nobeefstu

Daniel, Peter, Dom My tests indicate there is still a slight difference in current version with the Create As function from earlier versions. When using the Create As and saving as the same filename\path in the older versions, PTE did not prompt the user to save because the project file has changed. This works correctly as I see it. In the current beta version ... it seems whenever Create As is invoked (even if the filename\path is the same) PTE prompts the user to save because the project file has changed. If no changes in the filename\path have changed since the last save ... the user should not be prompted to save for changes. As for: There is a reason and need for this function. The.pte file documents/records the last saved filename\path location to keep track. If the user ever changes the saved filename\path ... the user should be prompted to save because the project file has changed so PTE can properly document the new changes in the filename\path. Im glad Igor keeps all the relative project data in the .pte file ... otherwise our PC registry may have to become the logger of changes.

Hi Barry, I pretty much knew what settings you favor in your shows and I probably should have mentioned them. Bill has not mentioned any of the project details ... and the quickest approach is to start from a clean simple slideshow and then later add music, animation, etc. Since PTE's MAC Executable is new to the scene and not much history data to go by ... I not sure how MACs react to the issues we other PC users normally experience.

Bill, Question: Is your project slideshow a simple picture slideshow with basic slide trans-effects (No Hardware Acceleration required) or a Complex - O&A slideshow which requires Hardware Acceleration ? Test: As a simple test for your MacBook Pro : Build a simple slideshow with 10 images using basic slide fade-effects and disable the D3D Hardware Acceleration checkbox in the Project Options- Screen tab. Being that you have been able to play Barry's MAC samples ... tells me that your MAC can play a PTE made MAC Executable. However, I dont know the complexity/hardware used/needed in Barry's samples, nor do I know the complexity/hardware settings you are building your slideshow with. It may be your MacBook Pro doesnot have enough capability to play slideshows demanding hardware rendering.

Bill, I suspect Barry's (Beckham Digital) Videobuilder key had expired. To check your Videobuilder registration ... Click from PTE program top bar menu - Create|DVD Video Disc. When VideoBuilder GUI opens ... Click Help|About to display your registration name and date details. Even if you did not have a Videobuilder registration or a expired registration ... you can still make a MAC Executable, HD Video for Mac, Burn DVD, and other features of Videobuilder. However, the end product displays Unregistered Version labels. If you did not add/use a Custom Icon File in your Project Options ... the files may look the same on the MAC. I dont believe Barry used custom icons and instead uses the default generic icons in his samples. To satisfy my curosity ... did you use the Create Zip option when creating a MAC Executable ? Using this feature absolutely makes sure you do not leave out any files when transfering the files to other PCs.

There is some program/file logistics that utilize and require the designation of a Main Image. You may not need them ... but the program and .pte file uses its item reference. In brief: -If you uncheck Advanced Options| Show Real Slide in Slide List you will only see the Main Image in the Slide List and not the rest of objects in that Slide. Most users today probably use this option enabled and want to see all the objects. - The only way PTE initally adds a new slide to the Slide List is by using a image file which is by default termed the Main Image. You can uncheck, remove the Main Image ... but the Main Image reference item is still utilized by the program and written in the .pte file. - Several versions ago PTE required the Main Image of a Slide to always be available in your Windows files even if you removed it or unchecked it from your objects. It was saved along with your other image files when you made a Template or Backup zip ... if this Main Image file was missing the project so notified you and could not proceed. Today, the removed Main Image object is not saved along with the Template or Backup zip but its reference is still retained and used by program and pte file. I aggree some things need a bit of clean-up in this area since the evolution of old to new and current version. Thats a start anyway.

