jevans

Hi Lin, Sorry did not express myself very well. What I meant was - if you do not install SP3, all future updates (if there are going to be any) may be dependent on whether you have installed SP3. That's what seems to have happened with SP1. So by not installing SP3 you may not be able to have any further updates to XP. Jeff

Hi Brian, Good advice as always. Glad we have got you watching out for us. I subscribe to an ezine "Windows Secrets" which always advises a short wait before installing any of Microsoft system upgrades until there has been some experience of their effects. I have my "updates" setting set to "notify but do not download or install". Whilst there does not seem to be anything in SP3 for the normal home user and thus suggesting that we should avoid upgrading, I wonder whether not installing this upgrade might have an adverse effect on future upgrades for XP SP2? Any ideas ? Jeff

Responding to DaveG's point above and to other comments about modification to PTE. I am sure we all agree that Igor and his team are doing a great job as usual in responding to our observations and the latest Beta is a significant improvement on Version 5.1. However in reading the list of "desirable improvements/features" in the forum, I am reminded of a major software development in my old company. Our internal software team developed a very sophisticated project management package based on Lotus Notes. Like PTE it went through various upgraded versions and eventually provided a very useful tool for project engineers to manage their project documentation. But the end users were never satisfied and were always looking for another "improvement or feature", and the developers were always trying to oblige. Eventually the excellent functionality of the software became degraded by all the add-ons. PTE is a marvellous program and provides us all with an extremely versatile facility. But I hope the user requirements do not result in any degredation in its functionality.

Hi Lin, Greate tutorial and the quality is excellent through Windows Memdia Player. I had this topic on my list of additions for the next version of the guide (see separate email to you). When I open the avi file, I get this message (see attached jpg). Closing the message window then results in the avi running so no problem. Just a bit puzzled about the message. Regards Jeff

[quote name='alrobin' date='Apr 19 2008, 07:05 PM' post='52581' Everyone has a slightly different way of putting shows together, and for some, these points about the timing may not be pertinent (for example if one never syncs a show, or if one automatically spreads slides over the timeline, etc.).

Re methods of working, timeline and transition points. Thanks to all who have replied to my queries. All is now clear and I now understand how others are using the transition points. Most of my av's involve the use of commentary with music and I have been in the habit of creating the commentary file and adding each slide individually at the relevant commentary point. It works for me but I can see how the interactive method would be quicker and easier. One of the things that was causing me a problem in Version 5.5 was that the cut transition points do not disappear as in Version 5.1 but merely go to the end of the timeline. Regards Jeff

Al, In Version 5.1 you have two buttons in the timeline - "New Transition" and "Delete Point". If you add slides to the slide list, they will also appear in the timeline. Now if you click anywhere in the timeline and click the "New Transition" button, nothing will happen. If you select a slide, then click the "Delete" Point" button, the slide will disappear from the timeline but NOT from the slide list. You can now select a different point on the timeline and click "New Transition" and the slide which you removed from the timeline will be re-inserted at the new location. This feature was a hang over from Version 4.48 and I indicated in the user guide, was probably obsolete due to the change in the way the timeline operated. Now in Beta 5, there is a "New Transition" button and a "Cut Transition" button in the timeline window. However these do not seem to work in a logical fashion. If I add some slides to the slide list/timeline and click anywhere in the timeline and click the "New Transition" button,, nothing happens. If I use the "Cut Transition" button it merely removes the nearest transition point and shuffles the images along the timeline. I cannot see any purpose for this. What may be required is the ability to remove an image from the timeline but NOT from the slide list and then re-insert the image in another position. However the way Igor has written the program, I doubt if that is possible. Both you and Barry refer to using transition points. I do not understand the difference between slides and transition points. I have slides with their associated transitions which I need to insert in the timeline at selected points. Why do I need to differentiate between the slide and its insertion point. Maybe in trying to achieve the requirements which forum members have specified in this thread, Igor has altered the program incorrectly. What we may need to do is very clearly identify how we use it to create a new show. Maybe I am getting old and thick, but I have not been able to follows Barry's methodology, although of course he produces magnificent shows so obviously knows exactly what he is doing. Regards Jeff

Some further questions on operation of Version 5.5 Beta 5 : Barry has posted some comments on issues he has found when trying out the latest beta. One of these points relates to bunching of slides on the timeline when a number of slides are added in one go. I have tried this in two ways. One adding a number of slides after the last slide on the timeline and adding a few slides in the middle of the slides already on the timeline. In neither case do the slided bunch up but are added at the default time intervals. HOWEVER, I notice that if you change a slide time, say from 10 secs to 4 secs, and then start anew project without leaving PTE, the slide remembers the altered time, so that it overrides a new default time interval in the new project. This did not happen with Version 5.1. I second query concerns the adding and removing of transition points. Again Barry has mentioned this in his previous posts. I do not understand the requirement to do this. I either want to add a slide or remove a slide. If I add a new transition in the middle of the timeline, all that happens is that all the slides to the right of the insertion point move back to this point. The attached three images show this. The first image shows 4 slides a 10 sec intervals. The second image show the insertion point a 16 secs. The third image shows what happens when you add a new transition point at 16 secs - the last two slided move back to this point. Can someone explain how they envisage using the "new transition" feature. In version 5.5 this button and the "delete point" button were redundant unless you were wanting to remove a slide from the timeline BUT NOT from the slide list. Regards Jeff

