Here it is - Panorama utility.

[boxig]

PanoRunner

Moving panorama to use with "Run external application" on any slide.

You can use any image size, you can configure size of window (width), start delay time (after how long time image start to move from right to left), exit delay time (how long time to exit after movement stop), and the speed of moving panorama. All configurations are done on "cfg.txt" file. You have to rename your image to be "Pano.jpg" and include it with "cfg.txt" and "PanoRunner.exe" in the root of the CD.

I did this one in a hurry so if you find a bug, please let me know. I made some tests and it worked fine. Please your comments.

Thanks

Granot

[ADB]

Hi Granot

Nice utility, I managed to generate a reasonable scrolling panorama in the middle of PTE show..not bad!!

However just a couple of small things:-

1. Do you have to the help icon on the panorama?

2. When it played my XP windows tool bar showed on the bottom of the screen.

3. Does PTE support batch files? That way it would be possible to run more than one Panorama during the shows, you just call up Panoram1.bat, Panoram2.bat etc as a batch file and each file ran Panorunner with Panorama1.jpg, Panorma2.jpg etc

I think this is a great start but to include it seemlessly in PTE show it would require some refinements.

Lastly what would make it very polished is if you could fade it in and out and the begining and end.

Good work Granot!!

Andrew

[Marianne]

Hi Granot,

Great tool you made! But like Andrew, I found out that within PTE not the whole screen is used. I tested it with a pano of 768 high. Standalone, starting the panotool it plays whole screen. But started from within PTE it leaves a line at the bottom showing background or maybe taskbar on a smaller screen.

I also agree with Andrew on not placing the helpbutton in the picture. But maybe you could make a difference here by making it freeware or shareware?

And is it possible to make the start of the tool unvisible? Now on a white background you see the black line of the box and the helpbutton and on a black background it is even more visible. Although it is just for a moment, so if there is no solution to that I can live with it.

Marianne

[Adda]

You are great, Granot! Never saw such a easy to use pano-tool!!!!!!!!

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!, now we have a possibility to show panos within PTE-Shows. Thank you very much, Granot.

A few questions and ideas:

1) How can i integrate the pano-tool in my show, which plays automatically.

The only way I see to start the pano tool ist to create a object with button (start application).

Is there a way to start the pano-tool automatically?

2) How can I start several panos in one show?

3) It would be great, if Igor can integrate the pano-tool in the PTE-Programm (Button "Add Pano").

Andreas

[Adda]

I found a way to automate the start:

1) Choose a backgound picture for the pano (blur or unicolor)

2) Go to customize slide

3) choose "run external application"

4) chosse "own time preference" and set at "display slide for" a time, which the pano needs

I think, this is a good work-arround.

But I think, dependent of the PC-Power, the speed of the pano will be different?

The best way would be a integration in the PTE:

1) Funktion "Add pano" instaed of "add Picture"

2) after the pano closes, the next slide will be play

Igor, what do you think about these ideas?

Andreas

[boxig]

Andrew, Marianne, Andreas

To start the pano-tool automatically use "Run external application"

on customized sllide. Let the slide enough time till pano exit before

you move to next slide.

New:

To run panorama before show and show open automatically - now posible.

See "cfg.txt" for all details.

To see more than one Panorama during the show... well, it can be done

but then it will be a completly new program while this utility is only

to show one moving panorama which you can't put into PTE. But if you

need one more I can make and send you a second file which will show

"pano2.jpg". Just tell me where to send to.

Fade in/out is a bit difficult.

Start window - I uploaded a new file with 10 x 10 blinking window for a

split of a second and it's much better than before, almost unseen.

Not quite understood this: "started from within PTE it leaves a line at

the bottom showing background or maybe taskbar on a smaller screen."

Maybe your pano image is higher than the show ? I think if your show is

full screen or higher than the pano there should be no problem. Can you

please send me a screen shot ?

The help icon - this is a problem I can't find a solution for.

Some utilities don't have buttons where I can add a "Readme/License" note.

Usually people distribute to friends only the necessary files and the program

circulate without the legal notice and any help instructions. This becomes

more common in CD distributions since the person who gets the CD actually can

copy the utility from the CD and use it for his CD, with no any legal or help

notes. The best I can do is replacing the button with a small text which will

carry name of the business/person (after small donation) and will be visible

at the corner and will not be clickable.