This would be possible if Igor implemented a Properties Version tab of the exe file. I proposed this added function to compiled exe some many years ago. I m sure slide count and time-duration could be configured in. I think its more required today because of the multitude of PTE versions out now. Just think ... you would know what version it was made in and the creator copyright

Henri, In a mathematical sense ... there is no relation to the exe file kb/mb and its time duration. You can calculate the exe file size following Peter's and Dom's guidelines. But as for time duration its impossible to estimate. Example: Say you have only 1 slide or image which is set to run for 1 minute ... the exe slideshow duration would be 1 minute. Then say you have only 1 slide or image which is set to run for 1 second ... the exe slideshow duration would be 1 second. Conclusion; Both examples above produce the same size kb/mb exe file but totally different time durations. A prime example of this file size vs time duration would be menu shows which are set to have no time duration.

Ernest, Sorry to say ... PTE offers no provision or function to just rename the slides in the Slide List. The Rename function only applies to renaming the actual files as they exist in your Windows folder. **There has not been much query from current users to implement such a rename slide only feature.

Ernest, The Rename function applies to the Windows files and not items within the Slide List. Actually the Rename function should not be available in the Slide List ... otherwise confusion develops such as your instance. If you must Rename files ... do it from the PTE File List Panel before you enter the image into the Slide List Panel. I usually donot rename files on the fly ... I sort it all out like davegee beforehand.

Monobod, Your PC being brand new may be part of the issue ... as VideoBuilder is always updated to include a new libray of equipment. You may want to try the current Beta release of PTE which has newer library files than that of v5.6 to see if you obtain better results. This post here pretty much addresses the main issues encountered when using VideoBuilder to burn DVDs. See if any of the issues apply. http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=10133&view=findpost&p=66130

Eric, I think I somewhat understand your possible concerns. However ... PTE does not TURN-OFF your PCs Hardware Acceleration and in no way changes any of its video/system settings. The D3D Hardware Acceleration checkbox in PTE options just enables or disables the PTE show from using your PCs Hardware Acceleration if available.

Paul, As for Question 1 ... I do not see any problem here. Just program the v4 buttons to run the newer version shows. To have the newer version shows run the old verrsion 4 ... use Run and not Run Slideshow setting. As for Question 2: PicturesToExe 4.49 - WnSoft Forums http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7753&st=0&p=48272&hl=%20PicturesToExe%20v449&fromsearch=1entry48272

You can find Adding Text objects (along with the other available objects) in the Objects and Animation section of : PicturesToExe_User_Guide_v570.pdf page 29 ( this manual is still being updated with new beta content and subject to change) or PicturesToExe_User_Guide_v560.pdf page 32

Bill, I dont use and am not aware of Proshow Producer features and conversion functions. But lets clear up some definitions. Is Proshow Producer producing a .avi file or a .mp4 file ? The .avi wrapper/container does not support H264 HD Video. When a HD Video (MPEG4) is made using H264 process the resulting wrapper/container is .mp4 Links: MPEG-4 Part 14 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-4_Part_14 Container format (digital) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container_format_(digital)

Bill, If I understand your H264 codec issue correctly (the previous posts wander into other issues) ... Your H264 is most likely a decoder and not a encoder. This is why it will not show up in PTE codecs display. Most H264 codecs available for download are decoders for playback only. Encoding to H264 takes a library of files which needs to be scripted/instructed to perform the conversion process. Its just not a single and simple codec that can be installed to encode to H264. H264 process is still in continual development and considered still beta by most accounts. As for burning HD Video to DVD disc movie format ... Video Builder does not support the function as of yet. Plus remember ... to burn HD Video to HD DVD movie format one needs HD hardware, sofware, and HD discs.

To keep interested users upto date on progress: MusiCalc beta 1 release will be out in a few days for my beta testers. All the main functions and elements are ready and working very well ... still needs error/misl coding. During the initial beta testing I will finish the rest of features/functions/packaging. So a week or so from now all looks promising for the user final release version. Stu

Larry, I suspect you mean WMA the audio file ... and not WMV the video file. Anyway Ive got it covered by including MP3, OGG, WMA, and WAV. I will PM you on this project matter.

wideangle, Actually this action somewhat already exists ... however not as an option as you have described. If all your slideshow resource files are in a single folder and the folder is moved ... all you have to do is move the .pte project file into that new folder location and then open it in PTE. PTE will always look for its resource files (for sometime now) relative to the the .pte file. This is also how the backup zip principle works ... it looks relative for its files if any are missing in the original path location.

