nickles

Evidently my YaHoo briefcase where the Skins Slideshow is available could not properly handle a .exe file. It is now a .zip file and if you download unzip it then run or double-click the resulting "Skins Slideshow.exe" file. ...My apologies.....ken

I am assisting Granot with the interface and Graphical Skin Design for his new MultiShow Utility for playing PTE slideshows. I am starting this thread to specifically address the ergonomics, button placement, button labels, button functions and overall skin appearance. I am seeking your input and suggestions regarding these items. I have prepared a short PTE slide show that depicts my current suggestions to Granot This slideshow demonstrates the present design concepts. I am not a graphical designer or computer expert like Granot and don't pretend to be. I am just offering assitance on a product that I think is going to be great for running and distributing PTE slideshows on CD. If you are interested please click on the following web site and then click on the file Skins Slideshow to download: Skins Slideshow The show is about 2MB in size. Thanks ken

Maybe I did not understand your earlier post: Yes, just now, and replied to you.

Granot, The MultiShow generated "OrdList.ini" was o.k. I did not modify it at all as it does not point to any directories or drive letters. ken

Hi Granot: I downloaded MultiShow v1.0.0.3 and began to evaluate. Will try to give a thorough workout this weekend. There is one immediate problem for those who attempt to make a CD. I proceeded to make a test R/W CD of a group of 14 slideshows. The original of these shows are located on my D: hard drive in the directory \PTE SlideShows 2. In preparation for creating the CD I ran MultiShow in this directory and had MultiShow save three(3) *.ord list files. I also created an OrdList.ini file of these lists. All ran well on my D: drive. I proceeded to create the CD and then tested with your Autorun.ini file. Everything worked beautifully including my personally created logo.jpg. I could select from the list of files and all ran well until...... ......I loaded one of my previously prepared lists (*.ord). MultiShow became unresponsive after the shows in the list I selected were displayed. I coudn't even "load all shows from CD"...unresponsive...but MultiShow would let me "Close" it. Problem and solution: The contents of one of MultiShow's generated list files (*.ord) was: D:\PTE SlideShows 2\Shows\Kenny+Kay.exe D:\PTE SlideShows 2\Shows\As Time Goes Bye.exe D:\PTE SlideShows 2\Shows\Sara Kay Best.exe D:\PTE SlideShows 2\Shows\Sara Kay Nickles.exe D:\PTE SlideShows 2\Shows\Xmas 2003.exe D:\PTE SlideShows 2\Shows\50th Anniversary.exe I manually modified this file and all others to the following structure: Shows\Kenny+Kay.exe Shows\As Time Goes Bye.exe Shows\Sara Kay Best.exe Shows\Sara Kay Nickles.exe Shows\Xmas 2003.exe Shows\50th Anniversary.exe I reburned the CD R/W and all worked well. When MultiShow saves a list the Absolute directory structure should not be saved in the list but the directory structure relative to the MultiShow.exe program should be saved (definitely a drive letter should never be saved with the list!) .......keep up your wonderful ken

Some Questions for those interested concerning Lists in Granot's new PTE Player: I recommend the following buttons and functionality: Refresh = Refreshes the list to all slide shows in the Shows directory Up = The upward arrow button for moving the selection upward in the list Down = The downward arrow button for moving the selection downard in the list Save = Saves the list of selections in the Shows directory and asks for a name. If shows are on a CD creates a directory called Shows in My Documents for saving lists.(not really sure how to best handle CDs and lists?) Load = Loads the various lists that have been saved in the Shows directory. Highlighting a list will show it's contents in the text file window. If a list or lists are highlighted, run selected shows will run all shows in the high-lighted list. The RunAll button will run all shows in all the lists. Edit = This button is only needed if we wish to edit a list. Works only when Lists are in the display window and one list is highlighted. If a single list is highlighted and the Edit button is depressed all slideshows will be displayed with those in the list to be edited high-lighted. The user can then add more selections or unhigh-light and re-Save (I'm fearful that the ability to edit will make the PTE Player overlly complicate) The lists are a neat idea but I think it will over complicate the PTE Player for the every day user. A slideshow creator is intelligent enough to make the lists with a text editor. Maybe a better way would be to have a totally seperate PlayList editor that is called from the PTE Player. Any comments? Other General Functionality: Double-clicking any item in the list window should cause that slideshow or playlist to play!! This is most common in the Windows world and will be intuitive to most users. Let's discuss...I think this is very important! If the <Delete> is depressed, any highlighted show will be removed from the display window. In the case of slideshows they are not permanently deleted. The Refresh button would restore them. In the case of Playlists they would be removed from the Shows directory (a message should probably appear that says it will be permanently remove with a CANCEL option) Granot: I just downloaded version 1.0.0.1 and will run some this evening. ....enough for now ....more to come .....please COMMENT ........ken

