alrobin

Ron, It's a new feature that Igor has added in the new beta version whereby we can now move a PTE project to a new drive, for instance, without worrying about the project being able to find the images and music files due to changes in their pathnames. No need to have all files in the same folder. In the template option, you have to create a "template" in the file menu, which puts all the images, music files, and project file in the same directory.

Ken, What problems? They were more like "challenges". At least I didn't have camera failure. Robert, Good luck with your presentation. That's some audience!

Not any more!

stonemason, Yes you can "embed" a show - just enter the name of the show in "Customize Slide" opposite "Run external application". There are some things to watch out for, as the music from the main show will continue to play so you have to arrange to have it turned off first. Also, you should arrange to have the slide you are branching off from into the new show timed so that it will still be displayed when the second show finishes, as it will continue to roll while the new show is being played. This works best, too, if the first show is not synchronized, but it will work with a synched show if everything is set up properly. Experiment with it a bit to see what options and timing work best for you.

stonemason, You don't have to enter the full path name if the file is in the same folder as your PTE file.

Igor, I don't see why the button for "Shift all points to right" is required in order to clear the timeline, as we already have the option to "Delete all transition points". Could you please explain the rationale for this option? If it is required so that the images for all transition points "deleted" are not removed from the slide list, then I think that it would be less confusing to just disable the removal of the images in this case. Anyone else have some ideas on this?

I agree with Maureen re the movement of transition points and would like to offer the following suggestions: First, on the timeline we need to decide whether we are managing images or transitions between images. I feel that if we delete a transition on the timeline, then we should have a choice as to whether the image is removed from the "slide list" as well. Sometimes we want to remove both the transition and the image, and other times just the transition. However, adding another step after we press the "delete" key would make the operation too cumbersome. So, I suggest that there should be an option button to indicate whether "delete" will mean "remove transition only" or "remove or add image and transition". Maybe the default setting should be "remove transition only" as it was before, to keep things less confusing. There could also be two buttons on the timeline, one for "remove transition only" and one for "remove or add image and transition" for those people who prefer to click on a button instead of hitting the "delete" key. Secondly, in the new beta, if we remove a transition from the timeline, then if we close the timeline and then immediately add another slide in place of the one which was removed, some strange things happen on the timeline. On one example I tried, the transition pattern at the end of the show appeared at the place where I was adding the new image. The way I would like to see this work is as follows: if we select "remove or add image and transition" then when we add an image between two existing images, I would like to see a transition appear on the timeline mid-way between the transition for the image to the left and the transition for the image to the right of it. As in the case of deleting images, the transitions on either side of the new one should remain unchanged. Note that if these two options are made available, then there should also be a very clear reminder message displayed to indicate which option has been selected. For example, if the transition to image #3 is at 20 seconds on the timeline, and the transition to image #4 is at 30 seconds, then if we add an image between image 3 and 4, its transition should appear at 25 seconds on the timeline (midway between 20 seconds and 30 seconds). It is an easy matter to then click on the timeline and fine-tune the time for the new image #4 to say 24.105 seconds. However, this action should only happen if the option for "remove or add image and transition" is selected. If the option "remove or add image and transition" is selected, then if an image is deleted from the slide list, it's corresponding transition should also be removed from the timeline, leaving all transitions on either side undisturbed. My views, only. I would be interested in hearing other's opinions on these ideas.

The new feature doesn't mean you can just move a PTE project file to another folder and have everything follow along, or move your image files to another folder. What it does provide is the ability to create a folder for a project, have sub-folders for images and music and PTE project file, and then move the whole main folder to another drive and have the project adjust to the new drive specs. Nice feature! Now if one drive fills up, you just move the whole kit and kaboodle to another and everything will still be fine. No need to have the PTE project file in the same folder as images and music. Thanks, Igor!

