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Hi Ken, Sorry I didn't respond to your zip file in any of my previous posts. I was under severe time pressures this morning. I've now had chance to download your zip and run the exe file. You see exactly the same as I do. Where the graypng should be is just the default black background. By the way, to educate you a little, the RGBpng image has the appearance that you describe because the area other than for the lady's face (my grandmother as a young woman) is transparent. So the final image as you see it is a combination of the default black background and the vignetted portrait. If you change the background via Project Options...Screen...Background...Solid Color and then pick a different colour to black you'll see what I mean. In the sequence that I am working on, I use this image as an Object superimposed on a letter that my grandfather wrote to her from the Western Front in World War One. However, I digress: back to the problem... You get exactly the same as me on your XP system. So the problem is not specific to any one operating system. Hey, this is getting interesting. I've just done some more tests. I took the RGBPNG.png image into Adobe Photoshop Elements v5 and did Enhance...Convert to B&W.. and took defaults. I saved this image as RGBGray.png I took the RGBPNG.png image into Elements for a second time but this time did Image...Mode...Grayscale and took defaults I saved this image as RGBGMod.png I then opened my four slide test project in PTEv5. Even before I added these two new images I could see that RGBGray.png looked A-OK whereas RGBGMod was showing the corruption. So it would appear to be a Photoshop behavioural issue. Now all we need is for a Photoshop expert on the forum to explain the difference between: Convert to B&W and Change Mode to Grayscale. In the visual appearance within Photoshop I'm damned if I can see any difference. But there clearly is a big difference in the resultant png files. Once again, Ken, my thanks for your time both listening and suggesting.

Ken/John, Thanks for the feedback re the zipped file that I posted. Can I just check one or two points with you both, please? I want to be certain that, when comparing your system's behaviour with mine, that we're not comparing apples and oranges. All you did was download the four images; then, in a new project file, placed them into the slide list. A simple four image show with all defaults. Right? (Ken, I note your comment about turning off the fancy fades - I do that myself). And when you previewed that show all four images appeared as you would have expected them to. Right? Just to be sure we have identical set ups, could you please ensure that the image sequence is Gray Original, Gray png, RGB original, RGB png. My question for you both is: Do you actually see the Gray png displayed? It should be almost the same image as the RGB png but, obviously, in grayscale. I have just built a simple four image project as above and I don't get the image of the Gray png displayed. All I get is a black screen (i.e. it's showing me only the default background in PTE). The other three images all display with no problem. A few final points: What version of operating system are you running on? What version of PTE are you running on? What software did you use to unzip the file?

All, Sorry it took me so long to come back to the forum but, having found a workaround that was acceptable to me, I've been slaving over a hot PC building my new show. DaveG, That is what I eventually did. I only experience a problem if a try and produce a png file from a grayscale original. Barry, I suppose it might be just a computer glitch - but it is a glitch that I can recreate consistently if I use a grayscale original to create a png file. That doesn't feel or smell like a glitch it feels or smells like either a product restriction or a bug. Which software is at fault, if any are, is an open question. Maybe those who download the zip file from MediaFire might be able to isolate that for us.

Hi everyone, I've followed Ken's advice an uploaded a zip file of the image files to Mediafire (see link below) http://www.mediafire.com/?ejotnzcmx3k The zip contains: an RGB original scan an RGB cropped png taken from that original a Grayscale original scan a Grayscale cropped png taken from that original I'm interested to know if anyone else hits any problems with the Grayscales.

Bingo! I've rescanned the old postcard that was giving me grief as a colour original and created a new png file from it. Everything works exactly as expected! I then rescanned the same postcard as a grayscale original and created a new png file from it. The image looked right in Photoshop but when I tried to add it as an object in PTEv5.03, PTE came back saying "Image load error" and the image showed that same manner of apparent corruption that I had previously witnessed. I never got this "Image load error" message on any of my previous attempts to get this particular image to work. I'm happy that I seem to have a work-around to my problems. I just need to rescan the other images as colour rather than grayscale. But I'm left with some as yet unanswered questions. - Does png file format actually support grayscale images? - If it does support them, is there a bug in the implementation of png file support in PTEv5.03? Once again, thanks for being sounding boards for this problem. Hope somebody can answer the remaining questions.

