Start Preview from the Current Slide

[Rooskidiver]

Does this feature not work if you have used music synchronization? One of my biggest headaches since I started using PTE is having to sit through the entire slide show numerous times to get the music right. Some of the songs started to drive me up the wall and I even changed many after listening to them for a couple of dozen times. Does any one have any tips for a longer show (15 minutes or more) when using music and also being able to use the preview from the current slide option? Thanks!

[alrobin]

Rooskidiver,

You can test the synchronization from any selected slide transition both on the timeline and in the main window.

On the timeline there are two ways:

1. Start the show playing, select "pause", select any point on the timeline (identified by the little blue moving triangle), by clicking on the timeline, and then select "play" again.

2. Select the desired slide transition as identified by a numbered rectangle, and click on "Preview" at the bottom right-hand corner of the timeline window.

In the main window, select the slide by highlighting it in the slide list, then click on the little "loaf of bread" at the bottom right of the preview window.

[Rooskidiver]

Thanks for your help Al. The "loaf of bread" only works in the shows that I've created earlier when I did not use the automatic synchronization. On this last when where I did use the auto synch the "loaf of bread" only works on the first slide in the show. I'll work with your other suggestions and see if I can make any progress there. Maybe I'm just making this too hard! Thanks again. :-)

[alrobin]

Are you using version 4.01? The bread works for me!

[Rooskidiver]

Hmmm ... nope. I'm using version 4.0. Guess I'd better go get the latest! Thanks!

[Rooskidiver]

Well Al ... I can't seem to find version 4.1! Where is it hiding??

[ronwil]

Try http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/apr.zip Version 4.0 was released 11 March 2003. Go back to that thread. Good luck.

Ron [uK]

[think(box)]

Rooskidiver, look at the PTE window title bar for correct version after you start PTE. It says v4.01 while in the Help menu, "About..." says v4.00 is the version. A known bug. Do you have v4.01 after all?

[Rooskidiver]

The PTE window title bar and the help window both say version 4.00. I had to download my last version from a mirror site because when I tried to get it from the WnSoft site it wouldn't download. Maybe that's the difference? I'll try again today to download it from WnSoft and see if they have the 4.01 version. Thanks.

[Rooskidiver]

Well I'm getting the same error message at the WnSoft site. "Something like there's been a temporary network error preventing the download of your file" .... I've been having trouble in general with getting to this site too. Maybe updating it?

[Ken Cox]

well i would send it to you if you send me your addie

pbyk@sympatico.ca

ken

[think(box)]

I was able to download from the Simtel mirror site. FYI the PTE4.01 that I've been using since release has ever so slightly different downloaded .ZIP file contents when compared to the version presently on Simtel. I did a "Comparator" utility check and found to my dismay that the Simtel download is V4.00. Igor needs to upload v4.01 to Simtel. I'll post a reply to Igor's post announcing the mirror site.

[Rooskidiver]

Well Ken graciously sent me a copy of the newer version 4.01 and it took care of all my problems. My main issue was not being able to start the preview on an individual slide when I was using the music synch option. I'm only making slideshows of our travels ... and now my children's travels ... but most of the shows have at least 100 pictures and it took me hours to get everything in synch since I was watching the entire show over and over. I don't see how the program could be made any better now! Thanks to everyone!

[DustyDesert]

I am totally lost. I'm using 4.01 and do not understand where to find the timeline, pause, loaf of bread, and there are no moving blue triangles. When I hit preview, the screen has only the slide show going until I click the mouse. I am new at this and I'm only on my 2nd slide show ever, both synchronized to music and I got SICK of seeing it over and over as I tried to sync the last couple of frames. Please spell it out for me?

Thanks,

~Cindy

[alrobin]

Cindy,

To see the timeline and the moving blue triangle, click on "Project Options" and check "Synchronize slideshow to music duration". Make sure you have some music added, under the "Music" tab.

Then go back to the "Main" tab and click on "Customize Synchronization" and select either "Customize Synchronization" or "Automatic Synchronization". You should see a small blue triangle at the start of the timeline, which will start moving forward as soon as you click on "Play".

The tiny "loaf of bread" is located in the main preview screen at the bottom right-hand corner. It only appears when you highlight an image in the "slide-show image list".

Hope this helps.

