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ghamer, Sorry to disappoint you but turning off D3D acceleration is not the solution to your problem it is only a circumvention. You will need D3D turned back on again when you try and make use of PTE's Pan, Zoom and Rotate animation features. The cause of your problem is well-known and well-documented. It is a problem with the ATi driver when using monitors that have been colour calibrated. I'm afraid I cannot give you any specific help but you could try searching the forum using keywords such as Radeon and Calibration to try and track down the relevant posts. WnSoft have written to ATi numerous times but ATi seem unwilling to address the problem. regards, Peter

No, track ripping does not mean you are free from DRM. That's one of the actions DRM is trying to combat! And Yes, Vista will/might make a whacking great difference! I used to track rip on XP with no problems. As soon as I switched to Vista I struggled to get tracks that were acceptable to PTE - because of the DRM data. I now use Exact Audio Copy which seems to do what I want. I use it to download to a FLAC format file and then import that into my sound editor, Audacity, and export the MP3 from there. EAC can rip straight to mp3, but I still the occasional glitch if I do it that way. So far, touch wood, I've not had any problems if I step via FLAC first. It adds only a few seconds to the workflow. return Peter

Xaver, That's a good point! It would be better in that situation if PTE showed a warning pop-up window offering "Replace" or "Cancel" as the options. regards, Peter

Aaron, Could it be that your mp3 files contained DRM data and that this has gone into the MPEG4 file and is now the cause of your problem? Are you using the mp4 player that Igor recommended? see here: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....ost&p=58039 regards, Peter

Igor, Thanks for the response to my bug report. What you describe above is a very useful behaviour of PTE. I wouldn't want you to do anything that would change the way it works in these specific situations. Something like that might be useful. What I think would be even better, would be the facility to "copy and paste" keyframes from one object to another. The ability to select one keyframe, a group or a collection of keyframes from object A and be able to Copy them (using Ctrl+C); and then select a different object, object B and be able to Paste these keyframes into this object (using Ctrl+V) would be a fantastic improvement to PTE's useability. It would be wonderful if object B could be on any slide, but if we have to be restricted to the same slide, that would be a restriction I could live with - at least until the next PTE release. Is the following timetable a realistic possibility?: - "Snap new keyframes..." in a later beta of v5.6 - Copy & paste keyframes across objects on the same slide in next PTE version after v5.6 - Copy & Paste keyframes across objects on different slides in the version after that. regards, Peter

Gary, As I understand this (and I have never used auto-spread in anger, only dabbled with it), if you have "auto-spread" ticked: - yes, you can set up your carefully timed, meticulously positioned sequence using the timeline to drag each image to precisely where you want it - and these settings will be applied to the slides (and if you use Customise Slide to look at each slide's duration and transition duration, I believe you will see the proper values there) - yes, you can save the project and these settings will be saved BUT... if you Preview or Create, your sequence will use the auto-spread timings; if you mini-play, you will get the proper timings Which, if I am right, is actually quite a neat way of preserving what you've already got (the auto-spread) whilst you work on it to make it even better! Two versions of the sequence in one project file - "buy one get one free!" regards, Peter

Nothing can beat good old international solidarity! Peter

Sorry Xaver, I did misunderstand you. We were, indeed, describing two different, but similar, scenarios. I now see clearly what you are describing. regards, Peter

Something else that just struck me as a little unusual... We have an Englishman, an Italian and a German arguing about something that was written by a Russian. We certainly do live in an international world! Peter

Interesting, Xaver says my understanding is wrong. Umberto says it is right. Two of us must be wrong. Which two? Peter

Xaver, If I understand you correctly, you are saying that, using my example from above, the cloned 3950ms keyframe when auto-positioned at 4000ms by PTE would have picked up the zoom/pan values for 4000ms. Then when I move it back to 3950ms I do not have the correct state of zoom/pan at that timepoint. Is this what happens? In my case the text objects were static, only opacity was changing. So I never found this problem regards, Peter