Barry/Ken, Thanks for the prompt responses to my post. I've downloaded Barry's file and taken it into PTEv5.03 on my Vista system. No problems! Barry, would I be right in thinking you created that png file by rasterizing some text from within PTEv5 O&A? In the sequence that I am building I have 23 other png files that all work OK. Most of them are rasterized text (Title slidess, End-credits slides and some image captions) But, and here is what I think is the significant bit, there are four images that are png files produced using Adobe Photoshop Elements v5 and following the technique I described in my original post. I created those four png files last night and put them in the sequence. I created the other three (the ones that give me a problem) this morning - and these three flatly refuse to play ball with me! There is a marked difference between the three non-text images that don't work and the four non-text images that do. The three that don't work were created from Grayscale originals and have wide transparent borders. The four that do work were created from colour originals and have colour all the way to the edge. Isn't it strange how simply talking through a problem can identify new avenues of investigation? Could the problem area be Grayscale vs RGB colour? I know I can readily lay my hands on the original postcard of one of the three images and rescan it as a colour image instead of grayscale. I'll give this a try and post the results shortly. Thanks for being such excellent sounding boards!

Hi again, Been there, done that, got the results... I copied the suspect files onto a memory stick using Windows Explorer. I then took the memory stick to my laptop, which runs under Windows XP. I accessed the png files directly off the memory stick (drive F:) and opened them in Windows Picture and Fax Viewer. They looked just fine. I then launched PTEv5 and navigated to drive F:. The images were corrupt when viewed in the Selected Directory Window and, indeed, look to be corrupt in exactly the same manner as on the desktop PC. It looks to me like the problem is in PTEv5.

Hi folks, I've hit a problem with some *.png files in PTEv5 and cannot seem to be able to get to the bottom of it. I have three png files that I created using Adobe Photoshop Elements v5 on my desktop PC which is running under Windows Vista Home Premium.. The creation technique for all three was as follows: Open original jpg image (Background layer) Crop to keep just the part I want Create a new layer (Layer1) Select from the Background layer using the Elliptical Marquee tool Copy the selection Paste the selection into Layer1 Delete the Background layer File Save As filename.png - taking all defaults except that I turn off "Include in Organizer" When I open these again in Adobe Photoshop Elements v5 they look just as I would expect and as I want them to look. When I go into PTEv5 to add them to a background image they appear in a corrupt form in the Selected Directory Window (to use the term that Lin and Jeff use in their excellent User Guide). Note - they appear corrupt in PTEv5 before I even try and select them. If I go on and select them into the slide list, they come in in their corrupt form. When I open the same directory into Windows Explorer they appear in their uncorrupt form. If I right-click on one of them in Windows Explorer and Preview it, it is correct. The problem persists even across a power-off/power-on of the PC. Other png files (created from within PTEv5 by rasterizing text items) give me no problems. I'm going to copy the png files via a memory stick to my laptop which runs PTEv5 under Windows XP Home Edition SP2. Will post again with results of that test.

Lin, I've made a basic mask and built the animation. Everything's going in the right direction to realise my vision. May I ask a further question - on using Photoshop? I'm using Photoshop Elements v5 to make the mask file. When I'm making the mask file, is there an easy way to position the Rectangular Marquee so that its centre is exactly over the centre of the 1024x768 image? I've tried using the Grid tool but I noticed that the 1024x768 image is not an exact number of grid squares along either of its axes.

Lin/Al, Thanks, guys, for the point in the right direction. I understand exactly what Lin is suggesting. The first half of the coming weekend is already fully booked. But if the weather here in North Yorkshire stays as it is (cold, wet and miserable) I now know what I'll be doing on Saturday afternoon and evening! Once again, thanks for the advice so freely and willingly given. It is much appreciated.

