fh1805

Linda, Why not simply show a sequential number? Then your client tells you they would like nos: 21, 26-30, 45-50 and 78. The template "Slide Number" will give you this and will be independent of any hardware/software platform issues. regards, Peter

Keiron, Why not simply add the new keyframe by clicking just under the O&A timeline (with the Animation tab having been previously selected) at the approximate place where you want the keyframe - and then adjust the timevalue and other parameters via the Animation tab? regards, Peter

Barry, That's brilliant! When are you releasing the MP3 for download? Peter

Lin/Laszlo, This technique hs always worked for me on Vista Home Premium and with all versions of PTE. I would add one more line between items 5 and 6 in Lin's list: 5a - Do NOT Close this PTE project. Do NOT shutdown this instance of PTE. And although I've never tested this, if you manually copy across any sound clip associated with that slide to the folder associated with the new project, you might find that the sound clip properties are carried across, too. regards, Peter

Gary, Rather than use the word "stretch" which implies distortion, I would have used the word "zoom" since I believe that is what happens: PTE zooms the image until there are no black bars visible. regards, Peter P.S. The four character limitation has always been there. I have assumed it is an Invision restriction.

Shirley, Download PTE KeyCopy utility (written by PTE Forum member nobeefstu) from here: http://www.mediafire.com/?mzimoduazzy. Install it and run it on your husband's PC. Copy the files that it produces onto a USB stick and transfer them to your new PC. When 6.5 asks for the key, give it these files. Any PTE key from January 2010 should be good for another 12-13 months of use. regards, Peter

Ken, Do you continually harass your TV stations to provide keyboard control so you can stop a programme to study the image in more detail? In an AV sequence, the images are not intended to be viewed statically, as if in a photo album. I cannot speak for other members, but when I create a sequence, the flow of images in relation to the soundtrack is at the very heart of the experience that I am trying to create. I wouldn't want anyone to interrupt that flow, even if I have left the option open to them. I think it is entirely right that anyone should choose to deny the viewer that pause capability. regards, Peter P.S. Andrew, sorry I have hijacked your thread.

Rick, Juddering can often be the result of using excessively large (as measured in MB) image files, and thus over stretching the capability of the graphics card. The mini-player and Preview use different software/hardware features to drive the playback. So, too, does playback in the O&A window. Having said that, I must admit, that of the three, it is usually the case, in my experience, that Preview is the smoothest. So I am at something of a loss to offer any solid advice here. As for the "movement" of the inset images, try placing all these objects under a controlling Frame Object, and make that frame object the only child of the main image. regards, Peter

That makes me a "newbie". I joined only in March 2007. Well done, one and all! regards, Peter

Combining both your posts gives, I believe, the correct state of the upgrade position for Video-Builder. regards, Peter

You could try updating to v6.5 of PTE; just in case you have hit a bug in v6.0. The two versions will co-exist. In fact, it is usually better not to delete the old version, especially if you have the DeLuxe licence, since the Deluxe version of v6.0 will continue to function even after the expiration of its two-year licence. Remember, however, that any sequence saved in v6.5 cannot then be opened at all in v6.0. You will have to apply your own "version control" over your PTE sequence files (e.g. by adding the PTE version number into the file or folder name, perhaps) I, and others, use www.mediafire.com for file sharing over the internet. I've also been on the receiving end of files shared via both www.dropbox.com and www.yousendit.com - but have no experience of loading files up to these two sites. All three sites offer a free service, as well as a chargeable service. regards, Peter

Could you upload the MP3 file to a file hosting service so that we can give it a shake-down on our own systems? regards, Peter

Igor, As you are already aware, some countries charge a tax and some don't. And even those that do charge a tax don't apply the same rate. Therefore my thoughts would be to continue showing the VAT separately. It will be interesting to hear the views of those who are already well-established in the "web commerce" arena, e.g. Barry Beckham, TheDom, Ron West etc. regards, Peter

