JRR

Stu and Al: Thanks for your thoughts. I will do some experimenting and get back to you. It will likely be tomorrow

I usually use BUTTONS when utilizing OBJECTS. But if for various reasons I want two or more lines of text in the OBJECT, I use the BUTTON and then use the TEXT OBJECT to insert the title within the BUTTON. That works fine, except I noticed this morning that when running the AV show (in v4.12) and clicking on the two line BUTTON all works well, but when the show returns to the screen from where you left off, the TEXT within the BUTTON is gone. If I back up a page and then come back in, the TEXT has returned. It is not a big deal, but just wanted to let you know. (I have not tried it in v4.14 as I am trying to keep the major show (and its 106 "sub-shows" - they keep multiplying ) I am working on all within the same version just in case.)

Ron: I seem to recall a discussion on fancy buttons and several links to recommended software several months ago (maybe longer). Try doing a search (bottom right of screen) and look for "Buttons" or maybe "Icons"

Hi Skymot Welcome to PTE, I am sure you will find it a great software. I can't answer your question, but you might have better luck getting an answer if you post it on the forum for the PTE in general. You have posted it on the forum that generally applies for Presentations posted on the Beechbrook cottage. You can remove this posting from here and then click on the "picturestoExe Forums" above and then click on "PicturestoEXE" and you will find the other forum to post it on.

Vinnie: I have not done this, but I do vaguely remember something like this being talked about before by using "templates" Try doing a search (bottom right of this forum) for templates and you might find it. I am sure someone will come along with the answer for you.

M2 Was the projector at the church hooked up to the same computer it worked fine on ? I suspect not. The text being in different positions make me think that you used OBJECTS for the text. That works great as long as the screen resolution is the same as the one on which you created it. Otherwise it will move about on the screen of the other computer. This can be solved, usually, by using windowed mode (PROJECT OPTIONS>SCREEN) I use OBJECTS extensively and I still have to work at getting them to remain in the same place on other computers. Igor is planning to work out a way that they will not move about in a future release. In the meantime you can put the text on the image in PhotoShop if you want to guarantee it won't move. The timing of the show on one computer vs the other sounds as though one computer is slower in terms of specs than the other. Ensure your images are 800x600 to 1200x800 but keep them at about 100-200kb by compressing them. (Use quality 5 in PhotoShop). The sound file should be kept relatively small, I use 128 or 96kbps generally. Using fades all the time (I always do) is very "labour intensive" for any computer. Hope that helps

Carol: Nice show, nice shots, nice PhotoShop work ! A couple of questions: 1. What screen setting did you use under PROJECT OPTIONS ? 2. What software did you use to make the frames ? Was it PS7.0 ? Thx (PS: I also posted this in the PTE Presentatioins forum)

Carol: Nice show, nice shots, nice PhotoShop work ! A couple fo questions: 1. What screen setting did you use under PROJECT OPTIONS ? 2. What software did you use to make the frames ? Was it PS7.0 ? Thx

Kavi instructions should work for you. I like to use an image on the page (I call it "Title Page") with the OBJECTS as it is a little more "polished". Try to use an image that has something to do with your shows. Also instead of the BUTTON OBJECT try the PICTURE OBJECT and select the title slide from each show as the "icon" from which to click to start each show. The PICTURE OBJECT has the same functions as the BUTTON All kinds of ways to accomplish the same thing !!

Joanna: One way I resolve your issue is that I make a one image show that has an OBJECT BUTTON link to each show. Then I add text (Use PhotoShop or a text OBJECT) to the one image that describes what you want the viewer to do with each icon (OBJECT BUTTON) For the one image, I try to select a meaningful image from one of the shows and then place the OBJECTS and text on top of it. Hope that helps

Al: Good idea !! But (and there is always a "but" ) in many of my applications of OBJECTS the GIF approach would not be as flexible as the BUTTON. The button is fully size adjustable as you are "laying it down". I frequently use OBJECTS laid over an image or text already in a slide and the image or text length and size varies. So using the GIF with a border would be great if the OBJECTS were all standard sizes, but in my case they frequently aren't so I would be going back and forth to PhotoShop to try to get it sized correctly. BTW, I was after a different coloured border for the BUTTON as I am laying buttons over existing text on a white background. Thanks

