Lin Evans

Hi Judy - to manually set keyframe time go to Objects and Animations, Animations Tab - Keyframes. Select your keyframe then either type in the exact value or use the up and down arrows to advance or retard time for that particular keyframe. You can then copy that value and paste it into another image or object by just highlighting the keyframe value to copy to, then use "Paste." I'll let Dave take care of the Ctrl+T question... Best regards, Lin

Hi Igor, There is a very interesting interview with John Ott by Mother Earth News from back in 1986 (John died at 91 years of age in 2000). In this interview he explains some of the difficulties he encountered with academics even purposely publishing false information to discredit him. It's a really interesting interview. There are small numbers at the bottom of each page to advance to the next page in the interview here: http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/john-ott-zm0z86zhun.aspx?PageId=1#axzz3IQ Best regards, Lin

I noticed in the text explanation of G-lux that you could even make your screen "pink or green." My suggestion is to not to make it "pink" or "rose" colored because that color light in any significant amount for long durations is very bad for the human psyche per John Ott's studies of light on human and animal behavior. There are several differing opinions about this and not all agree. Much of the disagreement stems from a bit of jealousy primarily because John Ott was not an academic, but a very practical and very intelligent person who not only developed the full spectrum light, but wrote what may be the definitive text on light and behavior called "Health and Light." Having spent many years teaching at the university level, I've come to realize that not all significant knowledge comes from academics at all. There are myriad examples of non academic and even relatively uneducated (formally) people making giant contributions to our knowledge base. John Ott was one of these people. Here's a little synopsis: http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/full_spectrum_sunlight.html#.VFrABTTF-So Lin

Hi Linzi, Do you have any backup zipped projects where you used this template? That is have you clicked on "files" "create backup in zip" ? If so, you should be able to recover (extract) it from the zipped backup of another project. I've just verified that the download links on Dom's site don't work and he's apparently not in country right now so I know of no way to contact him. Since it's a free download anyway, it wouldn't be improper if someone has it to share it with you. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone personally who uses it so can't be of much help. A good plan for the future is to backup every project using the "create backup in zip" then you should always be able to recover previously used sequences. Best regards, Lin

What application are you using for your notes, Kevin? Unless you have your notes as text on your slides, you won't see them when the show is being displayed. Normally, one would not have two applications playing simultaneously unless you were using two separate displays. Best regards, Lin

Hi Mur, As David says, it works the same way for a frame. Keep in mind that if the frame has a child, that child will be affected by moving the center of a frame. If you move the center of a frame when there are children of that frame, they too will move depending on the position of the center. It may "appear" that the center of the frame isn't moving, but it is if you watch the center graphic. Best regards, Lin

Hi Andrew, Hold down the keyboard "Shift" key first and move your mouse cursor to the little dot in the center bounded by green (the center mark) and you will see a small square appear as the cursor reaches the center mark. Continue holding down the shift key, depress and hold the left mouse key and drag the center dot wherever you wish visually. Best regards, Lin

Hi Daniel, Which I would choose depends on whether I have the ability to play the HD Video. Here in the USA professional event photographers offer their work on BluRay and DVD for events such as weddings. Almost none offer MP4 format because the vast majority of clients know nothing of these different formats. Nearly everyone has a DVD player and most have a BluRay player which they can just insert the media and watch the show. If it has to be played on a computer it's too complex for the general audience. Keep in mind that where things such as weddings are captured and shows are made that the client is not just the younger couple who are being married, but the older parents, grand parents, etc., who generally want a copy. A product such as PTE will not sell well to event photographers unless it can produce both DVD and BluRay formats. Most of my wedding photographer friends offer their Proshow events on BluRay, DVD and SmartPhone formats. Best regards, Lin

