Lin Evans

Assuming you are using PTE version 5.0 the best format for music is MP3. If you could tell us which version of PicturesToExe you are using and which sound format files it would help. Best regards, Lin

Hi Joy, There should be no problem at all with Video Builder - it sounds like perhaps a codec issue or incorrect setting. The "Default" in Video Builder is for PAL rather than NTSC so if you live in the US or Canada, you will need to change this via Project Options from Video Builder: At the top of the "Project Options" box where it says "TV System". Be sure you have the correct one for your part of the country. Otherwise just use the defaults and you "should" get a perfect DVD... Could you provide screen snaps of your process or explain exactly the approach you are using? Typically, just using the defaults will produce perfect DVD's. The way to test is to use rewritable DVD's and make a slideshow of only about 3 slides to minimize the time for rendering and burn until this is worked out. There isn't a tutorial yet, but will be before too long. Lin

Do you mean you want to play them in sequence, one after the other? Or do you want a menu so you can choose which one to play? Do you want them to play on your computer, or are you trying to run them on a DVD. The executable files must be located on your drive where the program can find them. It's easier if you put them all in a single folder. Lin

You probably are doing everything correctly, but it's a bit convoluted. The program "reads" comments which have been placed in the EXIF file but doesn't have a provision for writing "to" the EXIF. Other programs such as IrfanView, PowerExif, PixVue, etc., can write to the EXIF and let you put in comments but it's still not as straight-forward as one would like. The problem seems to be that the data you enter via these different programs apparently doesn't reside in the same location to be called with the same general retrieval call. I have put comments in via IrfanView and can read them with IrfanView but when I open the same file in PowerExif or PixVue I can't find these comments anywhere. I can enter comments via PixVue or PowerExif and read them but then can't find them in IrfanView. I have yet to be able to retrieve them via the PicturesToExe feature but I"m quite certain it's not PicturesToExe which is causing the problem, just that where PTE is "looking" for these comments is not where they are actually being stored by these various programs. To complicate things further there are EXIF comments (which I assume is where PTE is looking) and there are IPTC metadata files which can also have "comments". I'm working right now on experimentation to see if I can put different comments in different places and perhaps find where the proper place and with which "tool" they can most easily be placed and then retrieved. In the next version of PTE (5.1) I believe Igor will perhaps add the ability to retrieve more EXIF data. Right now it's quite limited and I'm certain part of the difficulty is because of this "apparent" non-standard among different programs for data which "should" be standardized. The bottom line is that right now neither Comments nor Description are working in PTE but Date and Time are .... Other EXIF information is not yet implemented. I've discussed this with Igor and he will be looking into perhaps a complete EXIF retrieval or at least the commonly used EXIF inforation for the next PTE version. Perhaps it's of limited use to you right now, but it is possible to export the EXIF data as text by using PowerExif, etc., then import the text file via PTE in the comments field where you see "load". This way you "can" display the exif information, but it's a bit obtuse to have to export it for each image then import it as a text file for each image. Lin

Hi Felix, In version 5.0 there isn't a way to "directly" and automatically insert a blank slide from a menu choice, etc., but you "can" do it this way: Put a regular but unwanted slide in where you want the blank to appear, then go to the Objects and Animations screen and delete it. This will leave a blank slide at that position which you can then use as a backdrop for text, etc. The original will remain in the main "slide list" an look just as it did when you entered it, but when the show is played having deleted it from the Objects and Animations screen it will appear as a blank (black) screen with whatever text or other animated objects you may have added via the Objects and Animations screen. Actually, I find it helpful to create a folder and place blank jpg's of various colors, gradients, etc., which can be used over and over whenever needed for title screens, etc. Lin

Try temporarily removing the fifth slide then try again and see if it still gets disabled on the fifth slide. It sounds much as if there is a problem with that particular image. Could you say which version you are using, the operating system, video card type and amount of video RAM? It's difficult to diagnose without some more details, but the first two things to try are to first remove the fifth slide and if there is any music, remove that as well. Once you determine whether it's an image issue you can proceed with other tests. Lin

