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Anthony, It is possible that you have inadvertently switched the laptop from "Display on own screen" mode to "Display on secondary screen" mode. That is partly what Brian (Conflow) may be driving at. One of your laptop's "F" keys will be the one that activates this switch. The key usually needs to be held down at the same time as the "Fn" key (which might be down at the bottom left of your keyboard). On my laptop, the Fn+F6 combination toggles from own monitor to both monitors to only the secondary monitor. For "secondary monitor" in this context you can also read "digital projector". When showing sequences to audiences I boot the laptop on its own monitor, switch to "both" to check out the hook-up to the projector and then switch to "projector only" to deliver the shows. The only catch is that I have to remember to switch back to "own monitor" before closing down otherwise at next boot up I get a black screen - just like you are getting. This has happened so often to me that I now always react to a black screen by toggling through the options to kick-start the little so-and-so. regards, Peter

In the Objects and Animation window, Properties tab: at the bottom of the upper half "Save and use by default"

Agreed. That's because of the geometry of his image with respect to the motion he would like. His point of interest (the visual focus of his pan and zoom) is too close to the edge of the map for the animation that he is trying to do. I actually like the "random wandering effect" of the animation but it will work only when the centre of interest is nearer the centre of the slide. There has to be sufficient image to cover the slide area at all times. In Gary's case this isn't possible with the image he has chosen when combined with the animation he has programmed. Peter

An alternative approach which I find useful is to place your object as the child of a nest of frames and apply each type of animation (3D, 2D Pan, 2D Zoom, 2D Rotate, Opacity change) on a separate frame. Now if you want Linear Pan, Smooth Rotate and Accelerate Zoom you keep each one separate from the others. I'm not saying that this approach will resolve the problems that Gary has encountered, but it is the way I have learned to handle complex animations. In this context "complex" is anything more than one animation type between two keyframes on the only object on the slide. regards, Peter

Whooa! Wait a minute, there's a bug in here! I just re-opened my little demonstration project and did Ctrl+W on each of the three slides with images. Slide 2 - opened correctly in Photoshop Elements Slide 3 - nothing happened (This is what I expected because the Blank is the Main Object but is not a real image file) Slide 4 - launched Elements and opened the image file that I had deleted from the slide (This should NOT have happened) It would seem that when PTE removes an object from the Object list it does not remove all the project code relating to that object. I have no idea what those who download will observe if they do CTRL+W on slide 4. I assume that their graphical editor will launch but after that...??? N.B. If I take slide 3 into O&A, select the image file object and do Ctrl+W, Elements launches and opens this image file; i.e. the behaviour is as expected even though Edit Ctrl+W are not in the right click menu (another bug?) regards, Peter

Anthony, Perhaps you are making some erroneous assumptions about PTE's setting of the "Main Object" attribute. Study the little demonstration that I've attached. They all look the same in the Slide List but are they? regards, Peter MainObject_Jul26-2012_6-42-36.zip

Gary, If they all change when one changes then you have destroyed the flexibility. Flexibility is the "good reason" why it works the way that it does. Peter

Gary, No that's not a bug; but it could be difficult to explain why not. Think about what you are asking PTE to do. For the Zoom, you are not moving the centre point of the image, you are just expanding around that centre point. For the Pan, you are asking PTE to move the centre point to the left a fair amount and down slightly. Now look at the point of key interest in your image. It's the end of the arrow, right? That's fairly tight over to the right hand side. So, if you pan the image to the left before the zoom has chance to develop, you will inevitably move the image off screen a little and reveal some of the default background. To achieve the result that you want, I would delete the ending keyframe on the map, change the Auto to 50% on the toolbar of the O&A window, create a new ending keyframe and then set its values by holding down the shift key while you click and drag on the lower left corner of the map. This has the effect of anchoring the map at its top left corner. That will give you a pan and zoom that shows the map as you want it. You can then tune either or both away from the standard Linear option if you want to. regards, Peter