Al: Yes I meant coloured as in choice of colours for the border. Ron: In the use I am making of OBJECTS right now, I need to button to be visible. I have used "invisible" OBJECTS before by using a transparent .gif file as an OBJECT. I will have to go looking for you past post for other applications Thx

Igor: I never noticed the keys were not disabled !! Yes, as Al says. The maker should be able to have total control over the navigating options. Thanks for looking at this. Looking forward to its implementation

Igor: a second small (?) refinement for OBJECTS: Can we have an option to have a coloured outline of the OBJECT on the slide ? When using the BUTTON OBJECT without any text (as the text is already on the slide and you are just laying the button on top of the text) sometimes it does not stand out as much as it could. Allowing for a coloured outline of the BUTTON OBJECT would be nice Thanks

Igor: A small refinement please in some future release of PTE. When you work through your SLIDE LIST, if a slide has CUSTOM SETTINGS, the "P" next "customize slide" turns a lighter grey. That is very helpful. But it would be VERY helpful, if it turned a lighter grey when there were OBJECTS attached to a slide as well. That would save you having to preview slides when checking to see if you have an OBJECT associated with a particular slide, if you are not sure which ones do have an OBJECT. If the "p" is reserved for "customize slide", then prehaps an "o" on the right side of "objects" ?? As I have said many times, the OBJECTS in PTE is the greatest thing in PTE since sliced bread (and I don't mean Al's slice of bread in the preview area ) and to my mind is one of the major features making PTE such a great product. Scaling them along with this refinement can only improve the wonderful utility of PTE. Thanks

I am running with 4.12 (I know I should be at 4.14 ) I discovered the other day that even with the mouse clicks set to "none" (Advanced options on Project Options) the scroll wheel seems to still be active. I wanted to control the advancing of the show by the navigation bar, so I turned "off" the mouse clicks. A viewer of the show (that involves a lot of text on the screen) absentmindedly played with the scroll wheel while reading the screen, and oops there went the screen onto the next slide !!! It would be nice if there was a third line under "mouse clicks" that would look after the scroll wheel. Personally I would be happy with the scroll wheel not bein active with the mouse clicks turned off, but you never know what someone else might want...

As I have mention in various others post, I have been working (for far too long )on a very large PTE project. It involves a Family Tree AV show with, at last count, some 85 individual PTE shows that "inter-link" via OBJECTS. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, so I followed my usual procedure of having all 85 shows in independent folders, each folder having the images, sound file, pte and exe files for a particular show. I have always done that as it seemed to be a neat and tidy way to do it. That works great for standalone shows. But in this case, I think it has turned out to be very problematic. I did not expect it at the start, but a good many of the slides/images (i.e. carefully constructed family tree with names and "branches" plus photographs) have turned out to be used in more than one show. With all that data entry via PhotoShop, you can expect to make some typos etc etc. The problem comes with correcting an slide/image - I had to determine where else I had used that slide/image, or a version of it, and ensure I copied the corrections into all the appropriate folders. If I had used a single folder for all the images etc etc and have each applicable show draw the images from the "pool", as soon as I changed an slide/image all shows would fall in line. Of course in my case, that would mean a list of about 4-500 slides/images on the right (I mean LEFT SIDE! edited 9pm 03.10.23) side of each PTE set-up screen that I would have to search though for the images I want to use in that show. I hope for your sakes no one else tackles what I have, but if you are building multiple interrelated shows with similar images, you might want to keep this in mind and plan a process before you start.

