PicturesToExe v4.12

[alrobin]

Bill,

In your example, what parameter are you passing to the PTE executable?

[think(box)]

Hi Al,

"WaitMessage.exe" is the app actually started by a P2E show in the above example. Showxyz.exe and an optional longer "click-happy checking time" are the one or two parameters being passed to "WaitMessage.exe" from the P2E show, as created.

(I updated the previous message for the "click-happy user" checking time optional extension.)

[alrobin]

Bill,

Not everyone wants to use a utility to launch their shows. For those who do, I'm sure Granot could design a simple utility which does not react to multiple double-clicks, and which flashes a message telling the viewers to be patient and not double-click, pauses a couple of seconds, and then launches the main PTE show.

No need to pass on any parameters, and no need for new members to have to learn more new complicated instructions for setting up PTE shows.

For those who are still bothered by double clicks, I still think that a simple bit of code added to PTE could solve this problem. Unless you can give me a good reason why someone would want to use them for some other purpose?

[think(box)]

P2E shows made from v4.12 start quickly enough that click-happy people do not need a helper utility to know when to stop clicking. This is a fading problem of the past. And if any show developer wants to tell a show viewer to go easy on clicking, why do they need a utility? PTE has ample support for a startup screen message and button screen text messages to instruct on clicking. Quoting what I said:

If the .EXE being launched is an older P2E production or other app that starts slowly and without confirmation, then it should be up to the person using it, not Igor, to make provisions to help the viewer. You can use scripts to be absolutely sure of what is happening, if that is important.

Key points:

1. It is the exception, not the rule, to have click-happy user problems.

2. You do not have to use a utility to address this if you don't care about the issue.

3. Many utilities have limited interest, but when it solves a critical need for someone it is important to them.

4. For the problem you solve by adding arbitrary delays to P2E click actions, you create a new one for someone who wants a second click to actually cause a second "Run app" activation.

P2E isn't broken for click actions, so let's not "fix" it.

[think(box)]

Anton (swan_atn), Al, Stu, Maureen, Guido and Ken, there is another alternative. Igor can define an additional visual object action. I have proposed this in Wish list for PTE - after 4.10 release, Feature ideas. Here is the proposal posted in that topic. If we refine the proposal after additional dialog in this topic thread, I will edit it in the other posting to keep it brief and to the point for Igor.

To address the "multiple-click" issue that has been raised elsewhere in the forum, I propose the following new PTE feature:

"Run application one time" (new visual object action):

A button, clickable image or hyperlink works only ONE time while a slide is displayed, and is re-enabled for a subsequent ONE-time operation by viewing another slide and then returning to the slide with the clickable object.

This can unquestionably eliminate the "multiple-click" problem.  How rapidly someone can "multi-click" becomes irrelevant.  The number of times they click an object becomes irrelevant.

BTW, we do not need a one-time version of "Run application and exit" since this feature should already function only once when clicked multiple times.

The "Run application or open file..." action is general purpose and should respond every time it is clicked, as it does today.  It differs from links in a web page because a browser generally understands the hyperlink action and can thus disable further clicks for actions like "open new web page" or "open new browser".  PicturesToExe slideshows run applications without internal knowledge of what that application will do.  It may just run a utility that has no window and that will increase the sound volume level a notch.  Or it may run a new P2E slideshow.  If someone clicks a P2E slideshow "Volume up" button three times to increase the sound volume level a lot, then the button should function all three times, even if clicked rapidly.

In summary, making a new visual object click action is the only way to fix the "multiple click" problem provided that it is not agreeable to just solve that problem with utility software.  My vote is for the new PTE object action.

[alrobin]

 If someone clicks a P2E slideshow "Volume up" button three times to increase the sound volume level a lot, then the button should function all three times, even if clicked rapidly.

In that case, I think we should just leave things alone rather than complicate the procedure we have now. As someone has said, with the new fast-loading PTE, double-clicking is not a big problem, anyway.

