Pausing a Slide

[nsd3 Profile Private message]

I occasionally like to pause a slide after the end of the effect, so that the viewer is given some time to take the slide in, before the transition to the next slide.

In ProShow Gold, I’d open the “Slide Options” window, select the “Effects” tab, and after clicking on the “copy” button, select “Copy end to next slide (all layers)”
I would then set the transition time to zero between the newly copied slide and the previous (the source) slide, and set whatever slide duration I thought necessary. When the slide show is played, I’d have the effect of the slide pausing for a second or so before continuing on.

I’ve just upgraded to Producer, and I’m experimenting with masks and keyframes. I have a slide with layers, masks , and multiple keyframes. I’d like to copy the end position of the slide to a new slide to effectively mimic the pause action again as described above.

I cannot find a way to do this. There is a multitude of copy options and I can’t figure which one, or worse still, what combination of copy commands I need to copy the end position of a slide as the beginning of next slide.

So two questions:

1. How do I copy everything that’s applied to a slide (effects, layers, masks, keyframes etc.) from its transition end to a new slide?

2. How do I achieve “copy end to next slide, all layers” as used in ProShow Gold for just copying layers?

Any assistance would be so much appreciated.

[im42n8 Profile Private messageWebsite]

I don't think you can do what you are seeking to do on a global basis for the current slide. Instead, you need to do it layer by layer. In this case, if you look in the upper right corner of the Slide Options | Effects tab, you'll see this option called "match." You would use this to match the currently selected slide layer to the a layer in the previous slide (the left option: Match Start of THIS layer to the end of the Previous layer) or the end of the selected layer to the start of a layer in the next slide (the right option: Match END to Next slide).

Just go to each layer on each slide and apply a match as desired. I am aware of no function that copies all end values of all of the current slide's layers to the starting values of all layers on the next slide. I would find that feature to have a very low likelihood of being used. I would want to control Which Layer of the current affects Which Layer on the next slide.

Dale

[debngar Profile Private message]

In the simplest scenario, suppose you have a slide with one layer image that pans from point A (KF1) to point B (KF2) and you want it to stay at B for an extra second. Using Producer, it can be done with 3 key frames. If I understand the description of what you want to accomplish, no extra slide creation is required.

1. Slide KF 2 to the left a bit.
2. Double click to the RIGHT of KF 2 which adds a KF 3
3. Slide KF 3 all the way to the right. ( KF 3 will be a dupe of KF 2 and will produce the pause at the end.)

In complex slides with more layers, you may need to use some judgement as to which layers you want to use this technique as all layers probably don't need that extra keyframe. This technique would have to be applied one layer at a time. Be sure that the kf2 is set in the same time spot as the other layers to which this technique is applied where necessary (in the case of a mask over an image for instance). Of course your slide may have a lot more kfs than just 2 to begin with. In that case pick the very LAST keyframe to move to the left and do the double click action to get the duped new kf that you slide to the far right.

[im42n8 Profile Private messageWebsite]

As you've found, there are a number of things to consider in Producer that you never had to consider in Gold. While you can use Producer in exactly the same way as you used Gold, you'll find yourself much more productive when you master keyframes and masks. With Producer, you can (if you are so inclined), make an entire slideshow within a single slide. It's a great exercise ... but not exactly something you really want to do with an actual show.

Deleting keyframes: http://fpvp.wordpress.com/keyframes/delete-keyframe/
Add/Remove Time from keyframes: http://fpvp.wordpress.com/keyframes/key ... move-time/
Masks Tutorial: http://www.photodex.com/share/im42n8/pdxdpmg4
Mask/Layer Positioning: http://fpvp.wordpress.com/masks-info-2/ ... -position/

These links should help. And, there's more where that came from. There are a number of tutorials available out on the internet that can help you get over the initial hump in the learning curve. As you've discovered, Producer has a number of options you never had in Gold ... and the options available to you are considerably larger. Also note that there is generally more than one way to accomplish a given task. It's not that these options are better ... just different. It depends on your workflow what option you will use to achieve a result.

Dale

[cherub Profile Private messageWebsite]

Guys, let's not complicate matters so much

The function that copies the end of a slide to the next slide, like in Gold, is:
Copy Last Keyframe to Next Slide (All Layers).

If you want to copy just one layer (out of many), then:
Copy Last Keyframe to Next Slide

The problem with this function, though, is that if you happen to copy masks too, then the masks become disabled, and you need to re-enable them. That's a small matter, I think, because you can always take the model from the slide that you copied from.

But, of course, this is just for the beginner level. Just to show you that Producer can work like Gold.
The proper way to do this in Producer, is described above by Debbie and by Dale.

If you give us the name of the slide style where you want to apply this pause, we can give you specific instructions on what to do exactly.

[debngar Profile Private message]

Guys, let's not complicate matters so much

The function that copies the end of a slide to the next slide, like in Gold, is:
Copy Last Keyframe to Next Slide (All Layers).

If you want to copy just one layer (out of many), then:
Copy Last Keyframe to Next Slide

The problem with this function, though, is that if you happen to copy masks too, then the masks become disabled, and you need to re-enable them. That's a small matter, I think, because you can always take the model from the slide that you copied from.

But, of course, this is just for the beginner level. Just to show you that Producer can work like Gold.
The proper way to do this in Producer, is described above by Debbie and by Dale.
-snip-.

Having to re-enable the masks is an important point. As an extreme example, slide style "Merge Madness" has 52 layers. That method copies all 52 layers to create another slide. Thankfully, (in that style) only the first layer mask has to be re-engaged to make it view properly for the desired paused image display. The other 50 layers (25 being masks) can be ignored in the duped slide. Also the transition time needs to be changed to "0" to get rid of the unwanted in-between slide movement.

