mhwarner

I am currently creating a slideshow and have included a few panorama shots. I am using a simple left-to-right pan on the panos and while they are panning, they are not sharp. When the slide opens after initial transition effect, it is sharp. Then the pan begins and during that entire time, it is not entirely sharp. Upon completion of the pan in the few seconds before the next transition begins, the slide is sharp again. So my question is, is this standard/normal or am I doing something wrong in setting up in O&A. I searched and did not find any postings here, although I have some vague recollection of a similar question being asked way back during the early 5.0 beta cycles and I do not remember if there was an answer or what it might have been. Some details: All my slides have been resized to 1024x768 (ultimate result will be a DVD), except I have resized the panos to 768h x whatever width they need to maintain the correct aspect ratio. I have animated each of them with 3 keypoints -- the opening one and a second keypoint a second or so after the effect transition completes (so that it doesn't pan until the transition to the slide is complete), and a final keypoint a second or so before the next slide transitions. The first two keypoints are of course the pano shoved all the way to the left showing only as much as fits in the initial frame. The third keypoint is with the pano moved so that its right edge is at the right edge of the frame. I held down the shift key when I moved it for the keypoint so that there is no up and down motion. I left the settings for everything set at "Linear" and did not do the setup stuff to "Separate here" for the keypoints (the reason being that when I added the first pano and tried setting the buttons to "Smooth", the pano seemed jerky and I figured for a straight pan with no other movement linear made more sense). Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Lin, Thanks for your comments, and for being apparently, the only one who actually understood what I was trying to say. To Brian, Steve and anyone else who may have misunderstand what I said as a debate on the technicalities of the EXIF specification and the intricasies of updating those fields so that they could actually be displayed by PtoE: My point is that if the "Text Macro" functionality is to be useful to a large segment of PtoE users, it has to work with data that is easily updated by mainstream imagement management and editing applications. Exifer is NOT mainstream, is at least 5 years old with no recent updates, has little in the way of help and is generally a PITA to use. IrfanView, which is free and is used by many folks, and is maybe a "least common denominator", easily updates IPTC fields, which are in fact designed to be edited and updated by the user. Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, ThumbsPlus, BreezeBrowser, IMatch, ACDSee, and dozens of other programs do as well. If Igor isn't able or doesn't want to add the ability to capture IPTC data to comments via text macro, it's not a big deal to me. If I would require that functionality for a particular slideshow, I can simply use another program to place them on the photos as I am resizing them. I always attempt to use IPTC fields to store location and title data in my pictures when I finish a shoot so that no matter what program I use or where I store the photo files, the data will always travel with them. JPEG Comments and/or EXIF comments are way too quirky and I am not about to waste my time with something that may or may not be readable by the majority of image management/editing applications. IPTC data, on the other, is so heavily used throughout the world by professional photographers and newspaper people that the capability to read it is not likely to disappear anytime soon. (And just for the record, Brian, I did actually request the capability of using IPTC fields as a future enhancement long before version 5. Further, I do not believe I hijacked this thread. I was attempting to point out to the original poster why he was having so much trouble getting the text macro capability to work for EXIF comments and descriptions.)

OK, I stand corrected (somewhat) but here's the problem as far as I can tell. And I believe Lin made reference to this somewhere in another post. The bottom line is that there is no consistency. There are actually 2 "Comments" fields for JPEG files. There is one that is commonly referred to as "JPEG Comments" -- which is the one that is typically written into the file by a large majority of thumbnail editors/image management programs, and there is another called "User Comments" which is actually part of the EXIF spec. Very few mainstream image management applications appear to write to this field. Not Adobe Bridge, not Irvfanview, not ThumbsPlus (I don't have time to do an audit of ACDsee and some of the others). Then there is also the "Description" field that is part of the EXIF spec. Again, apparently not used by the majority of mainstream applications. Exifer (which is not, as far as I can tell, one of the mainstream, typical applications that is used by the vast majority of people to manage their images), does in fact write to both of these fields (but doing so is a chore and not easily accomplished -- I'm sure there is help somewhere, but I didn't find it in the application). It can also read and write the typical "Comment" field written to by most of these other standard applications -- but it does so on a separate tab entitled "JPEG Comment". If you use this field, which again is the one that is most commonly written to by the vast majority of image management applications (and the most easily accessible field), it doesn't show up in P2E. FYI: If you use Exifer to write something in the description field, it will in fact show up in Adobe Bridge under the IPTC Core fields as "Description" and in ThumbsPlus, as well as IrfanView under the IPTC "Caption" field. However, writing data into either of these fields from other applications DOES NOT make it show up in the "Description" field in Exifer, nor does it show up in P2E. This (mostly) uneditable Description field shows up in IrfanView EXIF information as "Image Description", but again, it is not editable. So this is my reason for suggesting that it might make more sense to use IPTC information, if it is possible to get the information easily (and it can't be that difficult since it seems that most image management programs can do it). As far as I can tell, most, if not all, image management programs have the ability to read and write IPTC data directly into the file without using "sidecar" files (which by the way is a universal standard for news exchange that is used by virtually every major news organization in the world). I am not saying that we shouldn't still have the ability to use EXIF for file name, date and time and camera-related data, but as far as doing "automatic" captioning of slides and slideshows with textual information, I believe that IPTC would be a far better choice. My 2 cents.

