JEB

Hi, It was not my intention at this time to create a list of things that could or should be improved or provided, this already exists to a large extent in this section of the forum. I wanted to achieve two things. General support from the community that there is a need to address the issue and ideally agreement from Igor that he would be willing to consider looking at possible options. Regards John

Hi, While we are in a period of relative calm regarding the development of PTE and following on from recent discussions in this section and elsewhere in the forum I would like to make the following suggestion. Would it not be beneficial to take a long hard look at the usability of the product? We have seen fantastic developments in recent years, all of which have moved the boundaries. However in order to use many of these facilities the user has to have an intimate knowledge of not only PTE but also increasingly has to be quite computer savvy. I believe that the time has now come to take stalk and examine what can be done to make the program more user friendly (WITHOUT compromising its flexibility for those who need this facility, after all it is primarily those people who have driven the development up till now). I know that this has been discussed in the past. Suggestions included the possibility of two programs - basic and advanced etc. I think an example was given in the past of Adobe CS and Elements and I'm sure many arguments on both sides ensued. However, lets narrow that down a little and just consider how Elements is now presented. Three levels built into the one package, perhaps there is something to be learned from that approach? I know it can't be just as straight forward as this but I also know from my personal experience of life, the longer you delay in reviewing, taking stalk and facing change the harder it becomes. I'm no marketing expert but based on my own experience (and this has been highlighted elsewhere recently by others) many potential photographers are put off getting involved with PTE due to their fear of its perceived complexity. I will now get controversial! As a committed Mac user I would far rather see Igor spend time and resources on making PTE more user friendly than on producing a Mac version. Regards John

Dave, Ken, It seems to me that Igor, without being asked, decided at some stage that it was worth providing the information we have i.e. advice that there are duplicate file names in different locations. All I am asking for is the identification of the offending slides. Clearly this can't be a major problem. Hardly likely to hold up development of the program. I'm sure that all of us can think of little things that can be improved that will have the potential of making PTE even more user friendly, particularly as it gets more complex with every new release. Cheers John

Igor, I wonder if some thought could be given to improving the method of identifying the location of identically named images when creating a "back up in zip". I totally accept that this is a problem caused purely by bad working practice …….. but none of us are perfect …….. certainly not me. Two suggestions come to mind - Rather than show the offending files singly which entails re trying to create a zip each time in order to identify the next file, could all instances not be shown together in a list? This list could then be grabbed and printed out. My second suggestion would be to not only show the file paths but also the slide number in which the duplicated files are located. If I could only have one of these enhancements it would be this one! Hopefully, John

THE FORUM IS ALIVE AND WELL........................let's leave it at that........till the next time!

Hi Lin I didn't want to enter the "my daddy's car is faster than you daddy"s" scenario but.... 1. I,m quite sure you are correct2. And nobody else does?3. If you say so I'll accept that but what does that prove? There are many who do presumably. I and presumably others have chosen a particular path which in my case, based on many years of service issues with PC manufacturers their retailers and suppliers all passing the buck, I chose the mac road. This has FOR ME proven to be much less harrowing though, granted in cash probably more expensive in terms of outlay. But only one backside to kick and one which has responded to date admirably. Cheers John

Hi Firstly I will not argue with either Barry or Lin but I can NOT agree with them!!! At risk upsetting anybody what I will say is that I have been using PTE on both my Macs via Parallels for some time now and have come to the view that I PERSONNALLY believe that the need for a Mac version of PTE has diminished somewhat. I think that perhaps Igor would be better concentrating his limited resources on improving and developing PTE AND MAKING IT MORE USER FRIENDLY without limiting its flexibility for those who feel they need such facilities. Cheers John P.S. Sent from my iPad

Hi Peter, Can't remember if I responded to the PM, however since then v8 has come out and as you suggested problem (if it truly was one) is resolved. Personally I am delighted with the audio enhancements. Haven't as yet got excited about the Slide Styles but time will tell. John

O.K. in W7 in Parallels

Hi I just have to share this with any other Mac/Parallels user. I have just upgraded to Parallels 9 from 8 in readiness for OS XMavericks due to be released soon. As part of the deal Parallels areoffering an app (Parallels Access) that enables remote access fromthe iPad to the main computer. I have been able to access PTE 8 Beta5from my iPad and edit a sequence I am presently working on. I have noidea if there are any limitations – time will tell. I am also able to access my library of PTE (PC) sequences and playthem on the iPad. Clearly WiFi access is necessary and the host iMac has to bepowered up. I am most impressed. Cheers John

