Redirecting Picture Paths

[danieljcox]

Does anyone know how to redirect the path to the images if they are moved? An external hard drive I was using to build a show is seen as a different drive number when I plug it in. When I open Picturestoexe it tells me it can't find the photos and it shows where they were. I need to somehow tell the program the images now reside on a different drive. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[JRR]

When I move my PTE show from one folder/drive to another, I always move the TEMPLATE file and never have a problem. FILE>TEMPLATE>CREATE TEMPLATE.

I suspect someone else will come along with a better/simpler idea

[dadou]

I always move the TEMPLATE file and never have a problem.

I do not know better/simpler idea ....

Happy new year !

[JPD]

If you haven't the oiginal project neither a template (which is the easiest way), you can also copy all the files in the same directory as the PTE file, then edit it with notepad or something else and change 0 by 1 in the line IsTemplate:

[main]

filetype=Project file of PicturesToExe

CreationTool=PicturesToExe v4.40

globalversion=1

minorversion=9

projectname=Transitions 1600

type=Save

IsTemplate=0

There is also another solution : replace the old path by the new one with the "Replace function" of the Notepad but it's more difficult and you must do that carrefully

[davegee]

ALWAYS keep EVERYTHING in the same folder?

Images, Sound, Project - EVERYTHING.

DaveG

[JPD]

ALWAYS keep EVERYTHING in the same folder?

Images, Sound, Project - EVERYTHING.

DaveG

Yes, it's what do the template function

[Ken Cox]

But JP, many people on the forum have asked many times for a "workflow" of a project

what easier way when starting a project than to create a new appropriately named folder, and put copies of all picts, icons, music, notes etc in that folder then start to bulid the show -- as you proceed and you find you are missing something, you get a copy of it and put it in said folder.

if you modify the show you dont have to hunt for anything because it is in that folder -- when project complete burn all components including the folder to cd

workflow = logical thinking

Daniel, Igor made provisions quite some time ago to handle this problem of yours by having the program recognize that the "folder" was moved to another drive

as DaveG said

ALWAYS keep EVERYTHING in the same folder?

Images, Sound, Project - EVERYTHING.

ken

[Lmoreels]

Does anyone know how to redirect the path to the images if they are moved? An external hard drive I was using to build a show is seen as a different drive number when I plug it in. When I open Picturestoexe it tells me it can't find the photos and it shows where they were. I need to somehow tell the program the images now reside on a different drive. Any suggestions are appreciated.

I use an utilitie "synopsis PTE". It is freeware and comes from a french website.

language is in french or english. I can't remeber where i found it, but i can send it as an attacht document if you wish.

Luc M

[Ken Cox]

Luc

welcome to the forum

do you mean this

http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums//index...f=2&t=2605&st=0

ken

[ContaxMan]

what easier way when starting a project than to create a new appropriately named folder, and put copies of all picts, icons, music, notes etc in that folder then start to bulid the show -- as you proceed and you find you are missing something, you get a copy of it and put it in said folder.

if you modify the show you dont have to hunt for anything because it is in that folder -- when project complete burn all components including the folder to cd

Yes - that's what I keep telling people when I lecture on this program. But people being as they are, impatience sets in and they rush ahead. Patience is a virtue but it seems to have been shared out quite unevenly.

The utility mentioned by LucM above is SY(P) - it's invaluable. Search the Forum for "Synopsis" to find messages about it. You can download it here:

SY(P) - Synopsis utility download

[Ken Cox]

I might add to my earlier entry,

"the Hawk" and i converse quite frequently and we think nothing of sending a complete folder to each other c/w all settings and files in order to solve problems -by having the complete folder with all the pieces we are both in the same "playing field"-- the file can be as big as icq will bear:) and we also talk thru the show using yahoo messenger

2 heads are better than one:)

and we learn from each other

ken

[alrobin]

As Ken said, Igor built this capability into PTE 4.4 such that if you move all of your project folders intact to another drive, for example, PTE will pick up the new pathname automatically. The problem occurs only if you move individual files or folders somewhere else, and they no longer exist in the same relative location to the .pte file.

[JPD]

Ken,

I tried to answer to the question which was :

Does anyone know how to redirect the path to the images if they are moved?

I work always in order to haven't this problem. I am not sure to understand what you say, but when I work I have several folders for the same project :

The first one in which I put the original pictures and sound

The second one in which I put all the EXCEL, PAINTSHOP PRO etc files

The 3rd one in which I put all the BMP, WAV and PTE files of the project and if it use an exe file as in Corsica, I also put the exe files I need.

At the end, I make a template that I move and rename near the other folders to convert all my BMP and WAV files in JPG and OGG. I open the PTE file with Excel or Notepad and I Replace .BMP by .jpg and WAV by ogg. For exe files I change the adress with PTE.

I generally do like that but I think that many methods are availables. For the story board, I use Excel.

and they no longer exist in the same relative location to the .pte file.

That's right Al

[Ken Cox]

JP

what DaveG and i have done is explain our way of avoiding future mishaps, i never mentioned a template because i have never felt the need so have never done one, but i do have s/c's to threads containing info on them if the need arises.

i segregate into folders within the main folder as required.

