mhwarner

Now I am really pissed. Just spent the last 2 hours working on an existing project and before I had a chance to save my existing project again, PTE crashed. When I reopened it, it said it was opening the "Recovered Project" but all it contained was a single blank slide. This has happened to me at least 3 times in the last couple weeks. What gives and what can I do to stop it. Running version 10.5.7 (64 bit) build 4. Windows 10 pro 21H2. 32 GB of Memory, 237 GB of space left on my harddrive. I installed 21H2 on 5/11. It is very possible that the crashes started then but I can't be sure. This is getting very annoying. Yes I know I should save every few minutes but in this case I was just about to do so after dragging a slide to the timeline when it crashed. The subject file was a .tif in case that was helpful. Info from event viewer for today: The program PTEAVStudio.exe version 10.0.0.0 stopped interacting with Windows and was closed. To see if more information about the problem is available, check the problem history in the Security and Maintenance control panel. Process ID: 3820 Start Time: 01d879587094e1b2 Termination Time: 34 Application Path: C:\Program Files\WnSoft\PTE AV Studio 10.5\Main\PTEAVStudio.exe Report Id: 797b0397-9875-4295-93d7-3536df2cd889 Faulting package full name: Faulting package-relative application ID: Hang type: Cross-thread

Thanks, Igor! Yes, I am in the USA. No hurry. I just hope to look at these shows one day, particularly as Maureen's are always so well done.

Igor, I cannot download this other file either. My internet speeds aren't always the best, but I can easily download files that are much larger than the 111 MB of this file. The download speed from Slideshow Club is much, much slower than most other sites and the download seems to get to about 20 MB and it just stops completely and disappears from the download window of my browser. My download speeds at the moment are upward of 3 Mbps for other pages or downloads but the speeds on the attempted downloads of these Slideshow Club files rarely show at more than 5 to 7 Kbps! Sometimes it stops with "Couldn't download - network issue". I can restart it then, but it starts over and never finishes. Frustrating!

No. It just stops downloading. I just downloaded a 2 GB EXE file from another site with no issues whatsoever so I'm thinking it's not my connectivity problem. I also tried downloading the recently posted "Aspects of the Algarve" file and am having the same issue.

Rosy: In the original posting, he said it was actually an .MP4 file, so it should work on any system if that is in fact what he uploaded. Having troubles downloading at the moment so I can't confirm. If it is an MP4, it should be tagged as both "PC and Mac".

I really like the title blocks with the lines. Thanks for providing the .pte file so I could pull them out and use for my own presentations. And thanks for sharing your work here!

Sure would like to download Maureen's latest "Hills and Dales" file because I know Maureen always creates beautiful shows. Unfortunately, I have tried at least 10 times and have never successfully downloaded (the Windows version). The file quits downloading about midway through the length of it without even notification. If it does show up (not always) in my browser download window, it always has the notation "Cancelled" . I have tried with both Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. I know I don't have the best internet connection, but I have been able to download other files from other sites of at least this size or larger. Is it possible that there is some sort of slowdown with Slideshow Club or a timeout if the download isn't completed in a certain amount of time? If this is no the correct place to post this issue, I apologize and will move it to wherever is suggested.

