"A Bridge Too Far" ?

[Ken Cox]

With respect Ken, that doesn't answer the question posed here.

CAN 5.6 be used for basic shows as a replacement for 4.49 / 5.5 or is there something (in basic mode) which requires more "engine power" to do the SIMPLE tasks?

Forget about the complexities of the added features and the unintuitive interface for a moment (I don't necessarily agree with the unintuitive bit but........).

DaveG

If my memory serves me right [ and others have ageed]

when 5 came along it was supposed to retain the simpleness of the predecessor -- BASIC functions -- there were so many simple things that could be done, now a newcommer and old guys have to jump thru hoops to do the simple tasks -- the fun has left the building

my backup system with 16mb video card failed when Igor first put test shows up made with early beta 5's

my main system had a 64 mb card but i have changed it to a 256 -- now the motherboard -- 5yrs old in June will not support the newer boards that i want

the only show that i really had a problem with was Peters kaleidoscope and it was intermittant - some days it would run and somedays not

the bottom line is have deep pockets and devote all your time to keeping abreast of the enhancements and how to work them

ken

[fh1805]

...I have mentioned before, the available instructions have many holes on certain procedures, so I think getting them up to date is a bigger priority than than the continual striving to stretch it's capabilities...

Eric,

I'm in complete agreement on this. I posted on this matter sometime last year. However, there is one huge draw-back...

It is generally accepted in the world of Computer Programming that, for every 10 hours spent writing the code, it takes around 100 hours to debug it thoroughly and 1000 hours to document it properly. This is what makes the big software products so expensive: the man-hours needed to document the product properly.

We certainly wouldn't get PTE for under 100USD if it had Help and User documentation of the same detail and quality as, say, Adobe Photoshop.

I would love to see PTE have good, context-sensitive Help - but I don't think it will ever happen. Unfortunately, as the product gets more features added (= more complex to use) the need for good, context-sensitive Help just gets greater and greater. I fear that the time will come when new users (and even some existing users) might get put off the product because it lacks a good, context-sensitive Help system.

regards,

Peter

[Lin Evans]

Hi Guys,

Perhaps "Photoshop" isn't the best product to compare with because they have "never," in my experience, had adequate documentation. This product has had countless third party users who have written extensive books on how to use Photoshop and its myriad features. Most users are totally lost when trying to digest Photoshop with the included documentation. Adobe's documentation, unless it has vastly improved since earlier versions, is sadly lacking especially in the "how-to" department.

PTE is a rather unique product in that if one does not use "any" of the PZR effects, the current version 5.6 functions very well with minimal hardware resources just as the 4.x versions did. It's when the user decides to avail themselves of pans, zooms, rotates, opacity changes, parent/child relationships, masks, etc., etc., that things can get dicy with older equipment.

These features are absolutely necessary for PTE to stay competitive because younger, computer savy users who indeed do have and maintain current state-of-art equipment expect this. We older codgers who may have limited incomes and perhaps less interest in newfangled technology can often be content with just being able to do the basics.

From a business perspective, there will always be a market of sorts which we older users provide, but we constitute a niche market while the mainstream market consists of a broader spectrum of users, many of whom are not content with the status quo. To remain competitive, PTE needs the new 3D features and video capabilities which is where the market is headed whether we like it or not. The computer industry is, by and large, market driven. Both business and game users want faster data access, realistic animation, high quality video and HD TV.

Unfortunately, for those of us who can't afford to upgrade every couple years, this means we can't always enjoy the latest and greatest innovations. We may not be able to have large, high quality images "and" smooth, flawless, animations with all the bells and whistles. In some sense, Microsoft has forced more powerful hardware on us by creating operating systems which are genuine resource hogs to say the least. Because of this, as we eventually upgrade our equipment, we will have the resources necessary to run optimal PTE shows complete with all the bells and whistles. But to do this, we also have a larger and longer learning curve. Just because we are getting older doesn't mean we have to stop learning! I'm always reminded of our now deceased, great old forum member Ron Wilkenson (ronwil). Ron stayed on top of the technology and incorporated it with zeal in his shows. We can all learn from Ron's example.