Granot

[Marianne]

Hi,

I found where I went wrong. Since this utility plays in front of the slideshow, the panopicture should be a little larger than the rest of the show. Otherwise the pano won't cover the PTE show in the background. And that causes the line of backgroundcolor.

The startup is a great improvement.

I can understand you want the legal notes placed somewhere, but I think watermarked will be a more esthetic solution. And as it will be run from within PTE I don't think anyone expects a help button in the middle of a show.

Marianne

[boxig]

Marianne,

Glad you find the problem and you like the improved version.

As for the help, it is actually the legal bla bla bla. I think all (not only PTE members) who want to use the free version should allow me have a little credit. As for those who want to use it commercially they get another version to fit their needs.

Granot

[Guest guru]

Granot, I like very much your PanoRunner (I've checked both versions).

But I found a serious (and well known) problem: the pan duration (and speed, obviously) changes very much varying the CPU speed. I tried with three computer, a P2 450 with 256 + 128 MB Ram, a P3 933 with 128 and with an Amd Athlon 1500+ with 512.

Keeping the default cfg.txt configuration, on the first (450 MHz) the whole pan (with delays) has a 45 sec. duration, on the fastest (AMD) is only 16 sec.

A too large difference! If I make a little test show with the Athlon machine (about 30 sec.) all is well (but I see the slideshow running in the background). If I run this mini-show on the Pentium 450, the show itself ends before the pan is completed !

[Adda]

... But I think, dependent of the PC-Power, the speed of the pano will be different? ...

... But I found a serious (and well known) problem: the pan duration (and speed, obviously) changes very much varying the CPU speed. ...

I agree with Guido, that dependence of CPU-Speed is a serious problem.

Granot, do you think it is possible to set a time of scolling instead of speed?

Example: 30 sec to scoll the panorama (independent of CPU-Speed)

I think this would be a great improvement of a excellent programm.

Andreas

[Adda]

... To see more than one Panorama during the show... well, it can be done

but then it will be a completly new program while this utility is only

to show one moving panorama which you can't put into PTE. But if you

need one more I can make and send you a second file which will show

"pano2.jpg". Just tell me where to send to. ..

Granot, to run several panos in one show is not a problem, I find a simple workarround.

1) Save each Panorama (pano.jpg) with the files "panorunner.exe" and "cg.txt" in a seperatly folder in the root directory of your show (pano1, pano2, pano3 ...)

2) Work in PTE ("run external application") with relative paths (/pano1/PanoRunner.exe; /pano2/PanoRunner.exe; /pano3/PanoRunner.exe)

It works fine!!

Andreas

[boxig]

Guido,

Thanks for your checking. There is nothing I can do at this stage, but I think members can ask the end user some info about their machine and then configure "cfg.txt" - faster computer, bigger number for speed (actually the speed is numbers of steps so bigger number means more steps or slower move). I believe there is a way to solve this problem but I didn't found it yet.

Andreas,

Yes, I thought of this way but all my tries failed, so had to use the steps insted of time. But I didn't give up hope yet. I hope users who want to change the speed and will check the Help, will go to "cfg.txt" and change the speed number. This is the easiest solution till I'll find a better one.

Thank you both for your comments

Granot

[Guest guru]

Console yourself, Granot. Igor himself solved this problem by sound synchronization, but if you don't synchronize your show the issue is still present in PTE too!...

[boxig]

to run several panos in one show is not a problem, I find a simple workarround

Andreas, thanks !

How I didn't think of this simple way

Granot

[boxig]

Hi all,

I made a new file for "PanoRunner" which, I hope, will work same on all computers. Since I have only one machine, members who can check it on 2 or more machines are welcomed to post their results. Does the panorama moves on same speed on all machines ?

The new file is Here.

Thanks

Granot

[boxig]

Got one confirmation from Guido who checked the new file that it works fine. I'm waiting for few more checkings before changing the current file to the new one.

You can download Here.

Granot

[ADB]

Hi Granot

Tried out the new version and plays fine as long as you have it going fast enough. I got good results using a speed of 50 or less. I was using a fairly long panorama dimensions were 6548 x 698.