Problem with keyframes close to transition points. Although I found this on v5.6beta6 it has been present ever since v5.04 (I have no version 5 code earlier than that to test it on). I have an image on which I want to fade out two separate text objects (Text1 and Text2; children of the image) just before the transition to the next slide. The parent image duration is 4 seconds. I set the effect that I wanted for Text1 object; with the text visible (100% opacity) upto 3950ms and then a final keyframe at 4000ms with opacity zero. All OK. I then tried to clone the last two keyframes across to the other child. By clone I mean that I did the following, with the Animation tab uppermost: - selected the 4000ms keyframe on Text1 - selected Text2 and did "Create keyframe here" - All OK - selected Text1 - moved back (left arrow button) to the 3950ms keyframe - selected Text2 and did "Create keyframe here" - All not OK The new keyframe was added at 4000ms instead of 3950ms. This resulted in me getting the red highlight to warn me that I had overlapping keyframes. Whenever I have used this technique to clone a keyframe I have always had the keyframe time carried across correctly. It seems as though PTE is trying to "second guess" me as to where I want this keyframe when it is this close to the transition point. When the last click of the mouse is near the timeline and near the transition point, I want PTE to set the keyframe at the transition point. That's a good "second guess". When the last mouse click is on an object name, I'm cloning and I want the existing precise keyframe time value copying in. To do anything else is a bad "second guess". regards, Peter

Hi folks, Scrolling text across multiple slides is possible using v5.6 (which of course is available only in beta at present). I've attached a zip of the project so you can study it and see how it can be done. Remember: you must open this project in v5.6 in order for the numbers used to be available. I think the end result might work in any level of v5 provided you make no changes to the project file. And I don't know whether it will work on a monitor other than 1280x1024 which is what I built it and tested it on. I'd be interested to get some feedback on those points. The three challenges I had to overcome were: - creating a long piece of text - synchronising its position as it crossed from one slide to the next - getting it to move at the same speed on each of the slides And the degree of difficulty rises as we work our way down that list. And I approached the problem in that manner - one step at a time. Creation of long text I simply placed a text object on the first slide and keyed a long sentence into it. Then I rasterized the text to a png file. Next I deleted the text object from slide1 and added the png file as a child of both slide1 and slide2. That gives the same text on both images. I used the Size/Position... window to set the size of both png file objects to 1536 pixels wide. This value must be the same on both png files to ensure that the zoom level is identical (effectively we're setting the identical font size on both). The actual value is not important. I chose 1536 to try and keep the math simple (it almost worked!) Animation of slide1 I then set up the pan animation on slide1. That's straightforward enough on a single object. I needed to define the "end pan" keyframe at the end of the transition so that the text kept moving during the transition. I also needed to add a keyframe to the slide object at the beginning of the transition to slide2 so that I could clone this keyframe over to the text child in order to get its precise pan position at the start of slide2. I used the Size/Position... window to make a note of the exact position - to three decimal places. Animation of slide2 Moving to slide2, I first set the pan parameters I had noted above for the png file into the origin keyframe for the png file on this slide. That ensures that it starts where its predecessor is (i.e. perfect image synchronicity at the transition). Setting the same speed. This is where the math really came in. To match speeds we must first place an "end pan" keyframe at the end of the transition into slide3. Next we must calculate how many pixels of pan have taken place on slide1. And then we need to calculate what pan position will have been reached after a second pan of the same duration. pan distance on slide1 = pan start position - pan end position (the sign of the result is unimportant; it's the actual number we're interested in) end pan position on slide2 = start pan position on slide2 - pan distance on slide1 (or plus the pan distance if you're panning the other way) It will be easier to understand this by looking at the project file. Once we've calculated the end pan position on slide2 we simply key this number into the Size/Position... window. All the above discussion, and my example, relies on both the slides having the same on-screen duration and same transition durations. The principle will hold good even if either or both of these two parameters are different. All that happens is that the maths gets much more complicated. But, it can be done! ScrollingText_Nov3_2008_16_18_18.zip regards, Peter

Gayland, That was wonderful! Beautiful images, sympathetic choice of music, simply but stylishly presented. Excellent! regards, Peter

Yeh, he did cut it close didn't he. I wonder what the closest margin is in the F1 title race? 200 metres will take some beating. regards, Peter

Tony, Sorry to hear of your latest problem. I'm afraid I have no experience to draw upon to help you but I can't help feeling that Templates is yet another area of PTE that just isn't "intuitive" to use. It may seem to everyone that I keep banging on about this. But one has only to read the posts to see just how many of the usage problems (not the bugs!) can be traced back to an overly complex user interface that is by no stretch of the imagination an "intuitive" one. regards, Peter