Just received my weekly copy of the "Ask Woody" newsletter and Gary's question did indeed become a story. I thought I recognized Gary's name and when I flipped through our forum here, I found this thread. Congratulations on being famous, Gary! ______________________________ Secret Photoshop feature won’t open images with certain filenames By Brian Livingston An undocumented feature of Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, and related programs makes the applications open but fail to load an image — and the apps then close abruptly — if you launch the apps using a filename with specific characters, according to numerous licensed users. This weird behavior, which is either an inadvertent bug or a deliberate Easter egg programmed in by some Adobe developer, can be seen on releases of the software all the way back to Photoshop version 5 (1998) and through Photoshop 23.2.2.325, which is the current version in Adobe’s Creative Cloud 2022. Developers insert secrets into applications all the time I’m not at all interested in whether some obvious bug has survived in Adobe products for more than two decades. All software has bugs. What’s much more interesting is whether some Adobe developer deliberately but quietly inserted a tiny routine — “do not load files that have this name pattern” — as a quick-and-dirty way of preventing co-workers from seeing some files when using Photoshop. Over the years, I’ve found many major software products with undocumented features that departmental managers had no idea their underlings had tucked in. Figure 1. Several versions of Adobe Photoshop and related programs reportedly won’t open images — such as this photo of a colorful Ecuadorian crustacean called a Sally Lightfoot — if the file is named SA-Quito.jpg or something similar, making some users crabby. Photo by Gary Oddi The honor of discovering this particular bug — or feature — goes to a photographer named Gary Oddi. He retired several years ago as an accountant for the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). As an avid traveler and amateur photo enthusiast, he recently passed through Quito, the capital of Ecuador, and took hundreds of pictures while visiting that country’s scenic Galápagos Islands. (See Figure 1.) To organize his best photos into a slide show, Oddi first used an app named FastStone Image Resizer to give his camera’s randomly titled photos some meaningful names: SA-QuitoGalap-001.jpg SA-QuitoGalap-002.jpg SA-QuitoGalap-003.jpg ... SA-QuitoGalap-400.jpg Oddi’s shorthand obviously served as a memory aid that these photos had been taken during his trip through South America, Ecuador, and Galápagos. But to his surprise, when he right-clicked any of these photos in Windows and selected Open With > Adobe Photoshop, a strange thing happened. The application launched as usual and looked as though it were about to open the image. But unexpectedly, Photoshop immediately shut down, displaying no error message. That’s where the fun of sleuthing begins! It’s not you, it’s Adobe Photoshop and its siblings I won’t bore you with the details of exhaustive tests that have been performed on Photoshop. We can thank the active members of the PTE Forum (a discussion group for users of PTE AV Studio editing software) and the PATACS user group (Potomac Area Technology and Computer Society in Fairfax, Virginia). To make a long story short, numerous techies were able to reproduce Oddi’s findings and discover some additional ones: There’s nothing wrong with the JPEGs. The testers could rename any JPEG file to match the above character pattern. Photoshop would immediately exit after trying to load any such image. It happens with Adobe products other than Photoshop. An administrator of PTE AV Studio’s user forum confirms that the error occurs on Photoshop Elements, also known as PSE (the less-expensive, lightweight cousin of Photoshop, aka PS). The bug isn’t caused by a Windows flaw. Testers reported the Photoshop problem on various versions and builds of Windows. The error occurs with numerous variations of the “jinxed” filenames. The AV studio admin reports that giving a JPEG file a filename as short as SA-Quito.jpg causes the same problem that Oddi’s longer spellings do. Oddi himself additionally confirmed that the “A” isn't necessary. For example, the filename S-QuitoGalap-001.jpg (omitting the “A”) generates Photoshop’s same “abort” behavior. By the way, if you ever have trouble with an image — perhaps Photoshop complains of “a problem parsing the JPEG data” — you can test the file or fix it by following the steps in a Repairit article. I was able to reproduce the “abort” problem myself. I simply launched a licensed version of Photoshop Elements using Open With and a perfectly good JPEG file I’d named S-Quit.jpg. The app unceremoniously closed itself mere seconds after displaying its splash screen. Oddly, Photoshop’s disappearing act is case-sensitive. The app immediately closed when the filename was s-Quit.jpg but not when it was s-QUIT.jpg. Of course, I’m just a sample of one, which isn’t significant, so I bow to the superior testing abilities of the forum users mentioned above. Is it a bug or a feature? Some Adobe developer probably knows. This brings us to the heart of the matter. Is this a bug that Adobe hasn’t fixed for years, or is it a feature that some Adobe developer inserted, choosing an uncommon filename string? If