"Fit to screen" option

[Igor]

What you think about turning on "Fit to screen" option by default for new projects? (Of course, this option can be disabled as earlier).

I suggested this option by default, because, as you know, when author adds 1024x768 photo it will be placed on entire screen of the display with 1024x768 pixels. And author hopes that it will equally on any PC. But in 1280x1024 this picture will fill only half of screen and there will be large black borders. In 1600x1200 it it will look more worse. So I recommend to use this option because photos always will be shown on full screen, as you

watch TV (and it doesn't depends on size of screen or pixels and always on full area of the screen).

If you prefer to keep some border and show background, just change

option of 100% available screen area to 80% or 60% (in Screen tab)

How is your opinion about it?

[Ian]

I agree with your suggestion. Most shows seem to be made with 1024x768 images, and as tend to be projected at this size will fill the screen anyway, so some authors may 'forget' to tick the "fill screen" box and only realise when the show is seen on a higher resolution monitor.

The best way to do it would be to keep the tickbox on the options page, and make the default setting "ticked". that way it would be simple to untick it if the author genuinely wanted a fixed size image irrespective of monitor resolution.

Ian

[Ken Cox]

agree

ken

[Maureen]

I also think this would be an excellent idea Igor and agree with Ian's suggestion of letting people untick if they wish to do so.

I know I have seen some shows where beginners have this unticked and maybe one image was accidentally sized incorrectly and then shows the border. Having this option ticked we would not be so aware of this minor error.

BW

Maureen

[ronwil]

Whilst I start with a basic template with "Fit to Screen" selected and produce my sequences for projection, I go along with what my UK friends have suggested.

Ron [uK]

[Gérard de Lux]

I have to disagree with you, dear friends! For me (and all the French authors I know) the "Fit to Screen" option isn't a good choice at all. I use a 22" monitor and a resolution between 1280 and 1600 px wide; I can tell you that on this monitor images of 1024 px wide become 'ugly' if they are artificially enlarged.

I thus think that the default should remain as it is, so that people would only select 'Fit to Screen" knowing what they do.

[alrobin]

I agree with Gérard. I would much prefer an option that would allow the viewer to select the "fit-to-screen" option, but have as default the resolution the same as the images used by the maker. It is not difficult now for the maker to select "fit to screen" if he or she wants to, but it is so easy to forget to un-set something before distributing one's show. I also use 1600 x 1200 resolution on my 21" monitor, and shows "fitted to screen" look terrible in full-res.

Even now, if the full-res option is used, then one should include a message in the intro to one's show, or in a separate text file, that the monitor should be adjusted before viewing, as there is no way of knowing now that this option has been used, and if it has, what is the ideal resolution for viewing of the show.

Igor, does this suggestion have anything to do with implementation of a method for scaling of the objects? If that is the only way this feature can be achieved then I might go along with it.

[d67]

I too think that "Fitting to screen" ticked for a slideshow wich is viewed in a higher screen resolution then that with wich it was created diminishes seriously the images quality and can give very bad results.

I fully agree with Alrobin's idea of a message file or an introduction slide.

By the way all transitions are ticked by default and new PTE users often forget this particularity !!!

Could only one transition be ticked be default ?

[ContaxMan]

Yes - I agree, the transitions ought to be set to none or (IMHO) fade in/out by default.

I never tick the "fill screen" option so I guess I'm with the "leave it alone" faction.

[Marianne]

Hi,

I'm also think this isn't a good idea. I never use the fit to screen option because of the loss in quality you get when your pictures are enlarged. I spent a lot of time on creating images at the right size without losing too much sharpness, so I would hate to see them ruined shown in a resolution they aren't meant to be.

I also saw a lot of shows from people who use this option on my big 22 inch screen. I can assure you the results are ugly

On the matter of the black border, shows made for a screen of 1024x768 will never fit totally on a screen of 1260x1024. There will always be a border above and under the picture because the first uses a 4:3 proportion and the second a 5:4 proportion.

So please let this option be!

I do agree with the default transitions option. Most of us use the fade transition. Why not set this one as a default?

[JRR]

Igor:

Guess I think the somewhat the same as Al Robinson.

I really don't want "fill the screen" as a default for the same reason as Al.

Also if this is away around stationary OBJECTS, as much as I have been pushing for stationary OBJECTS for several years , I am not sure this is a good solution as image quality will suffer on larger res screens. But then I am second guessing you on this comment

[DaveG]

I agree with most of the people who say "Fit To Screen" should NOT be the default.

If you go down this road then your exe is not necessarily going to show the way you had intended on someone else's computer.

DaveG

[Tripstrilles]

Same opinion like the other:

"Fit To Screen" should NOT be the default

Greetings, Rainer

[Igor]

Ok, I see now that it's not simple moment as I thought.

I'll not change with option and as earlier it will be disabled by default.

I understand and agree that exact pixels without resizing gives better sharpness. But personally I prefer fit to screen (as with analogy with TV picture).

