Manual advance problem

[stonemason]

I've created a slideshow using beta 10 which I wish to use manual advance. I've checked the wait for keypress button but the show still advances using the display for time either this is a bug in beta 10 or I am missing something which I should set. Any ideas please.

thanks

Geoff

[nobeefstu]

Geoff,

Check also in Customize Slide | Main | Timing for other options/settings available for the 'wait for key press' feature.

[stonemason]

It's a definate bug in beta 10 tried the pte file in other versions up to beta 9 and it works fine just sits and waits for keypress as you would expect.

Geoff

[Barry Beckham]

Try putting a long time into the time interval for new slides (Project Options > Main)

A setting of 600 for example will keep the images on screen 10 minutes before they change, but they should change on a key press. Just put in a long time to meet your needs.

Don't forget to click Set for existing slides

[ContaxMan]

I use the same technique as Barry. But I suppose I better investigate the new way sometiome.

[stonemason]

The wait for keypress option works fine in beta 9 and over-rides the "display slides for option" but does not work in beta 10, so between betas 9 & 10 some coding is not doing what it should.

Geoff

[nobeefstu]

Geoff,

It's a definate bug in beta 10 tried the pte file in other versions up to beta 9 and it works fine just sits and waits for keypress as you would expect.

I confirm there is some issue here also with beta v10. My saved build of beta v6 which uses manual advance :

-Check box enabled - Wait for a Key Press or Mouse Click to show next slide.

-Customize Slide displays - By Default (Wait for a key press or mouse click to show next slide)

Beta v6 .pte file when opened in PTE beta v6 - plays as expected and provides total manual control.

Beta v6 .pte file when opened in PTE beta v10 - plays incorrect by advancing as set in slide timing.

*More tests to confirm ... but it appears the default has changed in beta v10v to using By Default (Use timer to show next slide) ... even though Customize Slide displays - By Default (Wait for a key press or mouse click to show next slide)

Note:

I can get manual control to work as expected in beta v 10 by using this approach (diff than beta v6 approach) :

*First I must-Customize Slide and physically set : Wait for a key press or mouse click to show next slide

*Then set -Check box enabled - Wait for a Key Press or Mouse Click to show next slide.

[alrobin]

I confirm the findings by Geoff and Stu.

Customize slide calls the default mode "Wait for a key press...", but in fact the default mode is "Show next slide after indicated time". And, as already mentioned, even if "Wait for a key press ..." is checked in Proj Ops, the slide show advances per the timing indicated.

There is another anomaly, too: When in "Show next slide ..." mode, if I check "Permit control of show ..." in Proj Ops, I can pause the show using the space bar. However, if "Wait for a key press" is selected, and the slide has reached the end of the time indicated, the slide advances to the next slide. If the slide has not yet reached the end of the time indicated, pressing the space bar pauses the show as one would expect.

[Igor]

I apologize for this stupid bug! We mistakenly assembled Beta 10 and Release Candidate with old version of one module.

Updated Release Candidate fixes this problem:

http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/apr-deluxe_beta.zip (4 MB)

[stonemason]

Igor no need to apologize I think that I speak for most people on the forum when I say that we are very grateful to you and the team for the speed at which you act to address any problems that will inevitably occur during the development of any software. It's good to be able to get positve feedback from you and the team, rather than the take it or leave it attitude of some of the major software companies.

Many many thanks

regards

Geoff

[alrobin]

Igor,

Pressing the spacebar still advances the slide if option "Customize slide / Wait for a keypress or mouse click" has been selected and if the slide has reached the end of it's programmed time on screen. This makes operation of the show confusing to the viewer - sometimes the spacebar advances and other times it pauses.

[Igor]

Al,

Space bar switches between Play/Pause mode, not for a transition to a next slide.

Because slideshow can be partially manual controlled (for example, from 1st to 5th slides) and timer mode (6th to 9th slides), I think Space button should always work as Play/Pause switcher.

Probably if it really necessary, we can add new option "Press Space bar to show next slide"?

[alrobin]

Igor,

I agree with you - the spacebar should be reserved for the "Pause/Play" toggle switcher.

Maybe I'm not making myself clear. The problem is that the space bar already causes the show to advance to the next slide when "Customize slide / Wait for a keypress ...." is selected for a slide. In your ATI test example, if I wait for 5 seconds with the first slide waiting for a keypress, and then press the spacebar, it will advance the slide to the next one.

[Igor]

Al,

In Manual advance mode, animation of slide still work. And if duration of a slide 4 seconds, pressing of Space bar toggles between Play/Pause modes. When internal time cursor reaches end of a slide, animation stops and pressing of Space bar will change to a next slide.

Please see attached example.

ManualAdvance.zip (270 KB)

[alrobin]

.....When internal time cursor reaches end of a slide, animation stops and pressing of Space bar will change to a next slide.

Yes, I agree this is the way it works now. However, don't you think it could be a little confusing if someone is a little late clicking on the space bar, and suddenly instead of "pause" he or she causes the slide to "advance" instead? One millisecond the spacebar could signal "pause", and the next millisecond it could signal "advance".

Why do we need the spacebar to advance in this case? - there are sufficient other ways to continue the show (eg. right arrow, mouse button). The space bar should be reserved to toggle between pause and continue in the normal manner. "Continue" doesn't mean "advance" - IMHO, if a slide is being held until a "forward" command is requested, the spacebar shouldn't provide this forward command. The show should still wait for an arrow key or a left or right mouse button, even if the spacebar is pressed several times in succession for a slide which is customized to wait for a key or mouse click before advancing.

This is not a huge problem - the ambiguity only occurs in the split second before the animation is complete so if it's a difficult thing to program, I wouldn't be concerned about it. It's just that when running your ATI test show I experienced it myself, and was surprised that all of a sudden, pressing the space bar actually caused the slide to advance instead of merely toggling the "pause" command off.

[stonemason]

Al I'm at a bit of a loss here to understand why you would want to use the spacebar at all for a manualy advanced slideshow as there is no need to pause the show. If a keypress on the space bar advances the slide then I can't really see what problem that would cause?

Regards

Geoff

[alrobin]

Geoff,

You're right - this is not a big problem - merely a potential annoyance or example of illogical operation.

And, you're also right in that, in an all-manual show, there would be no reason to pause it.

However, not all shows are totally manual - I have been working with a friend on a presentation where she wanted to have some slides stop dead until advanced manually, but wanted other sections of the show to run in timed mode - unless she wanted more time on a particular slide, in which case she would use the space bar to pause. If, during the presentation, she forgot that a particular slide was "stopped dead", and pressed the space bar, intending to pause the show at that point, under the present conditions it would advance instead, thereby destroying the continuity of the show. Also, if she were to send this show to a friend that person would not know which slides were stopped and which were not, so attempting to use the spacebar to pause a slide and finding that it advanced instead could be frustrating.

But, you're right - it's not a big deal, but one which I have had personal experience with already, so it could be a bigger problem in some circumstances.