Hi everyone, I'm in the process of preparing an illustrated talk to be given to my local branch of the Western Front Association. The subject is my grandfather and his service on the Western Front during the 1914-1918 war. I am using mostly old photos, postcards and documents (all scanned in via a flat-bed scanner). I have a particular vision for some of the images which I will try and put into words. My problem is I don't know how to (or even if I can) convert my vision into reality. I am building the sequence using PTEv5 on a computer with an aspect ratio of 4:3. So let's assume its display is 12 inches by 9 inches. I have a scanned photo that is 5 inches by 4 inches in portrait (vertical) orientation. It is a photo of my grandfather taken shortly after he joined the Army. At the end of the display of this image I want the image in the centre of the screen with a coloured background behind it. No problem! I know how to set that up in PTE. But... To get to that endpoint I would like to be able to start with the image of my grandfather zoomed in to concentrate on his head and shoulders. From there I would like to zoom out until the full image is on display. Again, no problem. I know how to do all that in PTEv5. But... (and this is the problem).. I would like all the animation to take place within the 5 inch by 4 inch "box" that will contain the endpoint image. Is this possible in PTEv5? If so, how do I set about constraining the size of the visible part of the image during its animated phase?

Albert, Having read your most recent post it strikes me that your situation is remarkably close to mine. If I understand you properly, you only have trouble when exe files that were created under PTEv4 on Windows XP are transferred to a PC running under Windows Vista Home Premium. In your case you are running the exe files off a CD; in my case I copied them on to the hard disk of the Vista machine. I now find that after "fighting" each sequence through the problem once it then runs cleanly thereafter. In my case I am convinced I am experiencing the sort of situation that Brian Conflow described in his first post to this thread. Have you tried copying your exe files to the hard disk of the Vista PC and running them from there? As an aside it is usually a good idea to run exe files from either memory stick or hard disk rather than CD. The CD, by comparison to the other two devices, is a very slow device and running off CD can occasionally give rise to some unexpected problems.

Hi JohnDH and welcome to the forum. There are probably several ways to achieve what you want. My own approach would be to build two separate sequences. The manually controlled sequence and the automated sequence. Then have the last slide of the manual sequence run the automated sequence as an external program. I have no doubts whatsoever that other forum members might suggest other alternatives. That to me is one of the beauties of the forum. You get lots of advice and can then pick the solution that fits best with the way you think and work.

Brian, Thanks for your two very detailed posts above. I think I've understood all of the gist of them and even some of the technical details (I know I indicated earlier in this thread that I had over 30 years IT experience but that was on large IBM mainframe systems - not PCs). Until a few weeks ago I built the exe files and also ran them on the laptop. A few weeks ago I bought a desktop on which I now do all the PTE building and creating. The only use the laptop gets is to present the sequences to audiences via my digital projector. So, as you can see, I don't need to be able to run the sequences on any PC - just on my laptop. And this I can do with no problems. The only reason I noticed the problem was because I was checking some of the exe files after the "master folder" contents had been copied from the laptop to the desktop. I shutdown the systems each night except the one night each week when the Norton Anti-Virus full system scan takes place followed by the full system backup. So this behaviour pattern will have further masked some of the effects from me.

Igor, The desktop and laptop computers are not connected at all at present. The files are transferred between the two computers by simple Copy and Paste commands in Windows Explorer using a 512MB USB2 Memory Stick as the transfer medium. The only test that I have done involving PTEv5 has been to create a PTEv5 exe on the desktop, copy that to the laptop and then execute it on the laptop. It worked with no problem. I used to use the laptop both for building and for running the sequences. Now I use the desktop for building and checking the sequences and the laptop only for taking them out "on the road" to show to an audience. So, I do not anticipate any further problems in this area. This is the first time I've been on the receiving end of your "after sales customer service" and I am well impressed. Thanks.

Well, that was easy! I had a very short PTEv5 demo sequence that I had built ready to give to my local photgraphic society. This had been built under Windows Vista on the desktop system. I knew it had never been copied to the laptop. I created a new exe file and used a memory stick to transfer this exe file to the laptop. I then executed the sequence on the laptop. No problems whatsoever. It looks to me as if I get the problem only when taking exe files from the XP-based laptop to the Vista-based desktop PC. To summarise: - when taking an exe file that was created using PTEv4 under Windows XP and running it for the first time under Windows Vista it hangs at the end of the sequence. Using Task Manager to end the non-responding task clears the condition and all subsequent executions of this file then run OK. - when taking an exe file that was created using PTEv5 under Windows Vista and running it under Windows XP there is no problem. Igor, are there any other checks you would like me to do?