I think the bottom line here is that EXIF comments, no matter what application they were created or entered with, do not yet work in PtoE. Things like the file name, date, time, and maybe some other fields do, but comments and descriptions do not yet work. I have tried it in beta 10 and still could not see them (but then, I see no mention in the fix list that this item has yet been resolved either). I tried adding them in both Exifer and Thumbs Plus and can see them in both programs (the ones added in the other program). Check the postings below for additional info. Some of them are as recent as October and November, so I don't think there has been any resolution yet. (My personal preference would be to read IPTC information, which I think is more universal, but maybe Igor can't do that easily.) http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....ost&p=47703 http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....ost&p=46295 http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....ost&p=43952

Igor, I think you've got it! I use ColorVision Spyder to calibrate my monitor (with ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 graphics) card. I first created a show with the 2 files in your Test.pte and beta 10. There was still a gamma shift which I could turn off and on by using Alt-Tab or the Windows key. Then I ran your Test_FixForATIbug.exe file and there was no shift at all, no matter what I tried. Great work! One thing I did notice, which may or may not be a bug. I see that you set the slides to "Wait for a key press or mouse click to show next slide". The only key that works to advance the slides on my computer is the right mouse button. Is that the way it's supposed to work?

Hi Igor, I use ColorVision Spyder to calibrate my monitor (with ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 graphics) card. I would love to help you beta test to see if you can resolve this problem which ATI apparently can't be bothered to work on.

Thanks for the quick reply Igor. I will continue to add my own borders in Photoshop for now and wait until a future version when we have color borders in O&A. Maybe I'll also experiment with some masks in the meantime.

This may not be something introduced by this beta, but it is the first time I have tried the technique and it seems like a bug to me. I have some animation which includes 4 snapshot photos on a background. Each of the photos animates in individually. There is no problem with any of the animation itself but the problem is with the picture objects displayed on an angle. The first time I did this, I actually created resized photos with a 4 or 5 pixel white border on them. They seem to display ok and if there are any jagged/stairstep edges on those which are displayed slightly rotated at an angle, it is hardly visible. Here's a sample: On a new project I tried the same technique, but this time I thought I would save a bit of time on processing the pictures with white edges. I didn't feel like fooling with png masks either. So I simply added four white rectangle objects to the main picture and then added each of my 4 photos to the 4 rectangles as children. I made the photos slightly smaller than the rectangles so that it would mimic the white edges. The animation is fine and I have the effect I want. Unfortunately, the rectangles behind the photos which are set off at an angle are quite jagged (and of course more noticeable full-screen on my large monitor). It seems like the picture objects when added have some sort of anti-aliased edges but the rectangle objects do not. Again, this may not be something new, but it is the first time I have noticed it.

Hi Lin, Thanks for the explanation. I just thought it would be nice to have a method to group multiple text objects to treat them as one (without breaking any of the other functionality that you describe). Someday maybe we'll get beveled text in PtoE. Until then, now that Igor has fixed the problem with the rasterized text, it will probably just be easier to go that route or maybe I'll just continue creating the PNG title files in Photoshop.

Igor, thanks for fixing the bug on rasterizing the text. That will certainly help some. Lin, thanks for your response. I had initially created my text as children of a frame object (all three at the same level) which I did use successfully to manipulate the size and motion. I tried it with a transparent rectangle as you suggested and it appears to work the same. Is there a difference in using the rectangle versus the frame for the parent object? The main issue I have still exists, however. Say that I want to zoom the text (a title) onto the slide from nothing to full coverage of the slide. That works fine using the parent rectangle (or frame) object. But then I would like it to sit there for a second or so and then slowly just fade away. At that point, I cannot change the opacity of the parent because it is already 0. So I have to change the opacity of each of the separate text objects. But I cannot manipulate them as one. If I select all three text objects and click the "Create New Keyframe Here" button, nothing happens. I assume the program can't do that. So a suggestion would be that when I select all three text objects at once, the button should be grayed out. But anyway, at that point, I have to select the objects one at a time to create a separate keypoint for each one in the exact same spot. Then I have to go to each of those 3 stacked keypoints and change the opacity for each text object to set it to 0 (or whatever). I'm guessing that want I want to do isn't possible currently. Obviously a better answer would be that we could somehow add "bevels" to our text, much as we can add shadows. Igor will have to comment on whether that is even remotely possible. Maybe even the ability to add a second shadow (maybe on top instead of underneath), say in a lighter color, to a single text object to simulate a bit of 3D. If so, I can add it to the "wish list" for next versions topic.

