ContaxMan

Just a thought - if you click on "Project options" and then the "Main" tab, next to "Customise Synchronisation" there's a box that says "Permit the control of show". Have you ticked this?

I agree with earlier respondents to your query - use the free advice and links listed here first. But, to set the record straight, I have some of Barrie Beckham's tutorial cd's and can tell you that they are excellent. His latest, Photoshop tutorial dvd is the best I've seen anywhere.

The third feature I really liked in ProShow (in my hour or two of demo-ing) was the "real-time sync" (I don't remember what they call it and I've deleted the software). In this mode, you started the show, then held and released keys to signify beginning and end of transitions (different keys meaning different transitions), while the music ws playing. It was a visual and auditory interface, not a mathematical one. Rather than having to say "Fade for 1.5 seconds starting at 19, and then show this slide for 4 seconds" (which was possible too, by the way), I could start the music, and HEAR the music so that the sunrise picture showed just as the cymbal crash sounded. You get the idea. Most of this is available with PTE - explore the "Customise Synchronisation" button on the main tab of Project Options. Have a look at Al's revides tutorial for excellent help on using PTE: http://www.alrobinson.com/pte_items.htm

Don't miss Al Robin's revised PTE tutorial (from Beechbrook) - see elsewhere on this site. Al's MS Excel utility for use with PTE may be just what you need.

Yes - I'm afraid you're correct - you'll need to change them all then "tweak" the eceptions.

Click on the "Project Options" button & choose the tab that says "Effects". At the top, righthand side of the window that opens, click the little button that shows 2 blank pages to clear all effects. Now you can choose which to use and change the effect duration. Click the "Main" tab to adjust the time that the slide stays on screen. The Background colour is set under the "Screen" tab. Having set the main preferences, "tweak" individual slides using the "Customise Slide" button. C.) Here's what I want to do: I have a picture of a fixed size. On slide 1, I want it centered. On slide 2 I want the exact same image, but moved over .5 inches (or 200 pixels, or whatever), and on the third slide the same image moved over 1 inch. So the effect is that the image is moving over on the screen. Is that possible? Can I control how much it moves? Can I place an image anywhere on the "screen" or does it always center? Here are 2 ways to achieve this. If you have access to an image editor such as Photoshop, the easiest way is to create a new document of the screen size you're going to use for your show, e.g. 1024 x 768 pixels, and fill it with the colour you intend to have as background. Then put you image in the correct place. Repeat as many times as you need. Alternatively, make a "dummy image" 1 pixel square & add this to your slide list as many times as you need. Then click on the "Object Editor" button in PTE. Click on the little picture icon (4th from left at top of window) to insert the picture you really want to use. You can then drag this image into the position you want. I hope you can follow this! Have fun - PTE is a great tool.

I've not had the opportunity to see a pte show on a monitor with greater than 1024x768 reolution so I don't really know, but my guess is that the images will take a smaller area of the screen. Incidentally, I often use 800x600 nevertheless as I quite like the effect of a larger blank area (I alwyas use mid grey or black) around the image. On PTE's Project Options - Screen, you'll find the opportunity to "Fit to screen". This does "what it says on the can", but the rescaling it affords may reduce the quality of a small original image. The preview in Photoshop's "Save for Web" gives an excellent idea of how the images will look when compressed. You say that you can't often see the difference between the compressed image and the normal one. In this case, if you can't (with a good eye for photography), I suspect your viewers won't either! I haven't experimented with dvd for viewing on a tv screen at all as my shows are to view on computer or via a digital projector. I suspect that quality issues are even less important if the images are to be viewed via the relatively low resolution of a normal tv screen. A major consideration in my comment about the last slide of your show is that it wasn't obvious that it actually was the end. Hence my remarks about alternative endings. Yes - it would be great if a nice fade was the default option for PTE. By the way, are you aware that on "Project Options - Effects", clicking the righthand button (that shows 2 blank pages) clears all transition effects. So, in two clicks, you have Fade In/Out as the default. I hope this is helpful.

