Text template using IPTC metadata in slide with multiple images

[stardom]

I am currently working in the trial version of PTE AV Studio 10 Pro in the hope of taking advantage of my images metadata to add various texts on my slides. To that effect, I have been experimenting with the functionnality "Insert text template" in the "Object and Animation" window.

Slide that contains only 1 image:

In the "Object and Animation" window, after inserting a text field as a child to the image, I select "Insert text template" --> "IPTC Info" --> "Object Name" and I get <%MainImg.IPTC.DocumentTitle%> displayed into the text template. This gives me the correct information into the text field for the one image in the slide.  (By the way, I have also found out that PTE AV Studio 10 Pro cannot read metadata from my TIFF or PNG files: it seems that it can only read metadata from JPEG files).

Slide that contains 2 images:

Now I add a second image to the same slide, a text field as a child to that second image, following the same procedure as above. I get again <%MainImg.IPTC.DocumentTitle%> displayed into the text template. Unfortunately for the "Object Name" for this new image, this time I get the incorrect information displayed in the text field: the metadata extracted comes from the first image and not, as I was expecting, from the selected second image of that slide.

What I have tried:

I have tried many different things to resolve that: removing the background (another slide was used), modifying the Main object attribute of both images, creating different parent/child relationships with the text fields and even using frames to isolate the 2 images. Nothing worked to my satisfaction. In all cases, regardless of the image selected on that slide, the text template is always diplaying MainImg.IPTC.DocumentTitle, which begs the question: "What is the image that the MainImg prefix of <%MainImg.IPTC.DocumentTitle%> refers to?"

So far, after many hours of trials, I have been unable to display the correct metadata of different images in text fields on the same slide.

I have been adding IPTC metadata to all of my travel pictures for many years in Adobe Bridge, so that all the information needed to add caption, title, etc., would be available without ever having to retype the same info in whatever future presentation software I would be using. Amongst the numerous functionnalies of PTE AV Studio 10 Pro, I really love the creative possibilities of displaying and animating multiple images on the same slide, but it seems that PTE AV Studio 10 Pro cannot exploit my images metadata correctly in that context.

PTE AV Studio 10 Pro is a fantastic piece of sotware. But I am near the end of my 30-day trial period and unless this issue can be resolved, I will (with regrets) have to continue searching for a presentation software that can offer this functionnality.

Can someone help me?

[Igor]

Hi,

Thanks for your interest to PTE AV Studio!

Currently EXIF/IPTC meta-tags work only for JPEG images and only for a Main image object - a main object of a slide.

You can see Main object: "1" in the Properties tab of the Objects and animation editor. It indicates that this image works with meta-tags.

We plan to add meta-tags for other images on a slide in future version 11.0. Also we'll try to add a support for PNG images, not sure about TIFFs.

[stardom]

Hi Igor,

Thanks for the answer. I tought that much and I think I understand the mechanics of the main object. On that subject if say, I have 3 images on a slide, I found out that most of the time, PTE will read the metadata from object number 3 and as I successively deactivate the object number for each image, metadata will be read from object 2, then object 1 and finally disappear when no object has a number!

As for using PNG and TIF files, I tested these just to find out if PTE would behave the same way as JPEG for multiple images on the same slide. I think JPEG is the best format for all images and I plan to use PNG images only for exploiting the Alpha channel for compositing ( I plan to test that this PM).

As you can probably see, I have a bit of an obsession with IPTC because I have dutyfully been inserting metadata on all my images (even my videos) for as long I can remember. Way back I allways thought 《some day I will be able to use that》. I now know that PTE AV Studio 10 Pro can already do that (at least partially) and I hope version 11 will work the way I have described above in the opening of this post.

BTW, can you give an expected delivery date for version 11?

Salutations,

Dominique Martel

Laval, Québec, Canada

[Igor]

Hi Dominique,

Thanks for your thoughts, I agree that IPTC tags are important.

We plan version 11.0 for next year.

 

[stardom]

Thanks Igor, that's good news. Yesterday I tested a slide using PNG files with different degrees of transparencies and PTE handle those perfectly well.

I'm acquiring my license for PTE AV Studio 10 Pro today.

Dominique Martel

Laval, Québec, Canada

 

[Igor]

Hi Dominique,

Thanks for choosing PTE AV Studio 10.5 Pro!