I still had the problem with the Windows XP task bar showing at bottom of screen - see screen dump:-

http://www.imagescapes.co.nz/TestPTE.jpg

I probably wouldn't use this utility in a show unless:-

1. TaskBar was gone

2. Help icon gone

3. Was some way to smoothly load panorama rather than a straight cut in or out i.e it needs to be able fade in and out.

and at the same time if you could provide the above I would be more than happy to pay for it!

Hope this feed back is helpful

Regards

Andrew

[Marianne]

Hi,

I agree with Andrew on two points, or actually three if you count the matter of payment .

I also did a test on a full screen. Uptill now I only tested in windowed mode. I also have the taskbar popping up, which is extremely ugly if you have a show with black background. Is there no way you can program a full screen mode?

As for the help icon, I thought Granot earlier said this is only in the freeware version, so this one is solved if you pay for it.

The fading in and out, well I'm not an expert in programming, but I think this is difficult with a moving picture, and how far can we push it?

Marianne

[boxig]

Andrew and Marianne

I will sit now to see if I can make it full screen. I didn't try before since I thought beeing part of the show you probably want it like this. As Marianne said, fade in/out is very difficult since I have to move the image, but I will try if I can fade it before movement starts. As for the help icon, again as Marianne noted, can be removed versus registration. As long as it's free, I like to get some credit as the maker

I'll write here soon (today).

Thank you for all your important remarks for improvement

Granot

[boxig]

Uploaded a new test file with full screen here:

http://www.thailandphotoalbum.com/PanoRunn...nner48Timer.zip

I hope you like the color, must be prefixed color (can be changed by demand). Please let me know it it solved the Bar problem.

As for Fade in/out: I can't do it (sorry).

I tried this but it uses too much resources and interfear with the movement. But there is another simple way, to manipulate the image in Photoshop (or other) using the gradient tool at two ends of image. I will try to make one image and replace it with the original pano.jpg.

Granot

[Guest guru]

It's Ok, Granot!

I also tried to resize your image to 3132 x 600 pixels to fill the screen (I don't like very much that light blue), and all works very well again, even with 40 speed in cfg.txt.

But, like I foreknew, in this case you must run the slideshow on a machine quite powerful ( > 1400/1600 MHz) to have a smooth movement. With my Pentium 450 the pan is very slow and jerky.

As to bar problem, all right either on Win2000 and WinXP.

The gradient at both sizes of the picture is an excellent idea!

P.S. - Hope you are not angry with me... I added an (!) icon to your topic. It's worth!

[boxig]

Thanks Guido for your helping.

I uploaded another test file which has a curtain effect, when the pano is open like a curtain. I leaved the previous test file and uploaded this one in another name here:

http://www.thailandphotoalbum.com/PanoRunnerEffect.zip

The previous is here:

http://www.thailandphotoalbum.com/PanoRunn...nner48Timer.zip

and the original is still on my site.

I hope you all will help me to decide which is the best one for the final version.

Guido, when final version will be released, I hope you will make a small guide and advices how to configure for different machines because I know nothing about this as to what speed to give to different kinds of computers.

Waiting for feedback

Granot

[Guest guru]

I hope you will make a small guide and advices how to configure for different machines...

Sure, Granot, willingly!

Your curtain effect is very good - a simple but very pleasant effect.

[Adda]

Good idea, Granot!

But I have a problem: With my Pentium 1 GH the movement of the new version of the pano-tool is jerky.

Andreas

[boxig]

Andreas

HaHa ! So many machunes, so many Operating Systems !

The best idea is if all users will buy an old computer and use win98 like me. I assume as every day new and better computers are born, we will need Guido to tell us what to do on each. He is also the one to give an advice, because as I said, I'm ignorant in this subject.

But the point is not what machine you have but what machine your users have. Same problems we had with PTE at the past, when everyone show the same show different. I think the best way is to use the Full screen version. Is this one works fine on your machine ?

I added the curtain effect to replace the Fade effect, but is the effect really necesarry ?

Now that Guido have all the test versions we wait for him to write a small guide. Let's wait also for some more feedback.

Guido,

Did you have same problem on on of your machines ?

What is your advice here ?

This utility really emptied my mind resources, the most diffucult to make.

Did you see my"URLKeeper" - small program made to relax my mind.

Granot