Lin Evans

Hi Dave, Yes, you can crop square with a number of tools, but some are much "easier" and more intuitive than either Pixbuilder or Photoshop for the purpose of cropping to a square or other specific aspect ratios. If you haven't used PhotoScape you may want to have a look at it. It's far more intuitive for this type thing than Pixbuilder or Photoshop and there are numerous really nice features and it's free. Here's a link - it's worth downloading and trying... http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/index.php Best regards, Lin

Perfect Dave - that should be the solution to the second part of the OP's question.... Best regards, Lin

LOL - yep - maybe in a future version there will be an option to both save a converted still image and have additive capabilites with styles. There have been many times I have used a screen capture tool to capture an image composed in PTE such as two or more images with various opacity superimposed. It could be a great feature for people who don't have PhotoShop or other software where they can work in multiple layers. IMHO in many ways it's easier to compose such in PTE than in Photoshop. Best regards, Lin

Hi Dave, That's one way to do it. Another is to add the border to a square image in PTE, save as a small square video such as 960x960 then use the video as the object for the existing PTE experimental cube style. The easiest way to accomplish this is to use a freeware program such as PhotoScape which has multiple crop aspect ratios including 1:1. Cropping to a square takes about three seconds. Then in PTE you can add borders as desired and save the resulting still image as a video of about 30 seconds length (if you want to add additional effects - otherwise the video can be only a few seconds long). You can also add other styles before saving the square video such as snow, rain, whatever - then create a 30 second square optimized video. Copy and paste this six times, apply the cube style and you have video including border on all six sides of the cube. Below is a link to a quickie demo zipped Windows exe.... http://www.lin-evans.org/pte/Projectsnowcube.zip Best regards, Lin

Hi Dave, Sorry I wasn't clear on that. I'm assuming that the border is an integral part of the image. I'll make an example later today and post. Best regards, Lin

Hi IG, Welcome to the PTE forum!! How are you creating your cube? Are you making it yourself or using a style? If using a PTE Style it would be best to use the PTE feature to add borders to your photos before selecting them for the cube style. It's "possible" to go into objects and animations and create a border on each of the sides of the cube one at a time, but much easier to set that default on before using the style to create the cube. As for adjusting the area to fit into a cube, essentially the style "should" do that for you unless you are creating a cube manually. If you are creating it manually such as explained using one of my tutorials, you need to use square images to begin with. If you can give us a few more details, perhaps we can help you get on the fast-track to creating and using cubes, etc. If you could explain exactly what you want to create and perhaps post a line to you PTE file (just use "File" "Create Backup in Zip" and post the zipped file) we can help you figure it out. Best regards, Lin

Hi Eric, It's possibly a loading issue. Try setting the "start" time for the one with the green screen to about 2 seconds and see what happens. It takes a certain amount of time for loading to occur for videos. Generally loading and video buffering happen before the black screen for an executable file changes to the opening of your show, but when the loading times of videos are different, it's possible for one to begin while the other is still buffering. In such a case you would see a green screen for the one still buffering. The way I would stop this from happening is to start your show with a two or three second black screen then begin the videos as slide two. This would give everything time to be loaded and buffered. Best regards, Lin

Hi Eric, That's easy enough. What do you want the two videos to do when you go to the next slide? To run two video, each filling the screen they only need to be both as objects on slide one. Load video A then go to Objects and Animations and load video B. Video B will automatically appear on "top" of video A in the objects list. Set the opacity on video B to variously less than 100% until it appears as you like. In order for them to both run smoothly, you will probably have to have both optimized. When done this way they will both be just video clips, neither will be a master. One or both should only be set to master and linked to itself on subsequent slide "IF" you want that video to continue uninterrupted as the background while you sequence through other videos or still slides. Best regards, Lin

The question then becomes one of two choices. Do you want both videos to run continuously (both master videos) or do you want one of them to be the master and the other to stop when you go to the next slide? If you can put what you are trying to accomplish into words, then I can tell you how to proceed. The easiest way to describe it so we are both on the same page would be to name the videos like this: Video A and Video B. For example - say it this way. I want video A to appear on slide one and also video b playing on top of video A but smaller so I can see video A also. When I go to slide 2 I want both video A and video B to remain playing while still image one plays, etc. Best regards. Lin

Hi Eric, Did you download and examine the three zipped PTE files I made for you? It covers the possible scenarios... Best regards, Lin

