Conflow

Ray, OOps,hold on a sec ! ~ I appreciate that you have 512mB of Ram and your Sons' Video Card is 256mB but like I said..."Check the Ram Buffer size in the CD-Drive"...if this is too small, no amount of Video Card Ram nor User Ram will compensate for a a small CD-Drive Cache Memory. Do please check the Cache/Memory details of the CD-Drive before you make a final decision...... Brian.Conflow.

Ray, You simply don't have enough User Memory (RAM Memory) ~ Even 256mB of RAM is a "bit short of wind" when running a 56mB Show from CD. On average with a 256mB Ram Card the PC Operating System will need at least 120mB of that, and when "streaming" the data in from the CD-Drive Buffer this will drop it to somewhere near 75-80mB available ~ then subtract from that the demands of your Anti-Virus Program and you will be lucky to have 15-30mB to play with ~ thats 'border-line' and on the edge, and if you happen to have an older CD-Drive with a small series-buffer it will make matters even worse ! And you only have 128mB of RAM available ~ Ray,the machine is "starving"........ Tip:- Turn-Off your Anti Virus and disconnect your Internet Cable ~ this should give you just enough to get by with until you sort out the CD-Drive & Ram Memory. Brian.Conflow.

Big Kev, Your Quoted:-...."Whilst the project was open I then used 'save as' and saved the project as 'Test2' and went to exit the program again. Before allowing me to do so, it asked if I wanted to save the original 'Test' project...and as most people would do when asked I said 'yes' and then exited the program"..... Yes Kev, you are quite correct, I found the same "ambiguity" ~ where after making an Exe ~ Pte4.48 says the File has been changed, do you want to save the Changes ?....Most people say Yes. Then when you try to reload this new *pte File strange things start to happen...So with me I always say "NO" There is a definite "ambiguity" here, why should the *pte File change after making an Exe ? and why does this new *pte File behave differently now ? Brian.Conflow.

In Reply Igor you are correct about the unprotected iTunes but the Music Library is very limited and it does not resolve the 'compatibility-issue' between "iPod" and the Windows Operating System ~ they are incompatible ! People simply don't understand that "iPod" is an Apple-Mac product configured with a Mac Format when the Player is first purchased ~ it can be re-configured to a Windows Format ~ but then you have other problems when you want to play "iTunes". The big problem is getting the Mac Music Files into a Windows PC so that Windows can play them. There is no problem with this as Apple-Mac offer the "iTunes 7 Software" to do that job, its the reason I gave a Link to that Software (My Post No: 639 above) For the ordinary person its extremely difficult to connect an "iPod" to the Line Input of a PC so one can play the Music and hopefully 'copy' it, - better by far to download the Software and do the job properly. Brian.Conflow. Note 1:- The "iPod" Software Pak comes with all New "iPods" ~ If its lost, 'Download Free' on the Apple Website. Note 2:- If the "ipod" is being used as a Flash Drive taking Files from one PC to another then you have a problem. Note 3:- The "iPod" needs to be re-configured to do that job ~ those Instructions are buried deep in the Manual.

Colin, You accidentally 'copied' my Post into your reply while I was in the process of editing it ~ the full Posting is above. Brian.Conflow.

Hi Tom, Believe it or not, I have just spent half a day on "iTunes" and "U-Tube" searching for a rare piece of Music which was needed for a Sound Project. I found the File and downloaded it, then the problems started. It played O.K on the PC with the "iTune's Codec" and I loaded it into Audacity Sound Editor. It appeared to edit O.K but on Replay it broke-up many times with unexpected 'fade-outs' ~ so I tried Nero Sound Editor, the same thing happened. In all respects the File looks like an Mp3, but it isn't. It seems to use a unique codeing method which appears to resist 'ripping' and File alterations, obviously a method to prevent copying. It's my belief that you are going to have the same problems with 'Adobe Audition' unless Adobe can provide a plug-in Codec ~ I very much doubt that. You are left with two alternatives, record the Music from your Sound Card with a 'Sound-Recorder' or I believe Audacity Sound Editor can also do that, I can't speak for Adobe Audition as I don't use it. Alternatively you will need "Apples' iTunes 7 Software" to get the Music on to a CD and then to the PC, even if you have an iPod the same applies, but that depends as to how the iPod is set-up: See "Attachment". Here is a Link to that Software:- http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300173 See "Attachment" below. Brian.Conflow