[im42n8 Profile Private messageWebsite]

Hmmm. This "Copy" function is located in the lower left at the bottom of the Slide Options | Effect window.

I've never paid much attention to this particular "copy" feature (that is, it was "ignored"; in both Gold and Producer) ... I've gotten so involved with the other features that it never came up as anything I needed to bother with ... just more of the same. Wrong. It's more of the same AND THEN SOME.

It's a quicker way of copying settings, captions, and layers, however. It's also a little quicker way to copy settings of the selected keyframe to the next or previous keyframe.

Dale

PS, no matter how you do it, because ProShow copies a layer at a time, you are never going to get a mask set to copy to the next/previous slide as a mask set. That is, you're always going to have to re-enable any mask and re-select the mask depth (to re-enable the mask set).

[cherub Profile Private messageWebsite]

As an extreme example, slide style "Merge Madness" has 52 layers. That method copies all 52 layers to create another slide.

Debbie,
You made me look at that style "Merge Madness".
Why would you want to copy 52 layers to the next slide? You only need the last keyframe of the last layer that appears in the slide. That is layer 2 (named "duplicate 52").
So, the function that I mentioned before "Copy last keyframe to next slide" works perfectly.
You don't even need to copy the mask, because at the end of the slide, the mask covers the full screen and therefore, it does nothing at all.

You are right, I forgot to mention that you need a 0 time transitions between the slides. But, that's because that's the Gold method too, and that was already mentioned in the original question that nsd3
has asked.

[debngar Profile Private message]

You're right Mona. I was taking into consideration newbies that might not yet have a grasp of (ability to interpret) the more complicated slide designs and thought it easier to choose to copy them all than try to sort it out which ones they might need to make the pause. In that style example, it works to just copy one layer, but it's layer 2. In other designs, there might be a reflection, a background, an adjustment layer, other things behind/underneath the main image to make it look the same. It can be a pain (and time consuming) to sort through that, even for a seasoned user.

The white layer 1 mask serves a purpose in the first slide to prevent a skip motion in the last image displayed. I agree that it wouldn't need copying to the 2nd slide in that style - as you noted.

[cherub Profile Private messageWebsite]

You're right Mona. I was taking into consideration newbies that might not yet have a grasp of (ability to interpret) the more complicated slide designs and thought it easier to choose to copy them all than try to sort it out which ones they might need to make the pause. In that style example, it works to just copy one layer, but it's layer 2. In other designs, there might be a reflection, a background, an adjustment layer, other things behind/underneath the main image to make it look the same. It can be a pain (and time consuming) to sort through that, even for a seasoned user.

Yes, of course.

Actually, this thread made me recall a question that a customer of mine asked me, after he has upgraded from ver. 4.5 to ver. 5.
He was not a newbie, by any means, and nevertheless, he was still using this "Gold method" in some instances, because it's so easy.
Anyway, he was surprised that the copied layers looked a mess, and didn't understand why. It turned out that the mess was caused by the masks that became disabled when copied to the next slide. He was convinced that in ver. 4.5 this was not so, and wanted to report it as a bug to Photodex.
But.... surprise... ver. 4.5 worked exactly the same The masks become disabled when copied to the next slide, also in ver. 4.5

[debngar Profile Private message]

I prefer to use the add-the-extra-kf-at-the-end method. But I just stumbled on a reason not to use my method in some cases. Some more complicated slide styles have weird stacked/hidden KF at the beginning or end which can cause headaches. The KF can't be moved to see the others underneath even in the KF editor. They don't seem to be there for a purpose. So it looks to be a mistake. I know sometimes I've accidentally clicked and added a key frame by accident at times. Only way to get to the hidden ones in some cases is to delete the ones on top. But one never knows what they are changing in the process of doing that. The stacked KFs might be there for a reason, or not.

[cherub Profile Private messageWebsite]

Some more complicated slide styles have weird stacked/hidden KF at the beginning or end which can cause headaches. ...They don't seem to be there for a purpose. So it looks to be a mistake. .... The stacked KFs might be there for a reason, or not.

Debbie,
I think that what's happening is something else, altogether:
Most of the slide styles made by Photodex, have a default transition of 3 seconds. This is of course also the default of any new show that gets opened.
The motion effects usually start during the transition from previous slide, and they end during the transition to the next slide. In other words, there are keyframes that are placed, on purpose, during the times of transitions. I guess, they do this because they want to show some kind of motion during the transitions too. Or, if you wish, a kind of continual motion between slides.

I think that you, like me, don't use such long transitions normally, so inevitably, you shorten them by quite a lot.
So, the keyframes that are placed during those transitions, become stacked.

[debngar Profile Private message]

I think that you, like me, don't use such long transitions normally, so inevitably, you shorten them by quite a lot.
So, the keyframes that are placed during those transitions, become stacked.

Oh, I see. You're right in that I don't typically use long transitions times. I did a long time ago, then realized I could shave off quite a bit of show time by shortening them. My default transition time preference is set to 1 second. So that might explain why I'm seeing stacked KFs at beginning and ends in some cases. Thanks for that tip!

[cherub Profile Private messageWebsite]

Thanks for that tip!

You are welcome

[nsd3 Profile Private message]

Many thanks to you all for contributing to my question. I really appreciate it. After posting my question, I figured out I could use the “Copy Last Keyframe to Next Slide” option, and yes, masks become disabled in the process as Mona pointed out. So there is a working solution, not great, but better than nothing.

What surprises me is I’d have thought the ability to have a function “Pause Slide at end of Effect for x seconds” would be quite a useful feature to include in the ProShow products. Perhaps a special kind of keyframe that simply holds the look of the slide at the end of the effect for a specified amount of time before the next transition kicks in.

Kind regards to you all,

Steve