Lin Evans

Hi bjc, Yes, you're right, there is only the ability to distort on the XY axis, but I think there is a way to achieve this. Give me a couple days to get a demo together and perhaps we can see it this can be done. Unfortunately I have too much work over the week end to get to it, but perhaps Monday. Best regards, Lin Hi Dom, No, you are correct - there is no direct way to do it, but I think there is a work-around. I will try to do a simulaton by next Monday. Best regards, Lin

Hi bjc, Actually, you do have this ability with P2E but it would take a little "trickery" in designing the event. If you look carefully at the zoom blocks on the Objects and Animations screen, Animations Tab, you will see a tiny "square" which acts as a "switch" to separate the X and Y axis. The default is to have the X and Y axis correlated so that the object or image remains "linear" as you manipulate the zoom. But if you mouse click this little square it separates the two so you can distort the image independently on either axis. That's how I achieved the "flipping" coin effect. You can download the demo at: http://www.lin-evans.net Go to the slideshow demo link and download the small sized zipped executable by clicking on the Morgan Dollar image. Best regards, Lin

Hi bjc, I think the problem with getting the link is that you can't have a space between "Flipping" and "Images". Could you just type out the link without putting in the "http" followed by the "//" and maybe we can figure out how to post the link? Best regards, Lin

Hi Manfred, I don't have a tutorial yet, but perhaps I can explain how the rectangle can be useful. First, the rectangle is a way of grouping objects in a parent/child relationship. If you place objects within a rectangle, they take on a relationship so that what you assign as animations to the rectangle apply also to the objects contained within. As with all objects, the rectangle can be made to become invisible by setting the opacity to zero, so you may achieve the ability to quickly relate an action to all the "objects" within this boundary. Second, you can use the rectangle either as a convenient opaque or "wire frame" object to act as an anchor and permit animations assigned to this to be transmitted to other children. Let's take an example: Create a rectangle with a child rectangle and to the second child attach an object such as a globe or opaque ball. Rotate the parent object clockwise 360 degrees within a 60 second period. Set the child rectangle to rotate counterclockwise 720 degrees during the same time period. Put all three (rectangle one, rectangle two and the ball) in a linear relationship so they form a line with each equidistant from the other and run the animation. What you achieve is an elliptical orbit of the "ball" around the parent rectangle. Now make rectangle one and child rectangle two invisible by setting their opacity to zero at both the start and 60 second finish and run the animation again and you see a ball traveling in an ellipse. So the rectangles have acted as convenient "objects" to facilitate an animation. There are other possibilities such as demonstrated by theDom when he used the rectangles in an artistic way with a European supermodel. Best regards, Lin

Hi Dom, Thanks! I meant to address one of your questions in the Tutorial, but neglected to do so even though I "hinted" about discussing it later. In addition to the StarWars effect obtained with the Text Warp tool, you can also select the result then apply free transform to make the vertical perspective shorter thus make the text appear to "lie back" even more. The reason I omitted this step is that of course you can apply this same effect in P2E by manipulating the zoom independently on the XY axis and that may be even a better way since you may want to make the effect "greater" as the text scrolls upward and gets smaller as if disappearing in the distance. By doing it in Photoshop it would be more or less "fixed" and more difficult to manipulate. I suppose either way will work though and it's certainly possible to get many more variations via the free transform after you have the initial effects. Best regards, Lin

Hi Tom, Yes, interlaced mode is designed for television such as the U.S. 525 line NTSC standard where the images are built by beginning at the top of the TV screen and tracing the first line of image followed by lines 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, etc., until all odd lines have been traced then quickly returning from the bottom of the screen back to the top to trace lines 2. 4. 6, 8, 10, 12, etc. The term "interlace" refers to the fact that this all happens very quickly (30 odd and 30 even lines per second) and the odd and even lines "interlace" so the image is built of intersecting or interlaced lines. The phosphor persistence (the amount of time each triad of red/blue/green continues to shine after being excited by the electron stream) allows minimal flicker, but an interlaced image is less sharp and clean than a "progressive" image where line one is followed by line 2 by line 3, 4, 5, etc., in a "progressive" fashion. So if you are building an image to be displayed on television, especially CRT television, you generally can save time and effort for the processor when the file is created as an interlaced video. You will sometimes note that effects such as the "Page Turn" in P2E when played on a DVD made for interlaced monitors shows the ragged "edge" from the interlace. In short, save your P2E PNG transparencies as "non interlaced" for best image quality. Best regards, Lin

