Barry Beckham

Alan Thank you for that.

Disappearing Mouse Pointer in the Objects and Animation screen of Pictures to Exe 7.5 I can now recreate the problem I originally described on 4 separate computers. 2 old desktop PC's about 6 years old. 1 Desktop about 2 years old and 1 Laptop about 1 year old. When I try the same thing on the same computers with PicturesToExe 7. I do NOT experience the problem, which indicates to me the issue is with PTE 7.5 All of our Computers run Windows 7 - 64 bit and all of them operate with a Wacom Graphics tablet. The issue is obviously linked to those and PTE 7.5. Today I updated the Wacom drivers, but the disappearing mouse pointer problem is still with me. Further to what I have said before, it is more widespread than just changes made to the Size Position in Pixels Window. I get the same issue with the text box too. Let me describe it once again so that any Wacom users can see if they experience the same thing. 1. Open any image into the Objects and Animations screen 2. Go to the Common Tab and select Size/position in Pixels 3. In the floating window, select the Original Mode tab and just click into the size box so that you can see the flashing cursor, but don't change anything yet 4. Using your Wacom pen, move the cursor to the centre of the screen so you can see the white pointer clearly 5. Using the keyboard only change the size value to something like 50% and the mouse pointer disappears. - It will not display itself again until I either pass it over the Size/position window (difficult when you can't see it) or I reach the outer edge of the screen and reach the outer window, then it returns. (I know it is there, I just can't see it) I can recreate the same symptoms when creating text. Open text, go to the text box and adjust the word text to something else and the white arrow cursor disappears again. As before it only re-appears when I either move into the text box on screen or reach the outer window If your mouse pointer happens to be along the edge of the window when your making these changes, you may not notice the issue, that's why I have suggested the pointer be placed in the centre of the screen. One other bit of information that may be of value. Today I decided to record a video to demonstrate what I am experiencing on these computers. As I made the recording the mouse pointer disappeared just as normal. Imagine my surprise when I converted the recording into a video file to attach here, that the mouse pointer was clearly showing on the video even though when I recorded it, the pointer was not visible. That may give Igor a clue as what is causing this. Its an irritation more than anything else, but clearly something is wrong and it seems linked to PTE 7.5 and Wacom Graphics tablets. Perhaps the Operating system has something to do with it too. So I would be interested to hear what other W7 - 64 bit users of Wacom tablets find. Later - I managed to fire up a very old desktop of mine that must be 10 years old. It runs Vista 32 bit and has a Wacom Saphire tablet installed. I was able to re-create the same visual problem on that system too. So that is now 5 of my PC's all showing the same fault

Ralf Many thanks, but perhaps there is a problem with something like this that I forgot about. This demo wasn't intended to be downloaded and your computer may pop up a warning when a slide show starts interupting the flow. Of course that wouldn't be there if this was created on a PC and not sent via the internet.

A question I received recently I will be giving a talk at our photographic society and I will be using Pictures To Exe in manual mode to show my images. By that I mean I will set it so that it waits for a key press before moving to the next image. Having said that there are certain groups of images which I would like to show automatically ( an automatic AV). I know I can do it as an AV but as my talk has to last about 40 minutes I want to control the show manually with just two or three sequences in it. Is this possible or am I asking too much? Being at a loose end I answered the query and created a demo for interest. Unzip the folder and run the manual show not the auto ones http://www.mediafire.com/?ad2npb9z2dm5atu

This is why the icon needs to be UP FRONT AND CENTRE All those options will eventually be found, but not straight away when you need them. Experts are too close to the wood to see the trees.

Gary I think I have what your looking for as large screen videos. Its a disk I have made about 4 or 5 times now over the years called PicturesToExe Starter Its presently up to date for PTE 7. Take a look at this page and you can download the intro video. That will give you an idea of the video size, along with sound and visual quality. You can go directly to the Pdf contents HERE For a demo like this you need to keep things basic and simple or you can easily frighten people off if you make things too complex. So, you could use just the sections you want from this disk to add to your talk. If this is something that would help, please email me your address and I will send a disk to you. All I ask in return is a small plug to your members about who created the disk and our web address.

Ralph Glad it hit the spot, don't let the zipping debate sidetrack you. Some just have to have difficulties don't they

My my, you are a bitter man arn't you.

No Eric I wasn't suggesting any version of PTE is crap, but you do seem to have a lot of ways to zip or archive a file. I can see Winzip, Express Zip, Tar archive, TGZ archive. My suggestion was that one of those installs has stolen the file association and that is why you don't see the simple, yet effective extract all that was already apart of your operating system. My point is that you avoid PTE 7.5 like like the plague (even though it won't overwrite v7) , yet you have all that other CRAP installed. Sorry, but that logic escapes me.

Put the speeded up video through PTE optimization and I am guessing all will come good. This is the issue I experienced in the early days of beta testing PTE when video was introduced. Not until the video was optimized would it run correctly. Used straight from the Canon 5D the video looked like the keystone cops

Eric For someone who is nervous about installing PTE 7.5 you certainly have loads of other crap on your PC for zip purposes. I am sure that when one of those installed it did the usual thing and took over and robbed you of the basic extract all command Like Mick P has demonstrated it has been this was for as long as I can recall

I made the show and created it a "Safe Executable File for the Internet" Its a new option in PTE 7.5 to overcome the annoying anti virus issues we sometimes have. When you unzip the file you need to keep the two files together

Gary If you have Audacity on your computer, try taking one of those tracks into Audacity and re-saving it as a new Mp3, then slot it into that slide show. See if that clears the log jam. That may tell if it is a bug or one of those annoying sound issues we see from time to time caused by the Mp3 itself

Over the years I have done hundreds of demonstrations and I always include PicturesToExe, even if that is just breaking up a Photoshop session with a brief respite and a short slide show. One thing that became clear to me from an early point was that a destop and a laptop of so called equal power do not perform anywhere near the same. For years I used a desktop to do demos, because laptops were just not up to the high end photography and then the animation possibilities with PTE. I notice that we seem to be reaching a turning point and my latest laptop and our clubs laptop are capable of playing Hot in the City and the PTE promo smooth as silk, but there are still lots of laptops that will struggle, especially when we throw in video too.