Brian/Igor, Further to my post immediately above, I've been able to do a little more testing... I struck lucky with the first sequence I tried. I was fairly sure I hadn't tried to execute this file on the desktop previously. When I ran it on the desktop PC under Vista it worked perfectly all the way to the end - and then just sat there with the final black slide on the screen. Pressing ESC didn't have any effect. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del brought up a list of options, one of which was to Start Task Manager. I did this and it showed that the sequence was no longer responding. I selected the sequence and did End Task - and the task ended. I then ran the same sequence again without rebooting the desktop PC. It ran through successfully and stopped normally. It looks to me as though each PTE exe file that I copy from the XP-based laptop back to the Vista-based desktop system will have to be "manhandled" through this process in order to get all the relevant information into the registry on Vista. I now need to set up a little test taking a PTE exe file from the desktop system to the laptop to see if the same problem occurs going in that direction. Will post again when I have the results.

Brian, If your explanation is the correct one and if I understand you correctly, I should not find any more problems with my current sequences as the desktop system has been re-booted several times since they were transferred on to it. Over the next week or so I'll run each sequence just to be sure. Also, if I create a new exe on the laptop and then copy that over to the desktop that should then hit the problem, shouldn't it? Should I also expect to hit the problem going the other way - from desktop under Vista to laptop under XP? If so, then I'm going to hit it everytime I make a new sequence or modify an existing one, aren't I? Igor, Brian's explanation might fit my circumstances. I'll need time (quite a bit of it!) to check each sequence out. I will come back to you on this thread once I've done my checks.

Igor, I don't believe what is happening to me! I have experienced the problem several times but now cannot recreate it. (As an ex-IT professional of over 30 years experience I just hate intermittent problems!! They're so hard to pin down) However I will describe my circumstances to you. My equipment is as follows: Laptop spec: Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Windows XP Home Edition SP2 1GB RAM Intel Pentium M processor running at 1.60GHz Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics Controller (dont know how much RAM, don't know how to find out) Desktop spec: Compaq Presario Windows Vista Home Premium 2GB RAM Intel Core2 Duo Processors running at 2.33GHz NVidia GeForce 8400 GS (not sure how much memory and don't know how to find out) In my case, the files which exhibited the problem were all exe files that had been copied from the laptop to the desktop. All the exe files that exhibited the problem were created on the laptop using PTE V4 (various levels up to and including 4.47). These exe files were created over a period of some 24 months. This problem is not, so far as I know, associated with sequences that have been built using either PTE v4 or PTE v5 under Windows Vista on the Desktop system. As far as I know, exe files created under Vista and then copied to the laptop play correctly on both systems. The symptom of the problem is that when the exe file (that was originally created on the laptop) is run under Windows Vista on the desktop, it comes to a halt at the final slide (a black slide) and then just sits there. When the same exe file is run on the laptop everything behaves correctly. I have 22 separate sequences totalling over 6 hours running time. Because the problem seems to have vanished, I'm going to have to run through all of them on both systems to find which of them (if any) still exhibit the problem. I'll get back to you as soon as I find one that shows the problem - preferably one that consistently shows the problem. But this is clearly going to take me several days to complete. regards, Peter

Hi Albert, You're not alone. I run a laptop under Windows XP and a Desktop under Windows Vista. I too have discovered that exe files created under PTEv4 on the laptop that run perfectly on the laptop (with closure after the last slide) do not close properly under Windows Vista. Since I now build under PTEv4 or PTEv5 on the desktop and then copy the exe to the laptop for presentation to audiences I am not unduly concerned. But I agree with you. There does seem to be a problem here somewhere.

