Help running PTE embedded actions via MS Vista?

[rick4pte]

Any idea how to have Vista recognise PTE actions?Hi,

I'm new to this forum so apologise if this has already been covered. I looked for help on problems with Vista but couldn't find anything covering problems running PTE embedded mouse actions within MS Vista. Can anyone help please? My shows run 100% OK on MS W2K and XP but stall in Vista! I have tried running Vista with full administrator rights but it seems to make no difference??!!

For some time now, within PTE v4.48, I have enjoyed using the slide 'Object Editor' to add thumbnail size images (eg buttons) to individual slides and then code further actions by right clicking the object to enable editing of the properties. Typically when coding my shows, my last slide has buttons offering any viewer a choice of different new shows (like a quasi book chapter index) by clicking the appropriate button the current show is closed and the new show of choice activated.

This is has usually been achieved by editing the object properties - using the PTE drop down box, selecting the mouse click action:- 'Run application and exit' and then coding a new .exe show file to load.

For some PTE 'multi shows' that run OK In XP I have interlinked up to 24 very short PTE shows which makes the user viewing experience non linear - rather like using a web browser. Great for delivering information with high quality images that's viewer, rather than producer, order determined. Yesterday I tried running in a new Vista (business) laptop and found that only one single sub PTE show will run. The embedded mouse click actions are ignored. I have tried playing with many settings over several hours with no success. It looks as if Vista's controls are attempting to lock down any casual user access to and operation of .exe files.

Does anyone recognise this problem and are there any known workarounds?

Thanks.

Ricky

Query_running_PTE_actions_in_Vista.txt

[Ronniebootwest]

I have not yet converted to the new 'Vista' and I am hearing about so many 'bugs' that I don't think that I will be using for some time yet.

Maybe what you are experiencing, is just another of those annoying bugs. Why not send a private message to Igor and ask if he knows about this?

Ron West

[Igor]

Ricky,

Did you try latest beta 13 of PicturesToExe v5.00?

All EXE files - main menu and other EXE files should be created in beta 13 for better result.

[rick4pte]

Hi, Yes I did and I still have the same problem. I also wondered if it was down to authoring the show in v4.48 so I downloaded the latest beta v13 and made a a small test show to check. Unfortunately the problem still exists. I spent about 5 hours trying to vary every setting I could find that looked like it may have made a difference.

A PTEv5 beta 13 new show will start and run the initial .exe file OK but new embedded button commands to close current show and open a new defined show(s) still don't appear to be recognised. Yet each show can be located from explorer and double clicked to run, but all the smooth automation doesn't function anymore - really annoying!

[Igor]

Please try newest Beta 15 we just published.

[rick4pte]

Hi Igor,

I downloaded the latest beta v15 today and tried testing again but it seemed to make no difference. It runs just fine on a Win XP PC and whilst each .exe show can also be opened and run by double clicking the .exe file on a Win Vista laptop, the encoded actions to exit and run another show of choice don't work, although the current show will exit ok.

Just in case I'm doing anything wrong, in beta15 I'm outlining my test method below...

Testing comprised creating 4 new short PTE shows, via PTE beta 15, of 3 or 4 slides in a new folder. Then .exe files were written in the same folder, so that an application file could be selected at the later coding stage. Each PTE show was set so the last slide remained on screen. On the last slide the 'Objects and Animation' button was used to add 3 action buttons to each of the last slides. An attempt was then made to link each button to the 3 other .exe shows already created. This was done via the 2nd tag to the right of the control panel - against 'Action on mouse click' I used the drop down menu to select 'Run application and exit'. In the box below this, I browed to select each of the .exe files created. I then saved each revised PTE file and re-created each .exe show, overwriting my initial .exe show versions. The idea being to enable a user to move from any one show to any one of 3 other shows.

In XP each show successfully exits and any one of the 3 other shows can be opened and test run as desired. In Vista a button mouse click action just exits the current show (ie first part of the action) and the command to run a defined show appears not to be recognised.

Hopefully this makes sense to you, and I'm hoping you may be able to 'tweak' something to have Vista behave more like XP.

Ricky

[Igor]

Ricky,

Please try to this Project1.exe demo can run another slide show:

http://www.wnsoft.com/test/RunAndExit.zip (650 KB)

I still can't reproduce this problem, I just tested again under Windows Vista.

[rick4pte]

Thanks for looking at this Igor.

I downloaded your 2 files and they ran OK on both my XP machine and a Vist laptop, so this is encouraging in that there really is a way to have Visa recognise the 'exit show and run new specified show' command.

Today I uploaded my 4 test .exe files and parent .pte files for you as requested. I'm still puzzled as to what I must be doing wrong (or differently) for my test shows to interlink OK on XP but not on Vista.

Ricky

[Igor]

Thanks,

I just sent you reply via forum PM message.

[rick4pte]

Igor,

Big thanks for your help on this. You sorted it! Your comments on “absolute file paths” and your code mod on one of my test .exe files meant I could successfully run the links in Vista via your file.

Learning from this, I re-visited my 4 test .pte files, removed the filepath from the target file name in the button properties box and re-created the .exe files. All works perfectly in Vista!

My learning from this is that when editing button properties, specifically whilst browsing for “target” link files, care need to be taken to ensure that a file path isn’t also inadvertently copied over if the show is eventually be a multi linked series of show running on a Vista platform. Generally, one has to have a target file with no file path directory information.

I still don’t fully understand why my old “file browsing approach” when editing links, that I had successfully used for 2 years, still works OK when running on XP but not in Vista!!?? Subsequently, your suggestion to look at a way of automatically sorting this coding “oddity” may be welcome by others in a future code release for PTE.

Thanks again for all your efforts.

Ricky

[Igor]

Thanks, I'm very glad!

We already modified code of PicturesToExe in new beta 17 and now open dialog via browse button will make file name without path if this EXE file located in same folder where located main EXE file of current slide show.

It seems that old code in previous betas couldn't correctly process absolute path and find EXE file in some cases.

Anyway now since beta 17 such problem should not happen any more.

[rick4pte]

Igor,

You are a STAR!!

You listen and understand, take time to investigate, see the problem, propose a solution and have the revised code, beta 17. implemented no sooner than I replied to your message!!

Good work and thanks.

Ricky