Barry Beckham

One of the issues people say to me is they have trouble learning shortcuts, because at the same time they are still learning the sofware too and it gets a little too much. Under those circumstances shortcuts may be more useful in order of importance and split into small groups. The group can be printed and propped against the monitor for enough time for the keystokes to work their way into our memory. Its the only way I was able to learn them some time ago. However, alphabetical does allow a user to pick their own shortcuts and then the order of importance will be decided by them Have you allowed it to be published as a word doc for that reason

It's a comprehensive list and must have took some time. Have you thought of sorting it into priority order. I know that is somewhat subjective, but shortcut keys in my experience are best learned with the ones you use most first. That way you can take three keys and learn those, then the next and so on. That's what I did with Photoshop or I would have been overwhelmed

The rain keeps the Sunshine Coast green and lush and today the sun shone and the temp reached 29c and that is the middle of autumn. Brits eat your heart out :lol:/>

Igor Downloading from your link above, a double left click opens the first window immediatly

The trouble with any guide or tutorial is keeping them up to date, its a full time job to do it correctly and I am not sure anyone has that sort of time spare.

Igor Can't recall when this first started and I assumed it was something on my PC at the time. On double click, the signed sample you sent took just over 1.5 minutes to bring the Open File - Security Warnig Window on screen to proceed On a double click, the unsigned one opens the same window Instantly Windows 7 - 64 bit with Microsoft Security Essentails Web Browser Internet Explorer 9.0.8112.13421

Cagney The F11 and F12 key will do that for you

Press f4 while in slide list view and the light table appears, press f4 with the time line selected and it expands the time line. Or go to Settings > Toggle Full Screen, but you will need to be in the slide list not the time line for this to work

If AV competition rules really do stipulate what you say, don't bother entering, its not worth the trouble and its run by amateurs

Mike The obvious thought here is that if the vast majority of PTE uses are using fit to slide and your using cover slide. The first question you may ask is have I got this right? Why does everyone else shoose a different option? Now I am sure going East when everone else is heading West is good in some circumstances. In others it's not perhaps Given the poll data there is no chance of you getting your wish is there?

detailed video tutorial and sample is available here for those who want to make a 3D book themselves Part 1 http://www.beckhamdigital.com.au/store/pc/DAV-The-Digital-Book-Part-1-33p63.htm Part 2 http://www.beckhamdigital.com.au/store/pc/DAV-The-Digital-Book-Part-2-33p64.htm

Defaults in most software appear to be set at an average setting, one that meets most peoples needs most ofthe time. A setting that if you do nothing, you will get a result from the software They are certainly not set for the PTE experts and the faithful. By the time you reach that stage the defaults are irrelavent to you. Surely it's the new user who are helped by well set defaults.

Reading this section is a good example of why image size, resolution, format/aspect ratio is so confusing to some. Everyone has different views. Organisors of an AV competition have no right to stipulate a slide show resolution in my view and its another rules for rules sake issue. This is the creative decision of the author and nothing to do with them whatsoever. They couldn't tell what resolution it was made with anyway so why do a stupid thing like creating a rule you cannot police. 1024*768 is dead, its just that most club committee members are too, so they havn't realised things have moved on. I don't know how many times I have to say this, but I can play back my slide shows on a either of my two 1024*768 projectors. One a Mitsubishi and the other Epson, both about 7-8 years old now. These include older slide shows made at 1024 pixels on the long side. It also includes slide shows at 16:10 and 16:9 formats at 1920*1200 - 1920*1080 and also a couple made at 2560*1440. It also runs one made with images around 6000*4000. As one or two of you know, I am very fussy about image quality and how my slide shows are seen by others, so if this resolution/projector thing was an issue, I wouldn't do what I do. All an AV competition organisor needs to do is provide a decent PC for the screening, which isn't always the same as the judging. How hard can it be to find a good desktop for one night rather than a laptop that will always let someone down. It's primarily the authors job to make sure the slide show plays ok on most PC's, but also the organisors too up to a point. At least 60/40 I entered an AV competition with shows made at 1920*1200 when the rules stipulated they should be 1024*768. I knew the organisors would not have a clue what resolution they were so I entered them. I wasn't about to start cropping or changing the show on the whim of some committee. I seem to recall I did rather well in the competition too. I can't help thinking that this whole subject is made a whole lot more complex than it needs to be.

I wonder sometimes why we bother with these old outdated rules on size. Its no wonder people get confused especially as you say the requirement is 1280*800, but the clubs web page still says 1024*768?

