denwell

Thanks again Dave. I think a mid-grey BG might be a solution, but it's hardly dynamic (as promoted)! Is the blur effect mainly intended for 'pic-in-pic' use - it's certainly not very effective with full screen images? I'll try some experimentation with mid-grey as a background, otherwise its back to my image editor.

Thanks for the explanations Dave & JT. I had assumed that it must be due to background 'spillage'. Not entirely satisfactory for on-the-fly use then. I'll try the combination of a different coloured background with some transparency and see if I can reduce the edge effect, I don't really want to enlarge each image sufficient to avoid the effect appearing within the slide area but if this is the work-around then so be it. Pity.

I find that using the new dynamic blur tool in O&A is a great way to fade in and out and provide a background to text and titles, but there's always a dark edge, predominently at the top and bottom of the blurred image. It's not a smooth blurring across the whole image. In order to achieve this it seems that I need to greatly enlarge the picture - not what I want to do. So my question is - should I expect this to be the 'norm' or am I missing something? I'd hate to have to resort back to pre-preparing a blurred image in PShop.

Your managed image (right)looks better than the left - colours more vibrant with no obvious yellow cast. My own images, like Peter's, are not profiled and as such I see no difference when viewing them in your app.

But the 'toast' is already labelled with the tool tip - 'Start preview from this slide'. The four-way-arrow gives a more versatile and precise way of setting the preview start position and, of course, if a start including the incoming transition is needed then just set the cursor to this position. The right click function also plays from any position that the cursor is set to - including mid-transition(s).

Hardly a mandate for Igor to add even more tool tips. The 'piece of toast' has always been contentious as to what it means, even from early days. Igor has now added an icon, well known in the real world, which does what it says on its tool tip. There's also a right-click option and a keyboard shortcut. All achieve the same end, so why all this concern? It seems crazy that we're being asked to vote on something like labelling an outdated, unclear icon which most newcomers will never now need to use. This could explain the poor poll response.

Thanks Barry, I downloaded twice but only got the Mac version - I'll take a look at this one now. Thank you for your contributions to the understanding of PTE and your many techniques and tips for Av production - keep 'em coming! Best wishes to you and Carol for Christmas (in the sun) and a great New Year.

Yes, a useful tool which worked just as it should and ought to avoid all the confusion with registering the upgrade. Wonderful work Igor and team. Your attention to detail and helpfulness at all times is much appreciated. Now to get stuck into the finer points of this great software!

Thanks All. On balance I think Dave's suggestion has merit - I remember doing something along those lines a long time ago. Eric - Yes I also feel that a revisit to earlier images is useful as it does bring newly acquired skills to a re-edit. I have easily, losslesly, batch cropped my original 3:2 images (with no additional photo-editing needed!)so a simple transfer to extracted zip backups of my original sequences is easy. Peter - Feasible but it's a huge file! Xaver - A similar solution to Dave's and one which I've just tested out. It works (of course) and the job should now be done quickly. I like both of your suggestions. I do have the user guide with shortcuts but cannot see any connected with 'Change image file'. This is not a problem now! Thanks for all the advice.

Is there a keyboard shortcut to access the 'Change image file' function in PTE? I have several hundred images to be replaced in several projects due to resizing existing sequences to 16:9 AR. Or maybe there's an even quicker way to point PTE to these new images - all placed in a separate folder but named the same as the existing images. On a wider note - is there yet a complete list of keyboard shorcuts available?

Peter I fear there is no viable alternative to standard DVD - if that's what the client wishes to use as a presentation vehicle. Quality, as we know, will not be anywhere like the .exe version but you are really limited to the display equipment they have available. I would prefer to use .mp4 output from VB to produce an HD version of the .exe. This would require the possible use of a suitable USB media player connected via HDMI to the TV (if this is available). Pity the TV seems not to have direct USB input! Maybe others can offer ways to produce an (HD) DVD that will play on their (second hand!) player.

Igor I assume you are wanting to use commercially recorded and published 'popular' music, then, yes, you must contact the owner of the copyright (normally the record company who published the recording), but this is a nightmare and as you have found out very, very expensive - I've been down that route! Peter's suggestion of the Performing Rights Society/MCPS (in the UK) may be of use - they can act as agents working between their members and customers who need to use specific musical works in a production or product. Good luck with this

Phil Glad you got sorted out......... but who is BOB?