[DustyDesert]

Only just barely. I don't know if I was out in the sun too long today or what, but I'm still confounded. I found the timeline, added music under the music tab, clicked the buttons you said to click, and when I hit play, the blue triangle sure enough starts moving but the display screen is black. I did manage to add pictures but don't feel like I have the same easy control over them as I did with the "customize slide" button on the main window. Back at the main window, when I click preview (after having clicked the synchronize buttons in the options pallette), it doesn't do anything. I did find the loaf of bread (though it doesn't resemble bread to me) and that almost worked for me. I unchecked the synch buttons in the options and then when I click a slide on the list, click that icon, the show would start from there but the music would start from the beginning. Not much help when custom synchronizing. What am I doing wrong now? Can't I customize each slide with transition effects and such in the main window, start the music at the desired slide (not from the first slide) and start a preview with slides and music in the middle somewhere? I've looked through the "help" user manual and found nothing on this.

~Cindy

[alrobin]

Hi, Cindy,

First, the display screen will be black until slides are added. You can add slides in two ways. First, you can select "Automatic synchronization" and then "Timed points" and either "Arrange existing points" or "Add points", whichever is appropriate to your situation. Alternatively, you can select "Customize synch", and add transition points by clicking on "New Transition" whenever you want a new slide to drop onto the timeline.

Two suggestions re the preview:

1. Make sure you are using version at least 4.01 (you can see the number at the top left of the screen when you first open PTE).

2. Make sure you are adding the music in the "Project Options" menu, not the "Customize Slide" menu. Make sure there is no music added in the "Customize Slide" menu for each slide, if you are customizing any slides, and that "Continue playing current sound file(s)" is selected for each customized slide.

If this doesn't help, I suggest you send me a copy of your ".pte" file, without any accompanying music or images, and I will be happy to have a look at it to see if I can spot anything amiss. my email: alrobin@alrobinson.com

[DustyDesert]

Wow! I finally got it! Thank you so much!!! Now I have total control and will be able to breeze through these much faster.

Thank you so much for your help Al!

~Cindy

[alrobin]

Cindy,

Your're very welcome! Glad to hear you have everything under control. Happy sailing!

[DustyDesert]

Me again. I'm putting together a slide show using the project options and customize synch, and it works perfect when I preview in the small window in the timeline box, but when I preview in the main window (full screen), the music and the slides will hang up and skip. What am I doing wrong now?

~Cindy

[Ken Cox]

will it work without sync

will it work with auto sync

ken

[DustyDesert]

I just tried that. I created it as a custom synch and when I uncheck that button in the "main" folder and preview, the pictures don't show at all, but the music sure plays fine!

[alrobin]

Cindy,

It sounds like either your images are too large for the capability of your system, or they are too close to the end of the previous transition.

I had a similar case and found that when I previewed from the timeline, the processor resources were used only up to about 50% of the capacity, but when I previewed from the main window, the usage went up to 100 %. So, if you have any images which are just a bit too large, or else too close together, things might hang up. Try substituting some smaller images to see if that helps, or rearrange things on the timeline.

Also, make sure you leave a bit of time at the beginning of the show for things to get started (at least 3 seconds).

[DustyDesert]

I did have them too close, in fact bumped right up against the next one in some cases! That was the problem. Thanks. Now I know better. I know how to adjust where the music comes in in the main window, but how do I add a few seconds in the beginning through the timeline window? The music starts as soon as I hit play.

Another thing, when I hit pause then restart, the music sets back a little bit but the blue arrow doesn't go back with it, so my synchs are off unless I start from the beginning. That can't be right.

BTW, the music so far is just one song, MP3 (2.33MB) , the pictures are all jpegs and compressed to just under 200 KB each, transitions are set to 4 seconds with fade in and out effects at 2000. I have a blank picture at the beginning for a few seconds which is also where the music starts right now. I have 768 MB of RAM with all other programs closed, a 2.52 GHz processor, and a lot of frustration. This slide show is at 5.4 MB right now.

~Cindy

[alrobin]

I have found the timeline pretty accurate as far as timing the transitions is concerned. Unless, maybe, the images are still a little too tight, in which case you would have more problems in the actual show than in the timeline preview. It may seem that they are not in sync after pausing, but probably it is also taking the blue arrow time to get started again, and the "setting back" of the music is compensating for this. You should find everything back in sync after a few milliseconds.

Re adding silence at the beginning of the show, there are two ways (at least) of doing this. The first method (most preferable) is to add a few seconds of silence to the start of the first music selection using a sound editor such as Audacity, or Cool Edit 2000, or a similar program.

The second way is to create a separate silent music file (either .wav or .mp3), either using a sound editor, or just recording some silence using the sound recorder which is included with newer versions of Windows, of the length you need (usually around 3 seconds or so) and add it as the first sound file in the list under Project Options. I haven't tried this as I prefer to have only one file which is a mix of everything I need for the show.