No, we need to wait and see what, if anything, v7.5 offers in this area. Peter

Eric, Thanks for your input; however, I have no particular desire to find or to use convoluted ways to achieve something that should be achievable in a straightforward manner. As I have tried to make clear in previous posts, I am not attempting to create a finished, polished sequence. All I am doing is trying out one or two ideas and techniques associated with using video clips and adding sound to them. In doing so I found what I considered to be a bug. As my experience in this area is still somewhat limited, I posted my findings on the forum - to find out if I might have overlooked something. DaveG has now confirmed that the bug is reproducible. A sound comment is getting interrupted even though "Do not interrupt..." has been set to ON. It happens when both sound clips are added to slides and neither is placed via the Project Options...Music tab. I have no desire, as yet, to build a complete, finished and polished sequence. Neither have I any desire to work with a numerical interface to the audio, where I have to calculate offsets and durations. I want to work in a graphical interface where I can see the waveform against a timeline and can drag items to and fro along the timeline alongside other sound clips. Right now, my tool of choice for that is Audacity. But I am not yet ready to build a complete soundtrack in Audacity. The knowledge I am gaining, about using video clips and adding sound to them (rather than recording the sound at the time of fliming), is helping me refine the design of the sequence. Each week I am developing a new set of scripts (location recording requirements, stills image requirements and video filming requirements) and returning to my subject location to do more work with the camera and Zoom H4 recorder. Each week I add this new material in and take the experimentation another step forward. This sequence is being iteratively developed as I learn new things and then apply what I have learned. regards, Peter

Dave, For the most recent test that is exactly what I did. I set KFSD = ON and then did File...New.... That, to me, begs the question: why not? I have arrived at the point where, with Do Not Interrupt Sound Comments set to ON, I have a Sound Comment being interrupted. That is a bug no matter how one tries to look at it. Not really because I am not trying to produce a polished, finished sequence at this stage. All I am doing is sketching out some ideas using the audio features. I am able to do that quite happily with the code behaving as it does. I just think the behaviour represents a bug. I'm not even looking for Igor to resolve it in v7.0. With v7.5 just over the horizon, all he needs to do is satisfy himself that v7.5 either will not have this bug or will offer a totally different way of handling multiple audio clips so that the issue becomes irrelevant. Thanks for all the suggestions. They have been useful, if only to improve my understanding of the current behaviour of v7.0.7 regards, Peter

Dave, OK, I've done a simple three clip test with KFSD ON right from the start in a new project. That is not a logical way to work. All I should need to do is drag the three video clips into the Slide List, which is what I did. Why make life more complicated than it needs to be? (rhetorical) It is, and always has been, for this rough build that I'm doing. It does indeed! I can get the sound to run several seconds into the third slide. However, when I add the sound to the third slide, the fade out on the sound associated with the first slide now completes before the third slide begins. It seems to me that, in this situation, and irrespective of the setting of KFSD, the "Do not interrupt sound comments" selection is being ignored if the sound files are BOTH sound comments. regards, Peter

Dave, All I did was turn KFSD on. I didn't delete and rebuild those three slides afterwards. Perhaps I should have done! I'll be out for most of the rest of the day so will have another go either later this evening or tomorrow am. regards, Peter

Dave, I've just tried a version with KFSD set ON. The behaviour is just the same. The fade out of the sound, that is attached to slide 17 and which plays on through slide 18, is ending just before slide 19 begins. The sound clip has enough duration to reach just past the end of the transition into slide19 and I want the sound to run on through the transition into slide19, fading out as the sound clip on slide19 fades in with its image. It seems that this cannot be done in the current version of PTE. For the "rough" build that I am doing at present, what I have suffices. However, when I turn my attention to the definitive build, I will want that overlap and will probably do as I always do, and use Audacity. Peter

