Lin Evans

Hi Eric, (answer repeated here from other thread) The way to do that is to go to the timeline. Use the mini-viewer to watch your show. When you see the text, stop the play and drag the audio indicator on the timline to find the precise time as indicated where you want a particular beat of your audio to occur. Drag the entire audio waveform to align the desired beat peak with the text effect as seen on the mini-viewer. It's possible to be incredibly precise with this. In order to do this with precision, you must have an audio which begins other than at the very start of your first image so you have leeway to drag it both ways. Best regards, Lin

Hi Eric, Just to be certain we are on the same page: Keyframes refer to video (the visual, not specifically "movies") and Keypoints refer to audio. You can set, move and adjust Keypoints on the timeline. These keypoints are designed to manipulate sound in accordance with the visual as seen on the mini-viewer. To insert Keypoints, click on the small Keypoint Icon in the Timeline View and a horizontal orange (default color) line will appear. Hover the mouse pointer over this line and you will see a "dot" which will move horizontally as you move the mouse horizontally. Left click the mouse to insert a Keypoint which will be a blue dot. This is your first Keypoint. You may drag this Keypoint anywhere along the orange line in time. A right mouse click will delete the Keypoint. The default position represents the normal volume as recorded. If you drag the Keypoint upward the volume will increase to a maximum of 200% (assuming you are using percent rather than decibel). Dragging the Keypoint downward will allow decreasing volume to zero. Multiple Keypoints may be inserted and dragged to create the audio envelope. You can't see or adjust Keyframes from the Timeline View. Keyframes are only visible from Objects and Animations View. Best regards, Lin

Hi guys, I don't think Dave was looking for software, he just wanted to demonstrate that PTE had some capabilities not yet tapped "JUST FOR FUN - I just wanted to see if PTE would do the job" There are myriad software solutions to perspective correction, but I really don't think that was his point???? Best regards, Lin

Yes, I should have told you that all keyframing must be done in linear mode. Once everything is working, if desired, then change to non-linear motion. Also, if it isn't explained elsewhere, to set non-linear motion with multiple keyframes you need to click first on the non-linear motion - in this case accelerate, then go into Setting Up and click on each point where it says (separate here). You should also do this for each of the possibilities (Pan Zoom and Rotate) even if you don't actually have any Pan or Zoom for example. In other words glue the keframes for each of Pan Zoom and Rotate for "any" non-linear motion. This is a "safety" measure to prevent unexpected results which may have been caused by accidental and unintended changes to motions you didn't intentionally change. There is no "penalty" for setting the "glue-here" on each of Pan, Zoom and Rotate but there is a very big "plus" in terms of insurance. This is explained in my tutorial on Non-Linear Motion - on the same link as before... Best regards, Lin

Hi, Essentially you are missing a keyframe. Here's the basic way it works: You begin with some particular zoom and position of your text based on the settings of keyframe 1. If you want to keep things just as they are for the duration of the slide, then no more keyframes are needed. If you want things to change, then the next decision is to determine "when" you want them to change. So if you want things to stay as they are for a period of time and "then" change, you need the second keyframe to have the identical settings of the first keyframe. Slide that second keyframe along the timeline to the point where you want things to begin to change. So the purpose of keyframe 2. is to prevent any change made using keyframe 1 from happening until the position of keyframe 2. Then place the third keyframe, select it, and make any desired changes in position, size, rotation, etc. Now what will happen is your animation will begin "between" keyframe two and three and terminate with keyframe three unless you have a fourth keyframe. If you want the position, rotation, etc., created by keyframe 3 to "hold" for a period of time, then keyframe 4 should have the identical values of keyframe 3. Remember everything is happening over time. Anytime there is a change between keyframes in size, position, opacity, rotation, etc., this will begin happening between the keyframes which have different settings. So if you want to "maintain" a constant for some period of time, you need the additional keyframe to hold what you have programmed. Think of it as if you were writing instructions. The initial instruction is put text on my screen in this position at this size. The next instruction, assuming you want things to change before the slide time has expired would be: now keep things as they are until this amount of time has passed. You next sentence of instruction would be now beginning at the previous time begin to change and stop changing here: Finally, you next instruction would be keep things as they are until here: Each of these instructions requires a keyframe with associated values unless there will be no more changes. In such a case of no more changes, no additional keyframe is necessary If you have problems doing this, you may want to download my first tutorial on PZR for Smarties here; http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?/topic/7901-pte-made-easy-tutorials-continuously-updated/ Best regards, Lin