Hi John, I did something similar for the RPS Northern AV Group earlier this year. In my case I was manually controlling the move from image to image during the "live talk" sections and wanted to breakout into short PTE exe files and into Windows Explorer, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word. I built everything in PTEv4.47 (because PTE v5 was still in early beta). The breakoutpoints were handled by having the same image file three times in succession with the application being "broken out to" linked off the middle of the three. The breakout PTE exe files were set to "Close show after last slide" and were "full function" AV sequences with images and soundtrack. The master sequence was set to have "Display each slide for" on Project Options ...Main... as unticked. Mouse buttons were set to be Left = Next, Right = Previous. Everything worked just fine. On the breakouts to the Explorer, Excel and Word sections all I had to do was close these applications down at the end of theire section and the third of the triple of images was there on the screen and waiting for me to click the mouse to move on. Hope this has been of some help to you.

Hi Royo, Zipping the file will not have a significant effect on the overall file size. A PTE exe file contains the MP3 soundtrack file (already heavily compressed), the image JPEG files (low resolution and heavily compressed) and a small amount of information that controls the timing of the sequence and the transition effects and a small amount of code to actually make it all work. The original exe file was 14,614KB in size. The zip file is 13,768KB. If it took over an hour to download on your dialup connection, it will still take over an hour to download on a dialup connection. This time will not change much no matter which hosting service I use. There have been over 200 downloads of the two sequences that I have posted on MediaFire and, to date, just the one complaint - from yourself. I am sorry but I am not prepared to produce my sequences in multiple formats and on multiple hosting sites.

Hi Jonathon and welcome to the Forum! I cannot speak on the subject of copyright law as it affects you in the USA. I'm familiar only with the UK situation. You'll have to wait for one of the Forum members with relevant local knowledge to respond on this aspect. On the subject of adding narration (or voice-over to give it its proper name). What I suggest you do is download a freeware program called Audacity. This is a well-featured soundtrack editing program. All you will need to do to create your soundtrack is upload your existing music track from your CD source to your hard disk by doing a track rip from CD. Then in Audacity you do Project...Import Audio... and navigate to and open your ripped track. That loads up your music track into Audacity. You will need to prepare your voice-over recording via some means. I use a digital voice-recorder which captures the recording on an SD card in WAV format. I can then connect this device to the computer via a USB port and the card is seen as another removeable storage device. I then Project...Import Audio... the voice-over track into Audacity. The two tracks (music and voice-over) appear in the Audacity window and you can then do things like cut pieces out, paste pieces in, slide parts of one track along the timeline relative to the other. Achieving synchronicity is a piece of cake especially if you've already got the basic synchronisation of the images and the music in your PTE project file.

Hi Lorraine, Welcome to the PTE Forum! You'll find us a friendly and knowledgeable bunch who will gladly pass on hints and tips to help you get what you want out of PTE. It might also be fruitful if you spend some time just browsing any of the threads that catch your eye. I found that a great way to pick up the terminology of PTE and in the going found some very useful and timely advice. I'm pleased that you liked the sequence. The piece of music was called "Close to You (I Watch the Sunrise)" from a CD of Christian faith songs titled "Come Back To Me" by an artist called Marilla Ness. If you google her name you will find her website.

Hi Andrew, Just for the record I'm writing these comments before I read any of the comments that others have posted. I have just viewed the "no pans" version and followed it immediately by viewing again the original sequence. Please can I change my mind? There's no doubt in my mind that the original is the better of the two. The "no pans" sequence has a lifeless feel to it in comparison to the original. I now realise that when first viewing your original sequence I was excessively taken by the beautiful scenery. I lost sight of the fact that the sequence was about the "Earnslaw". And she moves through that wonderful landscape. Your use of pans and zooms captured that movement. You were right; I was wrong. However, I feel that both sequences still share a common point of weakness. Your first panoramic pan (after the steam whistle opening) moves at a speed which, to me, is not in keeping with the tempo of the accompanying music. I think the entire sequence would benefit from having this opening pan taken much, much more slowly in order that it better fits the mood of the music. Thanks for taking the time and trouble to rework the sequence to give those of us who felt it wasn't right a chance to see it how we thought it should be. I, for one, am prepared to say that my original assessment was wrong. This has been a salutary reminder to me as a judge of the work of local photographic societies that I mustn't make snap decisions (no pun intended). Once again, thanks for sharing this sequence (in both its incarnations) with us all. Now I'll scroll up and read the other comments.