Barry Beckham

Eric Thanks for the tip about the Calkled, funny how many times you can read something and slide right over the typo Sorry about the Add, but it doesn't spoil the pictures does it. Tell you what. PM me with your address and I will send you a copy of the disk with my compliments, see what you think after seeing the whole thing. What is it about someone making a little money from Photography that offends you so, you have no concerns about Igor selling his software, so why not tutorials. I agree that you don't want to fill the forum with adds, but a rare one from members can't hurt can it. Once in a blue moon, pretty please

Its at the top of the page http://www.beckhamdigital.co.uk/freestuffdigslidesw4.htm

Dave I think Backup in zip is considered more for taking a show to another machine. Its easy to move to another location, which is what you normally want with a backup. I don't even use templates, where and what is saved?

Igor Just a small point when installing beta 5, that I did notice before too. After download and extraction of the zipped file, the unzipped folder opens and the setup icon can be selected. The installation goes without a hitch, but the attached panel always appears behind the Explorer screens I have open. Should it really be on top so it cannot be missed? Its a small point, but it will confuse some people. No offence meant to any forum members

I personally find the navagation bar distracting. When I hit the preview button, I want to see my show previewed full screen. The navigation bar was never selected by default in previous versions of PTE, why now? Given that you almost never see it it used in sequences posted, tells me it should be turned off by default.

Ken No, I spend my time creating images, not googling, and on this forum it's so easy to upset someone, its best to understand what they think it means. I sort of guessed, but you can't be too careful can you. Well I guess I am a Pixel Peeper then, but I think some other forum members should take up that hobby too. Lin I tried leaving the video out of the exe, but I get the same result. I think I will sit tight and wait for the convertor Igor says he will include in a later version. I appreciate it isn't a PTE fault perhaps, but I just sort of expected to be able to drop in a video from my camera. I can just see this being the next thing that newer users get stuck on, I hope not. Daveg Making an HD MP4 from a PTE file isn't the issue I am having problems with. Its using a HD video in a standard sequence, but if its not HD there is likley to be quite a gap between the quality of the stills and that of the video. I have not seen anything posted yet where I thought wow, thats good!

Well, I will be happy to see some AV results that include acceptable full screen video. At present, I can't find an easy route to anything close to a usable video. I am also not sure what you mean by Pixel Peeping?

Igor I don't quite understand what you said below The best format of video for PicturesToExe are DIVX, XVID or MPEG4-ASP (NOT H.264) at 1280 x 720 30p. For these video clips I get just 6% of CPU loading on my home PC. I have shot a HD movie with a Canon 5D, but if I inset it as a full screen video the movement of people looks like the keystone cops. If I convert the .MOV files to DIVx or MP4 they are all made smaller. Are you saying that a full screen HD video was/is not intended in a PTE 7 slide show. Am I wrong in thinking that all the emphasis is on smaller inset videos?

Igor I tried Beta 4 and it does the same thing where 6.5 does not, so something has changed. Whether it is significant or not, I will leave that to your judgement. If you open PTE 6.5 and set the slide duration to about 5 seconds, then select slides into the slide list, they show up as the correct thumbnails If you do the same thing in PTE 7 beta 3 or 4 they show as black thumbnails, which may be confusing to some newer users. As I said, it is easy to get around by spreading the slides better over the time line, but it may be enough to cause a little confusion to some. NO HARM OR OFFENCE WAS MEANT TO ANY FORUM MEMBER IN THE WRITING OF THIS REPLY

Cor What right do someone have to see an "average user" or "a beginner" as an illiterate person who does not understand a thing. Sometimes I have the impression that some people are completely lost in their own world. And by the way, I see myself as "an average user". Please understand, I am not calling anyone illiterate and if you got that from what I said in my post, god knows how. I do have some skills in Photoshop and PicturesToExe training and I do know where people get hung up, but if I can cause you to throw your dummy out of your pram for making a suggestion, then its time I bowed out of these dabates and left the important stuff to you experts.