Look at Project Options then the Screen Tab. Do you have it set for Full Screen or Windowed Mode? If in Windowed Mode is without border checked? The only other reason which I can think of why there might be a border is if your image doesn't fill the screen and you have the background color showing around the periphery. Best regards, Lin

Hi Manuel, I think there are only a few users on this PTE forum who are really fans of effects but for whatever reason many more on Diapositif...The important thing, I think, is to continue to explore ways to use PTE both for conventional presentations as well as for special effects which can be smoothly implemented to perhaps add useful things to help make our presentations more interesting to younger folks. I'm actually seeing a few people who normally would not use special effects actually begining to explore creative ways to do new things. People our age (I'm a year older than you) perhaps don't generally care as much about effects as the younger crowd who will eventually be the market for PTE. Because of this realization, I try to continue to explore ways of incorporating effects and don't really worry too much about whether they are watched. The people who find them interesting will perhaps watch and learn and share what they learn with others. I always try to watch any new presentations which use special effects and learn from those who are creative. I feel it's a wasted day if I don't learn at least "something" new about PTE and how to use it creatively. Best regards, Lin

Thanks Bert, It's fun trying to find just the right combination.... 2nd childhood I suspect - HA! Best regards, Lin

Thanks Jim, They seem to be more prevalent as I get older. A good bottle of Scotch sometimes helps, but it's a remedy I can only afford infrequently on my meager social security check!! LOL Best regards, Lin

During an insomnia attack I spent a sleepless night watching late night Television and old James Bond movies were playing. I saw Sean Conney, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig sequentially - LOL. Each movie was, as is usual in the series preceded by some interesting special effects. I decided to create a little fun ending rather than prelude for some of my own mini-productions using a pseudo James Bond theme... Just for fun folks... http://lin-evans.org/bond/jbending.zip (Windows zipped exe - about 35 meg) http://lin-evans.org/bond/jbendingmac.zip (Zipped Native MacIntosh exe) Lin

Hi Jeff, I think Win 7 is probably the pick of the litter right now - I agree. I'm still using Win XP on my development system but I have Win 7 on one notebook and Win 8.1 on my latest system. I'm still in Colorado right now. I wanted to move this summer but finances have kept me here until I can finish getting my place here fixed up to sell and get rid of lots of household junk. It's coming along, but much more slowly than I had hoped. It's a damned shame about the EPA causing the spill, but there are so many old mines with similar potential hazzards in the US that it's bound to happen again. It just takes too many years for mother nature to fix the mess that humans create .... sad.... Best regards, Lin

Hi Jeff, I doubt that it has anything to do with not having something "ticked," but perhaps some anomaly in the system or OS which is responsible. I've been testing on my XP and I'll try it on my Win 8.1 and also on my Win 7 notebook and see if it works on those as well. The important thing is that you are able to move them as a group even if by click/drag, but it would be nice to find out why there are differences in how it works on different systems. I'll get back as soon as I have a chance to ring it out on a couple other systems. By the way, the sentence structure is fine! LOL - the important thing with language is that those communicating understand each other. I never was a stickler for grammar myself - HA! Best regards, Lin

On my Windows 8.4 64 bit OS with an i7 4770 CPU (8 CPU's) @ 3.40 GHZ and 32768 MB RAM Direct X 11 and a GeFprce GTx 760 with 2 Gigabytes RAM 192 bit running on a 30" 2650x1600 pixel display, the .30 and .25 are smooth and others all jerky. On my Win XP Home Edition with a Core 2 DUO 2.33 GHZ with maximum RAM (4 gigabytes installed) and a good GeForce GTX 750 Ti with also 2 gigabytes RAM running Direct X 9.0c. None are completely smooth. .30 hiccups a bit and the others all jerk. Best regards, Lin

Eric - LOL - don't fall in again! That shock might not be the best thing for that new heart valve!!! Nice shots - have fun... Best regards, Lin

