Lin Evans

Hi Joy, The grid, as Jim explained is one good way. Another, and perhaps more precise way is to temporarily load the second slide as an object on another layer on the first slide. Set the opacity for each to about 50% and carefully move the second slide's position so that the objects overlay perfectly. Write down the pan, zoom and rotate values, copy and them paste them on the second slide. Erase the temporary second slide loaded as an object on the first, change the opacity for the first slide back to its original value and your second slide will have perfect alignment with the first. Best regards, Lin

Hi Joy, I have written the developers and asked for a feature to do this. Perhaps soon they will have time to consider it. Unfortunately, what Peter has wondered about will not work. The only way I know to do this is as follows: Make a temporary slideshow using theDom's templates which you plan to place in your main show. Determine the total time for this temporary show. Determine the time length of the background music and subtract the length of theDom's template slides from this time. The time which remains must be divided equally among the "other" slides. Count the other slides then divide this remaining time by the number of "other" slides (the ones "not" in theDom's template(s)) and this is the time you need to set in Project Options for each slide. This will leave your background music extending beyond the last slide for the exact duration of those slides in theDom's template. Open the temporary slideshow where you have theDom's templates and select and copy all slides to the clipboard. Do not close this slideshow, but use "File" "Open" and open the main slideshow and "Paste" these slides. Once they are pasted, you can move them in the main slide list with the mouse where you want them in relation to the other slides. Everything should end right with the music. Best regards, Lin

Just a note to forum members. Joe is one of the finest bird photographers I've had the pleasure of speaking with. We're fortunate here on this forum to actually have two world-class bird photographers, Joe and Artie (Arthur Morris) who are both users of PTE. Joe, if you have a chance after you present your show at the local bird club and perhaps at the local television station - consider posting it on Beechbrook.com for the forum members to see. Joe's, slideshow, Decade of Feathered Friends, is a genuine treat to behold. I'm glad we could help resolve the problem and get things moving in the right direction so you can finish it up. Best regards, Lin

Hi Peter, I suspect that you have just statistically fallen into the "lucky" part of the gaussian curve. Obviously, not everyone has had this problem, but enough have to make it a controversial issue noticed by various professional reviewers. The mirror lockup and tripod are only to avoid any chance of vibration from the mirror or user movement causing inconsistencies where slight motion blur "might" be mistaken for improper autofocus. The actuality is that whether hand holding with a stabilized lens or solid tripod mount, the autofocus on some Canon cameras is simply inconsistent. It's very easy for users to "assume" that out-of-focus images were the result of user error in not holding the camera steady, choosing the wrong shutter speed for the focal length, etc. But when the camera is locked down on a rock-steady tripod, using a prime lens, locked up mirror and shooting multiple frame of the stationary subject and the autofocus varies from spot on to front and back focus, something isn't right. This can happen, of course, with 45 point autofocus when the subject is in motion and the autofocus points vary, but when using center-only autofocus and it happens with a stationary subject, the fault lies with the equipment and not the operator. In many, many years of photography, very much of it done professionally, I can't remember once having this problem since autofocus became available. It's only since Canon's second or third dSLR (the 10D - which wasn't too bad) that it became an issue. It was "really" bad with my 40D and absolutely a deal killer with the 1D Mark III. They lost many sales because of returns with this faulty camera. Some believe the problem was never properly addressed. One was either "lucky" to get one which worked or not. I've had friends who returned as many as three of these to find one which actually worked correctly. There were problems with the 50D and now a number of complaints about the 7D. Many of the complaints are just "soft" images and there exists lots of obfuscation about high megapixel sensors with AA filters just not "looking really sharp" when viewed at 100%. Let me just say that with some of the even higher pixel count medium format backs, the images look just fine at 100% so that's only a way of creating FUD for the purpose of avoiding blame. Bottom line, in my opinion Canon has an issue with inconsistent autofocus and has had for some time now. As I said, there are "many" very happy Canon users who have not had these issues so will be oblivious to this. On the other hand, for those of us who have had these problems and have sufficient technical and photographic savvy to know the difference in user error and equipment malfunction, it is quite discouraging, especially when there is no easy resolution. Both Canon and Nikon now allow micro adjustment of autofocus with some of their cameras to fine tune individual lenses and the camera body. This is necessary because when combined tolerances on the manufacturing and QC stack in opposite directions on a lens and camera body, there can be issues causing as much as a two pixel or more out of focus issue between a particular lens and camera. The new autofocus systems with both Canon (45 point) and Nikon (51 point) are very complex. Being able to continually autofocus on perhaps a bird in flight or a motorcycle in a race coming at or going away from the observer at a high rate of speed are commendable and quite nice for the action photographer. However, these features add to the great complexity of autofocus and with each new "feature" comes "opportunity" for failure. Canon has simply not yet worked out all the "kinks" in their autofocus and the result is inconsistency on some models and not on every copy of these models. The consumer who never really uses their camera for serious action sport or precise telephoto wildlife frames may never realize that their camera has a problem. Those of us who do, are acutely aware when a problem exists and we can sometime only find resolution to it by switching brands. This can be quite expensive when one considers the costs of duplicating lenses, flash attachments and other peripherals. Best regards, Lin

