PGA

I like this idea, too. But I think it would be of real benefit only if the "latest version" player could play "any and all previous version" data files. Peter

Lin, Is it only the linked audio that gets copied? Unlinked audio gets left behind?

Which version of PTE are you using? If version 8 simply select all the slides from one show, copy them to the clipboard (Ctrl+C) then open the other show, position it where you want to and paste from the clipboard (Ctrl+V). You will have to add the audio track material separately. I am not aware of any way to copy and paste a sequence that preserves all the audio as well as the images. If using a version prior to version 8, open the second sequence by using File > Open from within the existing active copy of PTE. regards, Peter

It seems a shame to withhold the feature from everybody just because some have machines with insufficient capability to use it. Could PTE check for the OS and video card type at install and then activate or block the feature based upon what it found? Alternatively, make it a user-selectable option and have a pop-up window appear when it is selected to warn that the feature may not work as expected if the hardware is not adequate. Peter

Mick, Get yourself some re-writable DVDs and use those for all your tests and "practises". Saves creating a large supply of bird scarers for your garden (unless, of course, you need a large supply of bird scarers for your garden!) Peter

I think there is significant merit in having a change made to the architecture of the PTE product in order to meet the needs of the original poster. Lin's solution (post #2) can hardly be described as intuitive! Dave's concerns (post #5) need to be taken into account. Since v8, PTE has given us multiple audio tracks with the ability to have multiple sound clips on each; and with precise control over each individual clip. What it now needs is the equivalent architecture on the image side. In order to have total flexibility, with total control, delivered in an intuitive manner, we now need multiple "tracks" of visuals. If we had that feature we would be able to lay the video down on, say, track #1 and place the still images alongside it on track #2. We could then decide whether we wanted the video to run as "picture-in-picture" over the stills or have the stills appear as "picture insets" on top of the video. It would be an added bonus if PTE would strip the sound file off the video and present it as an audio file linked (i.e. locked) to the video. We could then use the features of the timeline to envelope and fade the sound just like any other sound clip. Peter

Yes, it has to be that. But how did the situation arise? My concern is that there is some specific sequence of steps the user can take that gives rise to this problem. If the true underlying root cause can be established then Igor and his team can decide whether the situation should be allowed. And if it has to be allowed, whether there could/should be a warning given to the user that a potential problem is being created. I have, since opening this topic, dragged a fresh copy of that image into the slide list immediately in front of the one that shows the problem. When I now Preview the sequence, this new copy behaves correctly but the pre-existing slide still stalls. I have then copied, from the pre-existing slide to the new slide, the three frames that I am using to open three application files (an .EXE, a .PTE and a .PSD). After this change the Preview runs the new slide correctly but still stalls on the pre-existing slide. Deleting the pre-existing slide then gives a sequence which runs correctly in Preview and as a built EXE. I have circumvented the problem but am no wiser as to the root cause. I have used version numbers on my project files so have both the failing project and the working project. When I get some time next week I will extract the code for Slide 16 (the problem slide) from both project files and visually compare the code parameters.

The most commonly used mouse button (for a right-handed user) is the left button, which falls naturally under the right hand's index finger. For many years at work I used both Microsoft Powerpoint and Lotus Freelance to create graphic presentations. In both, the factory-set default was left-click to go forwards. The most commonly desired direction to go in a manually controlled sequence is forwards. I rest my case!

I have a manually controlled sequence, being used to drive a demonstration session, that is exhibiting one small problem. The Project Options are set to use the left mouse button to advance to Next Slide. When I began my rehearsals for this demonstration session I discovered the problem. The arrow buttons work fine: forwards and backwards on all slides. The left click works fine on all slides - except one. Upon investigation I did find one anomaly. All the slides prior to this one had, in Slide Options, "Keep full slide duration" selected ON. The problem slide and all the ones after had "Keep full slide duration" selected OFF. How this had come about I do not know. As regulars on the forum will know, I abhor "Keep full slide duration". I have worked through the sequence changing the setting in Slide Options on every slide to be OFF. I have confirmed that the Preference is OFF. The problem of not recognizing the left mouse click remains on just the one slide. I have checked and re-checked the values I have in Settings > Preferences, Project Options and Slide Options. I can see nothing out of the ordinary on this particular slide or the ones either side of it. This is now bugging me. I don't like unexplained behaviour in my sequences. Does anyone have any additional ideas? Peter

Lin, Re your comments in post #36... When looking at the left half of the scene, the viewer is looking at a side-lit landscape from a viewing angle that is slightly "down sun". When looking at the right half of the scene, the viewer is looking from a viewing angle that is slightly "into the sun". This change of viewing angle will be contributing to the difference in colour, contrast and sharpness. Possibly more so than the use of image stabilization software? Peter

