goddi

=========================== Thanks... But they work on AVIs, but not on 'movie' type files, which are almost all of what I would use it on. Not sure the technical term but my files are the ones that are played when you run the 'video_ts.ifo' file. I guess they are regular DVD file types. Anyway... I discovered that I have a program, InterVideo Win DVD4, that has a capture button. So this is working fine, except the quality is pretty bad. It saves the files as a BMP and I resave it as a JPG. Not good but it is the best I have found so far. I tried the Softdepo decompiler on an AVI file but its quality was similar to the InterVideo program. Thanks... Gary

Greetings, I would like to extract an image from some of my video files that I have made. I'd like to get them into a PTE show. I have converted a lot of my analog tapes into digital 'video_ts.ifo' files. Some are AVI files. I'd like to be able to do something like a 'print screen' while they are playing to capture an image, but as good a quality as possible. I realize the quality will not be great but I'd use them as smaller sized images in the PTE program. Is there any way to do this? Thanks... Gary

======================== Bingo...!!! Thanks. I could not remember how I did it before. It would be nice if the Desktop would appear in the line of Drives in PTE, but this will do. Thanks for the help. Gary

Greetings, I had this question a long time ago and someone, I think, answered it. However, now I can't seem to be able to do it, even if it was ever solved. I can not remember. I want to be able to select an image that may be on the Desktop. I am in the Classic View and I click on the One Level Up button but it does not get me to the Desktop. I know I can right-click in the file list and bring up Explorer but that does not let me Add an image to PTE. I'd just like to be able to get to the Desktop while in the PTE program to access images. Is there any way to do this? Thanks... Gary

Greetings, Last year around June, Lin was very helpful in providing the following explanation concerning 'Timeline / Timed Points / Arrange All Points': "If you want to see the slides equally spread on the waveform do not use "auto spread slides along music" feature - leave it unchecked (in fact it may now be obsolete and due for possible future removal). Instead, go to the timeline (from the main menu) and click on the "timed points tab" then click on "arrange all points". This will automatically do what the old "auto spread slides along music" feature did. If you want the music play in synchronization with your currently selected slide, then go to Projects Options Main Tab and put a check beside "synchronize music and slides" and the music will then play in its proper synchronization with "start preview from the current slide". If this block is not checked, music will play from the beginning regardless of which slide you may be on when you click on "start preview from the current slide" icon." It was good for Lin to provide this clarity on these menu items. Recently there were posting on the fear of making PTE too complex for beginners or average users...like me. After recently making a new slideshow, a problem that I keep having with the 'Arrange All Points' came up again. And I think my following suggestion will help make it less complicated for new and average users. I can not understand why the 'Arrange All Points' has to be only in the Timeline menu. Most 'average' users would probably not use the Timeline menu, except maybe to look at the Waveform. When I first started out (and still do), I just wanted the images to be equally spread across the music as the old 'Auto Spread Slides Along Music' did in one click. I keep forgetting that I have to go through the Timeline to get to the 'Arrange All Points' to have the images spread across the music. New users, I would presume, would have a difficult time figuring this out. To help clarify this confusion, I would like to suggest that 'Arrange All Points' also be placed in the 'Project Option's' Main tab right next to the 'Synchronize Music and Slides' and 'Auto Spread Slides Along Music' choices. Please let me know if I am missing anything here. I think this would help to more easily make 'normal' (not too technical) slideshows. Sincerely, Gary

Peter... I took a look at that but it is not just the Taskbar that shows but the entire Desktop. And it did not change anything. Gary

Peter... No, I am still using my Windows XP. Maybe it is some setting I have that I need to change. But I can't seem to find any thing to change to get rid of the very short view of the Desktop. Gary

Lin's way is one way. And it depends on what you mean by "merge". Another way to "merge" 2 PTE shows is to play one right after the other. By going to Project Options and then choose Run Application After Last Slide (pointing to the second show) will effectively "merge" the two into "one". I am sure Lin can be clearer on this process but see if this does what you want. Then each show keeps its own timing and music that you have already set up. I just tried it. However, this time I got a bit of a delay before the second show started. Not sure why because I am pretty sure in the past when I tried it, it did not have this delay showing the computer's screen just before the second show started. Maybe Lin know how to get around this delay...if possible???? Hope this helps.. Gary

Igor... I found 2 cents laying around so I thought I'd give my opinion, too, on this matter of complexity with PTE. It is a wonderful program. One of my favorite! I ran into a brick wall when the Keyframes in Pan/Zoom came out, until someone in the Forum let me see the forest for the trees. I think that one solution, at least for me, is that I need to understand more why I should select a menu item or not select it. Most are understandable but many in the O&A menu items need more explanation. What might help is to have Mouse-overs that bring up a window that gives an explanation as to 'Why' and 'Why Not' I should use this button or menu choice and what the effects might be. The use of these Mouse-overs should be able to be turned off if one is beyond the 'learning' stage. I have used the great User Guides that have been assembled. But many times my eyes glaze over from so much info. When we are in the program and we are at the cross-roads to pick a menu item, it is nice to have more Help at that very moment to assist us with our choice. A Mouse-over with selections from the User Guides that pop-up could be a way to uncomplicate it a bit. Not a techie...but just with an opinion from a happy user. Thanks...Gary

Now I understand. You are in the Timeline. I tried your steps but it did not cause any problem. Hopefully, someone will come up with a solution. But thanks for the tip. I had never tried that method of editing/viewing the slide sequence!!! Gary