Barry, I agree entirely on the need to have a short period of silence at the end of a sequence - to let the audience digest what they have just (hopefully) enjoyed. I was simply pointing out that there is a feature in PTE that allows precise synchronisation of the end of the last slide with the end of the soundtrack. When required, I add a few seconds of silence to the end of a piece of music using Audacity -and then synch the last slide using the PTE feature. regards, Peter

Ken, The point I was trying to make with my "one size fits all" comment was that, even if we have the feature as you suggest, a single value of our choice is, in my opinion, unlikely to meet all the needs within each sequence that we build. Finer control will be required. Therefore the solution has to be very flexible. Therefore it will be time-consuming to apply. regards, Peter

Barry/Snapcam, From the Timeline display try: Timed Points (button)...Set End of Last Slide at End of Music It saves doing the mental maths. regards, Peter

Ken, My reservation about a fully-automated solution is based on several years of experience mixing soundtracks that combine music, voice and sounds. There is, in my opinion, no single value that could be used for the difference in sound levels. If you re-read my previous post you will note that I said "...about -20dB..." and "...about -6dB...". I find that each situation has to be handled on its own merits. Even within a single piece of music, especially classical music, there can be a very wide range of sound levels. A difference of -20dB between voice and music in the early part of the piece could be just right, but elsewhere in the piece only -12dB might be needed and in another place, perhaps -23dB is needed. Sound mixing is rarely a "one size fits all" job. regards, Peter

drane, As you may already know, there are two very active French-language forums for PTE users: www.diapositif.net and www.diaporamaforum.com If you haven't yet tried them, I feel sure you will be warmly welcomed at either or both of them. regards, Peter

Ken, Whilst accepting that an automatic solution might be appealing for some users, I believe that the manual technique is workable if applied at the right point in the workflow. If you leave the final sound mix until the very last step of the workflow, you will then know precisely where along the timeline you want to try raising the level of the music. It is then a simple and "one time" change to step along the timeline making the final adjustments. From your reply above it sounds to me as though you are trying to do the final sound mix at too early a stage in the development - and therefore getting into excessive "re-work". When mixing music and voice into soundtracks using Audacity I have always set the voice to the level that I want it at, and then adjusted the music to be about -20dB lower (not quite so aggressive if the music is, itself, a naturally quiet piece). Then, if I have some longer runs of images with no voice-over, I raise the music to about -6dB. I don't take the music all the way back to full volume as this seems too overwhelming after it has been so subdued against the voice. regards Peter

Ken, As far as I know they haven't been implemented under those particular labels. But you can use the "envelope" capability to apply any volume level change that you want to any sound item that you want. You just have to do it all manually; there's no magic "one-click-does-it-all" feature. regards Peter

Copy and Paste of objects is already a simple process: - select the objects you wish to copy (using normal Windows selection techniques of Click, Ctrl+Click, Shift+Click) - Ctrl+C to copy them to the paste board - select your target slide (and object thereon) - Ctrl+V to paste - select next target and repeat the paste - repeat that last step until you have finished Using a mouse isn't always the quickest way to do things. regards, Peter

TeeDee, We all had to start at the bottom; it's just that some of us have been climbing for longer than others! regards, Peter

Shep, Within the O&A box you can select any number of objects (Click, Shift+Click, Ctrl+Click in the usual Windows manner) then copy that group to the clipboard and then either paste the group as a second copy within that slide or move to a different slide and paste the entire group, complete with keyframes, into the new target slide. You would then need to follow DG's technique to change the actual image files associated with the objects. With PTE, almost all things are possible, if you know how; and somebody, somewhere on the forum usually does know how! regards, Peter

Giancarlo, How large are your image files? Please give both pixel x pixel size and also file size in KB or MB. Stuttering during playback is often a sign of demanding too much from the computer's resources. And large image files will take a long time to load up. I think your problem may be associated with a shortage of resource somewhere. regards, Peter

If you are using just a single main image on each slide, then Quick transitions and short slide durations should do the trick. regards, Peter