Hi Richards, Firstly, 650mB of Pte Show is certainly asking a lot of School Computers compared to the average Pte Show of 25~50mB. I assume we talking about Pte.CD's and not Pte.DVD Shows ?. A 650mB Show is going to 'over-tax' the RAM Memory(User Memory) of an average School PC and its going to 'over-limit' the amount of Virtual Memory which the PC is prepared to donate in an effort to maintain the running of the Program. Put quite simply there is an awful lot going on within a Pte.Show what with fast Transitions, Effects, Images, Music, and Text ~ all use up the RAM Memory, then the PC tries to create an amount of Virtual Memory to accomodate the Show. It will only do that if there is some Virtual Memory available.... The 650mB Show is virtually the same size as the entire XP-Operating System Seems to me as if the School PC's have run out of Steam, that Show is simply too big and the answer lies in your Post ~ "It runs on my Xp-PC's but takes time to load" ~ ask yourself, why ? Brian.Conflow.

(Use Full Screen) Loftphoto, "No it hasn't been answered to death"....There have been many discussions on the topic, but no final concensus of opinions because each and everyone has their own opinion depending on their ultimate usage of the Images. But one thing is certain, there are Technical Standards -and- constraints associated with those, for example:- 1) Images for 'Web Usage' are limited to 800x600 pixels maximum size, but the regular size rarely exceeds some 600x400 pixels, this all due to Server Bandwidth & Storage limitations. A good quality Jpeg of 800x600 will blow up to 1024x768 pixels without too much loss, but then one must consider the Screen size of smaller Laptops and Portables where 1024x768 may be beyond their limited resolution, so 800x600 is the norm for those. 2) We also must consider Monitor performance...Low cost Monitors provide nothing in the way of "Quality Adjustments" so even if you have an excellent Graphics Card you are wasting your time if the Monitor is fixed at 24.Bit Colour. The inverse of that, is where someone has an excellent 32.Bit Monitor but a 24.Bit Card ! 3) Monitor size is also important, the usual 15"~17" CRT.Monitor is quite happy working at 1024x768 pixels and you will find that the vast majority of these will not offer any higher resolution. Above 17" Monitor size you are into the (Flat-Screen) Semi-Pro and Professional Monitors for serious Graphic usage. These things have it all. Recently we have a proliferation of LCD Monitors to add to the confusion. There are 3 different Technologies available in LCD's each with thier own "pros & cons" ~ too complex to go into it here. 4) If you are just starting into this pursuit, the generally accepted resolution is 1024x768.pixel using good quality JPegs and where the old Gif.Graphic Format is now being replaced with the more modern PNG Format. Hope this has been of some help, but do get some experience under your belt before you start spending money... Brian.Conflow.

Hi All, Firstly,this is by way of saying thanks to Ralph (Canada) and Maureen, Dusty, Al, Ken and Shito for your help and comments about Fireworks Photography. Secondly, I would like to show you a way of creating spectacular 'Splash Screen' for the PTE Program. It would be truly spectacular if one could devise a way of incorporating it into Pte.5xx as an animated Gif. I have done this many times before,but on this occassion I have use one of Ralphs' Fireworks Photos to better show the effect, with acknowledgements to Ralph (Hawk). 1) Get any good Fireworks Image and reverse its Colour content to 'Negative' with your Photo Editor. In Photo-Filtre the 'Negative Tool' is found under the Toolbar Adjust Button. (See example "Fire-X" below) Save this New Image...'Save As' 2) Open a 3-D Font Program (I have used Xara-3D Gif.Animation) the "Link" is shown below, but there also many Freeware Programs available from www.snapfiles.com ~ simply type in 3-D Font Programs. Compose the Font Type of choice into 3-D, make sure the 3-D Program can import a Background Image. Select the background Image (Fire-X) as the background to the 3-D Font creation. Now save the whole As. 3) The stunning effect is shown below as "Fire 3-D" ~ it was origionally a Gif.Animation with the Font revolving. Link to Snapfiles.Com http://www.snapfiles.com/downloadfind.php?...amp;search.y=11 Enjoy, its well worth the effort. Brian.Conflow.

