Suggestions for the next version

[goddi]

I would like a method that would allow the ability to match up the music tracks with slides. I have a slideshow with over 700 slides and 15 music tracks. It is difficult to match up what music is playing with which group of images. The maker of "PTE-Adjuster" recommended that: "Igor would add the lengths for each music selection to the .pte script file, I could easily change "PTE-Adjustor" to show which images were associated with which piece of music."

That would be nice. But also, I thought of another way within the program to do this. When we are in the "Customize Sychronization" mode, it would be nice when we select "Waveform" if the name of that "Waveform" show up at the beginning of that Waveform.

Thanks... Gary

[Sterling]

Hi Igor,

It’s been a while since I last wrote to the forum, but I have been steadily using PTE on a regular basis. I want to thank you for all the hard work you are doing on the program. It is fantastic!! And it has come a long way since version 2 where I started.

I do however have some suggestions for the next release(s).

The ability to add multiple lines of Comments to each slide/photo; at least two lines with different font sizes: Title and Sub-Title. And moreover have the option of having comments at the top and at the bottom.

This may already be an option but if not in addition to playing background music, it would be nice to have the ability to have voice narration either for the entire presentation or per slide. If the choice is for the entire presentation can we have the ability to customize the synchronization as with music?

In the Object Editor it would be nice to have the ability to add movable graphics or animated gifs to a slide or the ability to add moveable background as in a DVD menu.

This one is an interface change. Since the Video Option is another way of out-putting your presentation, I would suggest removing the button from the main interface and making it a menu option like the rest i.e. Create Slideshow, Create Screen Saver, or better yet create a menu option that displays a dialog with tabs, (as with the project options) and add the different formats with options to it. This way you will have room for future options. And at the rate that PTE is growing, pretty soon you will be creating outputs in many more formats

This one is also an interface change/suggestion. Create another menu option and called it Tools or something similar and move the Advance Options/Preferences… and Language menu options to the newly created menu. This way you will have the ability to add more real estate for customization/user preferences in the future. And furthermore, the Advance Options and Language will be better emphasized and less confusing if it was under its own menu.

Keep up the good work. I really love the product and have many times introduced it to a lot of my photographical colleagues

[jinjagoliath]

Dear Igor,

Two important suggestions when using the START UP WINDOW:

1. I understand that you can alter the window box headings (from the Messages TAB in Project Options) and this is good, however there is a problem: The Window doesn't auto adjust it's size when the text is larger than the space given for the titles, and therefore, gets cut off or hidden by the boxes. This is a shame as it could be much more useful.

2. Start Up Window. I find this very useful for beginning AV presentations by leaving alone the Mouse (or pad if laptop) and simply pressing RETURN to begin. This eliminates the mouse cursor being seen. But, an excellent improvement would be to be able to make the SU Window a darker colour so it is less obvious to the public when on projector screen(good for fade-from-black beginnings).

Keep up the good work.

J G

[petar]

Please suggest your 3-5 the most expected features in v4.40 of PicturesToExe. We've started work on this version. I'll add all suggestions to my todo list. Thanks.

My suggestion:

The ability of smooth scrolling of big texts in a "text object" (like at end of movies...)

[Igor]

Thanks for your all ideas! I add each suggestion to my todo list.

I hope to answer on new messages.

By the way, today we've realized absolutely new transition effect for v4.40 (with many variations).

[alrobin]

Thanks so much, Igor, for your hard work on our behalf. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a healthful and prosperous New Year!

I'm drooling all over my keyboard with the thought of all those new features. But Christmas comes a little later in Russia than over here, doesn't it? Oh, well, I guess we can wait a little longer. All the best to you and yours!

[Igor]

Dear friends!

I wish you all Merry Christmas!

Thanks!

P.S. Al, I celebrate both dates

[Joerg]

I am using PicturesToExe since about two years and I am very happy with the program.

There is just one thing:

I make slide shows that take ~ 20 minutes. I always use the synchronized mode (i.e. music and slides are alligned).

Many of the people viewing my slide shows have asked me to also include a way to directly reach a certain portion of the show without "having to go through" all the previous images before.

It would be nice to allow the user to set a bookmark during the show and when the show starts again allow to directly jump to that bookmark. The bookmark is probably an entry to the registry of the respective computer on which the show runs (?).

Joerg

[bogaertb]

Hi,

I have been using PTE some time now and I realy like it. With PTE you have value for money. One reauest I have has to do with music. I would like to be able to 'edit' the music in the show. Now if you want different pieces of music in the show you can add them all but the timing of the pictures does not seem to be aligned with the slides. When I start the show anywhere (e.g. at slide 125) the music always starts playng from the beginning. When you start the show from the beginning slide 125 would only appear after, say, 10 minutes. That means that after 10 minutes other music from the playlist will be active. Is there no way to aling these (e.g. by some time line)?

Regards, Bart

[LumenLux]

It would be nice to allow the user to set a bookmark during the show and when the show starts again allow to directly jump to that bookmark. The bookmark is probably an entry to the registry of the respective computer on which the show runs (?).

Joerg

I think this is interesting and good idea - the viewer's input this way. I would think, Igor, if you can do it, it ought to be an option that the creator chooses to allow or not allow.

[alrobin]

Hi, Bart,

Welcome to the Forum!

The option you want to use is "Project Options / Main / Synchronize slideshow to music duration". Then click on "Customize Synchronization" and you can put the slides where you want them to appear in the music. You can even view the music waveform to make placing of the image transitions even more accurate.

If you also want to add objects or the navigation bar to have the show stop or go back or forward, and keep the synchronization intact, check "Permit the control of show".

[potwnc]

If it's not too late... I'd really like a new effect that fades an image from in focus to out of focus - with the time configurable like it is for the other effects.