RonWill at the PTE presentations forum http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums//index...t=ST&f=3&t=1167 said: (oct 17 9:20am) "Pity about the use of 800x600 as I had the distraction of my desktop surrounding it. I don't propose to alter my settings just for that. However, in PTE, I have loaded a background and, using object editor, the *.jpg image 'Bohemian' and "Run application or open file", created my own PTE of your sequence" Ron, you appear to have saved my bacon. (and I don't mean our lousy Canadian bacon, I mean your good Brit bacon ) I am working on a huge PTE show that involves 80-85 other PTE shows linking off it via the use of objects. Until Igor comes up with OBJECTS that won't move with screen res, objects which I LOVE, have always been a challenge. But Guido and Al have assisted with showing me to reduce the problem by using windowed mode. That works to a point, until someone has a screen res greater than the window-mode you set up, and then they get to see their desktop at the edges. My show was set for windowed mode at 1152x864 on the basis that all computers would have this option and I would have people set their screens to this before viewing the show. Well..... I have hit all kinds of variations including screens that only run at 1600x1200. I didn't know what to do with my shows already to go (80 done now and a few more to come) Then you shone the light. I did as you said, created a one image show (1600x1200) with an object to start the shows which are all set at 1152x684 windowed mode. My objects appear to be staying still. I will have to more thoroughly test, but it looks as though that one jewel of an idea is going to save me a pile of re-working !! Thanks

I think anyone starting on PTE, or many of us who have been working with PTE for a long time, should all shuffle over to BeechBrook Cottage and download Al's PTE Tutorial 101. I wish I had it when I started with PTE. As great as it is, the even greater thing is the fact that Al is making it freely available to any and all. The work done on this show, and his very useful PTE ADJUSTOR utility represesent a very large investment of time and effort on Al's part. By the way, this is not a paid commercial by me for Al's show. He does not know I am posting this. (he will now of course)

I have not started shooting digitally yet - I am getting closer.... But I do have 25,000 ± 35mm slides that I store in plastic pocketed sleeves. Each slide is assigned a sequential number. I have a database (LOTUS APPROACH similar to MS ACCESS) that lists some 30 fields, each of which are "searchable" independently, or in groups of fields. That lets me find any image within a few seconds, no matter what the topic, age etc etc. I will be going with the same approach when I go digital. But I will be adding a thumbnail to the database. (as I should be doing now for the scans of the 35mm slides.) LOTUS APPROACH (my version anyway) won't let me add a thumbnail, so I will either use MS ACCESS, or THUMBSPLUS. I suspect it will be THUMBPLUS as it is a software specifically designed to work with images in this way. I won't need to pre-sort the images on "filing", just enter them sequentially. All images will be backed up (likely twice as I have had one or two problems with CDs) on CDs (and DVD likely in the future when I get a DVD burner)

"Unless you are an avid skier or dog musher, that is. (I'll probably get some hate mail now from fellow Canadians Some however would agree - especially the ones who go south for the winter)" (I couldn't get the "quote" thing to work today ) Al: Are you offering to mush over to my place and clear my driveway of snow, freezing rain, slush, while I am in the sunny, warm southwestern USA ?? (I really do enjoy our winters !!! If I did not have the 4 seasons, I would find it boring and miss lots of photo Ops) I too agree that PTE gives us a great chance at armchair travel !!! Keep it up everyone

Ron: Welocome to PTE, I am sure you will find it a powerful tool with lots of support available. I do my titles using images created in PhotoShop. While there is no animation per se, some of the transition effects can give you "animation". Also Boxig (http://www.thailandphotoalbum.com) has many many PTE utilities and seem to recall he has something that might give you what you want.

Terri: Based on the many discussions of this topic on the forum, and personal experience with a MAC user who was convinced he could run a pte.exe file, the answer, to my knowledge, is PTE and MACs do not talk to each other.

Gee Al, I had to crawl first But once I crawled, then walked, PTE is a piece of cake (until I try something new, then back to crawlling ) Jim

Jeasco: I can't tell you what PTE can do that the others can't as I don't know the others. I have tried a number of other products for AV that you did not mention and I keep coming back to PTE. Why ? Great flexible program that does what I need it do simply. Supported by a great bunch of users and a highly responsive development team. Find that anywhere else !!!!!!!!!!!! All the shows on Beechbrook are PTE show