Igor I have always thought the options of cover slide and cover screen did not have the best of names, but not for my own use. I am thinking of those who are trying to learn PTE from scratch. We make slide shows, we have a slide list and it just seems to make sense for those options to be FIT TO SCREEN and COVER SCREEN. If space allowed I would actually use Fit Image to Screen and Image to Cover Screen. People would better understand what those options do. The biggest problem we have with any software is the label does not easily tell the user what it does. I thought your intention was to create a working environment within PTE 7 that would allow users to drop high resolution images into their slide show, directly from their camera. To remove the need to resize images for those who did not want the trouble of doing that. We now have the global unsharp mask and the sharper and smoother option to achieve that. For those who understand aspect ratio and resolution this is not an issue. For the newer user, it may be because they will not appreciate that they have to go into the O&A for every slide they apply to their show and select Cover slide. If the above statement does reflect what you are aiming for with PTE, then there is a need for a global option to cover screen for every image in that show, even images that have not been added yet. Your option 2 is what I have in mind, the images covers the screen resolution that has been set in project options. I think the option needs to be global, but one that can easily be turned on and off. In fact going one stage further, why can't PicturesToExe when launched automatically pick up the resolution of the monitor being used and set that as a default. Currently there is a similar command line option -cover. Create a .bat file and type name of executable file with this parameter. For example: myshow.exe -cover Then run this bat file. Are you speaking about this mode? I am not sure what your talking about here, I have never got into command line options or exel spreadsheets and newer users won't either, the basic making of a slide show needs to be simple. You can see that from Cor's reply above. Let me ask you and the members what they would make of Cor's way if they had just opened the software for the first time. Sorry Cor, your expecting much to much from the average user.

Igor 1. I start a new project, but adjust the transition to fade and the duration to 5 seconds before selecting any thumbnails for the slide show. 2. As I double click each thumbnail image, they either all show down the bottom of the screen as black thumbnails, but show correctly in the mini player, or they all show up the looking like I had selected one image, 5 times rather than all different images. See attached 3. It appears to be caused when the transition length is longer than the gap between slides and also when the last slide transition is longer than the "End of the last slide" green line. 4. If I separate the the transitions in the time line, and extend the green "End of the last slide" line, then they show correctly

Anthony Well I'll be. I never knew or thought of using the insert key. Igor really should create a list of shortcut keys for any new varient or it seems you find them by luck or someone like you who has found them and passes it on. I agree it does work fine, but being a picky sort I want something easier to hand. Being a wacom graphics pad user, I want something that falls nicely to the left hand and the space bar did that a treat.

I have other odd things happening too. 1. Place a 26 second wmv clip in as an inset over a static image and the time of the video defaults to 10 seconds. I change that to 26 seconds, but it always stops at 22 seconds for some reason, before the full video has ended. I can play it OK in WMP. 2. When I hit Ctrl+W to open an image up in Photoshop to make a change to it, I then cannot save the file back with the same name. I get the attached error message. I go this all the time in PTE6.5 3. If you set the transition length about 4seconds before selecting any images, when you do they all display wrong on the slide list. In the attached example screen, all images are actually different.

Has anyone tried putting a HD video made with a Canon 5DMk2 into a slide show. I tried it today using the cover screen facility and placed the video between two static slides and I am not too pleased with the results. The video plays in an odd way that is difficult to explain. Its as though it is speeded up a little and maybe dropping frames. I tried it in a completed exe file and the playback is the same. However, when the same clip is played in WMP and it plays fine.

I have another few comments. 1. While in a practical situation making a slide show, whether that is a music slides show, or a tutorial style slide show, I always want the music, sound wave file shown. I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't want it showing to be honest. However, if I am in the minority in this, then fair enough. If not, then why not present the wave form as a default as soon as a sound file is placed into the Project Options Music tab. While we work in the time line mode, what advantage is there NOT to see the wave file? I can't think of one. On the other hand, what advantage is there to always seeing the wave form. Well, it pretty vital to the way I work to determine where a slide is to be placed and how long it remains on screen. 2. I mostly apply new transitions on the fly and some time in the past, once you had hit the New Transition button once, you could release the mouse/graphics tablet pen and use the space bar to add New Transitions. Am I the only one who mourns the loss of that? Could it be re-instated or added like the F6 key that now toggles the slide view and time line. I want to view the mini player, keep and eye on the wave form and when you do that, you drift off the New Transition button. Small point, but lots of small points add up to quite big ones 3. There has been an issue with the time line since version 5 and I think it needs addressing. My general mode of working is to add images on the fly, while looking at the mini player and the wave file showing the music. To be able to start that process I need to select all the slides and hit the Cut Transition Button. This throws all the images up the far end of the timeline ready to be brought back with a tounch of the New Transition Button. However, you soon catch up to these images and the same thing of selecting the remaining images and hitting Cut Transition has to be done again. In fact I hit the button several times to get them well out of my way. When the slide show is complete, the final blank slide may have 300 seconds showing in the Display Slide for box and of course any slide show created without correcting that, will not end right. Its not an issue for those of us who are "Experts" but hugely confusing for the newer user. Is there anything that can be done with this, so the final slide always defaults to a Remain on Screen Time, say equal to the length of its transition. At least the slide show will end right when the final transition completes. I supposes this querk may be a little more obvious now we have the display time showing on the thumbnails, but I think that if it can be addresed reasonable easily, it should be