In order to avoid having to create some fancy beveled titles in Photoshop, I have been trying to create something similar in PtoE v. 5. I came up with something reasonably decent by stacking 3 different text objects with slightly different shades and offsetting one and lowering the opacity on another and playing with the shadows. Fine so far. But there doesn't seem to be any easy way to manage these multiple text objects. For instance, I want to be able to zoom them in from very small to large enough to cover the slide, while at the same time going from an opacity of 0 to 100. It does not seem possible to group these three text objects to manipulate them as one. I tried first adding an empty frame with 0 opacity and then zooming it, which seemed to work somewhat, but it still doesn't give me the control I would like. Even worse, if I try copying the frame and text objects to another slide to manipulate differently (or change the actual letters in the text), it gets really screwed up. Is there any trick for dealing with multiple text objects on a slide, or is this something for a wish list in a future version. I also tried rasterizing some text to a PNG file to stylize in Photoshop, but unlike an earlier version of 5 (one of the betas, I'm sure), instead of getting colored text on a transparent background, I simply get white text on a transparent background which is a PITA to colorize first. For now, I just create the text in Photoshop, stylize it and save as a PNG. But I really prefer the flexibility of working with the text directly in PtoE. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Here are a few places I have used or at least looked at. Some are a bit pricey, but others are fairly reasonable. All of them allow you to play samples before committing to a purchase: First, one of our own members here has a nice selection of royalty free music on his site which can be used for the purposes you describe: http://www.beckhamdigital.co.uk/royaltyfreemusic_new.htm Also: http://musicbakery.com/ http://www.freshmusic.com/ http://www.music2hues.com/ http://www.instantdownloadmusic.com/demos.asp

Great news, Igor! I'll be waiting impatiently for the ability to include multiple MPEG2 files in DVD projects as well as the increased speed of burning. Thanks to you and your development team for taking such good care of us!

There is also another possible work around mentioned here: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....20&start=20

I have an ATI card and this does seem to be a good workaround. You might have to get the slides properly resized for your particular screen resolution initially to fill the screen, but using window mode seems to eliminate the annoying switch to an all black screen initially then (in my case, at least) much darker slides for the show than I see in photoshop or otherwise, and then an annoying switch to an all black screen when the show quits or is cancelled. Most of the shows I am doing are being burnt to DVD, though, and this ATI problem doesn't seem to affect the Video Builder. Thanks for the suggestion!

Igor, that sounds like a wonderful idea to me! I sometimes avoid using the timeline for the very reasons you describe. It is annoying and sometimes time-consuming to switch back and forth. I believe this change will make using the more sophisticated controls available in PtoE much easier for newer and less experienced users. This (and the upcoming great news about the ability to include MPEG2 files in Video Builder) are both things I am looking forward to! Thanks again for a wonderful product.

If nobody is able to suggest a possible solution, you could try editing the .PTE file directly. It's not necessarily intuitive but if you can add your new effect to, say, the first slide, then save your project. Make a backup copy of the .pte file for the project and then edit the file with Wordpad or Notepad. See what additions have been made to the first slide that differ from the other slides and then copy/paste this into each slide in the appropriate place for each slide. Try it first with a small show with 8 or 10 slides and see how it works. I have used this method to modify some of Dom's templates as well and it has been particularly useful to change the names of his default picture files to the directory structure that I use. Maybe not the best solution, but perhaps a bit speedier than editing each slide with the O&A editor.

Bob, I have just done several shows exactly as you describe. The trick is to go into the "Project Options" and click on the "Screen" tab. Then go down to the "Additional Options (scroll down to view)" and set it to 90% of the slide to show main images. This works fine for me with 1024 x 768 sized slides. Also be sure to click the "Set for existing slides" button just below the percentage box (not the one above) to apply that parameter to all existing slides. If you are doing any animations, you will want to click the "Tools" button at the bottom of the O&A window and be sure that "Show Safe TV Zone" is checked. While this checkmark doesn't actually do anything to resize your slides or the final output, it does put a purple border around the O&A window which shows you what will actually be cut off. That way, if you add text or other objects, you can be sure to keep them inside the purple border. You can also experiment with the 90% amount, but a couple of us fiddled with it a while back and that number seemed to be about optimum. Let us know if that works for you.