I agree with Andrew. For example, now, if I remove a slide from the slide list and then promptly re-insert it where it was before and then open the timeline, the times for slides beyond the insertion point are changed from what they were before, with no obvious pattern. I prefer the option where, if one deletes a slide, the transition point is still on the timeline unless one goes in and removes it too, and vice versa. It's a two-step operation, but more intuitive. Unless some other logic could be applied. I don't mind if the transition points are removed too, as long as the other transitions retain their relative position when the slide is re-introduced. It would be easy then to "grab" onto them in the timeline and move them back a notch if the relative times were still the same. If someone doubts what I'm saying I can send you a short example with instructions on how to replicate the situation.

Hi, mcelikel, Yes and yes. Let me explain. First of all, we cannot demand anything of Igor - he has his own agenda and only listens when we speak to him nicely! Secondly, it would not really be that user-friendly. As I indicated in my previous reply, when you "trim" a movie in Pinnacle Studio, you are not really editing the sound line. You are just cutting off everythng, images and sound at a certain point. I don't think we would want that option in PTE, as in AV production, we try to obtain the very best result in both images and sound, and cutting them both off would lead to some pretty peculiar results. So, as already indicated by guru, let's use the right tools for the job. A sound editor for editing sound and music, an image editor for editing images, and PTE for putting everything together into a pleasing AV production. This is really not such a radical concept. I prepare images in Photoshop for inclusion in MS Word or MS Publisher; I prepare sound sometimes in Cubase (especially for MIDI) and then import it into Adobe Audition for mastering; sometimes I edit images in Photoshop and then use IrfanView for re-sizing or re-naming, just because it is easier for me to do it that way. I go to a dealer for the warranty maintenance on my car, but to my favourite mechanic to change my snow-tires. I go to a bakery for bread, and to a butcher for fine cuts of beef (and on and on).

Hi, mcelikel, Welcome to the Forum! Not sure how you edit the music in Pinnacle Studio, unless you mean just truncating the whole movie (called "trimming"), and thus cutting off the sound as well. Often when creating a slide show, one wishes to modify just the sound itself. When editing sound for a slideshow, there are many other parameters than just the length of the selection which one often needs to adjust in order to prepare the selection to fit ideally into the show. These are better left to a proper sound editor where one can adjust not only the length, but add reverb, echo, and other special effects, modify the volume, add periods of silence, dub in other sounds, combine with MIDI-based sound, trim the end of the selection, cross-fade two selections, etc., etc. IMHO, it is better for Igor to concentrate on making good digital slide show software and improving the existing features of PTE, rather than attempting to make it into an image editor as well. Just my opinion.

Andrew, Could it be the SP-2 that is causing the problem? Anyone else try the new beta successfully on Win XP, SP-2? I have XP Pro, but SP-1, (1Gb RAM), and everything works fine.

Andrew, The previews all work fine for me. (Win XP Pro, SP-1, similar pc specs). At first my MIDI didn't play, but then I realized I had it directed to the wrong output in the Control Panel options. Haven't tried the cancel feature yet.

I've never tried it either - it will be interesting to hear about your results! I do know that when I am trying to copy a bunch of images from one folder to another, if Win XP hasn't finished "writing" the little icons for one of the files being copied, I receive an error message and everything grinds to a halt.

Robert, You should definitely have your image files organized into many sub-directories; other wise, you will have to sit and wait for the whole dvd to assign icons to each image on the dvd!

I know it, Ken. But ACDSee is the worst I've seen.

Ken, I would put it slightly differently: "If you're using ACDSee, be careful it doesn't re-associate all of the things Photoshop and other editors do now (and much better, I might add) to itself". I downloaded a trial version of ACDSee and it promptly became my default editor for jpegs, gifs, tiffs, bmp's etc. - you name it. Even after I carefully "re-associated" each image type, the images in MS Explorer were still all labelled "ACDSee 7.0 JPEG Image", etc., under "File Type". I had to completely uninstall ACDSee in order to remove the offending tags. I hate presumptuous programs like that! From now on I'll just stick to my trusty "IMatch" for image management and PS for my editing. They are both better programs for what they are designed to do, anyway.

