hexeta Posted January 19, 2010 Report Share Posted January 19, 2010 Hi Guys,Just a note billing you for a night's sleep I downloaded this software and Lin Evans' "Snowglobe .atn" file yesterday early evening, and suddenly it's morning just can't stop playing with it.So pleased Lin's atn file gets along with my old copy of PSE5. I know I'm just scratching the surface of PTE's capabilities, but I'm a bit of a slow learner. I'm so pleased with my new toy, but sad to see that we are soon to be parted 'cos it appears to be a time ltd. demo. I'll hardly get time to get to know it! Will it really just evaporate after a short time or does it change to a "limited functionality program?What will happen to the files I create, will they still work afterwards?With pensions shrinking at an alarming rate, I can't see me being able to buy a licence to keep it, even though it would remove the banner from my files. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted January 20, 2010 Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 Hexeta,I've developed the same sleep problem. PTE just won't let me go to bed. The more I read and the more I experiment, the better my skills get, but the worse my sleep problem gets. I, too, started with the trial software. I quickly moved to the Deluxe version. I've had it for a little over a month now. If my situation offers any previews for your situation, time will likely not be a solution. Unless, you don't buy the software. Someone with more PTE experience than I have will need to answer you question regarding whether the program becomes unusable after the trial period. Unfortunately, everything I know about it leads me to believe that you are not going to like the answer.Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fh1805 Posted January 20, 2010 Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 The trial version of PTE is not time-limited. The "limits" of the trial version are that any sequence can use only 10 slides and that any use of the Video-Builder feature will have a scrolling banner across the image stating that the video was produced by a trial version (or words to that effect). The trial version is, in all other respects, fully functional - nothing has been turned off.So... Enjoy!!!!!regards,Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hexeta Posted January 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 Thanks Peter and Don,It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one that's being deprived of sleep! As I say, I've barely scratched the surface of this little gem, so it's good to know that we'll have enough time to get to know each other! Since I'm also new to ".atn" files, I also need to find out if Lin has more such goodies available.I'm sure I'll be back for more help and advice..if that's OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fh1805 Posted January 20, 2010 Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 "Help and advice" is what we're here for!regards,Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lin Evans Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Hi,The .atn files are the equivalent of Photoshop actions for Photoshop Elements. Those actions are the creations of Panos at "panosfx.com" where you downloaded the Snowglobe set.What I did was provide Panos and users of his actions with a PicturesToExe "template" along with the png files which I designed to create and animate the snow inside the snowglobe. The template contains the PicturesToExe keyframes and code which allows the animation of snow inside the globe when used with the other modified files provided in the download.You can thank Panos for all the hard work in creating these wonderful actions which allow the user to place their own images inside the beautiful snowglobe creation.As Peter explained, the PTE demo doesn't expire. It's limitation is that it only allows the user to have a total of 10 images in a slideshow and it places the banner which explains that the slideshow or animation was made with a demo copy of the software. The executable files which you create with the demo or any subsequent AVI video files you might create do not "expire." They will not disappear or stop working, etc. My suggestion would be to save a little each month and purchase the very reasonable PicturesToExe program. This software has a lifetime free upgrade. The associated Video Builder portion which makes MacIntosh executable code, creates mp4 h.264 video, allows automated uploads to Vimeo and Youtube, provides for output to iPhone, etc., can be purchased separately at any time. This integrated module has a two year upgrade cycle but the main PTE software has free lifetime upgrades so even ten years from now when something like PTE 12.0 is available, you will still be getting free upgrades. You can use PTE to create beautiful animated slideshows complete with music and numerous types of really great effects and transitions. The Snowglobe animation is just a sample of what you can do with this software and many different Photoshop and/or Elements packages. You can learn to create 3 dimensional cubes and other great 3D effects and objects with this software. It's well worth the investment, even for pensioners like you and me. There are many of us here who are on very limited incomes which is one of the reasons we love PTE - it's not only the "best" software of its kind, it's the least expensive and most powerful!Best regards,LinThanks Peter and Don,It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one that's being deprived of sleep! As I say, I've barely scratched the surface of this little gem, so it's good to know that we'll have enough time to get to know each other! Since I'm also new to ".atn" files, I also need to find out if Lin has more such goodies available.I'm sure I'll be back for more help and advice..if that's OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hexeta Posted January 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Hello Lin,thanks for explaining that to me, I'm a bit of a numpty really, PSE5 is stretching my abilities at the moment!I got into quite a tizz when I was downloading the whole Snow Globe file sets, and lost track of the number of tabs I had open!What has confused me most is that Panos told me that I would need to create a new thumb, since the one in your file would not work with PSE5.He pointed me at a posting in "Elements Village" by Diana which has a "Blank thumb" file that I was supposed to somehow modify.Opening both yours and Diana's files I found that your thumb was just a single locked layer, whilst Diana's was 8 layers, four coloured ones alternated with four text ones.Totally confused, I ignored Diana's thumb file, and used yours.On re-starting PSE5, the result was two entries in the special effects pallette, one showing your thumb icon, which when dragged onto my photo did nothing, the other was blank, just