Like this? http://www.lin-evans.net/pte/transition.zip Lin

Hey Jeff, Thanks! Fun scenics and great critters here in Colorado and lovely ladies too... Best regards, Lin

Hi Howard, Thanks - the birds in Rocky Mountain National Park and the Colorado area are very interesting. As you probably already know these were the Clark's Nutcracker and Steller's Jay and of course Bald Eagle. The Steller's and Nutcrackers love to hang out on the high elevation roadside stops and beg for treats from the tourists. The Nutcrackers' as especially "crafty" and like seagulls will take food right away from you when you're not looking - LOL. Beat regards, Lin

Thanks Neil, Yes, Colorado is a great place for scenic wonders. Those of us who live in the great SW are fortunate to have many opportunities to capture nature just by waking up and walking outside in the morning. Sherry thanks you too! She's blushing - LOL... Best regards, Lin

Thanks Mike, No PhotoShop at all - that's Maroon Bells. one of the most photographed spots in the world just as photographed at sunrise. There's only about a 30 second "window" to catch the golden hues before they turn orange. You set up at the end of Maroon Lake about 4:00 am in total darkness and start snapping as the sun rises - definitely an awe inspiring sight. Best regards, Lin

A little fun family show I made for my mother-in-law who lives in California. Local Colorado scenery and wildlife and of course the "Colorado Girl" who is my wife, Sherry. The three images of her span over 20 years with the last one being taken this afternoon. Our two great roping horses, Naroya and Choco seen in the second horse image taken 21 years ago have passed on now and Nicky, the palomino in the last shot taken today with Sherry is 32 years young! Sherry will celebrate her half-century minus one year birthday next month - LOL. Both she and Nicky are doing great. http://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/coloradogirl.zip (about 44 meg) - running time about 6.5 minutes Lin

Hi Igor, Closest thing to actually being there!! I hope you are enjoying your well-earned vacation - beautiful sky and cloud formations. Best regards, Lin

Hi John, In addition to Hawk's suggestion, there is one other way of certainly "running" the slideshows in sequence. I'm not certain exactly what you mean by "uninterupted" but if you follow my "invisible menu" suggestion (link to follow) what happens is essentially you start the invisible menu which in turn calls the first slideshow then the second slideshow, etc. http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=6834 If you do this, remember to turn off hardware acceleration in the "invisible menu" so you don't compromise any animations in the slideshows being called. By using this method, you can run the programs in a loop if you wish ending it at any prescribed number of iterations determined by the number of invisible slides in the invisible menu. Best regards, Lin

If you will post a link to a show which does this, we can check it out and see what the problem may be. It could be as simple as your video driver needing upgraded or it could be something else such as the video card itself - it's tough to tell without trying the slideshow on another system or two. Meanwhile why don't you try downloading some of the slideshows already done by others and see if you have the same problems. Here's a link to one I did a while back which makes extensive use of fades. If this one plays properly then we know the problem is caused by something in your show itself. If it doesn't, then the problem is probably hardware related. http://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/vger2.zip (about 35 meg ziipped executable) Best regards, Lin

There is no real advantage to image compression. All images expand in memory to their full necessary size. All compression does is make the executable show size smaller but when the executable is loaded the images in jpg format expand as they are being played. It's actually the dimensions not the file size which is important in terms of resources. Best regards, Lin

Actually, The latest version is 5.0 which is a free upgrade from earlier versions. The Deluxe addition is Video Builder which adds internal DVD authoring capabilities. If you own any version of PicturesToExe version 5.0 is a free upgrade as will all future versions of the standard PicturesToExe program. Only Video Builder is an optional upgrade and carries a two year free upgrade warranty. Lin

