third party "training" to augment their paltry offerings of support. Of course that's a viable means for huge companies, but not for small developers like Wnsoft. Jeff Evans and I created an early more comprehensive user guide, but changes occurred so quickly that we couldn't (or didn't) update it. In retrospect, I believe that had we done it in a modular fashion, it would have been a much easier task. Actually, if some of the more advanced users could coordinate with one another, we could probably knock out a really "good" base for Igor's team to build on. I know that resource limitations are primarily the difficulty at present. Fortunately, many of we "older" users have plenty of free time on our hands and should be able to help contribute toward making this product the very best it can be. How about it? Anyone game for volunteering once version 7 is released? If we divide the work load among several of us, we could probably have a good working copy in a few days of work.... Best regards, Lin

Hi Peter, What then to do if the user doesn't want the last slide and music to end together? For example, perhaps the user wants to roll scripts at the end of the slideshow in silence? Best regards, Lin

LOL - after all those years of hard work making that reputation, it's discovered that Ken's just a big "softie" Ooops.... HA! Got to thank you again for the link to this incredible little video. I would love to know the details of how it was made. I don't know if was done by Croatian videographer or whether the Croatian text was just added. Since the music chosen was in English from a Greek vocalist and the text on the dolphin study "building" went by too quickly to translate. There were also "flashes" of text which were not visible in frames long enough for me to translate and that could mean that the original was edited and some text was omitted. Also, a few of the words I couldn't translate. Perhaps if one of our members speaks Croatian we could get some more information. Best regards, Lin

Ken sent me a link to what I believe is a fantastic video. I was amazed at how this was ever accomplished and after watching it several times, I decided to wrap it in an executable and try to translate the Croatian test to English to better understand the story line. I thought perhaps also that a bit of background about the music might be helpful. The background music is by Demis Roussos, a Greek vocalist from the 60's and 70's with a beautiful voice and delivery... http://en.wikipedia....i/Demis_Roussos In the first song there are some Greek terms, for those who don't speak Greek I've provided a translation: The words are - Heleni mou, Aghapi mou, and Manoula mou. Heleni is a female name and Heleni mou means "my Heleni." Agapi mou means "my love" and Manoula mou is an affectionate way to call one's loving female. Literally, it means "little mama," but it's used in a romatic context as well. For anyone interested, it's a beautiful little video - warning: might bring tears of joy.... http://www.learntoma.../friendship.zip (about 75 meg download - zipped exe video) Lin

Or just copy and paste the values from one keyframe to the other - that way no need to write anything down.... Best regards, Lin

Hi Andrew, If I understand you correctly, you are trying to duplicate the start position of an object? On the Objects and Animations screen, Animations tab, you have numbers for Pan, Rotate and Zoom. You copy these numbers and paste them and the objects size and position will be duplicated for any particular keyframe which happens to be selected when you perform this operation. If you are trying to "visually" align two objects in a layer stack, you can do it several ways. You can move the position in the stack temporarily so that the two objects are on adjacent stacks then set the opacity of each to something like 50% temporarily and you will be able to see both simultaneously. Then you can use the "grid" feature to help align them. Once they are aligned, set the opacity and stack positions back to their originals. To facilitate the above, remember that the keyboard command "CTRL PgUp and CTRL PgDn" will move a selected object up or down one layer at a time. "Shift PgUP and Shift PgDn" will move the selected object to the top or bottom of the stack respectively. Remember also that on the Objects and Animations screen if you click on the "Tools" tab, you want to be certain there is a checkmark beside "Ignore Objects Not Selected" and that assures that if you click on the object in a stack, whatever you do in the way of "drag and drop" will affect only the selected object. If I've misunderstood what you are trying to accomplish, please let me know and I'll try to help clear up the procedure... I think you can use the keyboard "Ctrl S" to save in O&A... Best regards, Lin

Hi Dave, I don't think you can make the case that "all" properties of the parent should necessarily be inherited. I have experienced a number of times when I would not want all properties to be inherited. I think property inheritance should be an "option" but not a mandatory feature. Without the ability to mask, having "all properties" inherited could be a recipe for failure in some animations. I consider it "esoteric" because the type of animations where it is useful are those which only a few users will ever even try to experiment with. I believe that the vast majority of users will not build cubes, pyramids, fancy masked screens or few other things which you, I, Peter, theDom, or any of the fine French animation experts and some others here on the forum find enjoyable. Most will do simple transitions, add some videos, text, synchronize sound and do things which "most" users of presentation slideshow software do. There are hundreds and thousands of presentation slideshow users who don't even have parent/child options with their software - so in that sense, even having this ability qualifies as somewhat esoteric in my view. Best regards, Lin