It would be interesting to know how many people are using or would use a utility to adjust volume. I just turn down the knob on my stereo! And if that isn't possible, I already have a built-in utility in my Windows software to adjust the volume.

[nobeefstu]

Bill,

Believe it or not I totally aggree with you on this statement :

P2E isn't broken for click actions, so let's not "fix" it.

My previous posts were merely comments on the general issues related to clicking functions. Its not that PTE has any real clicking issues .

I pretty much know what to expect when I run my programs from the HARD DRIVE, clicking buttons, and if Ive got all kinds of background pc processes happening ... I also know what to expect when its run from the CD DRIVE in the same above conditions.

I dont expect PTE to make my CD DRIVE run the same as my HARD DRIVE ... nor do I expect PTE to close unneccessary pc processes so my Show runs at its best.

What Im getting at here is that I dont expect PTE to correct the inheirted traits and weaknesses of my PC ... and my own personal habits and expectations for that fact.

But in reality, PTE has done a great job in performing alot of this ...

Also , as to your latest comment :

To address the "multiple-click" issue that has been raised elsewhere in the forum, I propose the following new PTE feature:

If Igor finds the time and real necessity to implement this click feature ... I will welcome it as a nice bonus ... and not require it as a needed necessity.

[Guest guru]

Totally agree, Stu (like [almost] always).

[Tom Bombadil]

PicturesToExe v4.12 is released

http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/apr.zip (1,3 Mb)

What's new in v4.12:

* Fixed bug of v4.10 when Visual Editor crashed on exit.

* Fixed delay with synchronization in OGG Vorbis music file after rewinding on the time-line.

* Fixed old bug when personal music of a slide didn't start, if main playlist is empty and "Repeat music after playing" option is turned off.

* Fixed bug in window of Personal settings of a slide.

* Fixed old memory leaks, if terminate Fade in/out transition effect.

* Fixed sound skips on old PCs (150 - 400 Mhz) when second or later mp3 music file starts.

* Fixed several minor bugs.

+ Improved smoothness of Fade in/out transition effect for first slide with background music.

+ Various minor improvements.

+ Updated Slovak and Ukrainian language files.

Two fixes added in v4.11 earlier:

* Fixed bug of v4.10 when you was not able to set "Time limited usage" option in new presentations.

* Fixed bug of v4.01 and v4.10 only with synchronized presentations which have Startup Window with added "Exit" button. Presentation closes with error, if user choosed "Exit" button in this Startup window. The problem is fixed now.

Wow! OGG support - it's great!!

[Guest guru]

Welcome Tom!

Yes, Ogg support is great, but there are many other very interesting new features in v4.10/4.12. Now it's really very easy and fast to make a presentation with PTE.

Only a little off-topic remark: please write Ogg, not OGG... Vorbis developers say :

"Writing OGG in a context where both uppercase and lowercase letters are used implies that it is an acronym like our good old competitor Em-Pee-Three. I haven't heard anybody try to pronounce OGG, but I'm willing to bet that there are people that are tempted to read it as an acronym and hence pronounce it Oh-Gee-Gee, which is not right. The format's name is Ogg. It is a word, not an acronym, and it's pronounced like Dog without the letter D" (see here: "1.1. It's Ogg , not OGG!").

[starfish]

Hi,

I posted this elsewhere, but I'm tucking it in here in the hopes that Igor will see it:

Hi,

PTE is a wonderful program. I have a suggestion which would make the program much more versatile.

I have been experimenting for some time with using PTE for .gif and .avi animations. PTE potentially can do a wonderful job with this with a rather minor enhancement to the program.

Basically, if you can break down the .gif or .avi into individual frames, PTE can handle them as animations if the display is set to a few miliseconds with no effects chosen. And it does this well.

BUT...to do this in the form of useable shows with multiple animations per show, the frames need to loop. This requires the user to manually exit the loop with a mouse click, and it makes it impossible to match music length with the animation.

This is where my Wish List request comes in.