_________________________________________________________________________ Jeronimo, Although a very good idea and you did mentioned "organizational overhead" well that idea would at least double the "overhead" when one appreciates that a simple "Jpeg Cropper" (I did say Jpeg only) is anything from 1mB~4mB in size. And again when one considers all the Input Image Formats and the chosen Output Formats one quickly realises that the "overhead" is getting out of control compared to the origional PTE File Size of approx:1.4mB. Then the problem of intergrating the Crop-Exe. with the PTE.Exe opens a "pandora's box" of design problems !!! Better by far to download a good Image Editor and get the best of both Worlds... Brian.Conflow.

Many Thanks Ralph, I got the general idea ~ You are using a damn good Camera with a superb Lens ~ I must say that confirms my suspicions. Small point & shoot Digital Cameras are simply not up to the job irrespective of their Cost and performance claims. At the end of the day it all boils down to the Lens ~ whats new ? if it can't capture the light no amount of sophisticated Electronics will ever resolve the image ! With the Pentax I would have used 2-3 secs at F8 or F16 with a 28mm WA.Lens depending on subject-distance and ASA.Film speed to suit the occassion and a good Tripod and Lens Shield to cut out foreground lighting. Thanks for putting me in the right direction and reaffirming what I had forgotten, I need a good kick in the.... Brian.Conflow.

Ralph, Nice shots there Ralph ~ normally I would use my 'Pentax Film Camera' to get those shots ~ I never had any luck with Digital Camera's and Fireworks (too much smear). As a matter of curiosity what set-up did you use ? I know thats a cheeky question but I'm off to see "The Rhine in Flames" in August and I don't particularily want to bring my 'Pentax Photo-Kit' ~ too bulky and too valuable, its an origional Spotmatic. Any hints would be much appreciated. Brian.Conflow.

FIREWORKS DISPLAYS Shito, Go 'On-Line' to Google and type in "New Years Fireworks" ~ This will bring you to 'London New Year Fireworks' and further down the Browser you will find 'Sydney New Year Fireworks" --> select Gallery and there are quite a number of excellent 800x600 pixel Fireworks PhotoShots. They are so good they can be enlarged. The PhotoShots are 'Free' Public Domain Property so you don't have Copyright issues. Sample Photo "Attachment" below,Enlarged to 1024x683...Enjoy... Brian.Conflow

Hi Peter, That's a difficult one to answer ~ All I can say is that it Tests the 'Mechanical Linearity' of the Monitor and a great many other things such as Focus and Moire, Legibility, Colour. Luminance etc.etc. Most 'Monitor Testers' I had experience with, simply concentrate on Grey Scale and Colour Purity and Luminance. Very few test for Vertical/ Horizontal Linearity~Pincushion Effect~Astigmatism~Size and Centre Screen ~ Geometry & Landings ~ Centre Fade-Off ~ and many other things you expect to find in a TV Studio Test Card. The File Size is 355kB. It's self executable like PTE, its small neat, doesn't hog resources and it's fast. Exactly what one wants for "Set-Up" prior to Image Editing and before a Projector Presentation. Thats about all I can say.... Brian.Conflow.