Hi Folks, Part 2 is done which will show you how to make some fancy text effects in Photoshop including the popular "Star Wars" effect where the bottom of the text spreads out and the top compresses in and it appears the text lies down a bit. I'll cover some more in a future tutorial on how to add to this in P2E but this will get you started. About a 35 meg download. http://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/starwars.zip Best regards, Lin P.S. - If I'm taking too much bandwidth and time with this on the forum, let me know and I'll save it all up and post the links in a single post to whatever I do next. Thanks!

Hi Nettleton, Did you actually use your "Browser"? That is like you were getting on the internet. Don't try to "run" the file, just click on Internet Explorer (not Explore) if that it your browser, then click on "File" "Open" then browse to the area where you stored the SWF file and click on it to use Internet Explorer to open the SWF file. The suggestion to use IrfanView won't work in this case because it's a Flash 8 fle and IrfanView only plays Flash 3+ files (up to Flash 5 I think). If this doesn't work for you I'll try to encode it in a lower version of Flash, but if your Flash 8 player was installed (try booting up the computer again to be sure that it's recognized by the system) you "should" be able to play it with no trouble using your Internet Explorer browser off-line. Best regards, Lin

Hi Derek, I may produce them in both AVI and Flash, but will not abandon AVI. If you can't play the Flash version I posted - here again for convenience: http://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/makingpngtextflash.zip you can enable your system to read it by going to the MacroMedia site (Microsoft) here: http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/ It only takes a few seconds - literally - to download and install the Flash player. I think Flash Player 9 is the latest. Just install it then download my zip and unzip it to reveal the swf file. Next, open your browser like you are going on the web but use "File" "Open" then browse to the folder where you find the SWF file and open it. The browser will work off-line just as if you were using it on-line to play a Flash SWF file but much quicker. The flash player will be automatically enabled by the browser and you can see and hear the show just as well as you could with MediaPlayer or other AVI player. Best regards, Lin

Hi bjc, I think you're right - as long as you don't try to do any previews in p2e, etc., where the movement would be highly constrained. Even with 30 fps the hardware acceleration greatly affects the movement so I've about decided to use only the manual advance to demo animation effects. This new codec (DivX Pro) really cuts down on the file size while still allowing relatively smooth movement of cursor movements, etc., I'm working out the best compromise with my encoding equipment - hopefully it will be right soon. Best regards, Lin

Hi Nettleton, Yes, that's the problem with AVI - there are actually two codecs used with AVI - one for the video and another for the sound. In order to hear and see you must have both the sound codec and video codec to "decompress" the AVI resident on your computer. Check your version of DivX by clicking on "Run" then type in "dxdiag" and click on "O.K" - the diagnostic will run and tell you which version of DirectX you have. If you don't have the latest version (Direct X 9.0c) then if you download it from the Microsoft site I "think" you will get the DVX-Pro codec automatically installed. Let me know if this doesn't work and I'll try to make a Flash version for you. Do you have the Flash 8 player installed? Best regards, Lin Hi Nettleton, In case you have Flash 8 (if not, you can download and install it from the MacroMedia site in just seconds!) you can use this link to download a zipped Flash 8 version. Just unzip it and use your browser off-line to play once you have Flash 8. http://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/makingpngtextflash.zip Lin

Hi Folks, Sorry about the double post - seems to be a problem with trying to use "Full Edit" and with my connection. For Ron W - The StarWars effect is coming in the 2nd tutorial later today.... Thanks! Actually it's really easy to just select the text after applying the effects and change the color though the layer method works well too. It seemsmost can read the DivX Pro AVI so I'll stay with that one.... For Dom - actually there is an easier way as Ron explained - that will be in the 2nd part of the tutorial later today. Go ahead and post links - that works and I have lots of room on my site but future tutorials will be much smaller in code than the original which zipped to 63 meg. For Ronnie - yes I hope to have a few more soon.... I'll try 15 frames later today rather than the 30fps used on this one. It also facilitates making SWF since if the tutorial goes over 8 minutes the converter at 30 fps will crash with the absolute limit of 16,000 frames in SWF. I may just stick with smaller AVI's rather than converting any to Flash. Best regards, Lin