Hi Granot: I've tried several times and seems to work OK for me but I'll make a few more attempts and report otherwise. If we have lists I agree with the "reload all shows button"....but remember to many buttons can clutter. All my *.ord and OrdList.ini lie in the same root directory along with MultiShow.exe, one layer above the Shows directory and I've not had a problem. But you must double-click the listed *.ord, you cannot highlight the .ord and then depress "run selected shows button" or you get an error. If we continue with the list, maybe the highlighted .ord should run the shows within it. That's an area my wife really got confused in. I understand the lists concepts...but it's the everyday user I worry about. Yes to all above...totally unrestricted...I'll even attempt to make any graphics or buttons that you need...just let me know. I bet there are some real graphics wizards in this forum. If you're out there let us know, your services are needed!! I'm going to bed. But what's this mean....you need to be working on PTE Slideshow Player and not vacationing! Good Night.... ken

LumenLux,ContaxMan,mrmulligan, and other interested parties: Granot started this project based on an earlier post I made in the following thread: Multiple Slideshows Granot responded by creating the MultiShow utility. It wasn't exactly what I was after but I think his resulting utility has the makings for a very excellent PTE Slideshow player. I may be a little premature in this post but I'm anxious for Granot to continue(if he has the time). Y'all have shown an interest and maybe a few others will join in. I posted the following personal message to Granot earlier today to give him a chance to think about before I posted...but haven't heard from him....and I'm anxious to get some ideas flowing: I hope this post doesn't offend him...but he has been so quick in responding to my suggestions he's probably implementing these suggestions as I type. LumenLux I think this touches on some of the items you suggested. I really think that Granot could have himself a very neat utility that would also be very useful to the many PTE show creators....keep the suggestions coming. Hi Granot: I hope you don't think I'm to wishy-washy or flip-floppy. I tried out your latest version of MultiShow and it worked well. But my ultimate test was when I had my wife run it with no instructions from me. She is not the least bit computer savvy. The first thing she did was to double-click a show displayed in the slide list window. As I had not created any text file for that particular show, she got the little window that said "no text file was included.". Immediately she became confused so I had to explain and give her further instructions. After I explained the general operation she became quickly adept at selecting multiple shows and running them. She was disinterested in the ability to run or save lists. She thought this ability was fairly useless as she could easily select and arrange the order of the shows she wanted to run in the slide list window. She thought your program was very neat once she quickly got the grasp of it. In fact, when I went home for lunch I found her running my slideshows(which I've made more than thirty(30) over the last several years) using MultiShow. She said she still had no use for slide lists. My thinking has changed since listening to my wife's response. I create a lot of slideshow CDs for friends, and relatives. Most of them are not very computer savvy in the least. I had one sister that tends to double-click on a show multiple times resulting in the show playing multiple times with garbled sound. She finally had to shut down her computer to get it to quit. She no longer attempted to play my slide shows because she thought she had a bad CD or that I had given her a virus. I had printed on the label of the CD "only double-click on a thumbnail one time!" but she hadn't noticed that. MultiShow automatically prevents this situation. Let's forget the list concept and concentrate on making MultiShow a general PTEPlayer that permits the PTE creator to have their own semi-customized slideshow player as a front-end to their CD shows. I've noticed you are beginning to get some interest for this utility in the WnSoft Forum, so before I post I wish to run some concepts by you. Before I proceed...I am seeking no credit or ownership for any of these ideas...you are the brains behind the programming and I desire you receive all credit. I think a well structured PTEPlayer could really catch on. Only you know what is doable but the following recommended modifications to your MultiShow front-end is here: Proposed MultiShow Revision I think most of this is self explanatory but here goes: 1. "A Granot Production" is a logo area that you define but is based on a user defined logo.txt or logo.jpg file (of course you would confine the space used). A three line text file is probably easiest for the creator but a fixed size(WxH) jpg would permit the creator to be more creative. This will personalize the player to the creator and I think PTE creators will love it!!! I think this feature might popularize your player. 2. I think double-clicking a slideshow in the list window should cause that slideshow to play. Of course at present a double-click attempts to open the slideshow related text file, if present. 3. The ability to display a slideshow related text file is an extremely nice feature that I think many PTE creators will love. As opposed to the double-click concept, how about a built in window that displays the text file if present when the file is high lighted. If multiple slideshows are highlighted, display for the first high lighted. I don't know if this is possible but if it is, a reasonable limit to the number of lines or characters could be set by you. If not possible, maybe it would be a window that pops up if the file is highlighted for a period of time. Notice, that lists and saving lists have been purposely left off. Let me know what you think and what's reasonably doable. You , me or we can then make a post on the forum soliciting further ideas or thoughts on these concepts, before you proceed with further programming. I really think you are going to have a very neat utility that will be used by many. Sincerely, ken

