"Default" keyboard controls

[Jimat4DVideo]

I know this is a very trivial question, but I can't find a definitive list of the "default" keyboard controls--that is, the controls that are invoked by checking the "Permit Control of Show by Keyboard" box.

By trial and error and reading these forums, I've found that I can pause and release a running slide show using the space bar. I've also learned that I can use the L/R arrow keys to move back and forth through my shows, one slide at a time, but are there other ("default") keyboard controls that I've not yet discovered? Are these documented? I thought perhaps I might find a "fast forward"/"fast backward" with say SHIFT L ARROW / SHIFT R ARROW--or a "jump to first slide" or "jump to last slide" with say CNTL L ARROW / CNTL R ARROW, but my "trial and error" approach is less than optimal. If there are other "defaults" out there, will someone please describe them to me--or tell me where I can find them in the documentation. Thanks in advance.

[davegee]

Please go to "Help" on Main Menu.

Select V8 Online Help.

Select "Hotkeys"

DG

[Jimat4DVideo]

Dave:

Thanks for your swift response. I believe the list of "Hotkeys" I found in the on-line help is intended for those of us developing slideshows within PTE (as opposed to the end-users of the shows we create). In the documentation for Hotkeys I do see a reference to the spacebar as a stop/start toggle, but I see no reference to the L/R arrow keys.

What I am seeking is a list of the default "runtime" hotkeys that I can pass on to those who will be viewing my shows--something I can put on the jacket of a CD with one of my slideshows. If I examine the on-line help for "Hotkeys" from that perspective, the information provided is both inappropriate (not applicable to end users) and incomplete (no reference to the arrow keys).

I'm not trying to nit-pick, but the "hotkeys" provided for developers (for use withing PTE) and the "default keyboard controls for slideshows are quite distinct. I'm looking for a definitive list of the latter.

Again, thanks for taking the time to respond.

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Dave:

Thanks for your swift response. I believe the list of "Hotkeys" I found in the on-line help is intended for those of us developing slideshows within PTE (as opposed to the end-users of the shows we create). In the documentation for Hotkeys I do see a reference to the spacebar as a stop/start toggle, but I see no reference to the L/R arrow keys.

What I am seeking is a list of the default "runtime" hotkeys that I can pass on to those who will be viewing my shows--something I can put on the jacket of a CD with one of my slideshows. If I examine the on-line help for "Hotkeys" from that perspective, the information provided is both inappropriate (not applicable to end users) and incomplete (no reference to the arrow keys).

I'm not trying to nit-pick, but the "hotkeys" provided for developers (for use withing PTE) and the "default keyboard controls for slideshows are quite distinct. I'm looking for a definitive list of the latter.

Again, thanks for taking the time to respond.

If I am advising an infrequent user how to control my shows, I mention the clicking the PTE icon to start it, forward & back arrow keys, the space bar & the esc. keys. I don't think there is any need for others.

Yachtsman1.

[davegee]

Jim,

Valid point.

I will try to add the information you require today.

However, the Project Options / Control Tab article already covers this information.

Jump To First Slide is the "Home" Icon on the Navigation Bar which is Customizable. If you have the "Tape Recorder" controls on Keyboard, these can also be used.

http://docs.picturestoexe.com/en/hotkeys/main#in_executables

It is also possible to add Opaque / Transparent Hyperlinks on all slides to provide Custom Operations.

DG

[davegee]

Online Help / Hotkeys updated.

DG

[denwell]

Dave

Maybe you should also include the afore mentioned "Spacebar - Play/Pause" in Executables as well as in Main Window (project development).

[davegee]

Good idea./>

Done.

P.S. It was already there in Main Window + O&A.

DG

[Jimat4DVideo]

Dave:

Your new list under "Executables" is exactly what I wanted. Thanks a bunch.

Yachtsman1, thanks also for your help. That said, I would like to respond to ... "I don't think there is any need for others".

I think the way in which we each navigate an executable slideshow depends on how PTE is being used. For small slideshows, it's relatively easy to run back and forth through (say) 40-50 slides with the arrow keys, but for much bigger shows (several hundred slides) getting around an executable slideshow is a drag if it has to be done one slide at a time. I thought I might find a "fast/slow-forward/backward" capability, a "skip n slides forward/backward" capability, or a "jump to slide x" capability. These are commonly found in video players. In the first instance, a "hotkey" sequence would cause the slideshow to speed-up or slow-down, in the second instance, a "hotkey sequence" would cause the slideshow to jump forward or backwards by "n" slides, and in the third instance, a "hotkey" sequence would cause the slideshow to jump to a specific slide. (Don't know the slide number? Maybe a hotkey to show the sequence number of slides on the screen?)

Consider, for example, a company/individual that is using a large generic sequence of slides to highlight the work of the company/individual--at a tradeshow, perhaps. Now a potential client appears at your booth and says, "I'd like to show my colleague that project you displayed five minutes ago". What now? Restart the slideshow, or click, click, click ... almost there! By the time you've found the slide the potential client has moved on to other things. I've got to believe there are other circumstances, similar to this, where people want to move around a large slideshow in an efficient manner

No criticism of this fine product. I just thought there might be other "hotkeys" available for navigating large slideshows--so I asked.