[ronwil]

potwnc

For your last request all you need to do is create the out of focus image in Photoshop or other picture editing software. That way is more versatile.

Ron [uK]

[alrobin]

Ron,

It still wouldn't yield the same effect as gradually putting an image out of focus.

Granted, doing it as you suggest would up with the same result, but in the meantime you would still be able to see the original in-focus image gradually fading away into the out-of-focus image. But it would still be sharp as opposed to somewhat out of focus.

[potwnc]

I did try something like that recently and it looked terrible! Has anyone else experimented with this kind of effect?

[ronwil]

I do use the Photoshop method, but only when I want to introduce some vertical shots into my sequence. The out of focus (gaussian blur) image forms the background, so the actual change to an out of focus shot is secondary to the new image(s). I have just tried one again without the vertical shots and it looks OK to me.

Incorporation into PTE along with Pan and Zoom would of course be a useful feature.

Ron [uK]

[LumenLux]

Ron, before I forget - you are up too late - if the time stamp is right.

Can you tell us which of your shows we could review for a quick re-view of your technique implementation?

I had not thought of the help it might be from horizontal to vertical.

[Passi]

Hi,

Just a sugestiom:

- Now we have the possibility to extract one by one image from a presentation. It will be nice if you add the possibility to extract all pictures from a presentation at a time.

Thanks for your good software.

[bogaertb]

Hi Al,

Thanks for your post. Actually I was aware of this facility however I would like to use several audio files and have some of them go together with a certain set of images. As far as I can see the only way to achieve this is by using another program and 'stitching' all the audio files into one big soundtrack and then use this option. The problem here is that you have no correlation between these programs and you have to compute when the transitions will occur and hope for the best. I would like to circumvent this trial and error way of working. What I also noticed is, when run on different computers, the music and the slides tend to off sync (so not using the option you proposed here).

Best regards, Bart

[VIK621001]

Hi,

I'm using since 20 years some traditional (hardware) diaporamas like Simda, Bartok and Bassgen with Kodak's carousel projectors.

I'm a newbies with your program (only four hours). Perhaps all of whishes are already present.

I would like in futur versions :

1) to use some lossless and lossly audio files like Musepack (mpc), Monkey (ape), Free Losless audio codec (flac) and many more and not only wav, mp3, wma, ...

2) to play between one or more slides simultanious and not only with 2 slides

3) have the possibility to continiously flash between two or more slides for a certain time (one second for example). Idem for other effects in your program.

4) have the possibility to make a effet between slide 1 and slide 2 and come back to slide 1 and after go to slide 3 without see slide 2.

This traditionnals effets are present in hardware diaporamas.

Your are not time code in your program. But is it necessary ? I think that the time code in music audio file is good enough for me. But what about the precision in your executable file during playing ?

Please continue with your program, investigation and news functionalities. Old hardwares like Simda, Bartok and Bassgen are died. To expensive, to hard to manage and play.

For all I care to pay some $$ for a (your) program. Do you know the price of a Kodak's carousel projector ? The price of a Bassgen system and for example Tascam PortaTwo ?

@+ Vicking

[JRR]

Vicking:

If I understand what you ant correctly, you can do numbers 2,3,and 4 right now.

You just have to put extra copies of the individual slides in the show where you want them.

i.e. slide one, slide two, slide one, slide three etc

for #2 wish, you can do that by preparing the images you want to display in PhotoShop

[Tripstrilles]

Hi, after longer time, and a happy new year to all from Germany.

1. I wish for the next versions of PTE the ability to fade in the comment of any image.

If I now want to do this, I have to use two images. The first will be fade in, then, after 2 or 3 seconds I want to fade in only the comment. So I have to edit a copy of the image in an image editor like PhotoImpact and store the image with my added comment.

In sync-mode (timeline with music) I can so only use the custom mode, not the automatically mode, because I have the double number of images to get this effect. And it is a lot of work for me to do this for my new Nepal-Show with about 500 images.

2. Also maybe the ability to link (extract) the comment with the comment of the IPTC-Data like breezebrowser. So you could use this data also from older images or images which you have used with breezebrowser, and if IPTC-data exist.

I hope you know, what I mean.

Greetings, Rainer

[Barry Beckham]

I have started using the PTE program for all my navigation buttons and links on my movie tutorial CD's and would like the following.

To first fix the objects in place irrespective of what resolution PC the show is played on.

Then perhaps the ability to create hotspots within object editor so that you could link to other pages, programs etc.

You can do this up to a point now, by making the buttons transparent, but the outline can stil be seen.

I think PTE is a simple and convenient way to create buttons and to navigate around a CD and any extras here would go down a storm with me.

bbdigital

www.beckhamdigital.co.uk

[ronwil]

Barry

If you create your button(s) in Photoshop and then bring it (them) into the Objects Editor as an image over the spot you want, then follow the procedure as you would for selecting a button in the Objects Editor, then it will not be visible. I thank both Ian and Keith for that tip.

I have several of these plain rectangular buttons of various sizes which I use. A programme of seven sequences which I have just produced opens with the portraits of Sutton Camera Club members dotted across the screen. Click on a particular portrait and their sequence opens.

Happy New Year

Ron [uK]

[mwo_achenbach]

No rest Igor?

New features - it has to be the ability to select slides and apply global custom settings to them.

Also the ability to select and move/adjust blocks of slides along the timeline (say to make room for an additional slide or to adjust to a new ( longer/shorter?) audio track.

I feel that the timeline is the only area where P2E is not quite 'user-friendly' in an otherwise great programme.

DEN (NE UK)

Hello denwell!

I agree with you. Creating of contiguous groups of slides must be possible! It should be possible to apply global custom settings to such groups.

And/Or music which fits to the defined groups.

Manfred