Gérard de Lux

It has been reported on the French DiaporamaForum that if the slideshow contains an icon, the computer crashes when the exe is being created and the following message is displayed: I dit the test myself (opening an 'old' slideshow containing an icon and running normally, and re-creation of the exe without any changes to this slideshow), the exe file is produced without problem... but the corresponding slideshow doesn't play ! If the box for adding an icon is unchecked, i.e. if no icon is added, the exe is created and plays normally. [Edit - note for Igor (or other interested, of course, no secret)] I have prepared a short 'slideshow' of 3 images and no music, nothing fancy at all; one without icon and one with an icon (an old icon already used without problem in an real show). The pte templates are available from the following links: without icon with icon and the corresponding .exe files (1 MB each): exe without icon exe with icon

Sincere congratulations for this long way and hard work ! Happy Birthday !

Your test file ran smoothly without glitches, although Internet Explorer, antivirus and firewall were enabled, on a rather standard desktop PC.

I'm sure that like most of us, if not all of us, there's still a lot to discover and learn... but your slideshow is really amazing, and that's the least I can say! Sincere congratulations for this brilliant performance

No worries, mate! as they say downunder... I understand perfectly, being as well a member of Diapositif and not finding time to contribute more, even if I don't have too much problems with the French language

I'd love to! But I don't know what to say exactly that could be useful. Let's try... This forum has been created 6 years ago by 2 AV-enthousiasts who already ran websites dedicated to AV, and decided to put our efforts in common. Besides the two admins, we have 4 moderators. We spend several hours a day each keeping an eye on the forum to check that everything runs smoothly... and it does most of the time. Free speech is the rule, and it works (we have only 3-4 'off limits' posts per year that need to be deleted!) The forum isn't dedicated to one particular software, but PTE is the major focus point; we have also sections dedicated to audio, photography and IT as applied to AV production, but we don't talk only about software and technicalities; members are free to show their productions (we host them for free and keep them available without time duration) which give rise to many discussions and subsequent improvements (if the author is willing to do so). As I said, we have more than 900 slideshows online available for download. There is no advertisement, no commercial links, no membership; the running costs are paid for by the two founders-administrators out of their pocket for the sake of AV (called Diaporama in French) promotion ! This forum isn't an exception; there is another one called "Diapositif" (here); it is run i.a. by JPD (who is also an active member of DiaporamaForum and well known here), and goes along similar lines except that it is specifically dedicated to PTE (whereas ours is 'general'); it has also around 1000 slideshows online (different from the ones that are on DiaporamaForum) and the atmosphere on this forum is also very friendly, co-operative, and even of a 'family gathering' style. Peter (fh1805) is a member of this forum and could say more about it in a better English than mine. Finally, there is also a 3rd big French forum that I should mention, although it is dedicated to Proshow only, because it is also very successful with 1600 members and 87000 posts in 4 years (Images & Couleurs). Go and have a look to see another proof that a forum with many sub-forums (or sections) like this one can be very effective and efficient; they have between 150 and 200 new posts each and every day ! As suggested many time by different people, these 3 very successful French forums are organised in more than 12 sections, or sub-forums, with precise topics and regular maintenance by moderators. Moderation, in our philosophy and practice, isn't censorship at all; it is just maintenance, keeping good order and, above all, helping others. It takes time and needs dedicated and enthusiast people, but it works !

I couldn't disagree more with this! On DiaporamaForum, statistics prove exactly the contrary - see attached picture from today's statistics. This forum is only French-speaking, thus we don't touch the huge English-speaking AV community and yet... look at the figures! and there is more than 900 slideshows online! Would you really describe it "barren and just a technical Q&A, and a once a month visit"?

I fully agree. Like pub or cafe discussions, you can't prevent people from going off topic, but one can help people to post in the right topic and to stay within that topic if the forum has a more detailed architecture and more active moderation. A good example is our French forum devoted to AV; see for yourself, the interface being the same (Invision Power Board) as this one, the difference is visible (some sections are hidden to non-members, but you'll still see the difference, I think): DiaporamaForum Another good example is Diapositif, another French forum run i.a. by JPD and devoted solely to PTE; here again, some sections are hidden to non-members, but you can still see that the number of sections is greater than here: Diapositif. I can assure you that on these two forums nobody complains about discussions going off topic because, if this happens, the posts are moved or re-organsed within a few hours.

Same for me.

I support this suggestion very strongly! On our French DiaporamaForum, we regularly have newcomers to PTE who are 'lost' with the registration system and other related issues that old or long-time users know well. If this system could be replaced by a more modern and user-friendly one, we would lose a few members who come to our forum only to get help about registration and 'lost key' issues, but at least we could focus on more interesting topics and lose less time !

Sincere good wishes, Lin, and best wishes to your life. I hope you'll return soon as it will be a good sign.

Well, sorry. I thought that giving one simple solution to the problem of taking successive screenshots to edit them in Photoshop was dealing with the original issue and could be useful. I use Photoshop CS3 everyday, with Win XP, and although I don't have this problem I wanted to help.