Granot:

Hi Granot: Nice...well done. I'm still giving some thought to how or where the *.ord list files might best be stored. As you currently have MultiShow structured the user selects where to store them and load them from...this is probablly best. Let's discuss your question: Question: What do you mean by "run in a transparent fashion" ? A better word for transparent would be "run in background". Suppose that I as the CD and SlideShow Creator create several lists, i.e., List1.ord, List2.ord, List3.ord.....etc. Let's place these lists along with MultiShow.exe in the root of the CD. Now suppose if in PTE's Object Editor I create a button that is intended to sequentially play the slideshows in accordance to the list defined by List1.ord. Under the button's properties, if I had the ability under the action of "run application" to enter the program name "MultiShow.exe List1.ord". The MultiShow menu need not appear but in the background MultiShow would sequence each slideshow as the previous ends. I can create this button now but the MultiShow menu then pops up and I as the CD user must select the list. Hope this makes sense? I see two versions of MultiShow. One as you presently have it for the CD user and another that runs in the background as described above, for the CD creator. Thats why I thought maybe a mode switch "/1" when MultiShow.exe is called that would direct it to the list. This probablly isn't possible. But if it can be done I bet you know how. As an example of a simple use of this utility. Suppose I make commercial slideshows(which I don't). I create one short Introduction slideshow, Intro.exe that advertises my company. I have several long slideshows called main1.exe, main2.exe,...etc. I also create one short trailer slideshow that gives a short bio and copyright information called trailer.exe. I could create a list for each slideshow: Intro.exe Main.exe Trailer.exe This feature might also be used by those who make tutorial slideshow CDs where a variety of individual slideshows might need sequencing. I don't know...this might be an overkill....what you have currently created serves my original intended purpose very well. I hope we get some input from other users...I definitely don't wish to waste your valuable time. Granot, thanks for your excellent work on this...much more than I ever anticipated. .....ken

My daughter is a Disney nut and frequents Disney related forums. She sent me to the following Disney thread that I thought some of you serious photographers would find interesting. Noat PTE related but photography related: Creepy Photos It's definitely worth a visit and read!

Granot: As always your genius has created an excellent utility...works great. The addition of the text utility let's the user double click on the slideshow name an obtain detailed information about the show if the creator provides the text file....Super Idea!! An after thought...... It would be nice if your new utility could be run in a transparent fashion...maybe with a mode switch...i.e.: If I put a button on my slideshows main menu through PTE's Object Editor with an Action: "to run an application" and then enter the application, "MultiShow.exe /1 FilesOrder.txt" would let me create custom slideshow lists. /1 would put MultiShow.exe in a mode to run the list created by the CD creator. The slideshow creator could have various Slideshow List text files on the CD to permit running a variety of slideshow sequences. The Creator's slideshow list could direct MultiShow to the specific directory the slideshow executables are located. I think this functionality would open up some possibilities that I haven't begun to think of. Hope some other PTE users try out this neat utility and offer some thoughts. Another idea: If the user selects (with the CTL key) the shows he desires to run...then saves the list...MultiShow should only save the highlighted files in the FilesOrder.txt file. One other thought: Don't know if this is possible...but in my test of your utility I have a list of a dozen slideshow...If I chose to run them all...it's dificult to abort MultiShow's execution of all the shows...must keep hitting the escape key when each show has started. Maybe a single depression of the ESC key should abort all shows being executed through MultiShow? Granot...an excellent utility!!! Thanks so very much!