I have converted a few to WMV (Windows Media Video) files for Mac people. I can't remember the details now but I used PTE to create an .AVI file and then I used one of the video tools in Roxio to save it as WMV. There are other conversion tools available if you search Google search using "AVI to WMV". http://www.google.com/search?as_q=&hl=...amp;safe=images I believe you could also convert it to a .MOV (Quicktime?) file which can be read on a Mac as well. Lin or somebody else may have a better answer but this will get you started.

I have just returned from a trip to Yellowstone (and a number of other places in Montana and Wyoming). Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to put together a slide show. However, I would strongly suggest that you visit this NPS web page: http://www.nps.gov/yell/photosmultimedia/index.htm where there are many links to videos, photos, "virtual" tours, etc. They even have podcasts somewhere which you can download. You should find all the information you need to help you make your decision. And my advice is definitely-- GO! It was a marvelous trip with many wildlife sightings (elk, deer, grizzly bears, black bears, buffalo) and breathtaking scenery. It was actually my 4th visit to Yellowstone and I saw many things that I had somehow missed on my other three visits.

Check out this thread: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....&hl=youtube Apparently at least one person is using this to display P2E shows that way.

Silvia: Not sure exactly what you are asking, but this may help. First, to set the "Safe TV Zone" border, as Dom has pointed out above, open the Objects & Animations window and click on the "Tools" button down in the right corner. Select "Show Safe TV Zone. This will add the purple border which show what part of your slide will not display. Note that this border only SHOWS what is not displayed, it does not actually make any changes to the slides or force them to fit in that zone. In order to display all of your slide without cropping the images first, you can go into the "Project Options" dialog on the main screen, click the "Screen" tab and change the "% of the slide to show main images". For a standard (not wide-screen) TV, 90% seems to work well. If you do this and apply to all of your slides, then go into the Objects and Animations window, you should see that all of your slide will fit in the safe TV zone. Depending on the size of your slide (or dimensions of your image), you might see a black border at the top and bottom, with the image covering the screen from side to side in the safe TV zone. I hope this is what you are asking and that you can understand my reply.

In the US: Shutterbug Magazine - http://www.shutterbug.com Outdoor Photographer - http://www.outdoorphotographer.com Popular Photography - http://www.popphoto.com PC Photo - http://www.pcphotomag.com/ Igor, since I assume you are interested in these magazines in order to promote the release of version 5, I would like to suggest the names of a few columnists to contact individually. They are: George Shaub - http://www.georgeschaub.photofolio.com/ (editor of Shutterbug magazine) Joe Farace - http://www.joefarace.com/ (email: joefarace@comcast.net) Rick Sammon - http://www.ricksammon.com/ (email:rick@sammonltd.com) I met all three of them at a photography workshop a couple of years ago and have followed their columns over the years. Joe is especially knowledgeable about Photoshop plugins and other utility software and writes columns for Shutterbug magazine. (I know Joe is a fan of Panos and has given him several plugs.) Rick Sammon writes columns for several of the magazines including Outdoor Photographer and PC Photo. I'm sure if you send all or any of them copies of the software when it is released, along with a brief description of it's function and some useage tips, they would be likely to plug you in their magazine columns. I would also suggest sending copies of PTE v 5 to Phil Askey at dpReview http://www.dpreview.com/ (which was recently purchased by Amazon). The dpReview site and associated forums get zillions of hits a day from photographers. I know that several of our regular forum participants here have given PTE "plugs" over there from time to time as well. You might also contact Steve at Steves Digicams, http://www.steves-digicams.com/ That site reviews camera equipment and software as well and has a popular on-line forum. If I can do something to help with a write-up, let me know.

It's hard to tell without knowing the exact sequence of steps she takes in opening the Adjustor and then where it hangs for her. My first guess would be that it has something to do with her security settings in Excel in "Tools\Options\Macro Security". Or perhaps it has something to do with her anti-virus software. Also, I wonder whether she has Service Pack 2 installed (or if that even makes a difference). We would need more information to trouble-shoot.

Ah-ha! I understand now. When I went to the folder where my pte's are stored, it recognized about 8 of them. So I guess that means it worked fine for me in Excel 2003 SP2.