Lin Evans

Hi Mary, What he wants to do is scroll a single long text string across multiple slides. There are a couple ways to do this depending on the number of slides. The "easiest" way is to simply put the first slide on the slide list and subsequent slides on the Objects list then create the text string, set the timing long enough to display all slides, use opacity to switch in the different slides and run the text at 100% opacity for all like this: http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sampl...ollingtext3.zip Obviously, eventually there will be memory issues so not for huge slide sets.... Best regards, Lin

Hi Stew, Here's the PTE file so you can look at it. This way will work best if you don't have too many slides. In essence what happens is you place the first slide on the slide list and subsequent slides on the Objects List in Objects and animations. You create the text on the first slide and determine how long you want to run the show based on the number of slides and time per slide. In my example I have chosen four slides and a total time of 40 seconds. So set the time for the first slide to 40 seconds, create the text string and position it at the far right just outside the viewable area at the desired vertical position. Place a keyframe at the very end of slide one and drag your text completely across and off the screen to your left for this keyframe. Be sure the "right" number of the two pan numbers is the same for the start and finish to assure that your text is level for the complete scroll. Next create a keyframe at about 10 seconds and set the opacity on slide one to zero at this point. Create a second keyframe just to the left of the 10 second position and set the opacity to 100%. The distance to the left will determine the timing for the fade. Next go to slide two and place a keyframe at 10 seconds and a second at 20 seconds. Set the 20 second keyframe to zero opacity then create an new keyframe just to the left and set it to 100%. So far you have begun the text scroll, scrolled it for slide one, faded slide one out with zero opacity which will automatically reveal slide two. The scroll continues automatically and at 20 seconds you have faded out slide two and revealed slide three, etc. The keyframe just in front of the 20 second mark keeps the opacity at 100% for slide two and lets it fade to zero at the 20 second mark and reveal slide three. Do the same for slide three by setting a keyframe at 30 seconds with opacity set to zero and create a keyframe just before the 30 second time with opacity set to 100%. This will reveal the last object (slide) and you can also fade it out if you wish at the end with the same keyframe sequence. Here's the PTE file to use as a sample. The caveat is to not try to do this with too many slides or you will run into memory issues eventually. http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sampl...ingtext3pte.zip and here's the zipped executable sample: http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sampl...ollingtext3.zip Best regards, Lin

Only if it were possible to display two executable shows simultaneously in the same video space. Igor has programmed the ability to run many shows as "one large show" with beta 8 but there is no way to actually "view" two shows simultaneously. Whether this "could" be accomplished with changes to the PTE code or not I have no clue but right now to my knowledge it's not possible. I think there may be another way to approach this and that is by placing additional slide in the Object's list rather than in the slide list. Then the slides could be controlled by dropping the opacity to zero while leaving the text scrolling at a speed which ends with the last slide. I'll put up a demo of this way.... Here's a sample of this way: http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sampl...ollingtext3.zip I'm not certain how many slides you could use in your show subject to hardware limitations but it is "smoother" this way... Lin Best regards, Lin

Hi Stew, To my knowledge, there are none. I have to leave for a few hours but when I return I'll see if I can create a tutorial to show you how to do it. Essentially you write the script on the first slide in one long text string. Then you set the text string to the far right side to begin the scroll. Determine the number of slides you have and the length of the text string to see how many characters you actually want to scroll per slide. Once you have that determination made, then set your ending keyframe at the end of the slide duration and drag the text to the position where the last word for that portion of scroll will appear on the right side. Copy the text and paste to each of your slides then begin the scroll on the second slide at the same horizontal position you finished for the first slide. Repeat this process for each slide so that at the last slide you scroll the text off the screen to your left as you view the monitor. Use "quick, no transition" for each slide to avoid interruptions due to transitions. It's "easier" if the display time is equal for each slide. I'll try to formalize this in a tutorial when I return this afternoon... Best regards, Lin

That generally means you are living in an area or your DVD player was manufactured for an area using a different protocol than you are encoding with. For example, if you live in the US you need to use NTSC encoding and if you live in the UK you need PAL. Tell us where you live, what kind of DVD player you are using and then we can make suggestions... Best regards, Lin

So what you want is a long text string which "spans" multiple slides. In this case it is "possible" to achieve but very tedious to program - not something for the faint of heart. It would involve duplicating the text string for each slide but having a different portion of the string at the beginning and end of the slide. Something like this? (quick and dirty, but perhaps what you are looking for?) http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sampl...ollingtext2.zip Best regards, Lin