Yes, the problem is twofold I think. First, USB flash memory, when compared to DVD media is quite expensive. Here in the states, even low capacity flash memory purchased in bulk are a couple bucks each. The other issue is that almost everyone has a DVD player and these days almost everyone has a BluRay player if they live in an urban area in the USA and have some sort of cable or dish type television service. Not all current televisions in circulation here are capable of using USB devices to play mp4 shows. As David mentioned, we are probably still a few years away from having the public aware of alternative methods of media presentation. Some day in the near future we may have DVD/BluRay players which also have USB ports and that will make it much easier for the public to accept the alternative ways. Right now, to use a USB device on my television, I have to get my flashlight (beamer) to see the USB port on the side of the large screen. Then I have to choose from a menu the proper selection to play it. With my BluRay/DVD player, I just insert the media and it automatically plays without any intervention from the user. When I want to watch a movie, I go to the nearest video store or machine and rent a DVD or BluRay - not a USB device containing a movie. I think familiarity is part of the issue with presenting shows on alternative media. Best regards, Lin

Hi Bert, Just in case you have the need to do this before such an option might be available - it's easy enough to do now. All you need is a transparent PNG file to place the border around and to reside inside the same mask with your image to be zoomed, panned, etc. Here's a sample: http://www.lin-evans.org/gary/forburt.zip Best regards, Lin

The border is a regular border, adjustable for everything other borders are. It's a fairly simple thing to construct. The issue with having a special feature for this is that it would only be good for rectangular masks since it's not possible to put a border around odd shaped masks (oval, custom, etc.). This is still something Igor would need to consider, but since it's so easy to do with other tools, ... who knows? It's just the transparent PNG with a border inside the same mask as the object... Here's the pte file link. http://www.lin-evans.org/gary/forgarypte.zip Best regards, Lin

Sort of like this? http://www.lin-evans.org/gary/forgary.zip Best regards, Lin

Hi Gary, How would this differ from putting the border around the image inside the mask? Best regards, Lin

Hi Laszio, First, in order to see a waveform of the video sound in PTE, you must "mute" the video in Objects and Animations in the Properties tab. Next click on Project Options then the Audio Tab. Click on "Add Audio File" then on the small down arrow next to "Files of Type" click and choose "Video Files." Next navigate to your video file and double click it. PTE will automatically extract the audio content of your video, convert it to the correct format and it will then appear in the timeline as an audio file and you will have complete control via the envelope tool just as with any other audio file. The second thing we must be concerned with is the size of the complete file. In a 32 bit system, there is a 2 gigabyte limitation in executable file size. Even though a video creation isn't subject to this same limitation, you may be exceeding the overall limit depending on the size of the non video part of your project, or there may be an issue with the type of audio which can sometimes cause a no sound condition. The first thing I would do is to try to exclude the video from being contained in the same single project. In the Properties Tab of Objects and animations, select your video and click on the block next to "Do Not Include File to Exe" . Try creating an exe then and see if the audio works normally. If it does, then attempt to create a DVD and use rewritable media so you don't end up experimenting with and wasting good media. It could be that you just need to change the pixel size of your images which are not subject to deep zoom to no larger than the expected display size and use the equivalent of level 7 Photoshop compression to minimize the non-video file size to stay under the limit of the DVD. Try these things and let's see where it leads. Best regards, Lin

Hi Laszio, If you could copy your response and move it to "Troubleshooting" I think we can answer your question there. This actually is just a poll for Igor and to get into details of issues would be moving away from the original intent. Essentially, to see the audio from a video on the timeline the video needs to be entered as an audio - I'll explain how if you move the post then we can delete this post and your original here and continue with working out the problem there. Thanks, Lin

Even though I personally don't create many DVD's, if there is any hope of capturing the wedding photography business in the USA, both DVD and BluRay are going to be necessary features in future PTE versions. Event photographers deliver their product via CD or DVD and a product which didn't have that capability would be severely criticized and probably not used even though there are third party softwares which can be used to achieve this end with PTE. A one stop product will be much preferred. Best regards, Lin

Hi Judy, For 8 & 9. A "frame" is simply a rectangle with the opacity set to zero. If you change the opacity from zero you will be able to see the drop-shadow. Perhaps it is superfluous to have both, but it is a time saver to not have to set the opacity to zero so perhaps not. On adding "a frame to a rectangle" you can do that - do you mean a border (picture frame) rather than the PTE "frame?" Best regards, Lin

Hi Vincent, I just tried Calibri and can't reproduce that issue. Could you tell me the operating system you are using and the version and when Igor gets back from his trip, I'll ask him to look into this. Bests regards, Lin

I don't have Calibri Light on my system, but this is Calibri with Atlantis Word Processor then PicturesToExe. Could you give a sample of the problem?