Eric, There is no difference in the ability to "spread the waveform" between 7.0 and 8.0 beta 5. As you spread the timeline with CTRL Mouse Wheel, the waveform spreads accordingly just as it did in 7.0. The space allocated for the waveform also allows seeing multiple audio tracks simultaneously now. Change the color of the audio waveform via the settings, preferences, timeline, color of audio clip, waveform, to a contrasting color and the line projected downward from the slide flag will be easy to see. Best regards, Lin

HI Eric, The only "dancing around" is what you are contributing. If you want to know how 7.5 works, then install it. Best regards, Lin

Hi Eric, Here is an excerpt from the OP question - Bold Emphasis Mine: I'm perplexed as to why you are referring to an old version of PTE? The OP isn't using 7.07 as far as I know, so what are getting at? Best regards, Lin

Hi Eric, Doing what I suggested doesn't increase or decrease the size of images in the timeline view, it only increases the working space for audio tracks. Best regards, Lin

Just to clarify, are you talking about the "timeline" view or the "slides" view? If you are in the "slide " view then hover your mouse cursor on the line just above any of the images until you see an up-and-down arrow. Hold the left mouse button down and drag upward and the images will get larger to fill the available space. Best regards, Lin

Hi Eric, It seems to be pretty plain what the OP was asking: IMHO the topic gets off-track when too much "free expression" is used. Hopefully, he will understand how to do what he asked about through all the "smoke" which has accompanied the original topic... Best regards, Lin

Hi Guys, Actually, Xaver answered the question precisely and in a way which would not confuse anyone. The question was plainly how to "spread" the increments to be able to more precisely position audio on the timeline. Not every user has the same type of pointing device. Some use tablets, some use the mouse, but not every mouse has a scroll wheel. I'm uncertain why the answer should need further elaboration. Best regards, Lin

PTE makes extensive use of the GPU (Graphical Processin Unit - or "Video Card"). If you have an open slot available on your PCI bus, you can install a much, much more powerful GPU by getting one of the newer ones which support the needed version of Direct X and don't require a six pin or four pin power supply cable such as the AMD Radeon HD 6670. This card sells for about $60. There are issues with trying to "upgrade" an older system with a much less powerful CPU, minimal RAM and usually smaller power supply. To really take advantage of PTE"s powerful features, a reasonably powerful computer is a huge plus. Creating Videos with an older system with a less powerful CPU and GPU is a very slow process. With upgraded hardware it's much quicker and much less problematic. You definitely will experience a huge gain with an upgraded GPU, but be advised that you "may" end up also replacing your power supply depending on what you have in your present system. The question is whether your money would better be spent on a more modern system. Here are other considerations. Your report reveals that your hard disk is small to begin with and is now perilously low on storage capacity. This means you probably will be needing an upgraded hard drive soon. If you upgrade your hard disk then you probably will need to totally re-install Windows and it's a pretty big job to get all the application software back and working correctly. So consider the costs involved in potentially and new hard drive, an upgraded video card, possibly a new power supply and re-installing Windows with all updates versus even purchasing a used, but upgraded computer. These are just the things to consider. Best regards, Lin

Hey Robert, Thanks! This time of year here in the states "snow" is already falling!! Probably concentrating on Christmas snow scenes is a much more productive use of our time than dumb cubes with thousands of video displays, but it's all great fun, at least for me, and does go to show that PTE has some dynamite capabilities and allows some of us older retired codgers to have fun playing with the toys and tools that Wnsoft has been so kind to produce for us. The new Styles feature is going to open many doors for this product. It will allow people who haven't the time and interest to devote to learning all the possible intricacies to produce excellent transitions, effects and such when and if they choose, and even act as a time saver for ordinary shows which will let users concentrate more on content and spend less time on the mechanics. In all, it's a very nice Christmas present for all of us who love presentations of our photographic efforts!!! Best regards, Lin

Hi Tom, Thanks! I use pretty small, low resolution videos to keep the file size manageable, but I "could" use one full sized high resolution video sized to fit the display and zoom in on it using perhaps masking to block the rest of the lower resolution ones. Perhaps something like a black png file with a screen cut-out which I would use to focus attention on one small video display, then have the PNG locked with the video as the child and zoom the two synchronously to fill the screen, reverse the process and go back to the cube animation. i'll give it a try maybe tomorrow and see how it might work out. Best regards, Lin

