Slideshow Q&A

 

This answers most of the questions we've been asked about slideshows. If you run PMView and try each question in order, you can also learn how to use most of PMView's slideshow features.

 

 

Q. How do I create a slideshow?

 

A. Select "File-> New-> Slideshow" to take you to slideshow mode. Select File Open, and drag the files you want to PMView's main window.

 

In fact, you can skip the "File->New->Slideshow". If you drag more than one file at once to PMView's main window, it will take you to slideshow mode (if you aren't there already) and add these files to the slideshow.

 

 

Q. How can I change the order of the slides?

 

A. Drag them around. If you drop one slide on top of another, it will be inserted directly after that slide. (Moving a slide to the beginning of the slideshow takes two steps: First, drop it on the first slide. Second, drop the first slide on it.)

 

 

Q. How do I run a slideshow?

 

A. Choose "Run All" from the slide show's popup menu, or type Alt+R.

 

(To get to the slideshow's popup menu, right-click in a blank area of the main window).

 

By default, the slideshow will run full screen, and the slideshow controller will be visible. You will have to move to the next slide manually, by either pressing the right arrow key, clicking the right mouse button, or pressing the PLAY button on the slideshow controller.

 

 

Q. How can I hide or unhide the slideshow controller?

 

A. During the slideshow, type Alt+C to toggle the controller's visibility. Of course, you can also click the close button on the controller to make it invisible.

 

To start with a hidden slideshow controller, right click in the main window, then unselect "View->Show->Controller".

 

 

Q. How can I quit the slideshow?

 

A. You can click your middle mouse button (if you don't have one, you can click both left and right buttons simultaneously), or you can hit your Esc key. If the controller's visible, you can click the STOP button.

 

 

Q. How can I save the slideshow?

 

A. Choose "File->Save" (or "File->Save as").

 

Slideshows are saved with an extension of *.SHW. Note that a slideshow is a plain ASCII text file, so you can edit it with your favorite editor. The only restriction is that you may not modify the first line; it has to be left exactly as is, or PMView won't recognize the slideshow properly.

 

 

Q. What if I don't want to run the slideshow full screen?

 

A. Right-click in the main window, then select "View->Preferences". This takes you to the Preferences Notebook. Go to the slideshow page and turn off "Run full screen".

 

During the slideshow, you can toggle in and out of fullscreen mode by typing F3, or left double-clicking on the image.

 

 

Q. What if I don't want to have to move to the second slide manually?

 

A. Right-click on the first slide to bring up its popup menu. Click "Settings". In the group that says, "Advance to next image", choose "Automatically after" and specify a number of seconds. Then, when you run the slideshow, PMView will move to the second slide after the many seconds.

 

 

Q. What if I don't want to have to move to the third slide manually?

 

A. Right-click on the second slide to bring up its popup menu, then follow the instructions above.

 

 

Q. Hey! If I want each slide to stay on for 5 seconds, do I have to change every slide by hand?

 

A. You can, but there's an easier way. Set up the first slide for five seconds. Select all the other slides (you can type Ctrl + / to do this). Right-click on the first slide, then choose "Copy Settings" (don't click on the arrow). Choose OK, and all the slides will now be automatic with a 5-second delay.

 

What if you only want a 5-second delay on the first, third, and fifth slide? Set up the first, select the third and fifth (via Ctrl+left click, as with any other container) and right-click the first slide's "Copy Settings" command.

 

 

Q. What are the other settings for a slide?

 

A. The "Notes" option lets you type notes about the slide. These notes will be saved when you save the slideshow.

 

If you select "Display Notes", your note will be displayed in a window while that slide is shown.

 

You can copy any or all of these settings by selecting "Copy Settings", as explained in the previous question. To choose which settings get copied, click on the arrow to the right of "Settings", and select the settings you want to copy. (This is much easier to do than say.)

 

 

Q. What are the other commands for a slide?

 

A. "Remove" will take the slide out of the slideshow. "Run" (on a slide, not on the main window background) will let you "run" just that slide (to check its note, for example).