PicturesToExe v4.00 is released

[Igor]

We are glad to present PicturesToExe v4.00

How to download:

http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/apr.zip (1.25 Mb)

or self-extracting installation kit: http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/apr.exe (1.25 MB)

Introduction:

Version 4.00 contains a lot of various improvements and works

faster. Produced presentations also will start faster. The new

smoothed shadow for main pictures. The new default icon for the

.exe file. A number of new features in the Visual editor of

objects and in the "Customize synchronization" window. Now you

can start Preview of your presentation from necessary slide.

You can find full list of improvements below.

What's new in v4.00:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Fixed old bug when presentation run in the synchronized mode. The music

started a little earlier, if the first slide contains a very large JPEG picture.

However all next slides were shown *exactly* at the specified time.

Now the first slide also will be shown exactly at begining of the music.

* Fixed old rare bug in the Startup screen of presentation, if you twice opened the Help window.

* Fixed old bug, if you pressed Ctrl+Enter in the "Comment" field to enter multi-line comment for a slide.

* Fixed several other minor bugs.

+ Preview of large pictures works much faster now (with same quality) in

the Main window of PicturesToExe and in the "Customize Synchronization" window.

+ Improved quality and speed of the full-screen viewer of images (the Main window).

+ Improved quality of gradient filling of background, if screen in Hi-Color (16-bit) mode.

+ Improved the shadow for the main picture:

> It looks much smoothly now;

> You can adjust opacity of the shadow behind the main picture. (Project options |

"Screen" tab | "Opacity". From 0 of full transparency to 255 of opacity;

> The shadow can surround picture around all sides (see "Offset" parameter).

+ Added new default icon for a newly created .exe (or .scr) file of presentation.

The main icon of PicturesToExe is also improved.

+ Added new option: "Auto hide mouse cursor" (Project options | "Advanced" tab)

+ Some improvements in "Main" and "Advanced" tabs of the Project options.

+ Visual Editor of objects is vastly improved:

* Fixed several bugs;

> Added support for transparent GIF pictures (as objects of a slide);

> You can call "Properties" dialog for a some object by double-clicking of a mouse button;

> It's possible to cancel dragging of an object by pressing of <Esc> key;

> To select/deselect several objects, click on an each necessary object holding <Shift> key pressed;

> To select all objects, press Ctrl+A;

> Added "Undo" button to cancel last modification;

> Added Copy/Paste features (Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V);

> Improved popup menu when you click right mouse button on the object(s);

> Added hot keys for all actions (see popup menu above);

> Added some other helpful improvements.

+ Produced presentations will start faster now.

+ "Preview" of presentation starts faster.

+ PicturesToExe (Main window) opens projects much faster.

+ Improved "Customize synchronization" window:

> You can start Preview of a presentation from a necessary slide ("Preview button");

> Time-line graphically displays effect duration for the transition points;

> Added vertical graphical lines between sound tracks on the time-line;

> You can adjust zoom of the time-line.

Click "View" button (or press Ctrl+F11/F12 or scroll the wheel of the mouse);

> Improved work of the horizontal scroll bar;

> Added new hot keys: Play/Pause - Ctrl-P, Stop - Ctrl+S, Delete - Del, Add - Ins;

> Click on "New transition" button instantly adds new point;

> Added little improvements in the interface of this window.

+ PicturesToExe correctly informs you, if you add damaged JPEG file.

+ PicturesToExe will show a project name in the confirmation dialog

(if you close not saved project).

+ Added numbering of slides in the Slide list (Main window).

+ Added support of Traditional Chinese language.

+ Vastly improved support of Italian language

+ Added various improvements in interface of the program.

p.s. there are two small improvements in v4.00 release since beta #8

[nobeefstu]

Igor.

You've done some wonderful work with this v4 ... even though I havent fully used all its new and updated features at this time.

Its simply amazing the overall file package hasnt grown in size that much with all the great enhancements and new features you added ... when compared to the previous versions overall sizes. Adding "Power" and not "Bulk" ... simply great !

Wonderful work ! ... Wonderful program !

[Guest guru]

Yes Stu, Igor has actually an awful ability to add huge improvements by writing few lines of code. Let's think how many improvements have been added since v3.51 released in March, 2001 (sync, time-line, a lot of new options)... and the whole program does not yet fill a 1.44 floppy!

What a resemblance to MS programs!

[Lloegyr]

YES

Igor has added so much with so little, he must be thanked

Mike

Mersea Island

[quietstorm]

Igor...