If I can help... I've been using MwSnap for quite a long time and had never had such a problem, although I make many screenshots for tutorials for my forum and my website; it's a free, simple and reliable piece of free software - (look here). I attach below 2 screenshots made with it (and then reduced to a smaller size with Photoshop CS3, so as not to take too much space here on the forum). Both come from the O&A window of PTE 5.6, of course, and they've been taken one after the other with MwSnap (you'll notice the difference on the slide and on the timeline). MwSnap offers many possibilities, like capturing a selected area (which I did here, this is why there are diffrences in the area taken) or even Windows menu items - very convenient for tutorials!). If I may, while I'm here, a little suggestion for screenshots for tutorials: the quality is much better, by far, if saved as .png rather than in .jpg. Being just screenshots of, usually, menus and the like, there's not much weight difference and I can assure you that the quality is best.

Hello Brian, Thank you for your info, very interesting indeed! Together with the latest answer from Lin, this confirms (at least for me !) that .exe output is - for the time being - the best and most reliable format overall... and without headache. This is good news as we, AV producers, aren't to be mixed down with video freaks... but this is another story and just a very personal nasty note! ... for which I apologize

Lin, I'm a bit suprised and confused by your 'conclusions' because I came to the opposite! I have no experience at all with video, MP4 and the like, and my first recent trial has been done just using the 'automatic' functions/settings of PTE with an existing slideshow of less than 4'; this show had and still has no PZR effects; only dissolves and cuts. I started by just converting the existing pte show; as it was in 3:2 format, I couldn't get the "HD" quality on Vimeo; then I cropped the images to 1280 x 720, letting PTE do the rest with Vimeo and YouTube. I do prefer the output on Vimeo : here. The result on YouTube is here But I repeat that I don't know anything about video and didn't try any fancy animations, effects or sizes; I have only used the 'automatic' conversion features of PTE and I do think that the results are better as published on Vimeo than on YouTube from the same original images.

I understand Igor's concern and I share it - it is important that newcomers know that exe files give the best picture quality and are so quickly created ! Thus, I support Lin's (and others') proposal. I also like the variant proposed and illustrated by Hawk with "Screensaver" at the bottom

Sorry for being so slow in replying to your comments, for which I thank you all Ken > I didn't do anything to protect the lens, except with a UV filter. I had been told that the main, and big, problem was the carbon dust which is present everywhere in the steelworks (in the 'furnace' part, not in the rolling-mill section) and that nothing could be done against the finest particles that infiltrates everywhere. Thus, I knew I couldn't change lenses and took two SLR bodies, one with a 17-35 mm lens, and one with a 18-200 lens. Unfortunately, shortly after the beginning of the reportage, the tripod on which one of the cameras was mounted fell on the ground and the 17-35 mm lens was broken. Thus, almost all pictures have been done with the 18-200, which is good because the heat in some areas is such that one couldn't come too close and use a wide-angle. Hawk > I'm very happy that this short sequence has brought back memories. Steel workers do deserve my complete admiration ! I'll send you an e-mail to give you links to my other sequences on this theme.

Thank you, Lin. I understood that upgrading to "Vimeo Plus" would give a "two passes" conversion in Flash instead of a "one pass" process. Anyway, given the ultra-limited number of "videos" that I could upload, I don't need their extra uploading possibilities or extra space - I'm already happy to have converted this slideshow so easily (can you imagine, I've never put my slideshows on DVD!) and to have seen that PTE does a good job in this field as well. Thanks again for watching and for your comments.

I'm happy! For the very first time I transformed one of my slideshows into video with PTE and uploaded it on Vimeo. I have to say that I have been amazed how easy and quick the whole process took - I was almost ready for a long and difficult struggle with the machine, but it all went smoothly. More important, I've been very impressed by the resulting quality once on Vimeo; even if it doesn't equals fully the original .exe file, the quality is really good (I have only the free account, and thus not the "better" quality they claim). If you want to have a look, it's here. It's one of the results of a reportage made in a steelworks, showing scenes in the life of steel from the liquid state to the final product; it lasts less than 4 minutes and I'll be happy to know what you think about my first "video" - if not my first slideshow with PTE !

There is no more "to" (or "vers", "nach", etc., in other languages) before the image number.

I'm also deeply shocked by the suppression of the 'Original' mode. All my slideshows have been made in this mode since it exists and, after a few trials, I don't see how the new parameters indicated by Igor could really and fully replace the 'original' mode. This is highly disturbing. This issue has been, and still is, largely discussed on the two French forums (Diapositif and DiaporamaForum) which are big supporters of PTE, as most of the French AV authors use this mode intensively ! The previous comments along the same lines made above by several members of these forums bear witness of the profound unsatisfactory situation, and those who registered here today to express their views on thiscontroversial issue are only the emerging part of the iceberg ! I think, and we think, that Jean-Pierre has very strong arguments and the solution put forward by him seems very sensible and reasonable !

I confirm that I can see all the effects as described by Peter (fh 1805) above, in full screen view. Processor and available RAM are enough and in my opinion shouldn't be at stake, but I have no clue - except on the graphic card's side, may be?

On my website, there is (among other things) an illustrated tutorial in French on the main functions of the 'synchronisation' (as it is called) window. It has been made for v 4.49 but it doesn't change much in v 5 as far as these functions are concerned. It is on this page. Ci-dessous, un exemple de paramétrage d'une vue avec un effet de transition spécifique:

I think that the hint given by Peter just above is a good one: it seems that the transitions are still in the "random" mode. If you wish, I inform you that there are two French-speaking forums - it might be easier for you to get help : Diaporamaforum Diapositif Feel free to have a look at one or both of them!

If Jean-Claude's proposals could be realized, that woud be fantastic !