Hi Eric, Let's see if I can help you get a handle on this. There are multiple possible scenarios. Let's take them one at a time. 1. You have multiple slides which you want to play in sequence and you have a video which you wish to run as a background on "each" of the slides. You want this video to continue uninterrupted while the still slides with either still images or video clips sequence one after the other with this master video running uninterrupted in the background. In such a case, you set the video you wish to run uninterrupted in the background as Master. Then this video which you wish to run uninterrupted on each slide as a backdrop is repeated on each subsequent slide and on these subsequent slides it's designated as "linked" to the Master. That is the identical video is a Master on slide one and from slide two until the end of your slides this same video appears in the object list as "linked" to the master. There are several ways you can proceed. The very easiest way is to create your entire show without this video then insert the video into slide one and designate it as "Master." Next in the object list of slide one right click on this master video and select "copy." This puts the master video onto the clipboard. Next go to each subsequent slide in Objects and Animations and right click in the objects list outside of any object and choose "Paste." The copied master video will then be pasted into these subsequent slides and will automatically be assigned as "linked" to the master. You must move this slide to the physical bottom of the Objects list or otherwise it will completely cover all other images. The images above must be sized smaller than the video or else they will "cover" it and you won't be able to see it. 2. You want a Master slide to run in the background uninterrupted, but want still images and/or video clips to play on each sequential slide then stop playing when the next slide appears but still have the master video running continuously and uninterrupted as the individual video clips and/or still images sequence. In this case you do the same thing. Put in all your individual video clips and still images then when everything is done and your slide timings are all set, Put in the Master video on the first slide, set the video to master then copy/paste to individual subsequent slides and move and size appropriately so that the master video plays behind the still images and video clips. In such a case each video clip should be designated as an individual video clip and not linked in any way. What you have done here is simply substitute in some cases, a video clip for a still image. 3. You want more than one Master video to play simultaneously while slides are sequenced with still images and/or individual video clips. You may designate an additional or several video clips as Master and treat them as explained above. They only need to be properly sized and positioned so that they will appear on top of the Master which you have on the bottom layer. 4. You want a still image for the background to stay on screen with multiple slides and/or videos sequencing. The easiest way to do this is to simply make a video which consists of a single still image and place that video as the Master (as explained in 1. above). Hopefully this may help you understand some of the myriad possibilities. The major point is that a Master Video with linked copies will always run continually while other video clips and/or still images sequence. The secondary point is that you may have more than one master video with linked copies. The third point is that it's always easier to do the other programming first - slide timings, still images, video clips, etc., and leave the Master for the last step. If you would like examples of these scenarios, let me know and I'll make a few for you and post links to the PTE files so you can play them for yourself... Later: Here are three example PTE zipped files for you to examine. 1. Background Master video playing uninterrupted while multiple still files sequence... 2. Background Master video playing with secondary Master video playing and still slides sequencing.. 3. Background still image via being made into an MP4 playing uninterrupted with video clips and still slides sequencing: http://www.lin-evans.org/eric/eric1.zip http://www.lin-evans.org/eric/eric2.zip http://www.lin-evans.org/eric/eric3.zip Best regards, Lin

Hi Eric, Actually, without looking at your earlier PTE files I can't be certain what you were doing but this is the way PTE has always worked. If you want a video to run in the background with other videos or still slides sequencing, the original video which you want to keep running must be set as the master video. Whenever this master is copy/pasted to subsequent slides, it will automatically be linked to itself. As David correctly stated, subsequent appearances of the master video must be linked to the original for that video to seamlessly play across multiple slides. If you have other video clips playing over the master on individual slides they can be either set to master and copy/pasted (this is the easy way to do it) and they will play seamlessly like the other master, or they can be set to individual clips and will sequence just as still slides. Unless you want a cacophony of sound, you need to deal with muting whichever video sound(s) you don't want playing... Best regards, Lin

Hi Dave, That happens automatically if you copy/paste the master to subsequent slides. It's not necessary to set the file manually when the master is copy/pasted to the rest... Best regards, Lin

Hi Eric, It sounds like you haven't correctly set the background video to Master so that it runs across multiple slides.(Objects and Animations) Properties Tab, select video then change Single Video Clip to Master video track. You need to copy and paste this master to each slide. Set the timing on the slide option to the actual time you want the additional video clip or still slide to run and if you want the main video clip to run its full extent, then the total time of the other videos and still slides need to equal the full run time of the master. The master slide will continue to run uninterrupted as the stills and other video slides (link the other videos to the master) continue to sequence. Best regards, Lin

Nice Jacek - they serve then are forgotten.... Best regards, Lin

Hi Jeff, I'm going to have to double check this, but if you delete a song somewhere in a single track, I "think" the following songs should automatically close up the gap. This isn't the case if they or perhaps any are on separate tracks. I'll try this and get right back... Later: Yes, that's the way it works on my system. If all the music mp3's are in a single track and you delete one somewhere in the middle (between song one and the last song) they close up the gap automatically. Could it be that you are talking about multiple tracks rather than selections on a single track? Lin