I'm in agreement with Barry on this. I was always told: "It is the subject that moves, not the camera". To me a tripod is essential when I'm recording a video clip. And once the camera is recording the video clip, I take my hands off it and don't touch the camera again until I want to stop the recording. I don't normally attempt panning. If I wanted to do it regularly, then I would have to accept the weight and time penalty of carrying, setting up and using a fluid head. I don't zoom during recording because, on the Nikon D300s, that means manual zoom on the lens which imparts handling movement to the entire camera and, on the Lumix FZ200, the zoom is electronically controlled and isn't smooth enough; nor does it maintain focus through the zoom. To my way of looking at this, if you haven't got a professional video outfit, and aren't willing to take the time and trouble that the professional crews do, don't expect to produce professional results. Accept the limitations of your equipment; spend time getting a thorough understanding of these; then work within them to produce the best result that you can. Peter

Can Lightroom export a collection of images straight into a single stack of layers in Photoshop? I learned that Bridge could do that when I read Barry's PDF. That is a feature that I will find extremely useful during the preparation of images for an AV sequence.

Tom, Your 3fps playback looks just like ordinary video to me. I don't understand why you seem to be over-complicating matters. If you want a video-like effect, why not shoot video in the first place? Peter

Concur!

Tom, I cannot launch a .ptshow file in Explorer by double-clicking it, so I didn't think I would be able to launch a .ptshow from within a different .ptshow. Everybody, Please bear in mind that I carried out this test solely to establish the truth or otherwise of yachtsman1's statement about it being "difficult, if not impossible". I do not use "Safe Executable" format in my work. Therefore I have no requirement to get to the bottom of problems in this area. Peter

Dave, I put everything in the one folder because I have avoided using full path and file name on the Run Application or Open File action. So, if I load a USB thumb drive with that folder and take that to two different laptops where the drive is F: on one and G: on the other, there should be no conflicts. At least, that's my understanding of the theory behind all this. Peter

Here we go! Try this: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15623351/SafeMenu.zip Peter

Difficult, yes. Impossible, no! I have just carried out a test as follows: I set up a new folder called "Safe Menu (Develop)In this folder I built two simple sequences (Seq#1 and Seq#2) and published them both as "Safe Executable File for Internet"In the same folder I also built a Menu sequence that used two text objects to launch the two target sequences and Published that as a "Safe Executable..."Within the Menu, I had used "Run Application or Open File..." on both Text objects and had directed this action to apply to Seq#1.exe and Seq#2.exe respectively (N.B. only the file name was entered - no drive and path). I then continued as follows: I set up a new folder called "Safe Menu (Delivery)"I then accessed each zip file in turn and copied the two files (.exe and .ptshow) from each zip into the "Safe Menu (Delivery)" folder. I thus ended up with six files in that folderTo ensure that my development environment was not affecting the run time environment, I then "Cut" the entire "Safe Menu (Develop)" folder and pasted it onto a USB thumb drive, which I then removed from the USB port.When I then launched the Menu.exe by double-click I was able to launch each of the target sequences by single click on the relevant text object. Apart from the extra and necessary steps of creating a runtime folder and copying the pairs of files into it, the approach is no different to using "unsafe executable" files. I can see no logical reason why the contents of the "Safe Menu (Delivery)" folder cannot now be zipped and uploaded to, say, Dropbox ready to be downloaded and unzipped just like any other set of files. In fact, I'll do that and come back to this topic with a post containing the Dropbox URL so that somebody can verify that everything does work properly (or not as the case might prove to be). regards, Peter

Yep! I always get long download times when I try and download items you post. Never have that problem on any other site. I guess I must hit the rush hour in Denver. Or is it that your file is sat in a queue at the East Coast waiting to get its passport stamped? regards, Peter

Nice to know you got it fixed!

Perhaps the "nanny state" got it wrong and the perceived threat isn't as prevalent as they feared. They forgot that when you play guessing games (as opposed to applying good analysis) you end up guessing wrong as often as you guess right. Too many false alarms won't have been good for business. Peter

Frans, Place the Text object as an independent object - not as a child of the panoramic image. You can then animate the two objects independently of one another. A simple way to do this is to click in some empty space in the object list of the O&A window until the contents of whichever tab you are using disappear. Now add the new object. regards, Peter

Hi Lin, The two hour wait for it to download was well worth it! It ran as smooth as silk on my system (spec file attached). Peter PC_SF Report 2014-07-15.txt

I think it would be a nice "user-friendly" improvement to be able to define, perhaps via a Project Option or a Preference, that PTE should create more than one type of output in a single Publish execution. Let me give an example to explain what I mean. When I ask PTE to Publish for PC, I would like it to run a Publish for Mac as well and also, perhaps, a Publish for HD Video. Similarly, if I ask PTE to Publish for HD Video, I would like it also to run a Publish for PC and a Publish for Mac. Most of us these days have PCs with multiple processors, so the three tasks could be running alongside one another. I would accept the save location being the same for all output types since it is a trivial task to move a file or folder to a different location, especially if the location is on the same disk drive. regards, Peter

Dave, Why doesn't a rotate on a square mask give you a diamond? Peter