I would like to see one of two possible enhancements to PTE:

EITHER

1. The ability to declare the length of a looping show---say for 30 seconds (or whatever an appropriate time is) at which time the show would end. This would allow the user to call another .exe at this point so that a multi animation show or a show that combined regular slides with animations could be created. It also would allow a music selection to be matched by time with the running animation.

In other words, instead of the program looping endlessly, it would loop for a specified time period and then end.

A timer set at the beginning of the loop, would, I think, do the trick. At the end of the time period, the program would call its End Program sequence.

OR

2. Allow the user to tell the program to loop a given range of slides for a declared number of cycles before continuing with the rest of the show.

This last would be preferable, because it would allow the show to be contained within one .exe file instead of many, and the show would probably be faster and smoother.

Without either of these changes, the only workaround at this time that I have found is to copy/paste a number of animation slide cycles into PTE end to end. If the animation is to run within a regular slide show, then each animation slide as well as other slides must then be set --by hand-- for its specific timing in milleseconds. This is not only a laborious process, but a hit or miss way of doing things. Since even very short animations are often made up of dozens of slides, this workaround increases the size of the show immensely.

The enhancements I outlined would allow shows that look much better than they would if .avi files were simply ported in, because the shows will run without the window, slider, and controls that show when an .avi files is played as an .avi, allowing a much more enticing-looking screen.

Another plus is that a looping show could be set to run for a reasonable length of time instead of the very brief time an .avi runs. If you have a show which loops, such as a kaleidoscope of photos, or a photo montage, or whatever, or if you want to run a looping animated .gif (most of them loop) then the changes I outlined above would make this possible.

Sharon

[RayPar]

On the issue of double-click vs. single-click, I think the best thing would be to have some kind of a visual feedback when the user hovers or clicks on one of the thumbnails in order to launch a show. As an example (this is similar to when authoring a DVD menu), highlight or change the color of the thumbnail when the mouse pointer is placed over it and briefly return it to its original color (or an alternate color) when it's clicked on. This way the user would know whether or not the mouse click was acknowledged.

Just an idea!

Ray

[mannybr2003]

Hi everyone,

I think the issue is not the double click or single click. And I think Igor does not need to re-engineer PTE.

I think it is not too late for anyone of us to re-engineer our projects. We can, I believe create and use 2 or 3 PTE EXE projects. The 1st will have to be called by autorun.inf and data.txt.

The first PTE we may call, say: start.exe. And autorun will have to address this file, as well as data.txt. This exe must start and end quickly, say 5 to 10 seconds, just to display the message "Please wait while the message is loading."

In the Screen Options, we may want to use a full screen with a check on the Without Border and you can create a full screen black image jpg containing the message "Please wait while the show is loading."

It is necessary that in the Advance, the action for left mouse should be None.

It is very important that inside this Start.Exe under Project Options, Advance that A CHECK ON RUN APPLICATION AFTER LAST SLIDE be applied. Then you choose the SHOW (exe) YOU MADE you want this Start.Exe to load/run.

By the way this works only for a single show. But if you want to have a Wait message for a muti-show, you can have the last show you played to run/load a 3rd show that contains a PTE single screen containing a MENU.

Each choices in this menu will have to use the same principles used in the example I gave above, only you will have to change the name of the show to load/run. And each time each show ends, it should come back to loading/running this 3rd PTE single screen MENU. The problem is when the user decides to abort the show, it does not go back to the menu. However, one can run this 3rd PTE Menu (.exe) screen anytime to display this interactive menu.

Please let me know if you succeed. I only tested it working on my pc. I didn't test it on a CD yet. Let me ask you to verify and confirm if this solves the problem of double/single clicking on your pc.

[Guest guru]

A clever solution, Mannybr! It works very well. Another one could be to use the Start Window.

But this issue is actually a PTE problem, and must be solved by Igor.

[Bernie4201]

Igor, how are you coming with developing a DVD substitute for PTE??

[mannybr2003]

QUOTE]But this issue is actually a PTE problem