Sound Button in Navigation bar

[paulstaff]

Hi everybody,

I am new to the forum but I have spent quite a few hours creating some presentations with this super software

I have included a navigation bar in my presentation with all options set.

BUT... it would be nice to be able to turn the sound on/off during the slideshow (approx. 250 images in 10 different catagories).

In each catagory start image I have included the ruhe!.vbs script behind a button and it works fine turning the sound on/off, but it only works on those slides.

Enough description... a sound button in the navi bar would be good...any better solutions

Paul

[Guest guru]

Welcome aboard, Paul !

Haven't you a "volume" knob on the speakers?

Joking apart, waiting for this addition to navigation bar, I think we could ask our friend Boxig (who created near 120 - 130 utilities for PTE users - I don't know today's exact number) to invent something for your problem...

Granot, are you still here?

[think(box)]

Paul, I agree that native sound support would be great. For now, I have an idea to consider that could do exactly what you want today. Just create your non-sync slideshow this way:

Download a free utility that I have used a lot. It works great and is bug-free:

Click for PC World free download of Mute.exe, toggle on-off muting application

When descriptive web page appears, click the Download link and enjoy the ads. That is the only price you pay to have this handy and free utility. Granot hasn't had to make this utility because it was already out there in cyberspace.

Next, make a master slide as follows:

1. Add any photo as first photo in Slide list (no others yet)

2. In Visual object editor, add a Button

3. Right click the button and select Properties

4. Set Width to 1600 and Height to 1200 pixels

5. Delete the caption text

6. Check the box Transparent background

7. In Action on mouse click select Run application or open file...

8. In Enter program name type in just Mute.exe

9. Click OK and again OK to close Visual object editor

Don't worry that your picture looks bluish in the object editor. This is because the whole image has a highlighted transparent button on top of it. You will not see the giant button at all during slideshow playback. And you can add additional (visible) buttons on top of the giant one and those buttons' actions will take precedence if clicked. It works fine.

Now duplicate the master slide repeatedly and then substitute your photo file names for the placeholder name:

1. In the Slide list select the master slide, slide 1, by clicking once on it

2. Press Ctrl-C to copy this slide to clipboard

3. Press Ctrl-V repeatedly to paste master slide copies in the Slide list, one per slideshow photo

4. For slide #1, in Show image click the button to the right to select new image file (the navigating folders tedium happens only once)

5. Select each additional image on each successive master slide copies, and replace placeholder image file name until done

Finally, do whatever other slideshow definition you want and Create your slideshow. When you play it, you can mute or resume sound at ANY time by simply clicking anywhere in the slide except on visible buttons, hyperlinks or small clickable object photos that you may have placed. They will operate as they were programmed.

You must place a copy of the Mute.exe utility in the same folder as the slideshow .EXE file for P2E to be able to find it during playback. On a CD they can both be in root (top) folder or any sub-folder as long as they are both in the same folder.

FYI, I have successfully used this whole-screen button technique in many slideshows as a way to return to the clickable thumbnail photo directory from a special clickable slide (by giant button) at the end of each photo set, where there are many sets in a single slideshow. In that case I programmed the giant button to go to a specified thumbnail set slide number near beginning of slideshow. It works great!

[alrobin]

Haven't you a "volume" knob on the speakers?

Joking apart, waiting for this addition to navigation bar, I think we could ask our friend Boxig (who created near 120 - 130 utilities for PTE users

Paul and Guido,

# 20 on Boxig's list of utilities for PTE is a volume control. Would this fit the bill for now?

[boxig]

Yes, I have two utilities to control volume:

"Volume Slider" - program No. 20.

"MuteSound" - program No. 122.

Please check before burning a CD that it works from a folder on your

Hard Drive. Sound utilities sometimes colide and don't work as expected.

And please let me know which one made the job.

Granot

[paulstaff]

Hi Everybody !

Thanks for the various suggestions. I have tried Volumeslider works good, but how do you get it to finish with the slideshow ?

Mutesound crashes with "FMOD couldn't initialize Directsound sound device" on my WIN98 PC. I'll try it tomorrow in the office on XP

As to the solution with the ´'BIG' button, sounds great and I'll try it out but its a bit too complicated for adding to the already completed 250 slide show.

I guess I'll just wait for Igor to implement the sound on/off in the navi bar.

Paul

[think(box)]

Ok Paul, it looks like you are all set. For sure the best way is integrated PTE sound volume and muting support.

There are many ways to implement any needed feature. The method that I described, using the Mute.exe utility, is preferable to me because there is no visual content at all to the sound control. If a given sound control is to have a visual presence, I prefer that it remains hidden unless recalled by a simple keyboard key or mouse movement. The method that I described operates with the greatest simplicity for the non-sync slideshow audience: Click anywhere in the slide at any time during slideshow to toggle the function, mute or restore. Nothing is left running when the slideshow is closed. The only visual aspect of this sound muting method is a simple note on the first slide, Click anywhere in slide to mute or restore sound. This method is fully compliant with the KISS principle, but it is not a volume control knob or slider.

If it better suits needs, Granot's VolumeSlider and MuteSound utilities offer more than just sound mute/restore, as they can modify the sound level setting. They also have a visual presence on the screen. I think that these sound utilities should have an Auto hide function as with PTE's mouse cursor hiding function, such that if you are not moving the mouse they vanish after a few seconds. Move the mouse and they appear. Mouse movement detection is fairly easy to do in software.

Perhaps a new utility can be created to perform generic Auto hide for any helper utility that has an unwanted visual presence during a slideshow.

I appreciate the concern about where the Mute.exe utility and slideshow .exe files are, but if you place both in the same folder and code the slideshow Run application box with only Mute.exe as described (without drive or folder) it always works. And it works on any windows platform, from hard drive and from CD-ROM. This is because when no drive or folder is specified in the Run application box during slideshow creation, P2E's Run application feature looks in the drive & folder where the P2E slideshow was started.

[boxig]

Paul

MuteSound was made it today after reading your request. Is the problem only the error message you get and then it works or it doesn't work at all ? On my win98 it worked fine. So let me know what happen after you close the message.

I uploaded another version of "MuteSound" - please try it. You will not get the error massage so I hope it will work. Let me know.

Uploaded new version: Volume Slider 1.5 - control over sound

now utility will close when show close.

Notice: your show must be named: Show.exe.

I canceled the fade effect from previous version

but I'll put it back on next version

Let me know how all new versions work.

Thanks

Granot

[boxig]

Paul

I uploaded "VolumeSlider" version 2.0

Now one small file with fade option for sync show.

Please check it and let me know

Program No. 20

Granot

[paulstaff]

Thanks guys !

I have implemented the mute.exe but with a button on each sub-set of slides.

But I think i'll try the volumeslider on my next project. I'll download the new version and try it at the weekend. OK ?

Using PTE really is good, especially the forum

cu

Paul

[markoc398]

Hi Granot,

I'm trying to use the MuteSound.exe utility but when I preview the show in PTE the mute button comes up, I click on it but the sound doesn't mute. Then the button disappears. What am I doing wrong?

Mark

[boxig]

Hi Mark,

You have to hold-press then the sound decrease slowly till mute. You can stop before completly mute. When you stop pressing a red X will appear on icon. If you click one time the sound will come back. If show is close, the "MuteSound" will close also by itself. Please try again and let me know if it works now.

Thanks

Granot