Hi Sam, Masterful presentation - bravo! The perspective correction was excellent on these photos. Did you perhaps use a tilt/shift lens, or maybe stitched multiple images? In any event, excellent photography and a very good "eye" for interesting architectural angles and views. A great choice of music, timing and thoughtful presentation (the small touches such as on the escalator didn't go unnoticed). Best regards, Lin

Hi Xaver, If the industry would get their equipment "right" and take care of issues such as inconsistent autofocus (Canon), people would probably stick with one brand. Unfortunately, the consumer becomes the pawn in a game of "how far can we get on our brand name" before we have to produce consistent quality control? Having used Canon dSLR's for some years (since their first model, the D30 became available), I switched too because they have produced a number of inconsistent models which won't autofocus properly. I had these issues first crop up with my $8000 Canon Pro EOS 1DS. Then again with my 10D, and 40D and I see evidence that it continues with the 50D and 7D. It was an extensive issue with the rather expensive EOS 1D Mark III. Put the camera on a tripod, lock it down, use mirror lockup and remote release and take multiple frames of a stationary subject. The camera will variously front focus, back focus, correct focus. Some individual copies of the cameras autofocus correctly nearly every time. Others do not, and multiple trips to the Canon repair facility do not correct what appears to be a pervasive fault. So to insure at least one good frame, users often take up a "machine gun" approach to photography. Fortunately some of the Canon models would shoot up to 10 frames per second and out of 10 frames maybe two or three would actually be properly focused. Nikon too has had some issues with this same type problem, but not nearly as pervasively as Canon. I've had relatively perfect autofocus with my Pro body Nikons. So the consumer, in a quest for some consistency, buys either a new model or switches brands. The consumer then becomes the "looser" and the camera manufacturer becomes the "winner" because they sell yet more faulty equipment and never have to ultimately be responsible for putting out inferior equipment. So you are ultimately correct.... Sony has set new standards with their low priced, extremely high resolution top-end model which can be had for about a third of what Nikon and Canon get. No, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the uber expensive Canon or Nikon, but it produces even higher resolution images than Canon's best and equal to the flagship Nikon D3X. The Zeiss lenses? Pretty good I would say. I suppose one could do worse than changing to Sony/Zeiss. That would make Sony happy and maybe the consumer too.... Best regards, Lin