Hi Vincent, That isn't a PicturesToExe issue, it's a font issue. Which font are you using? Best regards, Lin

-100 in PTE is no sharpening... Zero would be intentional blur or softening when referring to the slider in Objects and Animations. The default in PTE is set to zero via the Project Options Screen Tab, but zero is represented on the scale by -100. If your intent is to leave the images exactly as you have created them in your editing software, then then be sure that Project Options - Screen Tab - setting is zero. Save the settings in a new show with no images then import all your images. The no-sharpening effect will be present when -100 appears on each slide. Lin

I'm reminded of a violin, an instrument with four strings, a fingerboard and a bow with which to cause vibrations of the strings which impart their vibrations to the wooden body which amplifies and creates a sound which the auditory system interprets. A child or an adult can be taught to play a simple melody such as "twinkle twinkle little star" in a few lessons. Some, who have the desire and aptitude, become masters such as Itzhak Perlman or Viktoria Mullova. Most will never get beyond the rather simplistic use of this tool. Whether the violin be a $25 ebay model or a rare multi-million dollar Stradivarius it will sound wonderful in the hands of the master but to the neophyte there will be no discernable difference. So it is with the tools we use to create, manipulate and display our artistic visions. In the hands of the neophyte, Photoshop has little value. In the hands of the experienced and/or talented designer, it becomes a means of expression of creations of beauty. PTE is a tool which in the hands of masters such as JPD or Jean Cyprien can produce incredible results. Most of us will never learn to extract the ultimate results from PTE, but with perseverance and dedication, most can learn to more effectively use the tools already provided to help us produce our visions. This is not to say that we shouldn't continue to strive to improve an already fantastic product, but we should also use care that we do not turn PTE into the proverbial "jack of all trades - master of none" tool. Perhaps it's time for a series of tutorials on using and creating masks.... It seems that what is missing here is not the means of doing what Gary has in mind, but a dearth of understanding of how to proceed. Masks may seem mysterious to the uninitiated, but actually they are quite straight-forward once some basic principles are understood.

Hi Gary, My suggestion would be to only use full sized OOC (out of camera) images for slides where you will be doing deep zooms. That goes for both MP4 and executables. There is nothing to be gained by having an image larger in pixel dimensions than the resolution of the display on which it will be shown except in those cases where deep zoom-in's are used. PTE will automatically resize any image whether larger or smaller than your intended resolution when making an MP4. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing depends on several factors. Since all frames must be stored inside the video container for any video, the less compression used (higher quality) the larger the overall file size but also the better the quality of the finished product to the extent that there are no artifacts of compression visible. The rule of thumb is to leave the original size image both on executables and on mp4's for those slides where zoom-in's are being done. This way, PTE will create the slide to be stored from the zoomed in high resolution image rather than from a zoom in on an already reduced resolution image. A unzoomed 1080x1920 will look identical whether PTE resizes it on the fly from a 20 mp original or you resize it before creating the executable. So the advantage in file size is to resize all images except those which have deep zooms for executables and the savings in time for mp4's because PTE won't have to resize the majority of images, only those with deep zooms. Best regards, Lin

Hi Gary, That's not exactly how it works. When you do a deep zoom on an image which is original size in PTE for MP4 creation you have "X" quality. When you do a deep zoom on an image which has been resized externally you have "X-resize" quality. For quality images it's better to let PTE do the resizing for the mp4 because the resizing is being done dynamically by the program. When you have a deep zoom and the original image is, for example, out of your camera at say 20 megapixels as an example and you zoom to 1:1, the 1080P resolution image will be created from PTE from a 1:1 zoom. When you feed PTE an externally resized image then zoom into it to 1:1, the image you end up with at 1080P will be of much less quality because you start at 1080 then zoom in rather than starting at 20 megapixels and zooming in. For creating video, it's always better to let PTE do the resizing if there are deep zooms. It won't matter for images which are not zoomed, but leave the ones you intend to zoom into at full resolution and let PTE do the resizing dynamically for best results. Best regards, Lin

??? You do have Properties, Common and Animations tabs?? Best regards, Lin