What's confusing here is you said you opened the "full-screen view of thumbnails." I see either the "Fullscreen View of File Panel" or "Fullscreen View of Slide List". And there is the "File Panel as Thumbnail" and "Slide List as Thumbnail," but not what you point out as a menu item. Only the menu choices with "....Slide List..." in them will allow you to change the order of the slides. Both worked for me with no error messages. The menu choices with"...Thumbnail...", only change the filenames to actual thumbnails for only viewing, not changing the order. So I am not sure which menu item you actually were trying but it seems to be just a one-time occurance. I too have on rare occasion received an obscure error message that I just attribute to the moon being in the wrong phase... Let us know if it happens again with more information.... Gary PS Let me know if my analysis above in incorrect.

Yes... some things can be used for evil...and some for good. It was a heartbreaker when I lost my images only to be locked up in PTE. But now I can free them and redo the slideshows with the new version with more creativity. Too bad we still have to worry about the evil part. Gary

I have been intrigued with the possibilities of this program. When my PC crashed some time ago and my backup failed (long story), I lost a lot of my original images that I used to create many of my PTE shows. And when I created each PTE show, I reduced the resolution of each image to make the PTE file smaller. I lost all of those too. So all I have is the final PTE show. Now, I would like to extract all the images from the old shows and re-do them in the new PTE version. If I use this program to 'extract' the reduced resolution images from my old PTE shows, and re-do the slideshow, will I get the same quality of the images that I had in the old PTE slideshow? Thanks... Gary

Thanks, Lin. This will have to due until/if PTE makes it more flexible. It would be sooooo nice. Gary

Lin... Thanks for the detailed explanation. I've got a better understanding. Gary

Lin... Is it a technical problem that does not allow the ability to just include 'Add Text' or 'Add Image' capabilities as there is in the O&A? I am not sure what you mean by 'adding a couple tiny avi files.' I don't understand how you would do this in the DVD title creation page. There isn't any menu to add anything that I can see. Thanks... Gary =========================

I'd like to be able to add additional and separate "Title" lines (and be able to change each line's font) when you first start creating the Title page in the Video setup. It would be nice to be able to get more flexible in creating text in the Title page. Thanks... Gary

I see what you are saying in the ability to do multiple lines. But I would like to insert, say, 3 lines that are independent of each other so I can resize each one separately (and move them around), so I can have line 1 a larger font; line 2 a smaller/different font; etc. I'd like just more control over the formating of the title page. You can even copy/paste line 1 and make changes to it like you do within most Windows applications. It would just be nice to have more flexibilty. Gary

I made a PTE slideshow. I then created a DVD Video. In the process of creating the DVD, I saved the template that I had created for the DVD. Now I want to add some additional separate text lines to the saved PTV file. However, after I open it up, there does not seem to be a way to add text except to start all over again. Is there some way of adding text to the already saved PTV file without having to redo the entire template? And I now notice that I can not add a second separate "Title" line when you first start creating the Title page. Is there a way to get more flexible in creating text in the Title page? Thanks... Gary

Cool...thanks much. I didn't realize it was already discussed and in the "To Do List". Super! Gary

Since someone recently mentioned something about 'Safe TV Zone', I went about trying to find it. Since it was not where I expected it to be, it took me some time to locate it, even with the User Guides. My mind was looking for where I thought it should be, so that did not help me absorb what the User Guide was saying. So after I found it, I thought, "Why the heck is it here?". It is located in the O/A Tools tab. When it is selected, it acts as a global command but you have to look at each individual slide in O/A to see the effect. However, why not make it so you can view the Safe TV Zone as it plays in Preview and in the little Preview Player? Would this not be more useful so you can view how the Safe TV Zone shows up in real time and in the O/A. Then you can make a better decision on where you have to make any adjustments? If I am missing something here, please let me know. But I thought, if I am not mistaken, in previous version, I could actually do this...turn on the Safe TV Zone and do a Preview of the actual slideshow. I would like to see a button right next to the Preview Player so I could toggle it on and off. Wouldn't this be a useful change?? Thanks, Gary Added later: P.S. Ahhhhh... I just discovered the little left/right arrows in the O/A screen that let me run manually through the slides with the Safe TV Zone showing. Cool. I spoke a little too quickly. But maybe it would be useful to see the Safe TV Zone displayed in real time in Preview???

Thanks, Peter and Dave... I was using Smooth with my Zoom so I did not pick up the difference when I added the Perspective Correction for Zoom. After reading the thread and playing with it, I now see what you all are talking about. It is a nice touch to play with the custom settings too. Thanks all for your help... Gary

To put a frame around my slideshow, I use the Project Options/Screen tab and change the '% of the slide to show main image' ti 95%. Then I choose Background/Gradiant filling and select a color for the top and one for the bottom (anc then Set for existing slides). Yea...more pleasant than black and can give some 'emotion' to the show, I think. Thanks... Gary

I am getting a great education here. Any takers on Perspective correction for Zoom? Gary

What threw me was that the ending milliseconds for one slide was not the beginning milliseconds for the next slide. The difference I see now is the 1500 milliseconds of fade in/out time. So I sort of see what is going on here but I don't think I will touch these settings until someone can shed more light on why I would want to make a change in these settings in the Time Range menu. Thanks. I do see it more clearly now... Gary