Hi Joy, PTE doesn't have a Flash conversion provision. PTE creates AVI, MPG II, MP4 h.264, and Windows and MacInitoh native executable code. There are several "free" Flash converters, but I can't recommend any of them personally. A "good" Flash converter will cost variously between $39 and $300.00 U.S.D. depending on the iteration of Flash, whether or not there is a Flash player and the features of the Flash player. Flash players can be confusing to the uninitiated. A player is necessary to play back Flash code for your web visitors and must reside on their computer. This Flash player is an Adobe (MacroMedia) free device which almost everyone has. However, to make Flash play back and look like "you" want it to, you must have a customized Flash player which you place on your website. These vary from elementary and basic to fully customizable complete with your name, etc., and Flash converters may or may not include this. Free Flash converters almost never have customizable Flash players if they have any. The least expensive way to get a decent embedded Flash conversion is Youtube or Vimeo. PTE can automatically upload your PTE MP4 h.264 video to Youtube or Vimeo where it will be converted to Flash and embedding code provided. You simply place this embedding code on your website and the visitor sees your slideshow via Youtube, etc. Best regards, Lin

Hi Betsy, PTE allows many kinds of different animation, but you need to explain what you mean by "animated pictures?" You have pan, zoom, rotate, masking, the ability to have multiple images simultaneously, etc., but if you mean something like "animated gif" images then no, PicturesToExe doesn't use animated gifs. If you could be specific and let us know what exactly you are trying to do, then perhaps we can give you some guidance. Best regards, Lin

Hi Joe, I received your email, but no link to mediafire?? Send me a link and I'll take a look. Best regards, Lin

Hi, In the "Project Options" on the "Music Tab" do you have a check beside "Repeat Music after Playing"? If so, that would cause the background music to repeat until the slideshow ends. If this is checked, uncheck it. If you want the slides to be spread out so that the last slide ends as the music finished, then click on the "Timeline" button (from the Opening Main Screen) then click on the "Timed Points" and then on "Arrange All Points." This will divide the music length by the slide display time including transitions and the music should stop just as the last slide leaves the screen. Let me know if this solves the problem. Best regards, Lin

If you have the bandwidth (fast internet broadband) and time, use the PTE zip function, post it on MediaFire.com and I'll sort it out for you and repost. Best regards, Lin

After arranging all points on the timeline, what does the "graph" show as a relationship between images and sound? Does the sound end at the end of the last slide in the graph, or does it end sometime after the display of the last image? How did you add the music/bird sounds? Are they all added via Project Options or do you have some sounds/music added to individual slides? Are all music selections mp3 format or otherwise? If your show wasn't so large, I would suggest you post a zipped PTE and let us take a look, but it probably would be an unreasonable request. Lin

Go to the "Timeline" Click on the "Timed Points" button the click on "Arrange All Points." This should solve your problem.... Lin

Hi, O.K., now we have somewhere to start from. By the way a drive designator is A: B : C: D: E: F: G:, etc., with a Windows default being C:. A "Platform" means whether you are using a Windows or Mac or Linux, etc. configuration. There should be a "letter" after the "My Passport" and I believe that is "I:" as you mentioned below. So the first thing you want to do is see whether PTE is seeing the "I:" drive at all. So open PTE then look at the top left quadrant of the screen and you should see a series of drive designators such as A: C: D: and among them "I:". If you do not see "I:" then your My Passport drive is not being recognized by the operating system for some reason. If you do see it, then click on the drive designator (the little icon with the I:) and navigate to a folder where you are "certain" you have jpg files. Click on "View" and choose "Classic" and tell us what appears in the slide list. Best regards, Lin

Hi Peter, Sorry, I misunderstood what you wanted to do. That was a utility written by Granot (Boxsig) and I have emailed him to see if it's still available. I'll let you know if I hear back. I suspect you need Flashme 4. Ken "may" have a copy in his archives - we'll have to wait and see Best regards, Lin

Hi, Could you give us some more information. What version of PTE are you using, what is the drive designator where your jpg file are located (C:, D:, F:, etc.) and which operating system and which platform. Does the version of PTE you are using recognize "any" files? PNG, GIF, etc.?? Best regards, Lin

LOL, I resemble that remark but still enjoy some of the foibles of my youth! Lin

LOL - Welcome aboard the PTE forum express! Nice use of some great captures and music synchronization. Here in the states, especially in the cities, graffiti is everywhere. Some is "legal," but most is not but it's here to stay so we may as well embrace it. I'd rather see the kids spraying old buildings, railroad boxcars and such than sniffing the paint fumes. In one of our towns in Colorado (Pueblo), an entire concrete "riverbank" has been devoted to graffiti art. It provides a creative outlet for teens and is actually a tourist attraction there. Thanks for the show! Best regards, Lin

