davegee

Which version are you try to activate? If you are trying to activate the new FULL Version 7 (released on Friday) with a key bought on the 1st Sept I can visualize a problem. Try installing the version which was CURRENT when you bought the key? (V7 Beta 20). Just guessing. DG

Lin, It's possible that Frans is refering to the recent Betas where, when you tried to add a video, the pop up would ask if you wanted to optimise? It no longer seems to do that even with files which I have previously had to optimise. I have a limited number of videos available to check with, perhaps you could try one? DG

Ken, I have read your suggestion a couple of times and I can see what you are putting forward. As long as the O&A dialogue would still show the incoming and outgoing transitions durations (gray strips) I would be happy. What you are talking about is a method of "locking" particular transitions and their parameters to a slide in the event that it is moved etc? DG

The current system allows for setting keyframes (and therefore animations) within the incoming and outgoing transition periods. This allows for overlapping PZR effects and less static transitions. If this facilty were removed then the functionality of the software would be diminished and not improved. DG

Vista and Firefox. Download and installation were no problem. DG

Ken, If I understand KEN correctly seperating the queries for a PUBLISHED version and BETA versions might not be a bad idea. Differentiating between new and pre-existing problems might not be easy though. DG

I have no problem with it! Like all new things it will become clearer as we go on. DG

Agreed - I have managed to eliminate Photoshop from my Workflow for PP'ing NEF files but for preparing the necessary PNG files for this project it is essential. For making the JPEGs for PTE it is not required. So although I could easily do without CSX for my photographic work I still use it for creative purposes and therefore (sometimes) have to "plumb the depths" as you say. DG

Methinks that you need to use a MASK to do what you want. A mask will hold back the portion outside of your frame. Are we, perhaps, looking at a portrait format image that has been rotated to "correct" verticals? DG

Lin, Maybe we can go back a little? I am trying to learn all that there is to know about 3D animation in PTE. By using a third party programme to do the work for me what am I gaining or adding to my knowledge base? When 3D animation was introduced we had cubes up to our ears for weeks and then it died down. I see very little 3D animation in PTE shows these days but what is there is subtle and makes me wonder if the use to which it is being put was worth all of the effort that Igor put into it? The letters thing is perhaps not a good example of the way it could or should be applied in PTE but the knowledge gained in actually doing it is priceless. It is also a perfect way to show how things are built, how they fit together and how each element is related to other elements. I'm putting together a project about Innsbrucke and the 3D animation is part of the intro. Will Sara allow you to put together a title something like this (short clip)? EEEEEE.zip DG

I think that Sheila is on the right track. You don't have to rely on transitions to fade out an image. It can be done using keyframes so that the incoming video could be in a slide with no transition or offset in a slide with a transition. The tools are there to do just about anything that we want. DG

Thanks Colin. DG

Thanks Lin, An hour to spare and foul weather outside so...................... Xara 3D - never heard of it. Animated GIFs - what happens if you want to tweak something? Besides, these take up hardly any disc or memory space. All good fun!! DG

.......to see what can be done. Best viewed at 1920x1080. DG PIXELS2.zip

Is this specific to the crop tool or are other processes slower? What is the status of your C drive - how much free space do you have? The usual answer under these circumstances is to use your System Tools / Disc Clean Up utility to get rid of any Temp Files. Then use a Registry Cleaner such as ASHAMPOO (other software exists). Then using a proper Defragging programme such as Perfect Disc (other software exists) with Smart Placement. It goes without saying that your C drive should contain ONLY programme files - no data whatsoever, but I'll say it anyway. This might not be the answer to your problem but it will not do any harm and some users (myself included) would recommend doing this once a month - minimum. DG

It sounds to me as though IGOR is saying that Minus 100 is Neutral. Agreed Xaver? Agreed Igor? DG

Like Roger, in a past life I prepared Powerpoint presentations for lecturing and saw that PTE had some distinct advantages in this field. "We also use it to present competition images at our camera club". Confirmation of what I refered to in a different thread. http://www.picturest...dpost__p__88196 DG

Thanks Barry, That could be it. However Xaver also got it right. If an existing template has loaded clicking on the Sharper/Smoother Text resets to Igor's new default setting. Time to save a new Template, perhaps - or leave it as it is?. We still need to know from Igor - which setting gives a NEUTRAL effect. It looks like it is ZERO but it would be nice to have it confirmed by him. DG

Xaver, Thanks for that. I agree that we need to know from Igor which setting produces ZERO EFFECT. A large number of photographic clubs and societies now use PTE as their sole means of presenting single images in competition. Any changes to an image wrt sharpening/smoothing would not go down very well with competitors so the person putting the project together needs to know which setting to use to produce a completely NEUTRAL result. DG

Xaver, anyone, When you add an image to the Slide Line (Beta 19) what does the Sharper/Smoother box read? When I add an image it reads ZERO. Igor's statement could be interpreted to read that it will show minus 100. DG

"You can slightly affect to image quality changing "Sharper/Smoother" parameter in the Objects and animation editor. I recommend to set -100 (minus 100). This is default value since Beta 19. You need not care about this parameter in common cases. I hope that it's best solution for image quality. Sometimes if you discover a rare case of moire (especially if you add oversharpened image) you can change this parameter to "0" or even (plus) "128"." Igor, I'm confused by this statement - I expected to see the slider set at -100 for new objects? It is still set at zero. Or are you saying that minus 100 in Beta 18 = Zero in Beta 19? If I want an image to look exactly the same as when I saved it as a JPEG in my software of choice what setting should I use? DG

Igor, Thanks for Beta 19. It is difficult to judge without seeing 18 and 19 side by side but the latest version certainly gives the impression of being sharper with better contrast and definition when viewing the same project. Well done!! DG

Steady on Ken!! My IIYAMA 24" is using the same settings now as when it was taken out of the box. Never needed any further setting - I don't print. As I said I've never connected my laptop to my TV for anything other than showing PTE EXE files or MP4 files. I have, however, shown my PTE EXE files and MP4 files on OTHER PEOPLES TVs and found that they looked absolutely terrible until I shifted the colour back from in-your-face ULTRA VIVID theatre to natural. "different strokes for different folks" - dead right!! You might well be right about larger screens (and larger resolutions) being more susceptible to shimmering - something to investigate? DG

Barry, Please don't take offence at this but I feel that you continue to miss a VERY important point here. Not everyone wants or needs a pro camera and its 20+ Mp resolution. You cannot test a feature or a theory with a camera which has 6000x4000 resolution and say that it applies to all cameras on the market. So, if Igor introduces a feature which helps a user with a camera with less resolution then those of you who write tutorials need to take this into account? It seems that you don't need to use this feature but your opening comments refered to the fact that you sat down to write a tutorial on this feature. If your camera with its 25% more resolution than mine doesn't need this feature then that's great but it seems obvious to me that if you used a archived image out of one of your much older cameras in a PTE show this feature could be of great help to you. Keep up the good work. DG

Don't know Ken - never tried that. I wouldn't advocate using the TV to test anything like this. It is OK for showing PTE EXE files (when the colour settings are NEUTRAL) but when editing I use a Computer Monitor - not a TV or a projector. DG