Hi Stew, Did you re-enter the login information since the failure? That is, have you unchecked "Keep your Login and Password" then exited the program, reopened PTE and re-entered the information then rechecked the Keep your Login and Password? It could be that you are working with a script from the past error. Try re-entering if you haven't yet done so and if it still doesn't work there is a problem. Best regards, Lin

If I understand you correctly - is this what you want to do? http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sampl...rollingtext.zip If so, there is no completely automated way to do it, but it's very easy to do. Just create your text and scrolling animation for the first slide. Copy the text then go to each slide in Objects and Animations and "Paste" the copied text. It only takes a few seconds to do even with a hundred slides. There are no current plans that I'm aware of to have this as an automated feature but you could suggest it on the forum for consideration by the development team. Best regards, Lin

Hi Andrew, When you say "have tried this on multiple computers" could you explain what it is that you have tried and whether you were successful or not? Have you tried to install PTE on multiple computers which are running XP and had the identical problem? If so that would indicate a problem with your registration key. Is it PTE or Video builder which won't run or both? Since there are many thousands of installations which are working fine, the problem is either with your registration key(s) or with the operating environment. If this same problem exists with "mutiple computers (how many?) then it's more likely the registration key than the computers. Best regards, Lin

Hi Stew, Could you be a little more specific about what you want to do? I'm not clear on the term "rolling text banner." Do you want text to scroll up or down or sideways? Is it the same text message for each slide? If you can explain exactly what you are trying to accomplish perhaps I can help sort it out. Best regards, Lin

Hey Guys, Thanks! Those old Detroit irons are something else! Lots of room to stretch out, not much plastic to warp, crack and break and built to last. It would be great if they still made cars like did from the 40's to late 60's. The engines today are incredible but the body and soul just isn't there in most cases any more. Ken - I have a contract pending with S.S. He has offered $.25 up front and 5% of everything we get over $.02 for the next 30 minutes - LOL... Should I sign??? Best regards, Lin

Just a little fun thing for those of us who grew up in the 50's and 60's. In Santa Rosa, New Mexico along old US Route 66 there's a great little car museum with some fantastic old "rods" and Detroit muscle iron. Great people and dedicated to the preservation of an era which was truly a fun time in US history. These are the cars I grew up with and I just made this little show a few years ago to help me remember what it was like when I was growing up in the 50's. Maybe today's younger generation will also enjoy seeing a few of these fantastic cars. Lin http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sample/route66.zip (about 12 meg)

Try this and see if it looks like what you want to do. http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sample/fogfadepte.zip Take the original image and copy it and paste over a white jpg. Next use the eraser tool at about 20% opacity and a huge brush (large enough to cover your entire image at once) to make the image appear "foggy". You can also apply about a 1% gaussian blur to add to the foggy look. Next place this fog images in the slide list followed by the original crisp image. Set the timing on the first image to about 12 seconds and with a nine second fade transition. Set the second image to whatever time you choose with about a 4 second fade transition. Note that I also used a bit of opacity fade in on the first image. See keyframes and opacity.... Best regards, Lin

On the expiration date - this won't work on a CD unless the CD is a rewritable type and played on a rewritable drive. Expiration dates work by comparing the date of expiration to the clock/calendar on the PC then making changes to the code of the executable file when that date rolls around. It's not possible to write to a non-rewritable CD so that code can't be altered to make the expiration date viable. Best regards, Lin

Here's a quick sample PTE file - could give you some ideas.... Slide the keyframes closer together, farther apart, etc., to see different possibilities. Also you could possibly move the center of rotation back to the center and rotate the leaf 360 at one location in the series of arcs, etc. http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sample/leaf.zip Best regards, Lin

Hi, It does not so much require complicated keypoints, it just requires moving the center of rotation for the object the necessary amount to create the desired arc, changing the XY axis relationship and such. Put your mouse cursor on the center (small square in center of frame) hold down the shift key and drag the center out of the rectangle. Now rotate the object and notice the "arc". The degree of "arc" depends on where you place the center. You can move this center at different keyframes to get different effects. Do all programming of leaf movement in linear then change to smooth and separate keyframes for each of pan, zoom and rotate after all movement is completed. If you could describe exactly what you want the leaf to do, I can explain how to accomplish it... Best regards, Lin

Hi Barbara, See my answer to you on your other post for how and why.... Best regards, Lin