"Different strokes for different folks"

ken

[Jean-Claude]

The utility mentioned by LucM above is SY(P) - it's invaluable. Search the Forum for "Synopsis" to find messages about it. You can download it here:

SY(P) - Synopsis utility download

Thanks Roger for your comment.

That's my New Year gift.

I'll continue to improve this program and keep it compatible with PTE.

But today I haven't PTE 5.00 specifications and I must wait to modify it.

[alrobin]

... i never mentioned a template because i have never felt the need so have never done one, but i do have s/c's to threads containing info on them if the need arises.

Ken, I'm with you - I have never used templates either. With PTE using relative pathnames now, there is even less of a need to use them, provided one is careful to use copies of images in one's pte folders, and not the original images, which could be "borrowed" by other folders and hence "lost" to the pte project.

[jevans]

The interesting point raised in this thread is the use of templates. The only use I have made of the template function is if I make a show with particular characteristics (e.g. timing, transitions etc) and then want to keep the show parameters to use with another show. I assume that is what the function is for.

Does it have other uses ? which seem to be implied by the comments in this thread.

Incidently I originally used JP's method and kept different parts of a show (sound files, etc) in different directories. However I got into trouble with this method and now ALWAYS put all the show files in the same directory.

Jeff Evans

[ContaxMan]

Does it have other uses ? which seem to be implied by the comments in this thread.

One of my "tutees" regularly forgets about keeping all his files together in one folder.

Making a template for the show is an easy way to rescue this situation as the template gathers copies of all of the items together into the one (template) folder.

[Lmoreels]

Luc

welcome to the forum

do you mean this

http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums//index...f=2&t=2605&st=0

ken

Yes, this is it

Luc

[JRR]

Templates...

Does it have other uses ? which seem to be implied by the comments in this thread.

Jeff Evans

Jeff:

I think different people with different workflows use Templates for different purposes (or not all). Just like in PhotoShop and other process software we have our own workflows and resultant uses of various folders et al.

I use the TEMPLATE in a number of different ways. (But not that way you do )

I put copies of the orginal images that I plan to use (Along with some extras) in a single folder related to the show I am working on (that is a subfolder of my PTE shows folder) That folder will house copies of my RAW files if I am using some, psd files with layers that I make up to ensure sequenced images transition the way I want them, copies of full size jpg straight from the camera, sound files (wav and MP3)

I do a first cut of the show using the full size files and the wav file, then go in and crop each image to get the transitioning I want. I can adjust the White balance and correct exposure using the RAW file if I want to. When I first set up the show with the copies of original images etc it is a VERY large file, but after working through each image and substituting the final wav with a MP3 file, I get a more normal size .exe file.

So at that point I have all my source images, and edited versions in one folder. One show folder I am working on now is at 1.5gb with all the files etc, but the PTE .exe file will end up at around 40mb.

This is where I use the template file.

I use the template file to back up the finished show with just the images in the show and sound file in what is a smallish file. (I also back up the larger folder too as well as the original images)

When I take my show to some place to demo it or ask for a critique, I take the template folder as that allows for a more thorough review and critique.

Might not make sense to all, but it does to me anyway

[alrobin]

I guess everyone has a slightly different working methodology - that's what makes the world go around!

I like to keep all my "raw" (or original) images separate from the files in my pte project folder as I like to be able to keep track of them with an image manager (in my case "IMatch", but ACDC or Picasso are also good). I may even create a separate folder there just for images acquired for the show, and give it the presentation name, too, to identify it.

At the same time as I start selecting the originals and continue acquiring others specifically for the show, I like to start work on preparing them for the show and pulling them into PTE to preview. This step usually results in large hi-res photoshop files, and these I put into the same folder as the originals, to keep them together, and also allow my IMatch to easily "manage" them for me. At the same time, I try to keep backing them up onto a similar folder arrangement on a large (300 Gb) external "backup" drive. I prefer to use an external drive as that way the original image files are readily available for use on my laptop, also managed with a separate copy of IMatch. It is easy to keep each version of IMatch up to date with the latest images on the backup drive. I use the backup drive as the "principal" image source, until those images no longer in "circulation" are offloaded onto DVD's.

Once the secondary images have been accumulated and manipulated I resize them to the resolution & aspect ratio required for the show and "save to web" as jpegs, choosing the directory already prepared for that show (on a different drive or in a different main folder than the originals, to avoid "messing up" the folders I am managing with IMatch. I can also target these "project folders" with IMatch, if I want to, by simply creating a new "database".

Throughout the process, and particularly once the presentation is complete, I also backup the project folder (containing subfolders for jpegs, gifs, music, and project file versions) on the external drive (to a separate main folder than the one for the original images), and eventually over to a DVD. Note that with the latest version of PTE, the project file will still run OK as long as the folders are all copied intact to the new drive.

Some may prefer to keep all images for a show in one main folder, but I find that requires excessive duplication of the large original images and photoshop files, and also makes the management of them in IMatch a more tedious process. I also find that the project folder, if it also contains the original files and intermediate photoshop files, will sometimes not fit onto a single DVD.

I use the same process as the above for the sound files, with separate main folders for the original files, as they can also become very large until they are reduced to mp3 format for the show. I use Cubase SX to collect, edit, and compress them. I also use Audition for "mastering" the final mix.