it’s a bug, here’s where it might live. Methinks the filename fragment -Quit is being read by Photoshop and its siblings as a command to exit. That would be a pretty bad job of input validation, but I’ve seen worse in billion-dollar software suites. If it’s a feature, don’t bother looking for a coder named Quito Galap. Causing the app to abort if a filename begins with a string “that no one would ever use” — S followed by a hyphen (-) followed by Quit — might have seemed like a clever privacy measure to someone inside the Photoshop environment. As I mentioned above, finding this problem’s exact cause isn’t the point of this column. Of much greater interest to us is the habit of developers coding into commercial software various cool features that never get mentioned in the “help” file. As I reported in the May 3, 2021, AskWoody Newsletter, I’ve raised the ire of some upstanding Windows users just by revealing various secret keystrokes developers quietly inserted into the classic Solitaire game. (For example, users may be able to evade the usual draw-three rule.) How many more secret features are just waiting out there for us to discover? Adobe tech support can’t find the problem Oddi and other testers reported Photoshop’s aborting problem to Adobe tech support. The group received an official reply on March 22, 2022, from tech-support representative Tina Carter: I do not believe that this has anything to do with Photoshop 2022. I’m sorry — I still believe this has something to do with your files, etc. Also, please keep in mind that earlier versions of our apps are not tested on new versions of the operating system — so that’s not supported either — and could be causing the issue as well. That response raises the most important questions of all: Let’s say Adobe becomes convinced that the problem exists. Would the company decline to issue a patch for people who paid for a “perpetual license” to Photoshop? Millions of people purchased lifetime licenses for Photoshop prior to 2017, when Adobe switched the app solely to a cloud-based monthly subscription (Wikipedia article). What about people who bought Photoshop Elements? This simplified version of Photoshop has always been sold with a perpetual license, and Adobe still sells it that way. (Currently, PSE is even a so-called Amazon’s Choice.) Would Adobe make a patch for them? The company’s website says of Photoshop: “Adobe provides technical support and security fixes for the current version and the prior version. Bug fixes are only provided for the current version.” Check Adobe’s Legacy page for information on your particular Photoshop version. To be sure, it isn’t the biggest problem in the world if an app aborts when a filename happens to contain an uncommon string of characters. You have easy workarounds for this issue, which I describe below. Much more important is the ethical question of how a software corporation should support users who paid a company’s asking price and now need patches for security flaws and other really serious bugs. Adobe tech support did not reply to requests for comment for this column. However, a source within the company says at least one employee was, in fact, able to duplicate the problem on PS CC 2022. Adobe has not posted a bug report as of this writing. Simple solutions for simple problems — just don’t expect security To put it mildly, if a developer deliberately made Photoshop and its siblings abort when images’ filenames start with something like S-Quit, let’s just say that isn’t a good way to secure images and keep people from seeing them. Figure 2. Oddi is converting more than 10,000 slides, including his Galápagos photos, into JPEGs. He considered it preferable to use a projector and camera he already owned rather than paying a commercial conversion service. Source: Gary Oddi Facebook page There are many easy ways you can open an image — even in PS and PE — if you run into a problem with any such file not opening: If Photoshop is already running, you can open an S-Quit file with no problem. It’s only when you start Photoshop by double-clicking a JPEG — or you start the app using Windows’ Open With menu item — that the app exits before displaying the image. An image may open just fine if lowercase letters are in the filename. As testers have noted, simply changing the Q to lowercase — i.e., S-quit.jpg — makes Photoshop open and display such a JPEG normally. Other image-editing programs may be able to open a tricky JPEG. Even the free tools in Windows, and others that can be downloaded from the Web, may be able to open images that Photoshop tells you it cannot parse. On the other hand, what if you truly don’t want strangers to be able to open and view your files? Attorneys, for instance, are required to keep potential corporate mergers confidential. For true security, compress the files into a ZIP or similar format and use a long, strong password. Use a password manager or keep a written record of your passwords locked away — not written on a sticky note that’s glued to your monitor. Photoshop’s “launch then immediately exit” behavior is one of the strangest quirks I’ve seen lately. But I’m sure there are many, shall we say, more entertaining undocumented features out there. If some app has a cool trick that can be used only by those who know the secret handshake, tell me all about it, using the email address below. Thanks in advance!