I think that slide show says a lot about PTE because the majority of the images were created at 2560*1440 (16:9) and 4 or 5 were 3000*2000 and yet it plays well even on our club laptop. No delays at all, no hesitation in the animation despite the quick fire nature.

Roger Good Point I don't believe you can, but it would be useful to have that option.

Lin. Unless I am the only one who ever wants to see their slide show full screen from a selected image, then yes it should show as a default and in a convenient position. I am suggesting it is such a basic tool for slide show production it should be big, bold and convenient by default. We have an odd situation where the Navigation bar that is used by few is shown as a default, yet starting the slide show from a selected image, which is pretty basic slide show operation isn't.

Igor I would like to ask you to re-think your decision to hide the icon away that will easily start a slide show from any highlighted image. I have been making a couple of slide shows recently so I have been putting 7.5 to a good test. As usual I find myself wishing to do a full screen preview from a cetain image dozens, if not a hundred times during the production. Am I unique in doing this? I doubt it, but the button to allow that does not even show untill you access the options to display it. Yes, I appreciate Ctrl+R does the same thing, but I make this point for others, not me or the faithful. Although, having said that, when you work with a graphics tablet rather than a mouse. A button to tap is sometimes more convenient than Ctrl+R In my view, that button to start a slide show from a select image should be big and bold and up front where even the most innexperineced user will see it. Our main working area is along the bottom third of the screen and that is where it should be along with the main preview button. IMHO of course :rolleyes:/>/> PS. there still seesm to be a visual issue with the mouse pointer in the Objects and animation screen. There has been little mention of this so I am unsure if it is work in progress or it's been missed. I have recreated it on 3 separrate PC's and reported it in another thread.

PC and Mac at the top of this page http://www.beckhamdigital.co.uk/slideshows_3.html

Dave I thought about a custom transition as I was driving around yesterday thinking about my post. It would work quite well and you could make a few of them, holding at 30%, 50% and 70% so you cover most eventualities. I suppose the only thing an author would need to think about is how long to hold at those percentages, but that could vary too. Still far better done in an image editor, more creative too and simpler in PTE

While in the time line, you can select a slide and drag it to the right and all those after it go to. Not quite the same but I am using that method myself quite a bit.

It can be done now if you use PTE's ability to create layers in the Objects and animation screen Image 1 would be added in the usual way, but image 2 would be added via the Objects and Animation screen. Using keypoints you could then determine that slide 2 fades up to (lets say 50%) and holds there for a second or two. (Mid fade hold) Then fades up to full intensity. It would require 4 keypoints at least. From the first keypoint to the second you use the opacity in Objects and Animation to reduce opacitiy of the second image. Between Keypoint 2 and 3 you hold and do nothing for the time you want both images to be seen together. From Keypoint 3 to 4 you use the opacity control and bring the second image up to 100% The better news is we can do this far beter now with our image editors and actually create a third image, a derivitive of the the original two. The reason it can be much better is that in the old days we had no control over what part of the two images in mid fade showed up well. Now we do by creating a real third image. In addition we have all those blend modes in Photoshop and Elements that allow us creative control of our third image and if that wasn't enough we have masks too. way of creating a third image was a bit clumsy compared to what we have now. In fact t opens up a whole new slide show technique.

Maureen Matching images to music ??? Thats a bit radical on an AV forum don't you think :rolleyes:/>

Igor I suspect its difficult to pick up on all the threads when you come back from a holiday, but I have an issue here, that is affecting three different computers of mine, that you need to look at. No problem in v7, but is a problem in 7.5Working on a slide show yesterday, the issue became very annoying

Stephen I think you have touched on one of THE most common faults in slide shows even those made by the experts on this forum with regards to animation. Any animations we create must move at the same speed as the flow of our slide show and the music will determine that. (its why I can never understand those who say. Your images should have been on the screen longer so I can see them) THEY CAN'T BE ON SCREEN LONGER, because their duration is largely determinded by the chosen music. Its why its called AUDIO VISUAL !. Anyway, you very often see a smooth flowing slide show then a rapid pan appears that looks out of place, then the show returns to the smooth flowing static slide show with the next slide. Lin has already given the solution as have others. To slow down animation, you either need to allow more time for the animation to run its course, or you need less animation. In full screen animations like a zoom/pan sitting between two static slides, all you need is to move the static slide on the right along the timeline. Give the animation more time to run, therefore it will run slower. The alternative is not to animate the image quite so much. IMHO the tendency is to create more movement/animation than is necessary, so there is one place to start when slowing down animation. In more complex animations using smaller images and text in layers, rather than full screen images or as well as, the distance between Keypoints is what you need to control speed. To add complexity, we then have the animation speed controls via the Objects and Animation screen > Animation tab. If you set the option to slow down the animation it can also upset the speed balance between your animation and music. By adjusting that speed control, your animation must start off faster, if it is to slow down at the end. I have found many times that this faster take off of my animation is enough to affect the smooth running of the slide show. It just looks and sounds odd when being viewed. The simple answer is to do what has already been suggested. Give a little more time or take away a little of the animation. Move it less.