Several years I converted lots of vinyl and tapes to digital. At the time I used a program called AudioGrabber. I noticed that it is currently a free download and is located here: AudioGrabber This software was primarily used for ripping CDs but it also has a line-in sampling mode. In this moded you connect your tape deck to the line-in of your sound card. You placed AudioGrabber in Line-In Sampling mode. As I recall this mode lets you select the sensitivity of detecting a track change from the tape. It worked pretty decent. It automatically broke the tape or record up into tracks and converted the tracks to individual MP3s. It's been several years since I used it...but for free it's worth a try. When I used it...it wasn't free and I still have a licensed version on my computer. When MP3's were young this was the cadillac software...very well written and bug free. Another piece of software that I own and still use is GoldWave. Their site is here: GoldWave This software has been around for a very long time and in my opinion it is still the best sound wave editor out there....but it's about $50US. It will strip the sound directly from about anything including AVIs and MPEG movies. I am not sure if it will automatically detect the tracks....but I know it will read in the whole side of a record or tape and you can manually break it up and incode individual MP3s. It will keep the wave file on hard disk or in memory if you have enough. I still use this software quite often and know that it is excellent and my older version has always been bug free for me. I think AudioGrabber would be worth a try. Ken

Igor, Note this thread: Run Sequential Slideshows This might be a nice feature for a future version of PTE. Just a suggestion. Keep up the very excellent work!!! Thanks, ken

Thanks for the prompt replies ContaxMan and Boxig, I tested the "Run application after last slide" and it works very well. I would prefer not to duplicate slide shows as it consumes twice the CD space. Maybe someone has got another technique of accomplishing this without the duplication, but I may have to do as you suggest Boxig...good idea Thanks very much again, ken

I desire to make a slideshow that runs a sequence of other slideshows, i.e.: slideshow1.exe followed by slideshow2.exe followed by slideshow3.exe etc. I presently have a slideshow that permits the user to select the individual slideshow to run. I would like to create a button link that the user could depress that automatically plays all the shows in a sequence. I think this can be done but note sure how? The following link is my present menu: Present Menu I would like to place a button at the bottom that is a "Play All" button. Hope this makes sense? Any assistance is appreciated..... ken

Rolena: My wife and I thought your presentation was very nice. The music blended very well with the slides and transitions. The linking of the rings was a very nice touch. I'm sure the bride and groom appreciated your fine work. Thanks for sharing with us. ken

Howdy George: I like it! I like it! Very nice, well done show. Nice music. Lot's of memories. Lots of work cutting out those signs. I now know not to just pass through Tupelo without a stop. This is your first show? I'm anxious to see your next. Good Work, ken

LumenLux: My technical comment: Don't change a thing or you'll mess it up! Wonderfully done. Me and the wife thoroughly enjoyed watching and listening. Appeared to be a wonderful adventure for 5 buddies to share together...such breath taking scenery. Hope no one was injured...looked like a very, very vigorous hike...I bet the water felt good when you finally reached it. I'm not one for subtitles...but a subtitle indicating the entry into the subway might be nice. The wife and I weren't sure when you reached the subway. I did feel that the show duration was a bit long for the general public but probablly just right for the participants. I'm at a loss of advising you of what to remove though. Thanks for sharing....

Isabel: Your "Little Friend" definitely has a good eye behind the shutter. Nicely prepared presentation. I liked your choice of music...one of my favourite early 70s songs. A bit of trivia...did you know that Jim Seals of Seals & Croft is brother to Dan Seals of Country music notoriety? Also Dan was also New England Dan with John Ford Coley...early 70s soft rock. Thanks for sharing, ken ft. worth

Ronwil: You were close. The song "Waltz Across Texas" was made famous by a Texas Cowboy singer named Ernest Tubb...I think back in the early 60s. I haven't heard from the President but I'm standing by. I anticipate that in his excitement he may give a special invite to the White House. I did get the following automated response: “Thank you for e-mailing President Bush. Your ideas and comments are very important to him. Because of the large volume of e-mail received, the President cannot personally respond to each message. However, the White House staff considers and reports citizen ideas and concerns.” ken

Thanks LumenLux: Not a very exotic show but Blue Bonnets (Texas State Flower) and most scenes were within 1/2 mile of his ranch. Unfortunately the Secret Service requested that I move along. So I didn't have many photos to choose from. Most of them had friend, the wife and I in them...which I excluded. Thought the President would like. I'm sure he doesn't have access to any worthy photographers....ha. Sure hate to have his job. Guess I'll e-mail his copy again as I'm sure they had the same problem linking as y'all did. Thanks again, Ken

I guess maybe I didn't e-mail to President Bush. Try this link then click on the Crawford_TX file name. Springtime in Crawford Texas Please post if it works. Thanks Ken

Rooskidiver & dagrace: Thanks for the kind remarks. ken

I visited President Bush's home town of Crawford, Texas this past spring. I selected a few colorful photos and made a very simple slideshow that I e-mailed him. The show is around 7.5 mb and is located here: Spring Time in Crawford Texas Thought a few might be curious. This is not intended as a political statement. So please no political comments. I doubt if the e-mail clears his staff. Ken Ft. Worth, TX p.s. The above link has been corrected.