Please use Full Screen to view this EMail and Attachment. Hi All, As we all know ~ What we personally see on our Monitor, is not necessarily "what others see" when we send them a copy of our New PTE Slide-Show. All our eyes are different in terms of Colour perspective and Brightness sensitivity and Focus, and indeed our Monitors may not be 'set-up' for the best visual renditions as perceived by others... Below is a Screenshot of the Nokia Interactive Test Card ~ somewhat like a Television Test Card. This utility will show any 'Set-up' errors in your Monitor as well as personal deficiencies in your own eyesight. The Program contains Help Files. It conducts some 30 Interactive Tests on your Monitor and Graphics Card. It covers Mechanical Distortions, Grey Scales, Colour Rendition & Purity, Text Renditions, Moire Patterns and many many more Tests. Apart from your Monitor/Graphics Set-up it would be very useful in setting up Projectors in Public Places. I have the Program available in Zip Format for those of you who might like to host it on your Web-Site unfortunately I can't upload it to the Forum. Send an EMail through the Forum if it's of interest to you ~ Please do not submit "Free EMail Addresses" they wont accept Exe's and I won't answer them. Brian.Conflow.

Hi Maxim, I have posted the following on the Forum many times and I guess that "Microsoft Win PC" Users are not all that interested in the available 'cross-compatibility options' between Windows and Macs. The same can not be said for Mac Users ~ They are definitely interested ~ in PTE/Mac compatibility. For your information the 2 "Attachments" below will point you towards the current state-of-play. Brian.Conflow.

Hi Mike, I appreciate your sentiments about "Performing Rights" and "Music Copyright" and as far as I am concerned I see nothing wrong with using Music Tracks for purely "Personal Usage" ~ don't we pay enough TV & Radio and Performing Licences already ?? Here below is a "Snapshot" of Audio-Recorder Pro and a "Link" to its Website ~ This Recorder does ALL that you require in one package. Brian.Conflow. http://www.ezaudiorecorder.com Snapshot:-

Peter, Yes,in essence you are quite correct ~ it does appear as if its a Copy Folder ~ but the comparison stops there. The Template is a non-exe carbon-copy of your "Work in Progress" or indeed the entire data contents of a Show which is automatically-created together with its crucial .pte File containing the 'script instructions' needed to re-generate the data content back to the PTE.Program so it can process this data into a working Model. There after you create an Exe.File which runs as a dynamic Program, viz:- "Your Slideshow". Template's gives you the ability to 'copy' and store them where you like with the certain knowledge that the contained .pte File will always find the Main PTE Program provided it can get access to it via the PC.Databus which is nearly 100% foolproof. In comparison if you copy a .pteFile into a Show Folder and move that Folder then its almost certain that you will loose the connectivity with the PTE.Program which happened to John. The .pte File within the 'Copy Template' (no matter where that is) will always re-load your Project back into the PTE.Program and will re-open the Program in its entirety. No excuses made in trying to keep the explaination simple... Brian.Conflow.

John, I have always advocated making a Template and Ron is saying the same thing ~ Point being, if you "damage" the contents or "misplace" the source Folder for any reason ~ Then simply open your PTE Program Folder and open the contained Template Folder and voila:- There is an exact "Carbon Copy" of your Show including the vital .pte File, Music, Photos etc. Simply RH.Clk your Template, copy it, and park it wherever you wish. As Ken has indicated, most of us who use Templates do so for the crucial reason that we need a Copy Folder for "Work in Progress" which you could name and 'Template-Save' as Work-2. As you can see the reason is very obvious, you always have direct access to your origional Folder irrespective what happens to the "Work in progress" Folder. Golden Rule:- Always make a Template of the origional Show and another for the "Work in progress" and now and then, re-save the second Folder as Show-2 ~ it just takes 2 clicks ! Brian.Conflow.

Ron, You are so right, I completely agree with you ~ it would save so much 'hastle' ~ In fact it would be a great feature if making a Template could be an "Automatic-Function" with user choice to switch it On/Off as a personal preference. It would also create the framework towards constructing a personal 'Library Facility'. Perhaps Igor would look at that suggestion after his Vacation. Brian.Conflow.