Hi, I wonder if this is a known situation. When creating a MAC sequence that contains .WAV files these files do not play. It is my normal habit to use MP3 when adding audio but in one particular project which contained five tracks each with many clips I became lazy and used some .wav files which play back perfectly from a PC .exe sequence so assumed the same would be true with a MAC version– not the case it appears. Anybody else found this? Can anything be done about it Igor? It's not a big issue for me as I almost always convert to MP3 though sadly not on this occasion which caused me a bit of embarrassment. Regards John

Thanks Gentlemen, I should have looked there. Lin, thanks for your usual detailed explanation. Cheers John

Hi, For some time now I have been meaning to ask about "Back-up to Zip". What happened to that option? Has it been replaced by "Safe Executable File for Internet"? If so or not for that matter, what does this facility offer? Thanks John

H Chris, Basically I was interested in whether there were many people within the PTE community using Aperture. I was however, motivated to ask the question because of an article I read (Aperture Expert.com} which appeared to encourage the practice of accessing the Aperture library directly, by bypassing Aperture - "You can directly use your photos in any app (Apple or3rd party)without exporting them out of Aperture first". As a relative newcomer to Mac and particularly Aperture I was under the impression that interfering with the library was not recommended. From what you say I use Aperture in much the same way as you. Regards John

Hi, I know there are a number of PTE users out there who have seen the light and are using MACs! However is anybody using Aperture? John

Hi, I don't think that the following is presently possible but I believe it may be worth considering for the future. I have been working with Masks on a recent project and have been reminded how irritating it is to have to remember to ensure that the Mask is activated to be made "Transparent to selection". This is, I find, particularly necessary when working with multiple Masks on the one slide. I notice that the contained object when loaded is automatically made Transparent. My suggestion is that either the Mask should also have this property by default or alternatively an option within Preferences should be provided to switch this on or off. The latter would probably be better given that people have undoubtably got used to working under the present situation. John

Hi, I am always interested whenever there is activity in this area, as I moved to Mac about 18 months ago and held many of the views and concerns expressed here about the introduction of a Mac version of PTE. I am reminded of a quote somebody made earlier which in essence boiled down to "it isn't what you want but what you need that is important". My situation now is that by using Parallels Virtual Machine software to run Windows7, PTE runs just like any other application, fully integrated with my other principal applications (Aperture and PS Elements etc.). In fact if I were Igor I would consider very carefully about making the investment in developing a PTE version for Mac but rather put that energy into further developing the main product while always being aware of anything that could damage or improve the relationship with the Virtual Machine environments. Furthermore, I get the impression from time to time in the press, that there are suggestions that this "integration" between Mac and Windows is likely to develop to some extent, by whatever means I do not know. If there is any truth in that then the present situation can only get even better. No doubt this will ruffle a few feathers – but that could liven up the debate! Cheers John

Barry said - "Surely it's the new user who are helped by well set defaults." and for what it is worth I heartily agree. I think far too often those of us who have been involved with PTE for some time forget the beginner. John

Thanks gentlemen, I never cease to wonder at how stupid I am! John

Hi, Can somebody remind me please how tochange the positions of the buttons in the user interface. I did thisin my personal copy of 7.5 when it was released in Beta and wouldlike now to do it on my camera club's computer. I wish to move the "Preview" keysdown to the bottom of the UI. Thanks John

Hi Eric, Thanks for that link. I have been away from home for a few days so only now trying to catch up with things. As you will have noticed I have managed to sort myself out. The problem was I didn't check that I had all the correct options selected but once that was put right I was in business and ran off the few copies I required. Thanks for your input. Regards John

Dave Thanks for your follow up. I did suspect that would be the case but decided in frustration to go for it at the time. Sorry for not responding sooner but I have been away from my mac and intact replying to you from my phone at moment on train on way to York for a few days. I must make a study of this DVD business sometime. I live in hope that some kind forum member will write an IDIOT'S guide to PTE sharing options You never know! Regards John

Eureka! Thanks folks. I ticked all the boxes on the last page of video builder and that did the trick. Off to bed now, as it is now tomorrow! Cheers John

Hi Nobeefstu, Just noticed your response and started a burn using your setting. Will report later. John