JRR

Igor: Glad you are back up !!! It is lonely out here without the forum...

Terry: I have software that I use to synch 35mm slide presentations (remember those ??) that does show the wave form. Yes it helps a little, but I find I use my ear more than my eyes with that software. I can synch as well and as fast (To my mind anyway) using the PTE timeline as I can with the wave form. (But I expect it is, as always, what one is used to using.) I find fine-tuning the synchs MUCH easier in PTE than in the 35mm software as you can adjust to the millisecond by simply typing in the numerics you want. Doing separate sound clips within a show would add its challenges yes. Why not try mixing them into one track and seeing how synching works for you. To be honest I always mix into one track, simply because I never thought of doing it as separate tracks. That does make my way right , only different.

Roger: I am not "up" on DELL laptop models, but 1. did the show run from the CD on the two desktops ? 2. are you trying to run it from the CD on laptop ? 3. Will it run on the laptop from the hard drive ? 4. What size are your images (pixels and kb)? (should be 1024x768 max generally and 200kb max) 5. What time did you set between the end of one transition and the start of the next? (Should be 50ms at least, if I remember) 6. What are spec differences between the two desktops and the laptops?

Igor: Thanks for fixing (in 4.20 Beta 3) the "hang up" when someone puts in an invalid action in an OBJECT. Muchly appreciated by those like me that make errors at times.

This won't help much, but I seem to recall a MicroSoft webpage (who knows where in their millions of pages...) that would take an internal look at your computer and let you know if it it was up to "snuff" in terms of installing XP. I seem to recall that not many computers were if they did not come with XP loaded. Not sure what it is that XP wants...

My wife has been to Vancouver a number of times on some of my business trips. She doesn't believe there are any mountains to be seen from Vancouver as everytine she has been there, it has been low clouds etc. I will show her the AV to help presuade her !

To add to Ed's note. The best free sound editing software is Audacity. It has been mentioned many times on the forum. It has many many functions. Comes close to Cool Edit in some areas, which is now ADOBE Audition and costs $$$$$$. Acoustica MP3 audio mixer is inexpensive and quite good as well. I find it a little easier to use than Audacity, but I suspect that is because I did not know about Audacity and used Accoustica for over a year. Audacity is available at: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Accoustica is at: http://www.acoustica.com/mp3-audio-mixer/ (It mixes wav files too)

Another great slider viewer is "Thumbsplus" at http://www.cerious.com/. I find it quite helpful.

Tom: It may not be "pretty" but in Version 4.20Beta you can now use the mouse and/or the navigation bar with a synched show. Set up the show with one of the mouse click, or navigation bar, options being "next slide", use that to advance past the slide you don't want to show. It ain't pretty, but it is one solution available now. Or the other way is to have several versions of the presentation ready, running off what I call a title page (one image PTE show with objects to launch other PTE shows). The choose which version of the show you want to show just before you show it. That would be smoother, but you would have decided ahead of time which might not fit your unusal situation.

another option is to change the file extension "exe" to something else; the recipient is told to change it back to "exe" once he has filed it in his computer.

Glad someone took the bull by the horns Ken !

I'll add my votes to the above. The SCVD and DVD is a key move for PTE, but, not unexpectedly given the keen interest, it has over taken the forum. This has happened before when Igor makes a major break-though or comes along with a siginificant upgrade (the internal player as an example) but the SCVD/DVD is a different fish. So yes, please put up a new forum perhaps for SCVD/DVD issues.

Michael: Welcome to PTE, you will find it a great package and the forum is full of info. The search feature at the bottom of the page helps too. For the latest advice re DVD software etc see here

Jan: Ron is correct Adobe Audition (Coole Edit plus studio) is a great software, but there are others almost as effective including a free one: AUDACITY. There is also Acoustica MP3 audio mix, it is quite cheap and good. Sound forge is another in the price range of Audition. You can find these by "googling" them/

The .exe file will play very well on others' computers subject to what I said above. The auto run files have been discussed many times on the forum. You can run search for the discussions. Garnot also has an auto run utility. I will send you what I use via e-mail.