an empty box! but dragging it onto the photo, it did the business!!Evidently, I seem to have achieved my objective, but I've no idea how Can you tell me if I need to do something with my installation to get rid of one or other of the entries in the pallette?Regarding the cost/value of Picturestoexe, I quite agree, (though I can't recall the amount) it is an excellent piece of software and once I've become a bit more confident/proficient, I'm sure I'll find a way to buy it! Thanks again for your fantastic programme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hexeta Posted January 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Hi,Yes, what you have described is entirely possible with PTE. You have 3D transform capability (perspective views), the ability to pan, zoom, rotate and flip images horizontally or vertically. You can move any object in any direction so though it might take a while to program this, it's entirely possible to do.I did something of a similar nature but with "leaves" rather than photos a while back. Here's a link so you can see some possibilities: About 33 meg zipped exe for PC or for Machttp://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/xmas/seasonspc.zip http://www.learntoma.../seasonsmac.zipBest regards,Lin I'm sure that even if it's possible to create, it will be beyond me to be able to achieve in the short term, but I'd just like to know if it's possible to create what I've described using PTE ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lin Evans Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Hi,I wish I had an answer for you, but actually this "thumb" seems to be something associated with Photoshop Elements and related to creating the actual Panos snowglobe file with your own image inside. Unfortunately, I use Photoshop CS myself and have very little knowledge of Elements so can't be of much help there. Perhaps someone else here on the Wnsoft forum who is familiar with Elements can help answer your question.My part of the puzzle solely concerns PicturesToExe. The portions of the snowglobe which are used in the animation are twofold: First, there is the output from your .ati file which is the Panos snowglobe "action" which creates the actual snowglobe with your own framed photo inside. The "thumb" etc., is part of that portion of the whole. I'll try to explain what my part is: I take a completed snowglobe (it really doesn't matter whether yours or other) and using Photoshop, remove all the interior content except the snow on the floor of the globe which is made partially transparent. I replace the content inside the globe which I removed and replaced with PNG transparency so that when my modified snowglobe is on a layer above your snowglobe created with Elements, anything in between these perfectly coinciding two layers will be seen through my top layer. I then place the three PNG "snow" files on three layers "between" the two snow globes and animate the snow via the pan and zoom features of PicturesToExe. When you play this back either in real time via the "Preview" or as an executable file created with PicturesToExe, the snow falls within the confines of the two overlaying snowglobes and in front of the content of your original snowglobe which resides on the bottom layer and visible because of the transparent nature of the top modified globe.By simply renaming your files as explained in the tutorial, your snowglobe creation containing your own framed picture overwrites and replaces the one I provide as a "placeholder" and PicturesToExe code takes care of the proper size and placement of all these necessary components according to the PTE file which I created for the template. The whole thing is designed to run (animate) for 60 seconds. You can use PTE to copy the slide on the main slide list and paste it as a second, third, fourth, etc., slide so that the animation can continue as long as you wish with each additional pasted slide being a duplicate of the original so that the snow continues to fall for as many iterations of 60 second intervals as you have copied and pasted slides.I hope this helps with understanding the various components and how they interact. Again, I wish I could answer your question about the "thumbs" (icons, etc.) but I really don't know how Elements works. Perhaps Diana on the PanosFX forum might be able to help with that part?You really want to thank Igor and the PTE development team for their fantastic software which allows us all to create many beautiful animated slideshows. I'm just the "carpenter" who did the finish work on Panos' amazing creation using the great PTE architectural features and blueprints as my "tools." Best regards,Lin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hexeta Posted January 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Not sure what's happened here!I posted a message directly after my post #7, but though post #8 has my name against it, the content is evidently Lin's response to the post I made....but I can't see it!Don't think I've accidentally sent a PM to Lin, have I? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hexeta Posted January 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 I did something of a similar nature but with "leaves" rather than photos a while back. Here's a link so you can see some possibilities: About 33 meg zipped exe for PC or for Machttp://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/xmas/seasonspc.zip http://www.learntoma.../seasonsmac.zipBest regards,Lin Wow!Just watched your link Lin!Half expected John Denver to appear at the end, bless him! Well, You obviously saw my posting, but I don't know where it is!Now I have something to aspire to...many moons from now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lin Evans Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Hi Hexeta,My mistake, not yours. I got the information and what you see is my response. I accidentally deleted your part of the message. My response "should" have been beneath.Essentially, it's possible to do what you want to do with PTE - but it will take you a while to learn all the techniques. A good place to start would be to download the free tutorials in the Tutorials and Articles section here:http://www.picturest...php?showforum=8See the PTE Made Easy - PTE for Smarties section:Best regards,LinNot sure what's happened here!I posted a message directly after my post #7, but though post #8 has my name against it, the content is evidently Lin's response to the post I made....but I can't see it!Don't think I've accidentally sent a PM to Lin, have I? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hexeta Posted January 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Thanks Lin,Plenty for me to work with !Keep me happy for a lota sleepless nights to come! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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