Peter, Just a simple suggestion:- Some Image Viewers (like Image Editors) have an function in their 'Set-Up Options' to make that Program the "de-facto" Viewer for your PC. Its worth while opening the Viewer Program and going into its 'Options Window' and see if there is an "ticked" option Box whose title would be something like...Always on Top or Default Viewer or Select as Default Viewer. Untick this and everything should be O.K. Its worth a look-see... Brian.Conflow.

Hi All, Now that PTE 5.0x is a reality and is on general release and appreciating the vast amount of input into the Project by everyone concerned ~ Now how do you put enhancements into its Public Exposure ? and how can users best exploit its advantages ? ~ and most of all, how can we share it over the Web with our Friends and Clients? Recently 2 large giants in the IT-Industry namely, ZD-Net and C-Net commissioned a Competition to to find the "100 Best Web Utilities" available to the Public this in co-operation with Webware.com. These 'Utilities' can be used to advantage by PTE.Forum Members in enhancing their use of PTE 5.0x. Below is a "Screenshot" of the 100 Winners and a 'Live-Link' to each and every one. I hope this IT-Data may be useful to many Members. Brian.Conflow. LINK:- http://www.webware.com/html/ww/100.html?ta...amp;tag=nl.e501

Hi John, The method given by "Nobeefstu" is one way of doing the job ~ here is another way that I personally favour and it works irrespective where I park the Show-Folder, even if its on a Memory-Stik or a Floppy or on my Firewire (LaCie) External Hard Drive. See ScreenShot "Shot-2" below for Instructions. Hope it works for you ~ Brian.Conflow.

Hi John, It seems that you have 2 Problems as shown in your "Quotes" below:- (1) Quoted. By way of illustration what I have done is create a short show from images stored in a project folder located on my desktop. Provided that folder stays on the desktop it will open ok. If I move that folder PTE doesn’t want to know. How can I tell PTE where to look?.... (2) Quoted. If I create a ZIP back-up and file that somewhere else and temporarily remove the project folder from the desktop to the Recycle Bin the .pte icon within the ZIP folder will not open the show and I get the usual message regarding lost images. When the original folder is returned to the desktop from the Bin all is well.... In Answer:- Item (1) above Yes you are quite correct, if you move the "Containing Folder" to another location PTE won't find it - you have to physically guide PTE to the new position and Re-Save the Folder. Look into Shot-01 below for Instructions...Firstly open the PTE Program and look up to the top-left corner thats Shot-01. Item (2) above Correct again, the .pte Icon is NOT a self-executing Exe so it can't work as a stand-alone executible such as the Show Exe. So zipping-it and relocating it simply won't work. For simplicity consider the .pte Icon as a 'Program Tag' for Work in Progress. After Un-zipping the Folder follow the same instructions as shown in Shot-01 below...(Find the Folder etc) Hope this helps you ~ Don't forget to keep any Music in the same Folder. Brian.Conflow.

Hi Harry, Yes, most Public Browsers will not support Exe.Files at all ~except~ for a few 'speciality' Browsers which won't allow much above 2-5mB File sizes. The other alternative is to create your own Web-Site and then get a Hosting Utility to publish & support your Site on the Net. The creation of a Web Site can be costly and will incur annual charges in supporting it. Then you have to advertise it... With acknowledgements to Ken Cox, here below is an 'alternative method' which I have used. Its called "MediaFire" and they will distribute your Pte.Exe (in all its glory) absolutely Free and like any large File it is transmitted as a Zip.Package. The advantages are many:- 1) Files can be viewed by many persons by downloading directly from the MediaFire Server. 2) The Exe.File(s) are automatically checked for Virus etc; prior to Transmission to 3rd.Parties. 3) You can 'upload' many Exe Files to the MediaFire Server for others to download absolutely Free. 4) It completely eliminates the 'messy' tedious job of Zipping-up Exe.Files being sent to many people. This may help your Friend as a useful workaround...sample "Attachment" below Brian.Conflow