Zooming in on the O&A Timeline

[SoCu]

Hi, would it be possible for PTE to zoom in on the O&A timeline?

Or maybe I’m mistaken and it’s already possible, but I just can’t figure out how. If this option isn’t available, it would be great to have it so we can have better control over keyframes, especially when we need to adjust them in more detail at a specific position. Right now, it’s very difficult to adjust them exactly as we want; being able to zoom in on the timeline would make the workflow much smoother than it is now.

Thank you.
 

[denisb]

Hi

It's notpossible to zoom in.

To adjust key frame, you can use the key frame time. (1/1000 s).

Denis

[SoCu]

Thanks, Denis. Even so, I think having a magnified area would provide a more detailed view and make it easier to work.

[chanfi22]

➕

"Thanks, Denis. Even so, I think having a magnified area would provide a more detailed view and make it easier to work." ➕1️⃣

[jt49]

Several users, including myself, have already asked for this feature, but it has never been realized. It's a pity 🥲

[SoCu]

Well, I don't know, but I think preventing a program from moving forward with improvements, and letting it stagnate isn’t a very good idea, especially when more users are asking for them. I also don’t think those improvements should be based on the number of people requesting them; even if there’s just one person who thinks something could work better, whether to make the work easier or to add new features, if they’re meant to make the program better, they should be taken into account and not fall on deaf ears.

I think we all want the program to be as good as possible, the better it is, the more we all stand to gain.

 

[nelson]

"We all want the program to be as strong as possible so we all benefit. But it's worth remembering that turning ideas into reality requires complex decision-making, staffing, and budget. Personally, I find the software very feature-rich for its current price point. It raises an important question: if we want a faster influx of new features, how much more would we collectively be willing to pay to fund that extra development?"

[SoCu]

I don't know, but I still don't understand why they wouldn't update an app with new features that users are asking for, to make it better, just to avoid raising the price. You don't necessarily have to raise the price to improve the app.

I have apps that get updated with very powerful features, in some cases, they’ve even had to almost completely overhaul how the app works to add them, and they haven’t complained about the work involved, nor have they raised the price because of it.

Maybe they figure that the better the app is, the more people will buy it because it offers more and better features than other apps.

[jkb]

2 minutes ago, SoCu said:

I still don't understand why they wouldn't update an app with new features that users are asking for

Lots of features have been added over the years at users requests.
If it was easy to add the Zooming in for O&A then it would have been done. So it may not be easy to add.

WnSoft are a very small company with limited resources & PTE is continually being developed.
Other changes are constantly being worked on & will appear when ready,

Jill

[SoCu]

Well,  let's welcome the other updates.

[digartal]

In my experience I agree with Nelson and JKB. I have owned PTE for many years (probably V1 in the 90's) and always found the developers very reasonable, responsive, supportive and I am not aware of any other applications that have this contact with the developer support from. One of the other major competitors is no longer being developed or availalble so I appreciate the support and development assistance of PTE. Sometimes in life we don't always get what we want.

Furthermore, while not a developer, I do know some software has some legacy platform problems and what is requested may not actually be viable/possible using the existing code/platform. I certainly appreciate the time and effort by the developers in implementing the recent changes for V12 and the updates since. Also compatibility with new hardware is a problem. I do notice updates and changes to suit Apple OS changes regularly even though I am not an Apple user.

There is an old saying, you attract more flies to honey than you do to vinegar. Seeking support for changes in an empathetic manner I have found is more productive.

Thank you to Igor and the team for your assistance and support, I certainly appreciate it.

[jt49]

IMO, the arguments against the suggestion for "Timeline-Scaling in O&A" are based on supposition (German: Vermutung). But there are situations in which this feature would be very helpful. So, I would regard it as appropriate (angemessen) to ask for this feature.

[Igor]

Hi,

This feature (timeline scaling) is already on our TODO list, and I agree that it would be very useful.

Let me say a few thoughts.
We have many ideas for improving the product (PTE), so we constantly have to choose what to build now and what to implement later. Some ideas or features might look simple but are actually very difficult to implement, because they are deeply integrated into complex old code.
Sometimes we wait to rewrite a whole large section of code so we can add several new features at the same time.
We have a small team. For example, one person writes the code for slide styles, another work on the Objects and animation editor, and a third works on effects and custom transitions.
There is also important ongoing work - refactoring (restructuring) old code - that is not immediately visible to users but is very impotant to ensure the legacy code doesn't break down under the weight of new features and effects.
Then there is the matter of cross-platform support (PC and Mac).
Sometimes we spend a long time working on a new feature or effect and hit a "dead end" - it doesn't work as intended, so we have to delay it, and time is lost.
Yes, we might also make mistakes when prioritizing which features to include in a new version.
We're trying to make the program better with every release, but we aren't perfect, and we ask you excuse us, if we don't always meet your expectations! In any case, I always welcome all constructive criticism and reminders about the features you’d like to see. Thank you!