As the technology and feature set of PTE evolves, we users are faced with new challenges which we shall surely overcome with dilligence and dedication. If you really want to see frustration, try the competition's top-end software and discover what really poor documentation is truly like! I believe that the future of really good technical support will lie in the user base rather than with the developers. PTE is very close to catching the competition and perhaps surpassing them with the really important fundamentals of what drives the market. We truly need 3D object animation, the incorporation of video and a few other important features. We already have the smoothest and highest quality image reproduction available of "any" presentation slideshow product at a reasonable price and with the very best upgrade policy of all. I think we need to give the developers the freedom to unleash their creativity and let them build us the finest product of its type. We users will provide the necessary support and documentation, but to do this effectively we can't do it with every iteration and change. We need to take it in larger steps and perhaps rather than try to make a unified document, we may need to compartmentalize and perhaps create smaller, more precise user help documents which deal with individual features rather than trying to write a tome which covers everything.

As Peter says, documentation takes much time and effort and it is doubly difficult for the developers because of the wide language disparity which exists among the user base. This was, and is, a tremendous issue for even huge companies like Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Dell, etc. They have entire divisions devoted to documentation so imagine what it is like for Wnsoft!

We all have different uses and needs for PTE and we probably will never all agree on the direction the company takes with this unique product, but we can all help and support the developers and in the process reap the reward of having a truly great product.

Best regards,

Lin

[Guest Yachtsman1]

If I can digress slightly, I don't know how many of us use the Audacity forum? I know it is a different product and it's free. I f you take the time to just check certain problem topics, they constantly repeat as new users come on board, the same happens with PTE. There are usually two audacity moderaters who are constantly repeating the same instructions, how they keep their cool I don't know. Surely it isn't rocket science to up-date the written word for PTE based on the q&a's that come in. I'll give you a for instance of a PTE function that doesn't take any PC memory to produce, which I would dearly like to use, that is to produce a menu with buttons to introduce shows. I know many people use it, I've read what there is on the forum about it, is it in the manual? no, unless it's very well hidden. Anyway, it's late I'm tired so I'm off to bed. Night Night.

Yachtsman1

[Ken Cox]

Eric

write to Ronnie or Tom Court

they did years ago with ver 4 series and likely has a pdf made on how to

and there used to be a demo exe at beechbrook

ken

[Lin Evans]

The button use was covered in an AVI I created under the Tutorials section - number 8 as I recall in the PTE Made Easy series. This tutorial covers the feature of changing the color when the mouse "hovers" over a button so that the initial color of text changes with hover then changes again when the button is clicked.

If you can tell us specifically what it is that you wish to know about the buttons and a "menu" perhaps one of us can explain.

Essentially, a menu consists of a background image or blank screen with buttons added for the purpose of calling an external executable file or some function. This could be another slideshow or opening email or any of the features assigned to that button.

By introduce shows I'm assuming you mean to actually "run" the slideshows? If so, just create a new slideshow called "menu" and place buttons on it. Assign to each button a particular slideshow to be run. If you would like a sample I would be glad to make one for you as a template which you could use.

Best regards,

Lin

As for repeated questions, isn't that what Peter has done??

If I can digress slightly, I don't know how many of us use the Audacity forum? I know it is a different product and it's free. I f you take the time to just check certain problem topics, they constantly repeat as new users come on board, the same happens with PTE. There are usually two audacity moderaters who are constantly repeating the same instructions, how they keep their cool I don't know. Surely it isn't rocket science to up-date the written word for PTE based on the q&a's that come in. I'll give you a for instance of a PTE function that doesn't take any PC memory to produce, which I would dearly like to use, that is to produce a menu with buttons to introduce shows. I know many people use it, I've read what there is on the forum about it, is it in the manual? no, unless it's very well hidden. Anyway, it's late I'm tired so I'm off to bed. Night Night.

Yachtsman1

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Hi Lin

This is exactly what I would like to do.

Essentially, a menu consists of a background image or blank screen with buttons added for the purpose of calling an external executable file or some function. This could be another slideshow or opening email or any of the features assigned to that button.

I would like to know how to make my own and tailor it for that particular venue, it's very kind of you offering to make a sample, but I would like to make my own.

. If you would like a sample I would be glad to make one for you as a template which you could use.