Hi Peter, PTE doesn't have a Flash converter. To convert to Flash there are several options. First you can simply upload a PTE mp4 h.264 file to Vimeo or Youtube and there they convert it to Flash. You can then easily embed the Youtube or Vimeo file on your website. Your other choice for Flash is to use a third party software which converts Flash to either Flash SWF or Flash FLV. For larger shows, Flash FLV is a better choice. Flash SWF runs out of steam at around 16,500 images (frames) and will not reliably support audio sync beyond a couple minutes or so. At about 30 frames per second, a Flash show will have about 1800 frames per minute. At somewhere less than 9 minutes Flash SWF quits. Flash FLV has the advantage of no time or frame number restrictions, no issues with audio sync and provisions which let you do pseudo streaming so a preload can be established and your viewing audience can enjoy the full show without starting and stopping, etc. So when choosing a Flash converter to convert either a PTE AVI, MPG II or MP4 h.264 to Flash, it would be wise to choose one which can convert to Flash FLV with Preload and a Flash PLayer included. Flash converters can be free (usually only lower quality Flash output and smaller image sizes), inexpensive or quite expensive depending on features, iteration of Flash which the conversion is made to, etc. Check the web for "Flash Converters" and find a few which fall into your budget then report back and perhaps someone on the forum here can help you decide which to use. Best regards, Lin

Hi Dom, I only wish my French were 1/30th as good as your English! It's very difficult writing in a foreign tongue and when only a tiny difference in spelling can make a big difference in meaning it's especially difficult. I believe you are doing a stellar job and commend you highly for your continued contributions and great talent with PTE! Best regards, Lin

Hi Dom, I like the effect, but I'm confused by the title. Do you mean out of "Bounds?" or out of "Bonds." Out of bounds photos are when a portion of the photo extends beyond the border and appears to be "coming out" or going into the frame of the image. I'm not certain what an out of "bonds" photo would mean exactly - perhaps a language barrier or did you really intend something different? In any case in a very nice effect! Best regards, Lin

Hi Mary, It was a beautiful way to end the decade wasn't it? Well done! Best regards, Lin

Hi Andrew, Looks like you've got the hang of it, even the 3D transform working for you! It will come quickly and you will begin to experience even greater command of the program with a little practice. Be sure to check the box for "edge antialiasing" in the Objects and Animations screen "Properties" tab when you do the 3D transforms. If zooming on objects or images having fine detail, check the "Anti-shimmer (mip-mapping)" box as well. Good Job! Best regards, Lin

Hi Dab, Assuming you have created a PNG file of the Propeller, there are two possibilities for issues. First, be absolutely certain that you have cropped the image so that the "center" of the file is the center of the hub for the propeller. If you have done that, then the next issue is to be absolutely certain that you do not have a difference in pan values from one keyframe to the other. If you have satisfied these two conditions, the rotation should be dead center assuming you have not changed anything relating to 3D Transform. If you would zip up the PTE file and post a link for me, I'll be glad to have a look and maybe see where the problem lies. Best regards, Lin

Hi Moe, Of course you can transfer your software to a new computer. When you buy the software, you receive an unlock code. Just copy this unlock code to other media such as a CD or DVD or Memory Stick and when you get your new computer, just install the program by downloading from the website. After you do this, you just use the unlock code just as you do for the initial installation. The unlock code is read by the Windows registery and stored there so that as you download new upgrades (the main program has lifetime free upgrades) they are automatically detected as registered to you. You might want to think about getting the deluxe version which includes Video builder. The upgrade portion (Video Builder) has a two year upgrade cycle. What Video Builder allows is output to mp4 h.264, automatic uploads to Vimeo and Youtube, creation and burning of DVD's with menus, chapters, etc., It also allows output to native MacIntosh format and is really worthwhile I think. Best regards, Lin