Hi Dave, You can already do this. Some time ago Hawk provided the method which consists on a very simple copy/paste operation. Open the file you want to copy from and go to the slide list. Select all slides and perform an Edit/Copy. Leave the show open and open the show you want to copy to. Go to the slide list and do a Paste. Save the second show under a new name. That's it. Lin

Lots of interesting physics in this one. Uses acceleration, deceleration, linear, XY axis manipulation and rotation math... LOL.. ------------------------- Bottle of Wine, Fruit of the Vine, when you gonna let me get sober, leave me alone - let me go home, I wann'a go back and start over. Ramblin' around this dirty old town - singing for nickels and dimes Times getting rough - aint got enough to buy me a bottle of wine Little hotel, older than Hell Cold and dark as a mine Blanket so thin, I lie there and grin Buy me little bottle of wine Aches in my head, bugs in my bed Pants so old that they shine Out on the street, tell the people I meet Won'ch buy me a bottle of wine Teacher must teach and the preacher must preach Miner must dig in the mine I ride the rods, trusting in God And huggin my bottle of wine............ ----------------- http://www.lin-evans.net/pte/rubberball.zip (just bouncing balls - about 443K ) http://www.lin-evans.net/pte/rubberballtitle.zip (with movie menu intor - 24 meg) two executables - run title first & will call rubberball.exe Lin

Without actually seeing them, it's very difficult to make suggestions. Essentially DVD, whether PAL or NTSC format are low resolution not even reaching 800x600 (SVGA) standards so will never look like an original. But in addition to low resolution, when they are displayed on a computer monitor they rarely if ever look as good as when displayed on a television. So more specific information is needed to really answer your question. Best regards, Lin

Hi Jan, That should work very well indeed. Best regards, Lin

Hi Keith, The circle effect was done by setting the display time for the slide and the effect time identical. For example 23 seconds display and 23 seconds circle from center. The amout of feathering comes from the thickness of the smoothing line. Remember to put a check in the box next to it or whatever numbers you place there will be meaningless. The larger the numbers the more feathering and the smaller the less. If you put zero the program will change it to a slight amount but the edge will be very clean. I discovered a work-around for those who have experienced "sparkles" on pan or zoom start for sharp images that eventually smooth out. Of course you can always use the "blur" which helps on some but not all situations or you can apply a 1 pixel gaussian blur to the image but that, of course makes everything a bit too "smooth" or slightly blurred. The answer is to apply a gaussian blur of about 1 pixel to the entire image but save it under a different name. Make the blurred image a child of the main image. Set the main image opacity at start to zero and the blurred image to 100%. Fade in the original at the point where the "sparkle" normally quits and fade out the blurred image at the same time with keyoint opacity settings. Works like a champ.... Lin

Hi Ken, Yes, going from such a tiny image (subject) size there is really no good way outside of doing a gaussian blur (not really good for the image) to stop the shimmer. A faster zoom can help, but this was just for fun anyway. I'm planning on using my Swarovski ST 80 HD spotting scope for some patches to panos and just wanted to see how it might work out in terms of focal length steps with a combination of other lenses. What I learned was pretty much what I expected, that is to really do it justice it's necessary to include a good bit of extra real-estate when preparing the close-in zooms at 1280mm. To do this requires making a number of mini-panos which I didn't bother to do hence the circle zoom to mask the less that full screen before zoom on some of the frames. It's tough making panos at 1280mm primarily because of the difficulty of holding the scope rigid enough to shoot at an effective 1280 mm without using mirror lockup, remote release and lots of time and patience. If the light is good enough a higher shutter speed can do the job, but when I shot these it was overcast and pretty dim so had to boost levels a good deal in Photoshop. On the next good day I'm going to try another real pano similar to the last one. I was up at 4:00 am this morning for the 30 mile drive to try, but the overcast never burned off so a wasted trip. Best regards, Lin

Just playing around. This is a 15mm to 1280mm zoom for fun..... About 39 meg zipped executable... http://www.lin-evans.net/pte/prowler.zip Lin