Handling large numbers of Sound comments

[Barry Beckham]

Igor

I have been putting together a slide show where I have 75 sound files. There are two sound effects, one music track and the remainder are small sections of commentary (72 in all). I also have almost 80 images. I reached a point where I wanted to change my opening titles and add a couple of pictures, but then I found I could not move all the sound comments to the right, in the same way I can with the images in the time line.

In an ideal world, I would have liked to have had the same options with those sound files within the Time Line as I do with the images. Meaning I can click an image thumbnail move it to the right and all the images to the right of the clicked one will move too. If I just click and drag the blue flag I can can move just one thumbnail independently of all the others. Could sound be made to be as flexible as that?

I have never had quite so many sound files before in a slide show and I was looking for a way to select all sound files, even those in different tracks and to be able to move the lot.

I appreciate the option to link a sound comment to a slide, but in this situation it would have been just as time consuming to do that, as fix the issue manually. As the production continued and creative ideas and tweaks came to me, I would have liked this option on a few occasions.

The reason I had so many sound files is that I cannot add silence between an already recorded sound comment. (unless I use an external editor) The only option is to split the sentences and create two and sometimes 3 sound comments when one would have been enough, if silence could be added. Actually, if I could have added silence in a sound rack, I would not have needed 72 sound comments, I could have achieved what I wanted with one.

[MUR]

Hi Barry

Have you tried to keep the shift key pressed, while moving a sound file to the right (or left)?

MUR

[Barry Beckham]

I never thought of trying the Shift key and I should have and usually do try those, I did try the Ctrl key, but never went further, thank you for the tip.

However that will only move the comments within individual tracks and you can only move one track at a time. Its also not as obvious as it is with the images. Key strokes should be a shortcut from a command located somewhere else within the software. A key stroke that is isolated in that way can easily be missed even after years of use and I am the evidence of that.

You have to almost discover it by accident or be tipped off by someone like you who has come across it. That is not logical, especially when in many other software programs you would expect to right click and select all, something like that. Its not uncommon for every sound file/image needing to be moved. The images in the time line work really well, click the image and you move that and all following images, cluck the tiny blue tag and you move just one.

Having said that I would still like a select all tracks/sounds option and be able to slide them along

[Lin Evans]

Hi Barry,

It's in the manual - here: http://docs.picturestoexe.com/en/hotkeys/main

Best regards,

Lin

[MUR]

Hi Barry

I agree with you.

I discovered it some time ago and is already included in the table of keyboard shortcuts.

Meanwhile there is something better, I make a link of the first audio clip of each audio track to a dumb black slide at the end of the project and then moves that slide,

it's annoying but better than losing a careful sinronización of multiple sound files.

MUR

[Barry Beckham]

Lin

That's as maybe, but when your in full creative flow, we/I rarely leave what I am doing and start searching for a keystroke that isn't obvious. My point is that perhaps it could be as visual and obvious as it is with the images and available across multiple tracks. Look at Photoshop and a menu command will include the keystroke. Its rare for a key stroke as important as that to have no reference in the menus. Don't you think?

Mur

Yes, your right, but foolishly I thought I had the start of my slide show nailed down, but then a better idea came to me. It happens

Anyway, the jobs done now and if push comes to shove I would rather have the ability to add silence into a sound file.

[Tonton Bruno]

I have been putting together a slide show where I have 75 sound files. There are two sound effects, one music track and the remainder are small sections of commentary (72 in all). I also have almost 80 images. I reached a point where I wanted to change my opening titles and add a couple of pictures, but then I found I could not move all the sound comments to the right, in the same way I can with the images in the time line.

I work in the same way, with dozens of comment files.

Each comment file is attached to the targetted slide, and the first music is attached to the second or third slide of the project.

Finally, all the sound files are attached to a slide.

Doing so, you can add, suppress slides with no synchronization loss, and you can also modify any slide duration and project duration.

[Barry Beckham]

Thank you. I will try and remember your advice for next time. I don't know why I didn't think of that