Search the Community

In a discussion elsewhere on the forum (see here), it was suggested that it would be helpful to have the mini-player available in a floating window, especially when working in the Timeline with multiple tracks expanded to their full vertical height. I have opened this topic so that the original thread does not become hijacked by further discussion on this subject. regards, Peter

Some Audio editors, Soundbooth for example, have a feature called "Time Stretch". With it you can alter the length of time a piece of music plays, albeit with the inevitable change in Tempo of the piece. Example: Using Time Stretch on a short clip of 23.3 seconds it is possible to vary the duration of the clip from 2 seconds to 3 minutes with great accuracy. However, with my 23.3 second clip I would not foresee stretching beyond the 20 - 30 second range. It is extremely useful for making a piece of music fit a sequence of slides as opposed to the present "Fit Slides to Music" - within certain limitations. Care is needed to maintain the "musicality" of the clip but nevertheless it is a very useful tool. Would it be possible to include "Time Stretch" in the Audio section of a future version of PTE? DG

Greetings, It would be helpful if we could have a Default Folder option for the File List window. This would be similar to how Excel and Word allow for a default folder. I recently copied all of my PTE slideshows from my desktop to my laptop. When I first open a .pte on my laptop, I have to browse in the File List to find the folder associated with each .pte show. Once saved, it keeps that association. But it would save a lot of time and mouse clicks if it would default to the PTE folder where all the shows are saved. Thanks... Gary

It would be great if the item Color, especially concerning texts, would be present in Animation and not in Common only. It would be very useful to be able to animate the color of a text in the same slide, for me at least. And if others specifics text animation could be available in the future, welcome. Everything else seems perfect ! Thank you for this great software (and for the indispensable french manual !!!) at an accessible price. It is very precious !

I have a problem with video clips on the timeline : If I trim a video clip with video converter, changing for instance its end time, it keeps the same length on the timeline. Is there a way to solve my problem ? Thank you.

Greetings, I know this issue has been raised before. In Dec. 2011, a request was made for all files used in a show to be bolded. Currently, only the primary file that is used in a show is bolded in the File List. I am currently going back to one of my old shows to do some tweaking. This show has the same background (or primary) image in each of the slides. In O&A, I have added video clips to each background image. So each slide contains only the background image and the added video clip. The problem is that the File List shows only the background image in bold, but none of the added video clips are bolded. I have the original untrimmed videos and other images in the File List that were not used in the show, but they all look the same, unbolded. Those files that were used as non-primary files and those that were not use are all unbolded. So here are my suggestions: When an image or a video clip is used that is not the primary image in a slide, have it highlighted in the File List is some way, such as a different color (for example). Also, it is difficult to identify the images (as a group) that are used in a particular slide. For an example, if you have added several images or videos in a slide, it would be very helpful if, when you highlight a slide in the Slide or Timeline View, all of the images and video files that are associated with that slide are highlighted (perhaps in a background color) in the File List. So as you go from one slide to the next in the Slide or Timeline View, the different images and video clips used in that slide will be easily identifiable. As it is now, you have to go through the O&A's to determine the file name of each added image or video clip in each slide. Thanks... Gary

New project, single slide with a .MOV file. Try to preview. PTE suggests optimizing, I agree. I don't want "Same folder", so I choose another. The new folder field needs to have a trailing backslash inserted. I found the optimized .AVI file was in E:\xxx\folderfilename, rather than E:\xxx\folder\filename. Should be the easiest fix ever? Thank you! aplman (Ken T)

Igor When placing text over an image or a video, one of the nicest ways to select that colour is to sample a colour from within the image/video. Personally I find this the best way to ensure the image and the text have a visual harmony that is important in AV. Once our text has been created in PTE Objects and Animation window, we have three different colour picker styles to change the text colour. Style 1, 2 and 3. In each of them we have an eye dropper tool, but I think it can be made to work better. I use a graphics tablet, so I expect to click on the eye dropper to select it. When clicked it appears to be selected, but as soon as the pen is lifted from the surface of the tablet the sampler is lost. I believe this is the same with a mouse where the left button would need to be held down for the sampler to remain in use. If the sampler is selected and the left mouse held down or the graphics tablet pen is held onto the tablet surface, it is possible to move outside the colour picker window and onto the picture surface. There a colour can be selected and we can see the colours and sliders changing in real time within the colour picker window. (Not in the Text) However, to see the colour I have just selected in the text, I have to choose OK in the colour picker window. That applies the colour to the text and closes the colour picker window. If I didn't get the colour right I have to repeat the process a number of times till I find a colour that works really well. (Fig1) Suggestion: Is it possible to have the colour picker remain selected when it is left clicked with a mouse or the equivalent with a graphics tablet? Can the pointer now be allowed to move outside the colour picker window onto the picture or video surface so the user can click a number of times and see the colour reflected in the text instantly? If you were to create some text in Photoshop and do the same thing with the text colour, wherever you sample/click in the image, that colour is instantly reflected in the text (Fig 2) Can PTE be made to work this way?

