file conversion

[sylviaandjim@tesco.net]

I made a mistake and did not save my final version before converting to a .exe file so is it possible to go back the other way ie reverse this process please?

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Afraid not, an Exe file is fixed. Did you not keep all the elements (pictures sound) in a separate folder? This is basic with PTE, if you cherry pic from various sources you will have a heck of a job re-creating the original. The best I can offer is to take a screen shot of each paused image assuming you allowed keyboard control in the original & reassemble it that way. There are screen capture softwares but I don't think that is what you want. :(/>

Yachtsman1.

[sylviaandjim@tesco.net]

Afraid not, an Exe file is fixed. Did you not keep all the elements (pictures sound) in a separate folder? This is basic with PTE, if you cherry pic from various sources you will have a heck of a job re-creating the original. The best I can offer is to take a screen shot of each paused image assuming you allowed keyboard control in the original & reassemble it that way. There are screen capture softwares but I don't think that is what you want. :(/>/>

Yachtsman1.

[sylviaandjim@tesco.net]

Thanks that is what I thought but it was worth asking. Following on from this then is there an auto save feature whilst working on a project? Something that could be set to say save every 5 minutes?

[Ken Cox]

what version are you using?

ver 7.5 has an auto save feature

ken

[sylviaandjim@tesco.net]

Yes I have 7.5 so will look for it thanks.

[Lin Evans]

Go to "Settings" "Preferences" "Project tab" and you will find auto save is set by default to 7 minutes. You can change the settings to suit yourself or disable as desired. It is necessary to click in the box beside the feature to enable.

Usually there is a warning before an exe is created asking you to "save" the work first.....

==============

Peter corrected - the warning is only before using Video Builder to create video formats. It probably should be extended to exe files except sometimes users want to make "trial" exe's to see how things function. So there probably should be an option for that feature as well....

Best regards,

Lin

Yes I have 7.5 so will look for it thanks.

[fh1805]

Thanks that is what I thought but it was worth asking. Following on from this then is there an auto save feature whilst working on a project? Something that could be set to say save every 5 minutes?

Yes, but beware! The auto-save overwrites your previous version. If you make a series of changes and then decide that you didn't want to do that after all, you will not have on disk the PTE project file in the same state that it was when you began that session. All you will have is the project file in the state that it was the last time that auto-save ran.

regards,

Peter

[fh1805]

Usually there is a warning before an exe is created asking you to "save" the work first.....

Lin,

That is not true. There is no prompt to save the PTE project file before the creation of an EXE file.

regards,

Peter

[Lin Evans]

Hi Peter,

Yes, you are correct, the warning is only before using Video Builder for various video outputs. It probably "should" be extended to include exe files, but with the "option" of overriding so in case the exe is to be created only as a trial for further experimentation.

Best regards,

Lin

[xahu34]

Yes, but beware! The auto-save overwrites your previous version. If you make a series of changes and then decide that you didn't want to do that after all, you will not have on disk the PTE project file in the same state that it was when you began that session. All you will have is the project file in the state that it was the last time that auto-save ran ...

That's why I would recommend to use the new function of Auto Recovery.

Regards,

Xaver

[cjdnzl]

I made a mistake and did not save my final version before converting to a .exe file so is it possible to go back the other way ie reverse this process please?

If you still have the Project.pte file, you can with a bit of work, recover all the information you need to rebuild the show.

It's fairly simple to recover the filenames of the images in the order that they appear in the show, and with a calculator you can recover the duration times for each slide.

Things like fades, zooms etc. may be more difficult, but if you have the images in order and duration times the you will probably remember those.

Good luck,

Colin

[aplman]

If I may make several points ...

(1) No amount of auto-saving will help, if the final save is erased.

(2) Frequent backups with scheduled backup software will give the opportunity of restoring the ".pte" file as it was at various stages (I'm assuming the development has taken place over days or weeks).

(3) It's not just about PTE. With any software where you are progressing adding to your own personal effort over time (word processing, spreadsheet, picture collection) your source file (the one you are progressively creating) needs to be backed up regularly.

(4) As for PTE, perhaps it's essential that the program reminds new users that the ".pte" file is the source document, the definition of the project. If it is erased, further development is more or less impossible.

By way of comparison, for example, if one has a Word document and "prints" it to a pdf file, that's not "converting". That is generating a by-product, but the original Word document needs to be preserved.

Apologies to anyone who finds this obvious, but I am trying to assist the orginal poster. I am only submitting this because I am surprised nobody else did so.

Ken T (APLman)