Barry Beckham

I would suggest that is what we want in PTE and as we are so close (ie having to hold the left mouse) perhaps its not so hard to just be able to click the sampler and move anywhere on the screen your in and sample a colour.

Colin No problem, it's hard sometimes to convey what's in your mind with typed words, when the subject is a bit technical. The other day I was trying to express something and wondered if a short video would be better :blink:/>

Colin Yes, I agree it all works fine in Photoshop, but not in PTE. Well, not quite as well. You would expect to be able to click the eye dropper in PTE and then move about the image as you have demonstrated in Photoshop, which was my point. However, as soon as you move off the colour picker in PTE the eye dropper is lost. With Slide Styles now about to be launched and with the opportunity to add edge effects in almost any colour we want, being able to select colour from an image should be easy in my view and it's what I am suggesting. I don't use a mouse so I am assuming that if you tried the same thing in the Objects and Animation screen, you would NOT get the same result as you have with Photoshop. Please try it just in case my assumption is wrong. As I click on the eye dropper in the Objects and Animation screen it appears to select it, but it doesn't. Move off the window to the image and it's lost. Click and hold the left mouse and it does, but how many would think of doing that? Apart from me

When the colour picker is selected, in my case to change the colour of a rectangle, we have a large number of choices from three different styles of picker. Often when doing presentation work, the best colour for text or backgrounds can often be one cloned from the image colours itself. There is a certain visual harmony retained when we do that When the colour picker window is selected (any of the three styles) we have an eye dropper tool to enable us to do exactly what I ask, but it doesn't work quite right. If you click the eye dropper tool and move off the Choose Colour Window, the eye dropper cannot select a colour from the image itself (see attached) If the eye dropper is clicked and while holding the left mouse down, it's dragged off the panel, you can select a colour from the image. (keeping my Wacom graphics pen pressed to the pad surface in my case) Given that it sort of works OK, it would be a nice touch if when the colour sampler tool is selected with one click, it can be moved anywhere on the screen and still function. Without the need to hold down the left mouse or keep the pen hard on the tablet surface. One false move and option to sample from the image is lost and you have to return to the sampler tool for a second go.

Should we not all have the opportunity to set the prog up the way we want it and not be dictated to by the wants of others Sure, but PTE is already moving away from one of it's greatest strengths, simplicity and as I have said many times, some of these issues have no right and wrong answer. It doesn't matter to me how many preferences there are in PTE because I know the software so it's not an issue for me at all, but it can be for the newer user. Igor has to walk the same impossible line I expect every developer has to. The consumer wants the software packed with tools and options and loves it when their chosen software is described as POWERFUL. However, those same options are what make some software hard to learn.

Dave Surely there are just too many of them, it would fill up the software with options that will frighten most casual users away and make it more daunting. In the vast majority of software the defaults reflect what most people use, that's not always the case with PTE. Preferences then need to be kept to a minimum and that certainly isn't the case with any software. Many preferences just get stupid, like Lightroom. It even has a preference to what decorative squiggle appears on some screens. As if that ever helped any photographer create a better picture. I expect it's very hard for experienced users/creators of software to keep things simple, but I think its what should be aimed for. Some preferences are good, some just clog up the system and it's a fine line the software developer has to walk I guess

I think there is a big difference between preferences and defaults. Defaults should be set to what most people use most of the time. Preferences are a different issue.

I am not sure, but it sounds like you may have used the images directly from the DVD. If that is the case and you have now removed that DVD from the player, PTE will not know where your images are. It does not save your images when you save a project file, just the location of where they and your music are located on your computer, along with your settings in PTE. If I am right and you place the DVD back in your drive your slide show may re-appear. Most slide show enthusiasts copy all their images and music to a dedicated folder before starting the creative process. If I am right and your slide show re-appears, there is a simple way you can move forward using save to zip, but best you confirm if I am right or not first.

I probably have a greater need than most to record my voice for tutorial reasons, so the new feature that allows me to link my Record Voice comment to a slide is very welcome, but it needs a key stroke. In fact it needs two. I right click a slide, but then have to select Audio Comment and then another selection to Record Voice Comment. Then a window opens and I have to click again to start the recording. OK with one or two comments, but I need to do 100 or more and then those key strokes and selections are a pain. I would like an option to start and stop a Voice comment recording with a key stroke, probably an "F" key if possible. Camtasia employs that type of function and it makes recording many takes sweet. Remember, we are amateurs and fluff our lines enough times that we need a quick and easy way to start and stop recording

Sorry, I just turned you into the Godfather, but I was going to make you an offer you couldn't refuse :lol:/>

The Don It's funny, but as I was typing that first text I had you in mind. I thought if ever there was someone who would like this, it had to be you. I never saw your original post though. I only thought of this today when doing some practical work with PTE 8 Isn't there actually a need for a separate forum, that just caters for ideas that we can suggest to Igor, but where things don't then get lost in pro and con discussions. I am quite happy to make a suggestion and live with what Igor decides, but I wonder sometimes if he can keep up with all this. I can't and I am not trying to produce new software. I think sometimes we must overwhelm him. Yes, there may be times when someone asks for something that is already there, but surely that would be better than what we do now.