Geoff, Peter has given me the answer as to how to add slides. But looking at your answer, I thought I would try this method. I added a music track to a new project, then added the first slide (which you must do to make the mini-player active). Then a started the mini-player and pressed the "insert" key. The next slide in the slide window was added but then the mini-player stops and you cannot add another slide. Next I tried adding the last slide to the end of the timeline and tried again. this time when you press the "insert" key, this last slide just moves up ti the insert point and the min-player stops again. I am not sure why I would want to use the method of inserting slides as the music is playing, but it does not seem to work for me. Regards Jeff

Thanks Peter, I was sure that there would be a simple answer. Jeff

I have noticed comments from Barry in this thread about inserting slides on the fly which I have not quite followed. However I have tried the latest beta of 5.5 and have a small query regarding the insertion of a new slide on the timeline. In Version 5.1, if you needed to insert a new slide somewhere in the middle of the timeline, you placed the blue cursor triangle at the point of desired insertion and then clicked the "Insert Slide" button. The file list opened and you selected the slide you wanted. It does not seem to be possible to do this in the latest beta as adding a slide always places the slide at the end of the timeline and inserting a new transition does not seem to give you the option to select a particular slide for insertion. Perhaps I have misunderstood the principle of operation of the new timeline but would be grateful for some clrification. Jeff

Yes Mike that is correct. The keyboard short cuts are for accessing functions within PTE.

Peter/Mike, Firstly the launching of the sound editor only works with sound files attached to an image and NOT for the sound file for the whole project which is attached to the project via Projection Options/Music tab. Peter : I will try to remember to let you know when we modify the guide. We will probably not make a new version until there is a significant change in the functions of PTE. Mike : Not completely sure I understand what you are trying to achieve but I think it would be possible but very cumbersome to do this using PTE. To create a project in which there is a "Menu" image with items which allow you to jump to another image or run another PTE project, you need either to add all the other images into the main PTE project, or in the case of calling up another PTE project, create this additional project. For example. Suppose I have created several individual PTE projects covering different subjects. I can create a master project with a menu slide in which I can click on a link to run any of the separate projects. Alternatively, I might create a single PTE project with many slides in which I want to jump from one image to another one. I can do this with a link in a slide which when clicked, jumps to another part of the slide show. Looking at our guide again, I don't think this is explained very well. Perhaps we can improve in the next version. Regards

Hi Mike, You have identified an omission in the User Guide with regard to the sound editor question. If you go to the "View", "Advanced Options", "Path and name of sound editor" and select the filename and path of your sound editor (e.g Audacity), then add a sound to an image, you can select the image, right click, and select "edit sound comment". This will open the sound file in your chosen editor. Hope this helps Regards

Hi Dom, Here is the first image of my project using your 3D book action. You can see the front page opening but also see that the perspective is not maintained correctly. This is because you cannot alter the length of one side of a rectangle in the O&A editor without altering the other side to match. Any ideas? Regards Jeff Paimpol_Sample_Jan15_2008_18_24_33.zip

Hi Ron, Yes I know but you can artificially create a front page by selecting the front of the book in Photoshop, making this selection into a separate png image and then creating an action in PTE to open the front of the book. Dom, I will send you the pte file.

Brian, You did not mention "jv16tools" which you recommended to me some time ago and which I have found a very useful and secure means of registry housekeeping and well as other beneficial tools.

There is plenty of information on how to manipulate pan and zoom actions in the main PTE guide which you can download from the Wnsoft main web page.

Ron, Firstly just to say that I have had a great amount of excellent help from Brian in the past and, if he says "do this or that", I always follow his advice. However about a year ago I was in communication with him about the poor performance of my computer and one of the things he advised me to look at was removing Norton (I was using the latest version at the time). I followed his instructions and installed the free version of AVG which improved the performance considerably and I have had no problems with AVG. HOWEVER.... I could not follow Brian's Norton removal instructions exactly as I did not have the "removal utility". I found a web site as follows : http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_can_i_ful..._my_system.html and followed the instructions, always checking to try to follow Brian's instructions as far as possible. The procedure worked and Norton was removed ok and I have had not problems since. I have also followed this procedure on two more computers belonging to friends successfully.

Welcome to the forum Arthur, You mention that PTE might be harder to use than ProSho Producer. Can I direct you to the detailed user guide, a copy of which you can download from the Wnsoft web page.

Hi Dom, Just used your action in a recent show. I wanted to use it within PTE by copying the front of the book and then getting it to open to reveal a picture underneath. I have managed to do this ok by cutting out the front of the boom in Photoshop and saving this as a separate png image. However when you apply the opening action within PTE, the perspective is wrong as the front cover opens as it is not possible to make one side of the front page image rhombus longer than the other. I think the only way to keep the perspective correct would be to make a series of images in Photoshop in which the shape is gradually changed and then using these separate images in PTE. What do you think? can you think of another way of doing it in PTE. Regards

I use the freeware program Fastone Capture 5.9 which you can get here : http://www.faststone.org/ It is very good and enables you to select a defined screen area.

Ray, This error is just in the text of the "Help" page in Version 5.1. When you download the actual link, the resultant guide document is correct. I don't think Igor realised I had corrected this error. Jeff

Sorry to hear of your accident Ken. Hope it mends soon and your are mobile as quickly as possible. Regards Jeff

Hi Dom, This is an excellent and rather clever action. Thanks for all your efforts. Jeff