Dave, A senior moment, I guess! Somehow I completely missed that main topic on Custom Transitions and instead looked through the Custom Transition references under "Version 10 How To's " and even "Version 9 How To's". Appreciate your help and patience -- and all the work you have put into the online help documentation!

Thanks Dave! I had gotten that far but could not see an "Edit" button. The transition I was using had "Multiple variants - buttons". When I changed it to "Multiple variants - list", the "Edit" button appeared. As it turns out, for the "Multiple Variant - button" transition, you have to actually click on one of the buttons in order to display another popup that includes the "Edit" button (or temporarily change the dropdown to "Multiple variants - list"). Logical perhaps, but not so easy to figure out and I've been using PTE AV for 20 years. If I selected a transition that only had a single variant, the "Edit" button was there. But since it was a transition I created, I thought perhaps we couldn't edit those posted by others. I didn't see any reference to editing or modifying transitions in the Help. Perhaps I missed it. Maybe some sort of note or warning in the "Change transition effect" dialog box. Or maybe it's not a big deal because not many people edit transitions.

I wanted to edit a transition (what I really want to do is understand the technique used to create it), but I can't seem to find an "Edit" button. I cloned the transition and then clicked the "Change Transition Settings" item. In that window I can rename, change category, change storage location, etc. but there is no Edit button. It appears that I can Edit any transition I might have created but not ones that others have created (and definitely not any of the defaults). Is this correct or am I missing something? I couldn't find anything in the online help other than information about creating custom transitions. Thanks in advance!

Bingo! That was it Jill! Thanks! Thanks Dave! I had studied the help topic for "File / Slide List View" and didn't see anything there but I missed the topic on "Configuring the Main Screen".

I just got a new 4K monitor and now when I go into the Full Screen View of Slide List (F4), the images are really small. Is there some way to resize all the images? If I go into the Full Screen View of File List (F3), there is a slider in the bottom right corner that allows me to make the images larger (or smaller). Am I missing something or is it just not possible? If not, would love to see a slider added in the next update, or at least the next version.

Lovely! And I particularly liked the last several slides. As the show started, I was thinking of asking whether you ever see auroras as I have read that Finland is a good place to go watch them. But some of your last slides answered my questions on that. Thanks for sharing. I also watched your video of "The Post Train". I LOVED it! I love steam trains anyway, but this was really well done. Would love to hear more info on that train itself and how you filmed it. Thanks in advance!

Nicely done! It is so sad that all that remains of this once beautiful structure are the photographs and memories. Sadly, it doesn't seem like it will ever be restored to its former glory due to the lack of funds and craftsmen. I was able to visit in 2017 so I have quite a few photos as well and keep thinking of putting them in a slideshow but never manage to get around to it. You have many more photos of relics and other details than I captured. I seem to have concentrated more on the stained glass windows and the gargoyles on the roof. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Tom! I really like these transitions.

Hi Alex, Interesting transitions and a different way to display titles. The link does work. Thanks for sharing. However, when loading the project for the first time a warning displays that several of the project files are missing. All of the files are located within the folder containing the unzipped project but it requires relocating them on each of the slides. I believe it has something to do with the way you stored the transitions or the project files but since I don't usually share project templates, maybe Dave or somebody else could point you in the right direction.

Agree with Barry. Output to MP4, upload to Youtube (or Vimeo) and link to it from the forum. That way, you only upload once and can link to the show from many places like a blog or Facebook (with better quality than a direct upload there). Not sure if it is possible to only post a link on Slideshowclub. If so, it would be another place to share without having to upload.

Very nice! It needs the right picture to apply it to, but when you've got one, it almost makes it look like you have taken a drone movie. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for sharing! Very interesting transitions. However, you might want to "zip" your download as Microsoft Edge reports "ptestyle" as an unsafe file type (which we know is incorrect) and tries to prevent the download. You have to tell it to download the file anyway.

Beautiful photography!

Thanks for sharing, Tom! I like this one. It's a bit more subtle than the experimental ones included with PTE.

Not sure exactly what I was expecting when I saw "Balloon Transition", Tom, but these are really cool and will be great for travel slide shows. Thanks for sharing!

Actually there are several styles in the "Basic" tab of styles which are "Ken Burns" styles. They are just not called by that name. There are 4 "Pan" styles and 2 "Zoom" styles (at the bottom). They do the same thing. The only thing you would want to be careful of is to either set the Project Options under Defaults for the slides to "Cover" or to set it in the O&A screen for individual slides if you haven't applied it to the entire project. The Ken Burns theme automatically sets the individual slides to "Cover" but the Basic styles do not. If you're using images that you have already cropped to 16:9, then it's not a problem. But with 3:2 or other ratio images if you don't set them to "Cover", you will not fill the whole screen -- even if you do get the "Ken Burns" motion you are looking for from the Basic styles.

Thanks Paul! Very nice. I am also curious about the other transitions (quarters, thirds, etc.) with the white lines. Are they available somewhere for sale or download?