Colin My appologies for taking this a little away from the original topic, but can I ask you Colin how your members get their images to your club at the new size of 1280*800? Bring them on a stick on the eveing, send them in advance via the Internet?

Eric You got annoyed with me recently when I said you had a loads of Zip software on your computer which could be seen when you posted a screen grab. My point at the time was that you will happily install all that stuff, but not the latest version of PTE. Now you are a devotee to Camtasia, not cheap and not free of bugs either, yet the software you know and love you almost treat like a leper. Forgive me mate, but I don't understand your logic at all. Downloading 7.5 will not even overwrite your older version so you have no risk whatsoever. I am not sure it's entirely fair for you to give the impression there is something wrong with PTE 7.5 when there isn't. Yes, I understand about your menu thing, but even so, get on board with the latest version.

Landscaper Check your PM please

As well as Dave's suggestion, there is another way, but it's a little bit more involved to create than the one above. In the project options > Advanced tab you can Customize a window. You can choose to show a startup window and then how elaborate that window is depends on how much time you want to spend on it. It does have a ready made template so it's not a really long job to create a basic start-up screen and it looks good.. The advantage is that it does not effect the slide show at all. I do have a short tut that uses it so you can see how it sits in front of your slide show and you can add any introduction you want. Personally I like this option and use it a fair bit. http://www.mediafire.com/?kn10ye062xgq2ds

Colin Can I make a suggestion that when you upload your slide shows you zip them first. Otherwise a scary warning appears that tells me that this file may harm my computer !!! :blink:/> Personally I know it will not and ignore the warning, but it may be enough to frighten off some viewers. Zipping the file first just avoids that, especially if you use the new option Safe Executable file for the Internet

The animation contains no video and the majority is done in PTE, but you will need an image editing program to do some of the work. I have loads of video tutorials that cover the techniques. http://www.beckhamdigital.com.au/store/pc/PTE-Tutorials-c36.htm

SDS I have been doing what you have described for some considerable time and file size has never been a problem (from an Internet posting point of view) as long as you stay with the exe file as you have suggested you will. Take a look at the slide show at the top of the page below, called "The Concept of Layers" as it sounds like it is the very thing you have described and you will be able to see the file size in relation to the format. I am away from home at present so when I say I think I created the slide show at 1920*1080 (16:9 format) I may be mistaken and it could be 1920*1200 (16:10 format) http://www.beckhamdigital.com.au/store/pc/Page-5-Demos-1-c79.htm ,

Steven I think your intentions are honourable, but I would have to vote no to your suggestion. I am not in favour of any segregation like we see in some camera clubs. This grade and that grade and it gets to a point with some that you need to be a member 2 years to understand how it all works. The forum is OK as it is as long as those who have a different view can express them freely. That has not been the case for a while, but perhaps the latest episode will clear the air.

I had a long journey today towing our caravan North up the Australian Coast, so as I sat here tonight a little tired I watched the show on you tube. I have only a mobile stick for the internet while travelling so I only saw a picture about 3 inches by 2 inches, but what I saw made me wish even more that I could have seen it as the group created it. It looked and sounded extremely good. You Tube to get to a wider audience maybe, but amongst AV enthusiats on the PTE forum you should post an exe, even if it's only to please me :lol:/>/> PS. 2 of the 10 bus garages I managed while working on London's Buses were due to be closed and moved to make way for the Olympic Stadium. They were Stratford and Waterden Road. Luckily I had retired just before all that hassle, but I expect it would be interesting to see the area now. To walk around what was old derilict streets. Might get the chance in 2014 perhaps Good show and very different and refreshing to what is generally seen, just small :rolleyes:/>/>

Personally I don't feel inclined to download a program just to watch a slide show. One of the strengths of PTE is we don't need anything installed to run a slide show. It's a pretty simple matter to provide a link via one of the many free services and then we get to see your show as you intended, not degraded via a video. If there is no other option then a video is OKish, but there are options, loads of em! .

Roger This is a personal view, but with the new found honesty within the forum perhaps I can risk making it :lol:/> I can't help wondering Why? We have a terrific software program and a forum packed with enthusiasts. The best way to view a slide show is as an exe file, so why direct me to YouTube. Post your exe here and I would be very pleased to view your show, but as soon as I see a link to YouTube I lose interest. Audio Visual is ALL about presentation and the beauty of still image AV it the great image quality we can view. I wonder why we skimp on that part when we don't have to. We do have Beechbrook to post shows, but it is hidden away almost like a secret society. Its not something you would stumble onto easily as a new forum member.