Larry, Post all music file extentions are you expecting to load ... it would be greatly helpful to know.

Larry, At this moment I dont foresee any problems in making it work to collect and calculate total times. The function of drag-n-drop may need to be replaced with buttons to add/remove selections from catalog list to selection list. I will most likely end up adding some other music related functions/features so other users here may find some use of the tool. I dont mind the little projects ... its the big ones that can absorb all your time and life. I think its going to be called MusiCalc

If you cannot find something that fills your needs anytime soon ... I can probably custom make something to meet your needs. What I propose is to have an empty list with drag-n-drop calculations from the music folder list items. Possibly add music playback to help preview the selection(s), save the final to list or copy final selections to it own directory. Once I get started I will be more able to sort the details. Not too soon ... maybe if Iam freed up this weekend.

Have you tested and built your slideshow with other music file(s) inserted instead of this current issue music file to see if the music plays in the preview and compiled slideshow ?

Story Teller, Its possible you may be using a protected music file such as DRM protection which will limit your usage/copying of the music. How/where did you get your music file ? Some Microsoft details on DRM Q. What do DRM, protected files, and media usage rights mean? A. DRM, which stands for digital rights management, is a technology used by content providers, such as online stores, to control how the digital media files you obtain from them are used and distributed. A file that is protected with DRM requires media usage rights to be delivered with the file. The media usage rights define how the protected file can be used. For example, a right may give you the permission to play the file on your computer (a play right), burn the file to an audio CD (a burn right), or sync the file to a portable device (a sync right). Each right can have certain qualities, such as the following: The right to play a file on your computer an unlimited number of times The right to sync a file to two portable devices five times per month The right to burn a file to an audio CD twice A second kind of protected file is one that was created when copy protection was turned on when you ripped music from an audio CD. It is not possible to remove DRM from a protected file. However, if you have a file that was copy-protected when ripped from a CD, you can turn copy protection off and then rip the file again. For more information, see How do I turn off copy protection when ripping music from a CD? Note that in earlier versions of the Player, media usage rights were called licenses. Q. How do I tell whether a file is protected and what I can do with it? A. To determine whether a file is protected, do one of the following: Display the Protected column in the library. For information about displaying columns in the library, see Windows Media Player Help. Right-click a file you are playing in the List pane, click Properties, and then click the Media Usage Rights tab (called the License tab in Windows Media Player 10). If the file is protected, the terms appear in the box that is displayed. If nothing appears in the box, either the file is not protected or the file is protected but the rights are not present on your computer. If nothing appears in the box, it might be due to one of the following reasons: The file is not protected. Your computer is missing the media usage rights for the file. The media usage rights for the file have expired. The file has not been downloaded to your computer. For example, the file might be subscription content that is stored on an online store's Web site. Create an auto playlist of protected files in your library. To do so, use the criteria Protection is present in the auto playlist. (An auto playlist called Music tracks with content protection is included with Windows Media Player 10 that you can view to identify protected music files in your library. For information about viewing the auto playlist, see Windows Media Player Help.) Digital Rights Management http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Rights_Management

Lin, To add more monitors to your database : Samsung SyncMaster P2070 - default res 1600x900. Test Results -Running in 1600x900 displays a thin flickering line. When show is paused ... sometimes the line is visible and sometimes not visible. -Running in 1024x768 displays normal with no line

Eric, The problem here is the users browser must meet IPB 3.xx requirements for it to fully function properly. "Front-end Requirements (for your users) Our products work in any modern, standards-compliant web browser, such as Internet Explorer 7+, Firefox 2+, Safari 3+ and Opera 9.5+" The price of progress sometimes requires a change to a more modern/up-to-date software thats capable to handle all the new/latest features and functions.