alrobin

John, Thanks for your help. Glad you got yours running OK. Rodger, It works fine for me in Win XP Pro, so I'm afraid I can't replicate your problem in order to trouble-shoot it. John found that when he deleted the jpeg reference in cell "B-2" on the "Variables" tab, and resaved it that it worked better. However, if you do try this, be sure to delete this cell and save the adjustor file (using exactly the same name) before clicking on any of the other control buttons. It might be best to create a new folder for the new file so you don't over-write the original in case you have to go back to it. Good luck!

Michel, The "Venice" show is marvelous! Much better than the original. I have never seen one that quite matches it in artistic impression, technical quality, and imagination. It is a wonderful creation and also illustrates just what can be done in PTE with fairly simple transitions. Thanks for directing our attention to it!

Hi, Mediator, Welcome to the Forum! With PTE one way to accomplish what you described is to create a one or two-slide "introduction" show programmed to stop at the end and wait for the viewer to click on a button or navigation bar for further instructions. Just click "When show ends keep last slide in show on screen" on the "Main" tab of Project Options, and add objects to the last slide which are programmed to start up other shows. It is not possible to direct the viewer to a particular slide of one of these "other" shows, but you can readily add a navigation capability to these "other" shows which will enable the viewer to go to specific slides in these shows. To "automatically stop" a synched show, you could design a long holding time for a particular slide so that it appears as if it is stopped. Hope this helps.

Hi, Audi, Welcome to the forum! Too bad you had to start off on a bad note. PTE is registered through a separate company in the US. Apparently, sometimes the attachment gets added to the end of the message instead of appearing as an attached text file. If you want you can experiment with copying it to a new text file, and rename it to "PTE.KEY", but you have to have exactly the right number of bytes (231) for it to work. It should start with REGEDIT and end with =" If you have a web-mail account, the attachment can become lost entirely and you will have to make other arrangements to receive your key. Contact WnSoft Support and have them either send you a "zipped" file instead of the normal text file so that it will appear intact, or send your key to a different email address. You may have to wait until tomorrow, however, as WnSoft are usually closed for the weekend.

Hi Rodger, What is your operating system? It's strange that you have to open it in two stages, as you need to "enable macros" for it to work properly. I suggest there may be an incompatibility problem between your system setup and Excel. For example, you may not have all of the Excel features enabled than you need to run Adjustor, such as the proper "References" from the "Office 8 Object Library". Check the Notes for more info on how to set these up. If you wish, and if the problem persists, email me off-line and I will try to help you sort things out. Is anyone else having the same problem?

Don, Welcome to the Forum. I encountered a similar error once, and I can't remember now just what the problem was and how I solved it. You could try re-installing PTE, or as Granot said, create a small new show to test whether the problem occurs all the time or not. Also, it would help if you gave us more information about your PTE parameters (number of slides, type of music used, etc.) and also about your operating system and pc parameters. Also, please let us know if you solve the problem, and how. Ciao, Al

Rodger, You also have to set the "Navigator" to 100% and choose the "maximize" option for the image window.

Hi, Brian, Yes, you did it correctly. Or, as you seem to have found out, you could also just press "Quote", and the reply box will pop up, along with a box for the quote. Sorry, my tutorial does not yet cover the changes made by Igor in the latest version of PTE (I'm working on it, and it should be available shortly). So, there is nothing there to cover the use of the Nav bar in "synch" mode. Thanks, Ken, for covering this for me, and sorry, Brian, for any confusion this may have generated.

Hi, Brian, Welcome to the Forum! You could have a look at my basic tutorial, PTE 101, available as a free download at Beechbrook Cottage , page 4. And, if you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to post them to the Forum.

Hi, Peter, Another excellent program for converting music files is dbPowerAmp "Music Converter". It is a free download from HERE . The best files to use with PTE are .mp3 and .ogg . .wav files are too large, and .wma files cause problems in playback sometimes due to copying restrictions. For editing music files, Audacity is one of the best (if not the best), and most economical programs, as cc mentioned. Other excellent, but more expensive, editing programs are "Audition", from Adobe (formerly "Cool Edit"), and "Cubase", from Steinberg.

Check with Boxig - I seem to remember one of his utilities resizing the monitor resolution.

Len, Sorry, but you are wrong again! IrfanView has had this feature as long as I have been using it (for a few years, anyway). In IrfanView you set the vertical and horizontal dimensions you want to resize to, check retain aspect ratio, and bingo, it does the rest! So that makes at least two "other" programs that will do the same thing you claim only ImPro does. In my case, I want PTE to run on my primary monitor, as it has a 21-inch screen with higher res capability, and I like to see my shows under the best conditions possible.