Again, thanks to Dave and Yachtsman1 for their responses. My immediate question has now been answered--and very efficiently.

[davegee]

Jim,

Take a look at this article:

http://docs.pictures...niques/button?s[]=hyperlink

There might be an option available there "if you know in advance where you are likely to want to jump".

Jumping to anywhere from anywhere else is not an option without adding a comprehensive list of Hyperlinks somewhere in the show (beginning; end)

I have done that for around 100 slides but it would be quite a task for a show containing 150 - 200 or more slides.

Having done it once it could be used over and over for different shows.

DG

[Jimat4DVideo]

Thanks, Dave. I'll take a look at that.

You may have noticed that I've avoided talking about programming my controls. Yes, I'm sure it would be difficult for end users to code controls "using a comprehensive list of hyperlinks", but if the developers of PTE made provisions for it in the source code, I think the "default" keyboard controls I describe could be implemented and made available. Without a better understanding of the source code, it's difficult to see how easy/difficult this would be. Anyway--some food for thought. Thanks again.

Jim

[Ken Cox]

Jim

please take the meat in the last paragraph and add it to the idea section into a new thread

http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?/forum/9-ideas-and-suggestions-for-next-versions/

It will get more attention there

ken

[PGA]

I have been following this thread without actually participating until now. The kind of flexible control that Jim is looking for can be provided, at least in part, by having a video-style Navigation Bar activated (Project Options > Control > Mouse cursor = Show or Auto hide and Project Options > Control > Show Navigation Bar ON and set to Style = video player)

In this mode, the EXE file can be "fast-forwarded" or "fast rewound" by dragging the video player slider right and left as desired. The slides change as you do the dragging so you can, reasonably easily, find any specific image that you want. The Pause/Play toggle control can be used to "freeze motion" to talk about a specific image.

Perhaps there is a suitable solution to Jim's needs there.

regards,

Peter

[Jimat4DVideo]

Thanks for the advice Ken. I've posted a new topic under:

"Improve the "default" keyboard controls.

Peter, you've got the idea. We employ sliders in that fashion to move through several (synchronized) video sequences.

One final thought ... I didn't start out trying to improve PTE, I just couldn't find the keyboard controls for end-users (as opposed to developers of slideshows). If additional "default" keyboard controls are added, I suggest that a clear distinction is made between "hotkeys" used within PTE and the "default" controls used to manipulate executables.

Thanks to you all.

Jim

[Ken Cox]

Jim

thks

ken

[davegee]

I have been following this thread without actually participating until now. The kind of flexible control that Jim is looking for can be provided, at least in part, by having a video-style Navigation Bar activated (Project Options > Control > Mouse cursor = Show or Auto hide and Project Options > Control > Show Navigation Bar ON and set to Style = video player)

In this mode, the EXE file can be "fast-forwarded" or "fast rewound" by dragging the video player slider right and left as desired. The slides change as you do the dragging so you can, reasonably easily, find any specific image that you want. The Pause/Play toggle control can be used to "freeze motion" to talk about a specific image.

Perhaps there is a suitable solution to Jim's needs there.

regards,

Peter

............Peter, you've got the idea. We employ sliders in that fashion to move through several (synchronized) video sequences.

One final thought ... I didn't start out trying to improve PTE, I just couldn't find the keyboard controls for end-users (as opposed to developers of slideshows). If additional "default" keyboard controls are added, I suggest that a clear distinction is made between "hotkeys" used within PTE and the "default" controls used to manipulate executables.

Thanks to you all.

Jim

Hi both,

The "problem" with Peter's solution to your query and the way it answers your requirement is that it does not strictly come the heading of "Hotkey".

It is a "Mouse Driven" solution - but if it works then perhaps we should make allowances for the minor difference and include it in the Hotkey section as footnote.

Anyone disagree??

DG

[nobeefstu]

Jimat4DVideo

If there are other "defaults" out there, will someone please describe them to me--or tell me where I can find them in the documentation.

A often overlooked feature of PTE is its Project Options | Advanced tab | Custom Windows (Windows-Help, Startup, Custom)

I find this feature extremely useful for precise manual navigation during EXE playback. Using the <F1> key will pop-up the "Help-Custom Window" at anytime for user access. Here you define with objects the specific slide targets you wish your user to be able to quickly navigate to (such as 1st slide postion of each of your multiple slide groups).

There is no need for the enduser to remember a series of keyboard shortcuts to navigate. Use the "Help-Custom Window" option as a instant manual menu system with your defined objects that will pop-up any time the enduser hits the <F1> key. You can even separate/layer your manual menu system by creatively using additional Custom Windows.

[davegee]

Thanks Stu,

That feature is fully covered in the "Buttons" How To in the Online Help but is also available via the Keyboard F1 in an Executable.

DG