Best regards,

I know Peter fairly well, and have learned a lot from him, I am a member of his AV group but haven't been able to attend for a couple of months.

As for repeated questions, isn't that what Peter has done??

The section 8 you refer to, do you mean the PTE FAQ's

Thanks for your interest, hope you are over your recent troubles.

Kind Regards Eric

(Yachtsman1)

[Ken Cox]

Eric

I forgot to mention

Hawk has made one with version 5, maybe if you write to him, he would give you a hand.

ken

[Ronniebootwest]

Eric,

Please visit my web site, there are some tutorials there that might be of some interest to you.

Ron West

[Lin Evans]

Hi Eric,

The section 8 you refer to, do you mean the PTE FAQ's

No, I mean the PTE Made Easy series I posted here:

http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7901

Find the link to the Button Hover AVI and click on it to view the AVI tutorial on buttons....

Surely it isn't rocket science to up-date the written word for PTE based on the q&a's that come in.

What I meant was are not Peter's PTE FAQ's the answer to your comment?

Best regards,

Lin

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Hi Lin

I found the tutorial link, but when I clicked it tried to open in windows media player & just hung there. I left it for a good 5 minutes but it was still sticking. So I installed the VLC Media Player and tried again but it still tried to open in Windows Media Player, maybe I'm not leaving it long enough?

Regards Eric

[Lin Evans]

Hi Eric,

It could be that you don't have the DivX codec or perhaps the AVI is trying to open before it is completely downloaded. Try saving the file rather than opening it. Once it is saved then you can select the VLC media Player and then open the file with it. It "should" play just fine with the VLC Media Player even if you haven't downloaded the DivX codec.

Best regards,

Lin

Hi Lin

I found the tutorial link, but when I clicked it tried to open in windows media player & just hung there. I left it for a good 5 minutes but it was still sticking. So I installed the VLC Media Player and tried again but it still tried to open in Windows Media Player, maybe I'm not leaving it long enough?

Regards Eric

[xahu34]

... We users will provide the necessary support and documentation, but to do this effectively we can't do it with every iteration and change. We need to take it in larger steps and perhaps rather than try to make a unified document, we may need to compartmentalize and perhaps create smaller, more precise user help documents which deal with individual features rather than trying to write a tome which covers everything ...

This proposal sounds good, but there had to be contributors and of course someone to organize this process. Users of m.objects are in a nice position as there is a particular user who has hosted and published tutorials since 2002, see here.

Regards,

Xaver

[Laszlo K]

Eric,

Nothing could be further from the truth.

We all of us have to work within the limitations of our present equipment and our financial constraints. But it is only by pushing our knowledge and equipment to the limit that we "super-users" (a term I detest) find out just what PTE can and cannot do. And that is also how we discover just what resources are needed to do all the fancy "gee-whizz" stuff.

You did have! Version 5.6 co-exists along side version 5.5. If you didn't like v5.6, you should have uninstalled it and stayed with v5.5.

So are most of us, I expect! Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Be satisfied with what you have; and learn how to get the most out of it.

Xaver,

I couldn't have put it better myself. 95% of all my transistions are simple fades. If the "third image" is a messy one, then I'll try "Page - Top to bottom", "Page - Left-to-right" or "Circle - From centre". I have over 30 sequences and only five of them have any animation. It isn't the "chromium, bells and whistles" that make a good AV: it is the story being told and the quality of the images and the suitability of the accompanying music that makes for good AV sequences.

regards,

Peter

Hi All!

There is one important issue! That we all want to do the best and smoothest show possible.

Well I have a Toshibe L/T that was doing the same thing ( stuuter & hickup )

The solution because the newer version of PTE is more source demanding than all others before :

Put the maximum of RAM memory that fit in your L/T.

Clean all programs that are not ever used but running in the background out of the system.

Shut Virus scan OFF ( it monitors all interaction between programs )

There is a small program that shuts all windows stuff running in the background called END IT ALL ( I have been using it for years )

I use an EXTERNAL Audio card from Presonus that is connected by Firewire.

And shut your L/T monitor OFF ( on my Toshiba is Fnc + F5 to togle display )

Dont forget you want to cary a load for a truck with a sedan.

Actually I can sometimes run both displays without problem..

Laszlo