Well, I'm sure the happy couple will be "over the moon" with this show. The photos and music compliment each other very well to tell the story of a happy day. I like the way you've used small images to build-up an overall impression and the excellent mix of posed and informal shots. Three remarks that are not criticisms but rather small suggestions: 1. The final slide (car with movement effect) is on the screen for too long and, to my mind, is a less-than-satisfactory ending. Perhaps you might have faded this back into a montage of some of the earlier images with a text record of the date and other details of the event. 2. I feel you got a little carried away with using pte's transition effects in the later part of the show. Don't let the effects distract from the excellent images you have taken. 3. Search this forum for ways to make your show more compact. I wonder if you have used high resolution images such as might be needed for printing? If so, the best thing is to resize your images (in Photoshop or whatever) to be a fixed number of pixels - 1024 x 768 for a full-screen image on most modern monitors. Then save - use "save for web" in Photoshop to get individual slides down to around 100-200 k. Lovely show, though, & well-worth waiting for!

If you search this forum you'll find references to "Audacity" - a free program for editing sound files. It's just what you need for combining a number of tracks together for your pte shows.

I too searched for this - found the show but the music was Pachebel!

Having viewed dozens of PTE shows, the most effective (in my opinion) use only very few transitions. After all, the aim is surely to display the photographs in the most interesting way, with music and transitions enhancing, not distracting, from the images.

Wonderful - a tour-de-force. Thank you.

Adjustor's well-worth the learning curve!

As a viewer of many such shows, just a few general points: However good the show, attention starts to wander after (at most) about 10 minutes. So make sure that there is a change in activity, even if it's just a pause for explanation. In my experience audiences welcome the input and comments of a real person as opposed to a pre-recorded narration. Music is great, of course, but allow some space/scope for "real-time" intervention and comments by the author (yourself). Please don't use too many fancy bits just because you can! Limit yourself to very few, carefully chosen transition effects and be very careful that the music and background used complement the images rather than competing with them. On technical matters, you'll obviously be constrained by the digital projector available. You can read some helpful background on these here: http://www.ivojo.co.uk/projector-guide.htm Don't rely solely on the computer's speaker. Use an extension with a couple of amplified speakers (they don't need to be too fancy - I've used normal computer extension speakers that have amplification built-in). Above all, make sure you know your presentation backwards and relax!

Well said - I agree with these sentiments. PTE is excellent software & the help available via this forum makes it exceptional. Long may it continue to prosper.

Thank you for sharing this excellent show with us. The images are stunning and the music matches the mood very well indeed. The transitions all work well and the overall effect is to keep the viewer on the edge of the seat, waiting to see what comes next! BRAVO!

It might be worth your looking here: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums//index...t=ST&f=4&t=1408

Thanks Michel. I work at home & today's a working day, I'm afraid. I like to have a look at the Forum during my other work to see what's happening in the real world.

It depends on the pixel dimensions set for your machine. A common standard is 1024 x 768 pixels so, in Photoshop, choose File > New then set these dimensions in the dialogue box. Older machines use 800 x 600 pixels.

Barry Beckham has an excellent tutorial CD available, very reasonably priced. See: http://www.barrybeckham.co.uk/

Yes - Al's intro should be a must for all newcomers to PTE. How about adding the latest stuff, Al?

Congratulations on reaching 100 in such good shape.

I agree with Ken - the basic tutorials are invaluable for someone just starting out - keep them unless an updated version comes out. How else will people get started?

Bravo - an excellent show with good photographs and a sympathetic audio background. What beautiful girls you have too!

If you have Photoshop (or similar) a good approach is to add all of the images you propose to use into one document - each on a separate layer. Then you can experiment with different orders, fades, image sizes etc - simply by viewing each layer as you wish. When you've got the layer stack in the order that you want, crop the lot to the image size you plan to use. Then use "Save for web" to get each layer saved as a separate JPG of no more than approx 200 kb. There's no shortcut but this method works for me. As for choosing the music, that's another matter. I like "big choral/classical" stuff and this doesn't generally feature in the copywrite-free stuff. That's why my shows are private affairs - I'm not giving the "cw police" any encouragement! Hope this helps. Roger.