Tony, I've just used PTE v5.52 and done as follows: Opened project1 Made a small change (moved a slide along the time line) Previewed past that slide and then ESC'd out Opened project2 (replied No to the prompt to save project1) Previewed through first two slides and then ESC'd out. No problems at all! Have I not done something that you did? Do you still get the fault if you do what I did? regards, Peter

This gets my vote too! regards, Peter

Scroll right to last slide and click on it. Scroll left to first slide and Shift+Click on it. This is a standard Windows technique. Click selects one item, Shift+Click selects a range of items, Ctrl+Click will pick up a collection of scattered items (you keep the Ctrl key pressed every time you click to pick up another item) regards, Peter P.S. A clear case on non-intuitive use; this time courtesy of Bill Gates!

Eric, Take your show into the timeline display, select all slides and then click on "Cut transition". This moves all the images to after the end of the music. Next, turn on waveform display and play the show back in the miniplayer. Whenever you want a slide to appear, click on "New transition" and PTE will move the next image to that point in time. You will still need to fine tune the timing because your reaction/anticipation will not be spot on. When you have finished, click on "Timed Points" and do "Set end of last slide at end of music". If you have any kind of paperwork that documents your original timing, have that by you - it will help with the reaction/anticipation. regards, Peter P.S. yet another instance of the interface being non-intuitive.

Loukas, If you are running PTE v5.6 beta level, the option to create an AVI is off the Create button. If you are running PTE v5.52 or earlier it is an option off the Video button. regards. Peter P.S. to all other readers: this is just another instance of PTE not having an intuitive interface. Read his opening post: "...if I can get it to work...". We're in danger of losing a new user because he cannot make the product do what he wants. And the reason he cannot get it to do what it wants: the user interface is not intuitive!

The important things there are: - you're a programmer or ex-programmer so know what you're talking about - and you've given it some serious thought I hope Igor picks up on this one and starts a dialogue with you. The capability and functionality of PTE is growing all the time. Increasingly on the forum we are dealing with new members who have a problem getting the full function of PTE to work on a platform that is, frankly, not up to the job. To have a tool that can help quantify that would be a big asset, I'm sure. regards, Peter

As a concept I would support that Dave; but there is just one little catch. If the CPU is under stress, taking away some cycles to prepare and write a log file entry is going to make matters worse! Presumably you envisage this log file option being something that we could turn on towards the very end of the development of our sequence, as a final "operational readiness" check? And how would it work for those who build on one machine and deliver off a different one? I build on a desktop system and deliver off a laptop. The laptop has on it only executables - no pte files. Yet it is the laptop which is most likely to hit any problems. And then there is the case when the executable runs on a "strange" PC at a club or at an exhibition or competition. How then? I'm not asking you to solve these problems. I'm airing them so that there can be a discussion around this entire topic. It's a good topic. regards, Peter

I have more than had my say on this subject and failed to convince any of you that PTE is behaving inconsistently. The "virtual objects" in the classes: frames, rectangles and mask containers require an extra interaction via the Size fields on the Common tab in order to achieve identical results to the "real objects" in classes: image files. Nobody but me seems to regard this inconsistency as an inconsistency. As the debate has progressed my understanding of my root concern has clarified. This has nothing to do with Original mode, it has nothing to do with the Size/Position window, it has nothing to do with JPDs proposals. It is about a lack of consistency on the part of PTE. During the various debates, I have formed the impression that JPD is an excellent mathematician. I believe that some of the WnSoft programmers are also excellent mathematicians. As mathematicians I make this final plea to you. Which is true?: - object equal object ...or... - object not equal object PTE's current behaviour says both are true. As I am unable to get any support for my view I withdraw from this debate. Further debate will serve no useful purpose. Please, everybody, go back to debating either points of detail or complex mathematical solutions to serious problems. Fundamental things like making PTE easy for new users seems to be unimportant to you all. But remember this, if there are no new users then PTE becomes the plaything of an ageing population and as that population dies then so does PTE! regards, Peter P.S. It is only this debate I withdraw from. Not my participation on this forum. But it may be some time before I offer any of my thoughts for future improvement to PTE (My list currently stands at 11 items which I, or others, have mentioned at various times this past year. I'm waiting to see whether any get included in v5.6 later in the beta programme)

Have you read the FAQ here: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....ost&p=56664 ? regards, Peter