Hi Barbara, It depends on the kind of effect you want to create. Let me try to answer your two questions from this post and the other in which you wanted to know "why" someone would want to use a mask. First, play this earlier demo I created - here's the link: http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sampl...demorevised.zip First for the "why" one would want to create a mask...... Did you notice the use of the mask to change from a black and white to color image? That was done using a simple white rectangle which acts as a "window" when set up as a mask in the 5.6 betas to allow you to see the image resting on the layer beneath the mask while still seeing the main image. Notice that on the third sample you see portions of three images superimposed on the main image - again done with masking. You "could" do this by creating partial images using PNG transparency objects but it would be very tedious and not nearly as effective. Did you notice the "magnifying glass?" This is done with the mask being a circle of white on a black background with the circle positioned and sized to exactly correspond with the "lens" area of the magnifying glass. The image revealed by the masked area is a duplicate of the main image but zoomed in and positioned to overlay the main image. This can't be done without using masking. In the waterfall samples notice water moving in various directions. Again - not really feasible without masking unless you have a great deal of time to devote to sectioning an image into numerous "slices" and great skill in positioning and timing. With masking it's very easy. Now for the "how to create a mask"... In the relevant sense, that is using layer masking rather than a simple PNG with a transparent center, a mask is nothing more than a black and white image. The black portion when used inside a Mask Container becomes transparent to allow the main image to show through. The white portion is opaque to the main image but transparent to the image on the next layer. The size of the white portion, the shape, whether solid or gradient, etc., determins the shape, size and transparency or opacity of the image revealed by the mask. Read this and I think it will help you get started with how to proceed: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7901 Download and read the PDF Mask Tutorial.... Here are some masks you can start with to get an idea of how to create..... http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sample/masksforbarb.zip Best regards, Lin

Hi Barbara, There are various types of "masks" which are useful. First, a "mask" in one sense is some image which sets in front of another image on a different layer and limits the extent of one's view of the image on the underneath layer. An example of this would be perhaps a PNG file which had a "rectangular" transparency area cut in the center allowing that part the image on the layer beneath the mask to show through in that cut-out area of the mask. One could zoom the image on the lower layer and the "mask" would prevent that portion of the zoomed image residing behind the mask from showing. Think of the CRT screen itself as a "mask". When a small rectangular image is zoomed it gets larger on all four borders until finally the extent of the CRT's viewing area prevents one from seeing the "edges" growing as the zoom increases. By using a black rectangular PNG "mask" the viewing area of the CRT can be diminished just as if you were to cut out a rectangular space in a black piece of paper and place it over the CRT so that the only portion of the image you would see would be what was visible through the cut-out. Think of the mask as simply an electronic piece of black paper. The second type of "layer mask" is one which lets you see the image or portion of image on an underlying layer without having to have a black PNG "cut-out" and while still seeing that part of the image on the upper layer which is not masked. In this scenario, the "mask" itself, unlike a black PNG mask is "invisible" but the "hole" or transparent part of the mask which can be any shape or size lets the underlying image be seen through that transparent part. It's possible with PTE to have "multiple" masks which allow multiple parts of multiple images to be seen simultaneously showing through the main image. In this scenario, any portion of the mask itself which is "black" will allow the main image to be seen while any portion of the mask which is "white" will allow the image on the layer beneath to show through the main image. Best regards, Lin

Hi Mary, Beautiful photos and innovative ways of using masks. I love the images within the leaves. Of course, as JPD says, some of it would be "possible" to do with PNG objects as well, but so much "easier" to do with layer masking and one doesn't need to spend the time manipulating the images to get specialized PNG objects. Rather use existing jpg's and one or two re-usable masks which can be manipulated in innovative ways to achieve myriad different effects. Great music as well! I've found that some of the ways I've used masks can also be done with manipulating PNG objects as well, but it's so much easier to experiment by positioning the jpg within the mask to get just the desired effect that I probably will always choose the layer mask when I have a choice. Best regards, Lin

Enjoy this special day! Best regards, Lin & Sherry

Beta 7: I opened a project where a file was missing so PTE reported the missing file. I substituted a different file in another location but PTE did not accept the change. It replaced the missing file in Objects and Animations but apparently doesn't update the PTE file that the changes have been made. When I save it gives me the error that the "file" was not found. In beta 6 there was no problem with this. There were problems in earlier beta versions. In Beta 7 the problem has returned. It seems as if in Beta 7 the PTE code is not being properly updated. Best regards, Lin

Hi JPD, At least in this beta it is "always" - not an option and it works very well! Best regards, Lin

Hi Doris, Thanks you so much for both the compliments and for the clarification and lyrics to Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It is indeed a very fun and "uplifting" song - one of my favorites since I was a young boy. Best regards, Lin

Thanks Peter, I really love this song. I first heard it in 1954 by Frank Weir when the translation as (The Happy Wanderer) was one of the top hits on American radio. I also have a recording under the title Der fröhliche Wanderer by Marlies and Will in German, but since I don't understand German very will I've never really known the origin but always suspected it was either Bavarian or German. I'm glad to learn the original title! Best regards, Lin