Hi Guys, I actually used the "Full Edit" feature, and I ended up with a 2nd post - probably not what was supposed to happen so I'll delete the first one... Lin

Hi folks, Obviously, most of you probably already know how to do this, but it's part one (the longest part) of a two part AV tutorial which will eventually teach the reader how to not only make PNG Text files in Photoshop, but how to apply contour, bevel, drop shadow, etc., as well as how to make the "perspective look" or so called StarWars text where the bottom is wider than the top of the letters and they appear to "lay down" in a backward direction. The second part will be forthcoming tomorrow pending how well you can read this AVI. I know most already know how to make the PNG text, but perhaps not all know how to apply fancy effects so we crawl before we run - LOL... The AVI link is to about a 35 meg zipped AVI file. I used the new DIVX Pro 5.2.0 codec which provides really nice and smooth action with tremendous compression. This tutorial is created at 30 frames per second which is way overkill, but I wanted to make a worst case scenario first before I begin to experiment with dropping the frame rate, etc. For those interested, please let me know if you have any problems reading the AVI file. I'm not sure but I "think" that the DIVX Pro codec is included with the later DivX iterations so hopefully everyone will be able to read it. Otherwise I'll have to convert to Flash. http://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/makingpngtextavi.zip Best regards, Lin

Hi folks, see second post - wrong link here.... Lin

I don't think it's possible without using video or props. The essence is that we have the ability to rotate only on a single plane so we can "simulate" three dimensions, but we really can't turn an object in space without actually rotating it on a turntable and making multiple photographs to be played sequentially such as with 360 VR (Virtual Reality) demos. Doing this, of course in p2e is feasible because we can indeed display video simulation speeds with still images - that's essentially what we do when showing the "lake" or "ripple" effect when the software used to create the 30 or so primary images takes a single image, makes a mirror image beneath adding a lake effect then makes sequential images which we can easily duplicate into the thousands in PicturesToExe with no real memory hit over the first 30 jpgs. I actually created one sequence using over 10,000 images with P2E which can run eleven minutes in P2E flawlessly as a single slide animation. Having said this, I'm not ruling out the possibility of actually simulating a six sided cube but I see no way at present to achieve this without actually doing the photography, but I've not given up thinking about it - LOL.. Best regards, Lin

Hi Bill, Thanks! I hadn't tried CamStudio, but I've downloaded it and have it up and running. It's a super bargain, that's for sure. I'm still vacillating over codec issues, compression amounts and which works better. I've found one $50 program which has absolutely the best image quality I've seen with a variety of codecs including a DivX one which seems to be fantastic in terms of image quality versus compression. I don't know how they do it, but I'm concerned that using it may create a file not that compatible with that many peoples systems. I think I will do a test and post a brief AVI file on the forum small enough that many can download to test. The program doesn't have fancy cursors (actually just the one on your computer) nor does it have lots of bells and whistles, but it works flawlessly. I'll get back to testing tonight and perhaps tomorrow will have a test made which we can evaluate. The one thing I've discovered it that the AV tutorials can't really use the preview or such but are pretty much limited to using the blue arrow to run through things manually. Though they will display the pans and zooms with the preview, it's always very jerky because ot the hardware acceleration. Even with 30 frames per second there is no smooth pan or zoom - not even worth trying actually. That really isn't a big limitation for tutorials since anything we see in preview or play can be simulated manually by dragging the blue arrow on the timeline and that works very smoothly. best regards, Lin

Hi Al, Thanks for the favorable report! Yes, I was somewhat concerned because I used about 60% compression and the AVI, especially for the actual cube portion was sizable indeed but the zip compressed it considerably and made it feasible for those with broadband to download. I used a little inexpensive program ($29.95 USD) called Screen Recorder Gold: http://www.capture-screen.com/ I've been searching for a decent screen recorder program and have evaluated several. I would love to have a really classy program such Camtasia Studio which has all the bells and whistles, but the $300 price tag is more than I can presently squeeze out of my budget. Screen Recorder Gold seems to work well, but has issues finding my codecs which other programs easily find, so I may yet have to use something else. I like this one because it has a few features which are rarely found in inexpensive software but I have to work out the codec issues or try another. It only makes AVI files, but I have On2 Technologies Flix Pro so can easily convert to Flash FLV or SWF in any presently available format. If anyone has any suggestions for alternative video recording software, I would love to try other programs. Best regards, Lin