Aspectlinks: Welcome to the forum and PTE !!!! It is a slick piece of software isn't it ?! I can't help you on the SVCD protion of your question, but I make copies of my shows on CDs in the "Old fashioned" .exe format, stick an auto start file on the CD for ease of use at the other end, and there are few if any problems. Assuming you have a "middle of the road" computer, it will play the same on other computers of the same ilk. But if you are using a top of the line computer, it might not run quite as smoothly on less powerful computers.

Garris: Yes, the colour shift is the "blending" of the colours. You should find the copy/paste a good method particualy if you are doing a number of OBJECTS. BTW, I would click on "OK" after you set up each button and save the pte file. I ran into a small "bug" (and let Igor know) in that if you set up an OBJECT with an invalid action (exe file not there as an example) there is no way out except to CTNRL-ALT-DEL and lose what has not been saved. Maybe after each OBJECT set up is a little much, but......

Phil: Welcome to PTE. Once you get the hang of it (Which happens quickly) you will find it a great program !! Re the .tif files: PTE only works with jpg and gif file formats. If you are going to use FADES, as many of us do), then depending on the pwoer of your computer (or those of the people who will also see it) size at 800x600 if most of the fades will be less than 2 seconds, or you can go to 1024x768 for slower fades. File sizes should be 100-200kb. (Quality 5 jpg) Hope that helps Have fun Sorry Ken, guess we were both typing away and you were a faster typer and got yours posted first!!!

Ken: Learn by my fun and games too You have to ensure the option re leaving the cursor in view during the show is turned on too !!! PROJECT OPTIONS>ADVANCED> always show mouse cursor

Igor: I finally got a chance to briefly work with 4.20. (the non DVD features - am I the only one ) Control of synched presentations is neat !! I hope in the 40% other improvments you will be able to sneak in disabling (or controlling) the mouse scroll wheel. I mentioned that a short ago as I have discovered that some people absent-mindedly play with their mouse wheel while watching presentations, a fix, at your convenience would be appreciated - in amongst the other "few" request you are trying to deal with. Now that synched shows are controllable, the absent-minded playing can upset synched shows. Thanks again

Alan: I have a team of gerbils than run inside one of those circle cage type things which is attached to a generator. Saves having to clean up the melted waxed !!

I am keen on DVD et al, as many people who are recipients of my PTE shows keep asking what about a DVD version. But I don't have a DVD burner...yet. (Hey, I still do analog 35mm versions of my PTE shows as I am not thrilled with the image quality through a digital projector) There have been some mentions of the compatibilty issues with DVDs produced from computer burners and DVD players that are bought for viewing movies on DVDs. Could someone please give us neophytes (luddites some might say ) a primer on the compatibility issues on DVD and also explain SVCD - if I have the initials right. The move to DVD is a major improvement for PTE, but the technical details need to be better explained if possible. Thanks

Igor: I have not had time to work with 4.20 yet, but I would fully endorse AL's list with Ed's add-ons. Of course that makes it look as though the Ottawa mafia are in cohoots !!! Which is not the case as we have not talked together recently. It is just that we tend to use PTE for similar purposes so we are looking for the same things. The most important to me is the ability to keep the OBJECTS from moving on different screen resolutions ! (But you have heard that from me "several" times before ) Keep up the great work !!!!!

Igor: You continue to amaze me Looking forward to trying out the improvements. Thanks !!!!

Marco: Tell me about it !!! I use objects a lot and this has always been an issue that I have brought up to Igor. I was glad to see a few weeks ago that he has it on his "to do" list. I just completed a complex project (106 PTE files in one show) that was being sent to various people all using different screen resolutions. I solved it with a trick that RonWill mentioned some weeks ago. I set the show to run at a fixed screen size and then placed a one image show in front of it at 1600x1200 and ran the "real" show off it . It works beautifully. See http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums//index...t=ST&f=2&t=1197