Now is the time to slow down...AGAIN

Wonderful job and P2E has come a long way and improving

on the "fast lane."

Thanks again for a prgram we can trust!!

Bart

[cici]

Igor,

the P2Exe v4.00 gives us a lot of very important improvements.

Now working with timeline is very easy and I especially appreciate adding new transition points "on the fly"

Thank you very much

[fitzner3]

Well, I have been on a long vacation to family in California and came back to a new 4.00 and Igor it is wonderful and so easy to use. One can be so creative with our new program.

[Ernst]

Just back after a very busy time writing a book and revising proofs, finishing courses and a long vacation in the south (with only dial-up connection). I was absent from the forum, and Guido asked why. Hola, Guido! Now to business.

Igor, I just downloaded v 4 and started playing a bit with this version, and I am really happy and impressed with this version. I want to thank you for your creativity, work, and time. The program is stable, the synchronization is great. The program runs smoothly and the synchronization works fine.

I hope soon to be able to upload one PTE show to Beechbrook´s site.

Well, happy to be back, and happy to have downloaded a nice piece of art: version 4 of PTE. I hope to be active again reading and posting in this forum from now on.

Regards

Ernst

[Bethalan]

I have been working with version 4 beta 5. Am I up to date or should I now download version 4

[JRR]

Beta 4.05 was a testing version of what is now final version 4.0, so yes, you should be working with 4.0

[Igor]

Sorry, but I've found one missed feature in v4.00 final. Preview feature from some slide doesn't start if you have automatically synchronized presentation (without manually added points on the time-line). The problem is fixed now (it was enough to add three words to unblock Preview feature). Please donwload corrected v4.01:

http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/apr.zip (1.25 Mb)

or self-extracting installation kit: http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/apr.exe (1.25 MB)

p.s. "v4.01" text appears only on the caption of the main window.

[Casey]

I agree with Stuart. Igor, it's a WONDER how you've gotten so much functionality into such a small package! Who would have thought that a program that does so much can still fit on a floppy disk? I don't know how many 'ol timers were here for the first few wish lists that we posted, but if you can recall the things we were pining for, damn near all of them have been answered. How's that for an effective forum, eh?

[jayspry]

Igor,

You need to follow Bart's advice now. Take a long vacation and relax!!!!

jayspry

[abc]

excellent program!

for me it would be perfect if it had two more 'small' features:

(i) annotation...provide an option to annotate the slide/screen. for example, navigation bar has an item you click, a pen pops up, and lets you draw all over the screen. maybe, another button lets you screen capture the annotations! perhaps the pen pops up when you press the right+left mouse buttons at the same time!

(ii) graphics editing...currently, the pictures added in the 'object editor' screen are not resizeable. even just letting the imported pictures be resized would greatly enhance this great functionality of this screen. some rudimentary 'paint' like functions, e.g., add sizeable rectangle, ellipse, triangle etc, and colorize it, would greatly help in this part.

thanks

abc def

[ccmanz]

I made a slide show in 4.01 on my windows XP computer.

And used an transparent Gif "object" for a title.

All looked ok

When I viewed the show on Windows 98 It shows the

Transparent Gif with a white background.

Do you know if this is a problem with Windows 98?

Will it not show the transparent background?

Or is there something I need to upgrade on the windows 98

so it will show the transparent objects?

It works fine if I use a gif without a transparent background

and choose to make the background transparent by checking

the box in the properties.

Thanks for any help.

[JRR]

Did you set the OBJECT properties to "transparent" ?

I realize that you said it already was a transparent gif, but what little I have done with these gif files is that they do show up with a white background in various softwares.

Setting the OBJECT properties has assured me all is OK.

I suspect someone else will have a more technical explanation

[ccmanz]

When you are using 4.0 and have a object that has

a transparent gif it is already checked to be a transparent

background and you can not uncheck it.

If you try to uncheck the option it defaults back to

checked. After you OK the Properties.

I did get the gif to work if I changed the Gif to a none Transparent Gif.

then checked the box to make the background Transparent.

To make sure other are seeing what I am seeing I may

need to make sure I don't use a Transparent Gif.

Thanks for your reply

cc

[Igor]

To ccmanz

1) Thanks, I'll improve this moment!

2) I just checked with transparent GIFs and they look as expected under Windows 95. We use own code of showing of transparent images which works similar under all versions of Windows. As, for example, transition effects look exactly equally under any Windows.

To abc

1) Yes, I plan to add resizing of images in the Vis. editor.

2) Also thanks for your first idea. Probably it can be added in the next versions.