Hi, Bill, Make sure you check any images you are using for objects. I got tripped up once on this one. Or, you can try putting a copy of all your images and music in the same folder as the ".pte" file, and it should find them by default. (except for any music files you have added via the "Sound" line on the main window). You can also check each image and sound file by "browsing" for each one in the space provided, and in this way resetting the path for each, to be certain that it is correct. Note that if a path for an image is incorrect, you will not be able to see it in the preview window. Best of luck! Ciao, Al

Norbert, Len does have a good point, even though he is a little vague on the image-sizing aspect. It is not possible to have a PTE show open on the "secondary" monitor without dragging a "windowed mode" show over from the primary. The reference you quoted mentions the capability to have the controls on the "primary", so PTE would have to open on the secondary for this to be a satisfactory mode of operation.

How does it decide what to crop on the vertical images?

Open "Project Options / Screen" and click on "Windowed mode". Specify the window size, whether you want a border or not, and away you go. But you are right, I suspect you would have to open it and move it to the secondary monitor. I was suggesting this as a "next best" option.

Hello, Jack, You could try converting it with DBPowerAmp to a format (e.g. mp3) compatible with PTE. This site has some more INFORMATION .

Len, Not meaning to take anything away from your program, I just wanted to point out that, unless you want a different height for your horizontals than for your verticals (not sure why this situation would apply), IrfanView also has this capability. And for anyone who doesn't know, it's a free download. One of the best bargains, next to PTE, available!

Len, Have you tried running PTE in "windowed mode"? That way you can open it on your secondary monitor / projector. If your studio management software then also had the ability to direct the show onto the secondary, even better.

Len, Thanks for the information on ImPro - it sounds like it has some excellent features. And it sounds like the ability to present PTE-based material on the secondary monitor would be useful. Too bad ImPro can't be designed to be more flexible. The designer of PTE visits this Forum regularly, and usually replies to requests made here. However, you can contact him directly through the address on his web site at WnSoft.com.

Len, Does ImPro have a web page? I Googled it, but didn't see anything that looked like what you are describing. Is it possible that they could help you set up their program on the Secondary? Then you could initiate both PTE and ImPro from the secondary and have both outputs appear on the primary (projector). Another possibility would be to temporarily switch the projector off while you adjust the controls and start up PTE, then switch the projector back on. Isn't there a function key that allows you to easily switch the primary view from the projector to the pc, or is this only available on laptops?

Hi, lenbartz (can I call you Len?) I have a dual monitor setup, but with two desktop monitors. However if I right-click on the desktop, and select "Properties / Settings / Advanced", I can assign either monitor to the status of primary or secondary. If I change my main monitor to "secondary", PTE shows open up on the other monitor instead. I imagine you could do the same with a monitor and a projector, or a monitor and a TV set. I use an ATI "Radeon" video card which has two monitor output jacks. As far as I know, there is no way to set command-line-type parameters with PTE to instruct it as to which monitor to open on.

Hi, Chuck, Welcome to the Forum! I'm not sure just what you are trying to do, but if I understand correctly, when you create a template, you are really just creating a folder and putting all the files in one place for ease of future changes to that show. If you change the name of the template each time you create a new one, the files for that template will all go into their own separate folder inside the main PTE folder. The template is therefore more than just a "template" per se, in the usual sense of the word. Using it will actually open up the show from which it was originally made so that one can either change the name of each file to match the new files for the new show, or else change the names of the new files to match the ones in the template. The main advantage in doing this is to not have to manually change the delay times, transition types and timing, etc., for the new show, but only the file names themselves. This can be done fairly easily by importing the PTE file into a spreadsheet or the "Adjustor" spreadsheet model and doing a global re-naming. Or use a program such as Irfanview to batch-rename all the new slides to match the ones in the "template". It is possible to delete all the images in a template folder, but you will have to replace them one by one if you attempt to use that template to make a new show, before it will run properly. The parameters for each slide should still be intact, though. I've confused myself with all this - hope I haven't confused you too!

Hi, Joyce, Welcome to the Forum! You have discovered one of the main shortcomings of this wonderful program - the lack of scaling for objects in different screen resolutions. However, there is a way to fool the program into thinking all your objects are one, and so make it adapt to various monitor sizes and pixel dimensions. You need to put a transparent object on the corner of each slide containing objects, then select each object and click on "Group" at the top of the screen. You can use text objects, with a couple of invisible "spaces" in each to hold them and make them visible when you click on them for positioning purposes. To put them exactly on the corners, you can use the "arrow" keys to "nudge" them into position. The other way to hold the objects is to use "windowed" mode, but not everyone prefers this mode for their slide shows. Hope this helps.

Your wish is my command! I'm in the process of updating as we speak - should be "on the stands" in a couple weeks. Unless Igor makes a whole lot of new additions in the next 2 weeks. Glad it is so appreciated. Ciao, Al