Hi Ken, It's always a guess about which codec to use so I may try to use Microsoft MPEG 1 if I can get my little capture program to read my codecs correctly. Best regards, Lin Hi Ralph, Thanks for the tip on Elements - I decided to use AVI rather than compress it with Flash and use a bit less compression in the actual AVI for smoother action. Zip does a pretty good job of compressing it further so the download isn't too bad for broadband users. It's great that you could actually work along with the demo as that makes much sense when it's possible to do. Best regards, Lin Hi Ron, Thanks for having a look. As I said in my post, it's not as smooth as I would like, but it's a first attempt and I'm glad it was easy to follow and may prove useful. Best regards, Lin

I'm up early this morning for a job, so thought I would post link if anyone is interested. After a couple email requests for more information on the cube construction in Photoshop, I thought I would make an AV tutorial and post it. Rather than compress it in Flash and not knowing how many have which Flash iteration, I left it in AVI format. The download is about 65 megabytes and contains two AVI files - one an introduction and the other the actual Photoshop tutorial. If you find the codec incompatible, let me know and I'll use a different one or convert it to Flash 8. Here's the link: http://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/cubetutorial.zip It's a first attempt, so not as polished as I would like, but I think it may be helpful for those not real familiar with Photoshop's more esoteric functions. Let me know if you find it helpful and I may make others for supplemental purposes to the PDF tutorial Jeff and I have planned for the Version 5 release. Any suggestions for changes or improvement would be welcome. Best regards, Lin

Hi Nadine, Sorry about the hard disk crash, that can be devastating. Might I make a suggestion that you buy a program which will prevent disaster when and if that happens again? Acronis True Image 9.0 will not only do full or incremental backups, but will make a sector image of your entire hard disk and store it on another hard disk. Personally, I use a USB external drive dedicated to this. You make the drive image copy on the USB drive and absolutely "everything" is copied including all of Windows (Registry, settings, etc.) then when and if your system dies, you either purchase a new hard disk or use Acronis to reformat and restore the entire disk just as it was when you did the image backup. No need to re-install anything. When the program finishes you have all application programs complete with installation parameters, software keys, emails, preferences, just absolutely "everything" exactly as it was before the problems. Use this and you will never again have this bad experience. Acronis costs $49.99 and can be purchased at nearly any major software distributor. There is a similar program by Symantic called Ghost - not as good in my opinion nor in the opinion of reviewers. Here's a link to learn more: http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/ Best regards, Lin

Hi Fergy, Download this temp version beta - if it solves the problem it will be solved in Beta 6 - don't use it for a replacement for version 5, but if everything works as you expect then use it for this presentation. Be sure to install it in a different folder. http://www.wnsoft.com/test/pte500_b6_pre1.zip Lin

Sorry Ron, I totally disagree on a philosophical basis. My tutorials are free, always have been and always will be for PicturesToExe. I don't spend my time and effort making tutorials to sell them nor do I believe in advertising on the PTE forum for others who do. What expense other than time is involved in making your tutorials? You are well aware that Jeff Evans and I are working on a FREE PicturesToExe tutorial for the version 5 release which we hope will be translated into languages other than English and I've already had an offer from a forum member to translate them into Spanish. You also know well that Al Robins has had a very nice free tutorial for a long time on version 4XX. I have no issue with anyone who wants to make an income from writing supplementary tutorials, but it would it not be reasonable to put this advertising for someone else on an independent post rather than as a "rider" on an informative post about a Free tutorial? If you want to sell your tutorials, that's fine with me. It didn't go unnoticed that you said your tutorials were "free for now" to members of the forum. If you plan to later sell this information that's fine too, but be advised that the information in PDF format will be provided free for everyone as well, so perhaps plan on some "value added" to warrant the expense. Best regards, Lin

That's what I thought.... Lin