Or, how about being able to check a box on the "Customize Slide" menu to show the nav bar for that slide?

Robert, I use my dvd burner to back-up and store images quite satisfactorily. I have a fast P4 system with lots of RAM and hd space and an internally-mounted LG "Super Multi dvd drive" (GSA-4081B) that I didn't pay any more than a hundred bucks (Cdn) for. Time to display all the folders after inserting a dvd in the unit is between 15 and 30 seconds. Displaying a page full (approx 60) of thumbnails with Win XP in one of the folders takes about 20 to 30 seconds (for mostly tiffs around 2 or 3 Mb in size.) But I find XP is a real dog, anyway, when it comes to speed of thumbnail processing, even on the high-speed hd. However, I profile each dvd in IMatch after I burn it, which reduces the find and display time to only a few seconds. Of course it takes a long time to burn all the images in the first place, but we are dealing with several gigabytes of information here, not just 700 Mb as with a CD. Bottom line: I'm quite happy with my dvd image storage system. I did invest in a 160 Gb hd for "temporary" storage and backup of everything important until such time as I can accumulate enough for another dvd, as I don't want to mix images and music and other documents, etc., on the same dvd's, and I also don't want to be so cramped for space that I'm forced into dvd offloading when I'm pushed for time.

Audacity, dBpowerAMP , Acoustica . To be sure to see the image exactly at the position desired, you should first synchronize both using the timeline. To do this you need to add the music using "Project options", and delete all music, if any, entered using "Customize Slide".

Hi, pcharnock, Welcome to the Forum! Most of us use a sound editor to tailor the music for the AV sequence (e.g. "tapering" the ends so they sound more smooth, overlapping separate music selections, controlling the volume, dubbing in sounds and narration, fading the music out at the end, etc.) A good free one is Audacity. Others use Adobe Audition, Acoustica, Cubase, etc. If you are synching a show to music, it seems to work better if you connect all the pieces together into one sound file (mp3 is preferrable to wave) using a sound editor. You can convert wave files to mp3 using "dBPowerAmp music converter", also a free download (except I heard they may now be charging for the mp3 codec). To skip to the middle of a sequence, highlight the image you want to start playing from and then click on the little "loaf of bread" on the bottom right corner of the preview window. Or, if you are in the timeline view (if your show is synched to music), simply highlight the transition you want to start with (one of the little numbered boxes along the timeline) and press "preview". Hope this helps, and good luck with PTE!

Thanks so much, Igor! This version is very much appreciated, and I can hardly wait to get my hands into it and try out the new features and improvements. Thanks again to you and Aleksey for your hard work on our behalf!

Hi, Jill, Welcome to the Forum! Go into the timeline view and check to see whether the grey horizontal bar touches the next transition marker at the point where the transitions are not smooth or are repeating. Try shortening the long transitions at that point to see whether this solves the problem or not. The transitions need time to complete, with about a quarter to a half a second between the end of one and the start of another, particularly if your pc is an older model (e.g. P3). Slow transitions do take more processing time - "cuts" are usually not as much of a problem, unless one is trying to jam too many into a short period of time.

Sam, I enjoyed your show too. It is obvious that lots of work went into it. Transparent GIF's in Photoshop 7 are as easy as jpegs. Just use the "Save for web" feature, and select "GIF" mode. You can then click on the shades of colour you want to make transparent, too, for added control over the result. Click on one of the small coloured boxes, and then click on the "X" box at the bottom of the Colour Table. Any of the small boxes in the Colour Table marked with an X will be transparent in the result. You can also preview the result in the "Optimized" window on the left hand side. I find that the following settings work best for me: GIF Selective Diffusion check "Transparency" Diffusion Transparency Dither

Robert, This is something that I suspect will always be the case when you have a number of rapid cuts too close together for the system to process. Eventually the images seem to catch up with the music, but can drift behind while processing the rapid cuts.