bharkins

Ken, that is one fantastic free utility! Works great on Vista beta too. Much more data rich than Belarc Advisor IMHO. Thanks for the tip.

Where do I get the software to run the .swf files?

I will also go for the Deluxe. I'm not clear whether we of the pre-4.X users have to pay the upgrade charge or is it included in our current license. Whatever, I know the price is very reasonable. Wait until you install Vista whenever it is released!

For those interested I have been testing Windows Vista for the past few weeks. The latest version is Release Candidate 1. I have installed PTE 4.48 and PTE 5.0. Both work fine, with no problems. I then installed Audacity - it opens and will play one MP3 file. If I then try to open a 2nd file, it crashes to BSOD. I emailed to SoundForge tech support and they will upgrade to Vista compatibility after the final release is issued. Anyone playing with Vista - some nice visual effects.

Ron, your demo works very smoothly on my desktop (video card: nVidea PX7800 GTX w/256Mb RAM).

Nice job Lin. I like this approach to tutorials, and Barry Beckham does a superb job for his numerous tutorials. Have you tried CamStudio (free)? Not as eleborate at Camtasia, but the price is right. What we need now is a full tutorial, or series, on PTE 5.0 in your technique! Bill

I would be interested as your tutorials are very good.

Very nice job Ronnie, as a basic tutorial for pan. I like your approach of a step by step series of tutorials. I know this stuff is really beginner material for Lin Evens, The Dom, Al Robinson and the other experts, but I like your approach and you are obviously an experienced tech manual guy!

While following this thread, I decided to give the DVD process a try. Without looking for a codec file, I just blindly went through the process in PTE clicking on Video and then in Ulead (after creating 1 coaster) completed a slide show in DVD which played fine on my HDTV. As others have stated on the Forum, there is a slight loss in the DVD from pte on the computer, but with a digital TV, it's not too bad. Now to get into more detail, with Ulead can I create multiple shows on one DVD with a menu to click on any show? I have not delved into Ulead yet, but there is a menu capability which seems that one could select multiple shows.

Vista beta 2 closed but Beta RC1 is due out in September. You can sign up for it at: http://microsoft.order-6.com/RC1_Registration/

Tom, thanks for that lead to Camstudio. It may be less feature-rich than Camtasia, but the price is right. Of course, as in Camtasia, it creates huge avi files which would probably not be practical for use in PTE 5.0 tutorials on the Forum for download. However, it is a great addition to my bag of open software. Bill

I would like also to say thanks Igor for your great work. I have downloaded b4 on my desktop and the new HP notebook with no problem. Both machines have 256Mb video RAM so the animations are really smoooooooth! Bill

Ron - I agree with you, it's not easy. However, I have followed most of the Forum messages on PTE 5 and it is getting clearer. As with all software, it takes time to practice. I hope when 5 is finalized that Barry Beckham will produce a tutorial on it - then I will understand the program. Right now, I'm in "trial and error" mode (lots of errors!) Bill

Hawk, that "Open file - Security Warning" is interesting. Where is that found in Windows XP? There is the same issue in PowerPoint, if setting a link to any .exe file to open. An annoying window appears asking if you really want to open this file, etc. This is another example of Microsoft protecting us from our own files! Bill

John, that's an amazing use of PTE to create the tutorial. A great job. Bill

These are very useful additional tips, particularly shift-clicking to move the center point. Very useful to focus on a zoom to an area of the image. Bill

Just downloaded your your tutorial and scrolled down the 16 pages. It looks like real gold, and just what we've been waiting for. It's amazing to me that such a polished piece could be produced of a beta program only a few weeks since announced. I'm sure there will be lots of Forum comments on this. Bill

I don't mind looking at Publisher or any media that can help us learn. I look forward to your tutorials. Your comments re: PTE5 have been excellent and helpful. Bill

Thanks Al for that clarification. I have to immediately test the functions as I can't remember the words in print for long. I can't wait to see the balloon show - I can just imagine balloons careening through the sky all over the place!! laugh.gif Should be a good application for v.5! Unfortunately, I do not have a website to post my shows at this time. I have that in my To Do list to also be able to post to Beech Cottage. However, I need to screw up more courage to show any of my stuff to the gurus of the Forum! Bill

Linda, you are right about now "overusing" P&Z, but that is because we are testing the P&Z functions in the new graphic engine. When 5.0 is finalized, we will do slide shows with selective use of P&Z to move the slide show story further along. At present, there are many features from earlier PTE versions, not implemented in 8.0beta. Bill

Thanks Al and Lin for the issue of using images without locking them. Going outside the screen area is not too intuitive, but it works fine and that's the goal. Now for clarification, what is the "child" object used for and how to indent an object when needed? Also, what is the function of the "Main image" box in Properties? As I get answers, I am working them into a nice slide show about ballooning which is looking good. Now I have to go and take more balloon pictures this weekend at out annual Balloon Festival. Bill

OK, I'll put a question in this thread to keep it togther with the other 9 pages. I am trying to sandwich 3 layers together - a ground image, a cloud image and a title. The ground is fixed and the clouds roll by. So far so good, but when I bring in the PNG title image, I get the indented image which is locked to the previous "parent" image. Thus the title cannot be manipulated as it is locked to the parent. So, how can the child image be unlocked from the parent? I haven't seen the button for that function but I'm sure it's around somewhere. In some cases, adding images do not indent in the image list. How can we easily control the image list? I'm sure at least a half dozen gurus will know! Bill

I for one, will look forward to any sort of full tutorial on the final 5.0. At present, there is too much scattered messages to easily gather the knowledge of the subtleties of P & Z. Bill

You're right - it took 6 or 8 bangs on the refresh button (in Firefox), plus a couple of Yahoo error messages, but I did open it. A very nice image, sharp as a tack. A good example of setting keypoints from start of an action to the end. What are we to conclude with the various aspect ratios as to building slide shows, with or without 5.0? Bill

Could not open the URL either. Tried Firefox and IE - no go. Bill