When I am working on animation in the Objects and Animation screen and need to adjust the speed options for multiple key frames (more than 2). I would select the setting up option that opens the Speed Options window. In 100% of all the times I can ever recall going into this screen, (a considerable number) it has always been to separate the sections of animation so I can make my adjustments. Never to glue them back. I doubt I am much different from anyone else, so wouldn't it be a better idea to have the key frames already separated as a default with the glue option as the choice if you want it.

Perhaps its time you bit the bullet and downloaded the latest PTE, which will certainly meet all your sound editing needs.

Been there, done that, got the T shirt :rolleyes:/>

Ronnie Its very dangerous to use the word "Best" when offering advice. Even if your right, you can be overtaken by technology in days and made to be wrong.

Its in the file menu John

Dave I did that 20 years ago with film using a Fostex 4 track player. The Fostex had a wheel located on the body to speed up or slow down the tape speed. I discovered, that within the limitations you have already mentioned that it was often far better to extend the music by slowing it a little, rather than try and fit the slides to the music. It works and would be a nice addition to PTE.

Jill If your a user of Photoshop or Elements there is something you can try. Drag one image over the other to form a two layer stack. Open the layers palette and at the top right is an opacity slider. Reduce the opacity of the upper layer so you can see through to the layer beneath. Now use your Transform tools to adjust the top image so it sits much better in register with the one below. The sucess of this will depend on the size of the images you start with because you will need to crop the images again before using them in your slide show. It depends on their size to start with really. When complete, bring the top layer back to 100% opacity and save each layer separately as a Jpeg.

The Mac version of this slide show should now be operational http://www.beckhamdigital.com.au/store/pc/A-Gentle-Flow-71p503.htm

Dave Yes, I had forgotten how much fun a snappy can be, it has great quality, that's for sure. Like all of those types of cameras it does seem to be a bit biased to over exposure, but once you compensate for that it's great

Chris Well, thanks for trying. I doubt there is anything wrong with the upload as I have hundreds of shows uploaded in the same way and only 2 that have given trouble and they are both Mac slide shows. However, there is always a chance, so I have remade the sequence and I am uploading a different version right now. If you wish, please try it again now and hopefully it will work OK. If not I would suggest it's a wnsoft issue, Yes, the iPad version will not be great quality on a large screen monitor, it will look OK on an iPad though. http://www.beckhamdigital.com.au/store/pc/A-Gentle-Flow-71p503.htm

Sorry Chris I am not sure what to suggest. Not being a Mac user I have no way of checking it out. Can I suggest you try the Mp4 version for the iPad. That is an Mp4 video so that should play fine on your mac. What actually happens when you try and run the Mac file

New slide show at the page below called A Gentle Flow http://www.beckhamdi...-Latest-c71.htm

Ken I am not sure it would have much benefit outside of the Objects and Animation screen

Igor When placing text over an image or a video, one of the nicest ways to select that colour is to sample a colour from within the image/video. Personally I find this the best way to ensure the image and the text have a visual harmony that is important in AV. Once our text has been created in PTE Objects and Animation window, we have three different colour picker styles to change the text colour. Style 1, 2 and 3. In each of them we have an eye dropper tool, but I think it can be made to work better. I use a graphics tablet, so I expect to click on the eye dropper to select it. When clicked it appears to be selected, but as soon as the pen is lifted from the surface of the tablet the sampler is lost. I believe this is the same with a mouse where the left button would need to be held down for the sampler to remain in use. If the sampler is selected and the left mouse held down or the graphics tablet pen is held onto the tablet surface, it is possible to move outside the colour picker window and onto the picture surface. There a colour can be selected and we can see the colours and sliders changing in real time within the colour picker window. (Not in the Text) However, to see the colour I have just selected in the text, I have to choose OK in the colour picker window. That applies the colour to the text and closes the colour picker window. If I didn't get the colour right I have to repeat the process a number of times till I find a colour that works really well. (Fig1) Suggestion: Is it possible to have the colour picker remain selected when it is left clicked with a mouse or the equivalent with a graphics tablet? Can the pointer now be allowed to move outside the colour picker window onto the picture or video surface so the user can click a number of times and see the colour reflected in the text instantly? If you were to create some text in Photoshop and do the same thing with the text colour, wherever you sample/click in the image, that colour is instantly reflected in the text (Fig 2) Can PTE be made to work this way?