Hi for next v 8.0 I think a good idea a plugin from Pte to LR, and viceversa. As Proshow5 Da Campos

Hi, I don't think that the following is presently possible but I believe it may be worth considering for the future. I have been working with Masks on a recent project and have been reminded how irritating it is to have to remember to ensure that the Mask is activated to be made "Transparent to selection". This is, I find, particularly necessary when working with multiple Masks on the one slide. I notice that the contained object when loaded is automatically made Transparent. My suggestion is that either the Mask should also have this property by default or alternatively an option within Preferences should be provided to switch this on or off. The latter would probably be better given that people have undoubtably got used to working under the present situation. John

Mute on O&A I think great feature(already wrote) when make media in O/A mute temporarily music/sound/comments of a clip Da Campos

Hello all, In preferences (7.5.2), one can change the colour of the waveform (green is the default), which is great. The line indicating the position on the timeline which goes through the slide and audio is red and clearly visible. If one clicks on an image in timeline view a thin green line indicates the position of the start of the slide on the audio track. Is it possible to make this line another colour so it stands out better from the background (or do I need new eyes)? Thanks for your help. Jeff

I wish to suggest a feature that would greatly facilitate the sorting of slides in the Slide List. I would like to be able to highlight a consecutive group of slides, and collapse them into a single "box" in the Slide List (perhaps via a right-click option). That would preserve the order within the box (of a group that has been carefully sequenced), and allow the box to be moved around, just like a single slide. A right-click option on the box would expand the box contents and restore the display of individual slides. I would be happy to leave it to Igor to decide such matters as: how to give a name to a box how to show a box in thumbnail view and in table view whether boxes would be preserved during a save whether nesting of boxes could be allowed - I would use that feature if it were available. Igor, thank you for considering this request. Ken T (aplman)

I still lament the removal of the "Unsorted" option for the display of the File List. I use PTE for shows of my travels. I find arranging slides into a meaningful sequence is more difficult, more tedious, than it used to be. Here's why. I have various ways of sorting image files into a desired sequence (outside of PTE), and I can then drop those image files into a newly created folder on a FAT32 drive, where the directory entries remain in the right sequence. I used to be able to have PTE's File List present those files in "Unsorted" order. It was then a trivial matter to drop them (all, or a batch) into the Slide List in the desired order. Since it must surely be a very small programming task to restore the "Unsorted" option, may we PLEASE have it restored? Grateful thanks ... Ken T (aplman)

I have a question to the function "text comment" in the defaults of the "Project options". If I insert template "<%MainImg.Exif.Time%>", then the time of the last change (last time I saved the file). But I need the Original time of taking the pictures. Can someone tell me the correct code? "%MainImg.Exif.TimeOriginal%" or "%MainImg.Exif.OriginalTime%" produces no correct result. Best regards Adda

One thing which might be quite useful is to add "opacity" to the background image feature. Some time ago, as I remember, when a background image was universally applied to a slideshow, the image actually "appeared" in the Objects List and could be manipulated for each slide. With the later versions the ability to add a universal background image does not result in it being visible on a layer in the Objects list any longer. There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages to doing it this new way - perhaps more advantages than not, but it would really be nice if the "opacity" of the background image could be adjusted universally. By adding this capability to the Screen Tab, then background images could be made less "dramatic" right in PTE without having to manipulate them in Photoshop or other image editor. I believe that more frequently than not, a user might want a somewhat muted background rather than a normal image. Generally, when I use an image as a background and place it as a layer on the Objects list, I apply some transparency to tone it down and often add a pure white layer beneath. Actually, what would be perfect would be the ability to not only be able to adjust the "opacity" of the background image, but to be able to have "2" background images placed on separate layers and be able to adjust opacity for each. This would, for example, allow the user to use a pure "white" background on the lower layer and by adjusting its opacity, make a very pleasing combination with the image above. What I sometimes do now is to "mix" two images in PTE this way and screen capture the result to use as a background image. But how nice would it be to be able to do this all right in PTE? Lin

Igor I have mentioned this before, so forgive me for raising it again, but we have just had a slide show posted called Amalfi Coast. The author made it at 1024*768, but of course when I view the show on my 1920*1200 screen, the image quality is not good. Is there not anyway that this can be addressed so that when a smaller slide show is made its not automatically expanded to fill larger resolution monitors. Anyone viewing this slide show who didn't realise what caused this may believe that PTE's picture quality is not that good.