Not in answer to the issue above, but possibly related . When I use a personal icon in a project and produce the .exe, then Avast AV gives it an 'unsafe' status and sandboxes it. However when using the default PTE icon all is well. The personal icon file scans OK with Avast/MalwareBytes. No slide number limit seems to affect this as far as I can tell and icons show correct in Properties. This has occurred for several weeks now using 7.0 and has become an inconvenience.

It seems to me that, at this point in time, the majority of PTE users are not videographers but photographers who have been given the opportunity to include video clips within a PTE project. What are we to use this opprtunity for? I've seen very few examples of video clip use in a serious way - being used mainly for testing and evaluation purposes. I would value an outline of the genuine uses for such video, beyond a 'clever' background effect. I appreciate Igor has concentrated on this additional facility to keep pace with other softwares, if not to keep ahead of the game, and who can criticise for that. I believe we need more time to assimilate the new use of video, in a genuinely creative way, before we get further bogged down with the question of transitions and slide duration timings - all of which confuses me beyond belief. When we can all clearly see the creative benefits and possibilities of video inclusion, then the question of its technicalities will become more pressing but until then are we not getting ahead of ourselves?

Igor The action you suggested did not work. Avast still suggested opening in the sandbox. I can opt to allow Avast to open normally for each exe I produce, but this will need doing for each new show produced. All works fine on another PC not running Avast and I already reported a false positive. I guess I'll have to wait this out to see if it rights itself. When V.7.0 is released I guess all should be OK. Thanks for your attention.

Thank you Igor Your file plays OK. I have now discovered that a new project(built with different slides) creates an exe OK, but when assigning any icon to it from project options it creates OK but Avast then advises to run in sandbox. All icons used scan OK with Avast. With no icon assigned - it creates and runs OK with no alert from Avast.

Today AVAST anti virus alerted for malware when creating an exe for PC from PTE v 6.5.4. It quarantined the file (see attached screengrab) and PTE refused to work from then on - needing Ctrl+alt+delete to rectify. I was able to create an exe from v.7 but when opening it I was warned to run it in the sandbox - from where it opened and ran OK. Worrying as all was well yesterday with the project.

I would agree - the superimposed images of indigenous Australians don't add anything to the otherwise excellent blend of Queensland landscape and some fine 'moody' world music from Ash Dargan, not 'Doowi' as your credit. 'Doowi' is aboriginal for dream spirit or spirit dreams - the track title. Dargan is an indigenous recording artist world renowned for his mastery of the didgeridoo. I liked the rainforests section - something very difficult to interpret or understand for those who haven't experienced their haunting mystery and atmosphere. The coastline around Rainbow Beach was also a pleasure to see. All in all a spirited attempt to convey the extraordinary beauty of this part of Australia, if just a little long at 9 mins plus. I'm amazed Barry B hasn't commented (yet).

Maybe we should suggest text wrapping to Igor, as a welcome addition to a future beta? It's certainly a chore both in PS and PTE to successfully 'split' a page of text to make it suitable for easy reading. Text justification would be valuable also. Is text wrapping a possibility?

Ouch!!!!

At the risk of repeating myself - I've recommended this FREE converter before for all formats - video, images and sound. Format Factory converts almost every format and is totally customable, oh and did I mention, it's free! Take a look here : Format-Factory Take care to refuse the toolbars it tries to install!

Igor If the reason for adding the ability to include video clips is to lure new video-enabled DSLR owners into using PTE, then it is essential for m2t container to be useable and accepted by PTE. As Daniel rightly points out this and the AVCHD container are widely used in most consumer and prosumer video capture devices and to leave them out of a final version 7 would be commercially dangerous for Wnsoft. This new development is a major step forward BUT must be comprehensive to be commercially successful.

George I was going to suggest also that (in the spirit of Dom's template) you maybe should use an image of 'home' not the destination as the background to the calendar and desk. Just thinking aloud.

Peter As Stu points out, your suggestion still leaves the first numbered slide as (say 5). Stu I think your first suggestion is nearer to what I want to do, but I didn't really want to rename the slides (although a copy set could be used). Your second suggestion is also feasible. Merits in both I think. Selective application of text templates could be a useful addition to PTE though. Thanks for your suggestions.