There is another cases then Fit to screen very useful:

1) For Push effect when whole slide moves;

2) When we add *optional* mode with proportional scaling of objects, pictures, textes, width of smoothing line effect.

We never will add non discussed important change. Thanks!

Another option. Keep 4:3 proportions.

I would offer another *optional* option for discussion.

For example, we have Push effect. We have 1024x768 screen and 1024x768 pictures. Picture fully fill area of slide and background is hidden.

Push effect moves WHOLE slide from top to bottom, but all looks OK.

Now we have 1280x1024 17" LCD display. Such displays has almost square screen. So as earlier slide will all display. But besides main picture we will see background of slide - two large black strips at top and at the bottom of the display. Because Push effect moves entire slide these blackborders also WILL BE MOVED as and main picture. It's not good.

So I suggest option which limits area of SLIDE as rectangle with proportions of sides as 4:3. And as earlier with another displays picture will fully cover all slide.

1) This option doesn't effect to main picture and doesn't resize it.

2) No difference on usual displays and only on 17" LCD or widescreen 16:9 displays this option will keep necessary proportions of slide.

Also this option will be necessary for future Pan/Zoom, for Push effect, for proportionally scalable objects.

This option can be DISABLED by default, but can be automatically turned on in case of using above specified situations. What you think about it?

P.S. we can't leave only one effect, because it's necessary to show all possible effects (which works fast on any PCs). But you can create template and only one effect will be used for all new projects.

[dadou]

I really don't want "fill the screen" as a default for the same reason as Al.

I always put in a text file what is the ideal resolution for viewing the show that I present ...

Could only one transition be ticked be default ?

Other good idea , Patrick !

[Ian]

So I suggest option which limits area of SLIDE as rectangle with proportions of sides as 4:3. And as earlier with another displays picture will fully cover all slide.

This is tricky to imagine! Some of my sequences I have set to 16:9 ratio anyway, so they have a black border top and bottom of a standard monitor but fill a widescreen TV.

I'm not sure I understand exactly how the 4:3 limit would work - would it be possible to include this option in a future Beta release so that lots of users can have a go with it?

Ian

[alrobin]

Igor,

I don't see why this option of limiting the push, etc., effects to the 4 x 3 rectangle to avoid the dark strips from moving with the image on other resolutions would be a problem to anyone, particularly if it can be "turned on" as an option. I would think that anything to avoid the moving dark bars would be a preferred option.

For those creating shows in a different format than 4 x 3, would it be possible to also have an option for the maker to indicate which format is the "preferred one" in determining which portion of the screen to fix, and which one to move?

However, as Ian says, it is difficult to imagine, especially considering all the possible combinations. For example, for a show set to the "full screen" option would there still be horizontal bars moving vertically through the screen on some monitors?

[Guest guru]

Don't forget that now there are at least three different formats in computer monitors: 4:3 (traditional CRT format: 800 x 600, 1024 x 768 etc.), 5:4 (1280 x 1024) and 16:10 (1280 x 800, typical of "widescreen" LCD monitors and not so different from 16:9 TV). A real mess!

[Gérard de Lux]

And don't forget all these people who are using the 2:3 ratio (for example with scanned 35 mm slides/film = 24x36, or with a digital SLR that preserves the original 2:3 ratio) which gives 1024x683 on screen, for example !

[ccmanz]

I would like to see this option "Fit to Screen" for the background image.

cc

[Marianne]

I agree with Ian.

It is hard to imagine what impact keeping the 4:3 proportions have. I would like to try it in combination with the pan and zoom effect in a future Beta version before giving an opinion.

As for now, I haven't used the push effect yet, so I am not troubled by the black borders. But I would very much like to have a smooth pan effect and I can imagine the borders will be disturbing that effect.

[Ed Overstreet]

I don't have any particular preferences on the default settings, because I never use them. I long ago created a "Syncronized Show" template which has all the settings I want, and I always start working on every new show by first opening that template. So the default settings are irrelevant to me. Until some new options are added in a new version, in which case I'll need to remember to regenerate my template to accommodate any new settings that are available that I want to use.

BTW my Synchronized Show template turns on only the Fade transition as a default. I agree that makes more sense than having all of them on, but it's easy to change this default in a template, or for that matter to leave some turned on and some turned off in the template if that's what you want.

I wish there were an easier way to change the default transition and timing for specific slides, than double-clicking on the new transition, going to Effect, clicking on the "use own transition" button, etc etc. Maybe some sort of spreadsheet option? It's not a big problem, but on a long show or with lots of small ones, anything to reduce the number of repetitive mouse operations would help

[Ronniebootwest]

As more and more of us upgrade our monitors, most will prefer to use the higher resolution offered. I, for example, like to set my monitor to a resolution of 1600 x 1200 because of the superior visual quality it provides. Like most opinions expressed in this post; I would prefer things to be left as they are, i.e. let the slide show maker choose whether or not to use the 'fit to screen' option. My guess is that most users would prefer this, so please leave well alone for now!

Ron West