When I decide to make a new Pte project, I write of summary (or minimal screenplay) that I want: so images, a lot music etc before running final exe or at this time video for publishing on line. But is a good idea the possibility (already wrote) of print to entire project in sort of preview, on sheet for adjust without other. To print or report the screenplay of project inside, from, Pte. Da Campos

Hi for next v 8.0 I think a good idea a plugin from Pte to LR, and viceversa Da Campos

Any chance of including a Save or Copy function so that viewers of a slideshow can have the ability to save a photo/slide from the show to their computers? I know a Copy function was available in older versions of PTE but later omitted presumably because of issues. I just get a few requests from viewers of my slideshows that are not computer savvy, as to how they can "download" a copy of a slide to their computers. Thank you. Jack

Original size mode is needed by photographers who want to keep the original image size. Several years ago there was a debat about original size mode. If I remember well, JP Dollangere was a very strong supporter of this option. He was right! Most of photographers, who make AV shows, want to keep their original image size and do not want to see their work be modified by software. As it is today, even in v750, PTE does not offer this possibility. If you want to keep original image size, image by image, you have to 1) select a mode (fit to slide or cover slide) 2) set the right size and position in size/ position in pixels. Doing that, the zoom values displayed by PTE are false and require specific calculation. That is taking too long time and is a source of errors in case of animations! It would be very interesting to have a third mode "original size" which will allow to keep the original size of their image at zoom= 100%. This option will also ease a lot the work for those who want to make accurate 3D animations. First example. Screen = 1920x1080 Image original size = 400x400 0&A Common / Mode 1) Fit to size => image size becomes 1080x1080 / O&A > PTE zoom value =100% (that is false, it should be 270= 1080/400) see att 1 : 2) Cover slide => image size becomes 1920x1920 cropped at 1920x1080 / O&A > PTE zoom value = 100% (that is false, it should be 480= 1920/400) see att 4 : The fact that zoom value displayed by PTE is false may introduce errors in the choice of image resolution by the AV maker Then, if I want to recover the original size of my image I have two choices : 1) select Fit to slide - then size/ position in pixels - set size 400x400 but in this case PTE Zoom value is no longer 100% but 37,037 although the real image ratio is 1/1 see attachment 2,3 att. 2 : att. 3 : 2) select Cover slide - then size/ position in pixels - set size 400x400 but in this case PTE Zoom value is no longer 100% although the real image ratio is still 1/1 see attachment 5,6 att 5 = att 6 = If you want to make accurate animation using original image size, then you have to modify all zoom value given by PTE depending on the selected mode. That is not logical at all and too much time consuming. Second example If you choose "fit to slide" mode for all images whose height > width, then whatever the image definition in pixels, PTE will give them the same number of pixels in height (slide height) and the same zoom value =100% which is totaly wrong and not logical at all. That is very confusing for those who wants to work keeping original image size. Daniel

After having made and saved a complicated transition, we are able to edit the .ptef file and modify the transition. Then, we can SAVE it. Is it possible to add a button " SAVE AS " to create a NEW transition file (with the modifications) instead of just replace the previous one ? Thanks - Jean-Cyprien

Sometimes when we work with several PTE objects - at roughly the same time - using keypoints (PRZ or opacity), we would like to be able to work only on some specific objects, and ignore the other, by not seeing them. Similarly, to compare two (or more) different ways of animation, we use several copies of the same object, with different solutions (PRZ, opacity, position of the keypoints...). But only one object must be visible. Currently it is possible - but not always - to use the box "Show front side" of the "3D parameters" window. But this window is visible only for one object at the same time. Would it be possible to have a box before the name of each object, which would allow us to hide or see this object, in the same way as it is possible to do it with the layers in Photoshop ? To hide or see every object would be very fast, and we could permanently know which are the visible (or not) objects. Thanks in advance

1 - When we use the circle shape, with the Gate Standard Transition, it is possible to change the center of this circle. Could it be possible to do the same modifications with the diamond and the rectangle transtions ? 2 - In the same spirit, could it be possible to changes the position of the Gates ? Thanks Jean-Cyprien

Sometimes I need my show to play backward when I press PageUp and I want the transition effect to change respectively. Say, I'm simulating a real book and choose "Curling of page" from right to left. But when I turn pages backward I need them to curl from left to right. Another example - I'm simulating a film-strip and choose effect "Push" from bottom to top. But if I decide to look at the previous frame again I want effect to push from top to bottom.