Yes, I know it "can" be done in PTE, but when it comes to audio, I do not readily think in terms of numbers. I have used Audacity for seven years now and am used to looking at the waveforms for all the soundtrack items stacked visually one above the other - and then using drag and drop to move them to and fro along the timeline. I'm anticipating that the soundtrack for this sequence will involve 34 voice-over clips, two or three pieces of music and perhaps ten or a dozen location sound recordings, all overlaid in complex arrangements. I find this complexity is easier to edit in a visually based editor. regards, Peter

Dave, You know I don't like that feature! However, I'll make a copy of the project file and try turning it on. If we're still waiting for 7.5 when I get to the point of being ready to do the final build (I'm just roughing out some ideas at present) then I will build the soundtrack in Audacity as I usually do. regards, Peter

Eric, Thanks for your thoughts. I need that to be ticked so that, when I do a "Preview from current slide", both slide and audio playbacks begin at the correct place. regards, Peter

Dave, Thanks for the suggestion but I suspect it is not relevant. The video was shot as a "silent movie" i.e. no sound recording done by the camera. The sound file was recorded separately and is being added in via PTE. Peter

I have encountered a small problem when adding sound to a video slide. In the attached screenshot (below left), slide 17 has a sound file added and so has slide 19. The images in slides 17 and 18 were taken from the same position (I just turned the camera slightly). The sound file added to slide 17 was recorded from this same position. I want that sound clip to extend through both slide 17 and 18. As you can see from the numbers, the transition from slide 17 to 18 is a Quick; the transition to 19 is a 1.5 second Fade in/out. The sound file has been customized as shown below right: the duration is long enough to cover both slide 17 and 18 and the transition into slide 19. The video clip used in slide 18 has a duration that is long enough to extend all the way through the transition into slide 19. The problem? Whilst the video of slide 18 runs all the way through the transition into the next slide, the added sound fades out before the transition from 18 to 19 begins. PTE seems to calculate the start of the fade out on the sound based on the beginning of the transition into the next slide and not on the end of that transition. I wonder if this problem is something that the new Timeline and audio interface promised for v7.5 will resolve.

Dave, For the size of borders that I use (1 or 2 pixels) the problems that you describe don't intrude visually in the finished sequence - against a black background colour. However, at larger border sizes (10 pixels and upwards), the problem does manifest itself and is, indeed, visually intrusive. If PTE is going to offer only one approach to borders then I agree with you, it should be a border that replaces pixels WITHIN the existing image area, thus preserving the intended aspect ratio. Perhaps, if the software libraries used by the developers permit it, we could have both options: border outside (as now) and border inside. regards, Peter

Igor, I have sent the two PTE files in an e-mail to you. E-mail subject is: "Borders problem (reported on forum)" regards, Peter

Thanks Artem, you are a star! That sorted it. As I am not animating any of the video clips, turning that off will not cause any other problems for me. Peter

Dave, I don't deny that there will be small variations in the Aspect Ratio at the sizes of border I am using. But what I am seeing is a radical change to an abnormal aspect ratio. Peter

I am trying to change the size of a border that I had applied using PTE v7.0.6. The image file to which it is being applied is 1280x720 JPEG that has been zoomed to 48%. I've attached two screenshots showing what happens when I try and change border size. Screenshot #1 is the start point and screenshot #2 shows the end result. It changes the aspect ratio in a non-distortional way! regards, Peter

I am working on a sequence, using PTE v7.0.6, that includes several video clips that were captured using my Nikon D300s. These are 1280x720 in size and so I have made all my single images that same size. I am setting the video clips and the still images, each sized to 90% zoom, against a background image. I am using PTE to add a 1 pixel border to each still image and video clip. The problem is that the one pixel border on each video clip is much thicker than the one pixel border on the still images. It is perhaps three or even four pixels thick. Anyone else experienced this? I realise that I could balance things up by putting a larger border on the still images, but I don't like that thickness of border. I want to thin down the borders on the video clips. regards, Peter