Re PicturesToExe Beta 3 I have not read all the above threads, so appologies if I am repeating anything already highlighted. While working in the time line I want to move a few images to the right a bit. Its a process I use a lot and it works fine in PTE 6.5 In PTE 7 Beta 3, I click and drag to highlight them all, but when I click on the first image to drag them to the right, the highlight is lost on all, but the first slide and only that slide moves. If I repeat the process, now all the slides can be moved together, as in PTE6.5.

[This discussion has been extracted from "Comments..." topic. Igor] PicturesToExe Beta 3 As I understand things, we can now apply much higher resolution images into our slide shows so that they work on all monitors. There is less need to do any resizing of images inside an image editor. Then, In project options we can apply unsharp mask, which is great. The trouble I have found is that if I apply images in this way, some of the images are not the right format to fill the entire screen and will have a black bar somewhere around the edge. So, now I have to go into each image using O&A to select the cover slide mode (which should be renamed to cover screen by the way. We are not covering the slide, we use the slide to cover the screen) If your intention is to remove the need to resize images and give us unsharp mask options in the project options window, surely we need to be able to select Cover Slide (Cover Screen) at the same location and for the entire slide show. There seems little point in saving one job if it has to be repaced by another. In the drop down Aspect Ration Box, can't there be an ALL setting that applies the Cover Slide option for the entire show. Format and resolution is the biggest obstacle for newer users of slide show software, it needs to be simple for the new user to throw in some images and have them fit their 1280*1024 screen and also their friends 1920*1080 screen too. The inclusion of the F6 key toggle from the slide list to the time line and back again is great. Thank you

Igor. Yes, I know your right about the habit, it will soon change I know. The F6 key will be useful B

It makes a lot more sense with the AB if it is going to be developed further. I am just anticipating questions from newer users. I have been using 7 for only a short time and I appreciate that I would get used to it in time, but I don't like having to go to the far right of the screen for the slides and timeline buttons. I also know you can't please everyone, but I would like these buttons moved left next to the Project options button. Ideally. I would like a key stroke for these options. but not one that involves Ctrl+, I would love a one finger press to toggle between the two. I use a graphics tablet and I don't want to have to use two hands to make a selection. I want my right hand to remain on the graphics tablet as I make the change between timeline and Slide List.

Igor Is it possible for you to provide a short update here on what your current thinking is for PTE on a Mac. I still receive questions about it and the last I heard was a beta version sometime in 2010. Any short update would be useful to keep customers informed.

Igor I am not entirely sure what benefit the AB tag is on every thumbnail. You can access the same options with a double click of the thumbnail and I guess most experienced users and forum members already know this. I can see newer users becoming confused with its purpose as it appears to do much the same as a double click, or a touch of the Customize Slide button. I am not so taken with the X button either. I agree with Xaver, that its too close to the other buttons that have no relavence to it.

PS why post the 26MB first when you knew I wouldn't download it. 1. A strange as it seems, you were not uppermost in my mind as I put the slide show together. 2. The first run used PTE sound where the entire sound file is stored in the exe, even though only a small amount was used. The second run via Audacity reduced the size, but retained all else 3. You were unlikely to like it anyway, because you have taken a dislike to me, you make that plain enough. 4. Your a stubborn old whatsit, but leave off with the poor bit, I don't think anyone is buying that nonsense. Perhaps I will have better luck next time, but in the meantime I will have to live with your disappointment or make the next show 21MB

I have now put the slide show on my own web site and with the music editied in Audacity, the file size has come down to 17MB PC and Mac versions below, top of the page http://www.beckhamdigital.co.uk/freestuffdigslidesw4.htm