You absolutely have the skill to create any of the shows I put up - it's just a matter of taking the time to analyze the various features in PTE and apply them in different ways. Most of what I create and post is not really that difficult to do at all, but it does take a little time to think about what is actually going on. The best way I've discovered to learn different ways to use this program is to just literally "play" with it. Try different things. When you find something which works, write down the exact steps and go back and analyze what you've done and ponder why it worked while something else didn't. The hierarchical parent/child and masking capabilities are things which set this software apart from most of the contemporaries. Combining these features in different ways allows the user to do things which simply can't be done with the vast majority of presentation slideshow software. Making full use of the power of controlling multiple "children" with an invisible parent "frame" is one of the amazing features of PTE in my experience. Ask Dominique (theDom) about this - he makes incredibly great use of these features in his animations. There is much hidden power in PTE yet to be realized I believe. I remember back when the late and incredibly amazing JPD was creating things with PTE which Igor said he hadn't a clue were even possible. Today, Jean-Cyprien, Dominique, David, Peter, and a number of other creative people continually amaze me with their implementation of PTE for new and different applications. I truly think that we are presently only scratching the surface of what is to come. Some of our French users are creating tools which facilitate such things as following a bezier curve, etc. - hopefully this feature may be incorporated in a future version of PTE. This product is truly the culmination of input from multiple creative people. The developers continually give us the tools with which we can express creativity. They deserve all the credit for being quite different that the vast majority of software development people who rarely implement user suggestions. Best regards, Lin

Hi Dave, Thanks! I probably should have - just didn't - no excuse - LOL It's difficult to decide what to actually show on YouTube. A beautifully crafted AVI slideshow will often go unnoticed by the masses even though that's precisely what the majority of PTE users do with this program. Because nearly all decent presentation slideshow software "can" produce a really nice show with a skilled user at the helm, it makes it exceedingly difficult to differentiate ease of use and versatility with a single example or even a few examples of what makes PTE different. Ease of use is something very difficult to portray unless done in a "tutorial" fashion. But for a tutorial to be actually "watched" by a potential buyer, something has to attract their attention. Because of this realization, I tend to post rather dramatic and hopefully unusual examples of PTE's use. I probably should comment on these that even though PTE "can" do these things, it's not intended as representative of what "should" be done with it - just examples of the great power and versatility in the program which sets it apart from the others. I watch carefully the comments and look at the analysis to see what people actually watch, and it's exactly those shows with the most animation and unusual application which attracts the most comments and number of "hits." So I suppose to attract more users it's a useful way of advertising for the product. At least I hope so... Best regards, Lin

(YouTube Link)For Best Quality Playback: Windows PC Link (54 Meg) Windows Web Safe Version (54 Meg) MacIntosh Native Exe Link (54 Meg) Lin

Hi Jeff, Yes, it's 3D Transform in 2D space so it is indeed an illusion but when viewed shortly after seeing the separation against a rotating 3D object the mind adds the depth even when viewing straight-on. If you want to enhance the 3D effect of text using the Pan Z feature, you may also want to consider using the "Show Back Side" check-box. When the backside of the text is visible when it is linked as a child object to a rotating three dimensional object, the 3D effect is enhanced I think. If you download the same link again - I have added a "Go Denver Broncos" text to one side of the cube and checked the "Show Back Side" for that one only. You can see the difference as the cube rotates and get an idea of how being able to see the back side of the text in reverse adds to the illusion. Best regards, Lin

Hi Colin, Thanks! Actually, the process is fairly straight-forward and not difficult to do. It just takes a bit of time and patience. I have a couple tutorials in the tutorials section (linked to Youtube) on creating the 3D Video Wall which explains how to construct the basic element of a video wall used in the creation of the cube. The same process can be used to create a wide variety of curved or flat displays which can then be incorporated in various 3D transform geometric patterns. It's mostly not relevant to serious presentation slideshows, but more toward animation fun. The nice thing is that PTE actually is much easier to use for some of these projects than some of my 3D software such as Blender and Maya. Best regards, Lin

Hi Judy, That's me about 28 years ago. In my youth, I was a musician. I was a trumpeter with the California School Band and Orchestra and I played guitar in several Bluegrass bands in my younger days - paid my way through college - After that, I did a little composing and the background music is one I called "Tranquility." Best regards, Lin

Hi Robert, Thanks! - it's just a fun project to keep me busy... Best regards, Lin

Hi Jeff, Thanks for checking it out!! Glad to see you back on the forums!! The text effect is done by adjusting the 3D parameter "Pan Z." In this particular example, a setting of -17 produces the distance from the rotating cube. If you put in two images as "objects" in the objects list and position them very close to each other, then set the 3D horizontal axis for each to about 45 degrees and play with the Pan Z value for one of them you will get a feel for how it works. Best regards, Lin

Hi Patrik Thanks!! Yes, it could definitely "mess" with one's mind!!! LOL. As I said, only an experiment as part of another project but does show that "multiple" videos are a distinct possibility with PTE Best Regards, Lin

Hi Ken, Thanks for checking it out. PTE is a pretty incredible environment to play in.... Best regards, Lin