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accurately positioning text
Last Post 01 May 2009 12:17 PM by Dick Akiins. 19 Replies.
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Dick AkiinsUser is Offline
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09 Feb 2009 05:32 PM  
I have some ideas for slide shows which require that text be accurately positioned from one slide to another. Guide/grid lines would be the answer, but I don't think they're available in SSB. Presently, I add a grid PNG with transparent background, position the text, then delete the PNG. Anyone have a better method?
Dick
College Heights Baptist
Manhattan, KS
Joel OsbornUser is Offline
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09 Feb 2009 05:57 PM  
If you want it in the same position, I start with a clone or copy the object to the new slide.
...Joel

Milton Seventh Day Baptist Church
______
"I'm working on my 5 year plan. I just need to pick a font." - Chuck
Dick AkiinsUser is Offline
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09 Feb 2009 08:45 PM  
Yeh, that works unless you are positioning one word out of a sentence. Then when you remove the excess from the clone, the word you want moves -- I want to place it exactly over the previous location. I don't know whether guidelines and grid lines has been a wish item or not. I searched but didn't come up with anything.
Dick
College Heights Baptist
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Joel OsbornUser is Offline
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10 Feb 2009 07:06 AM  
Is this some sort of fill in the blank? Or something more dramatic?
...Joel

Milton Seventh Day Baptist Church
______
"I'm working on my 5 year plan. I just need to pick a font." - Chuck
Tom JohnsonUser is Offline
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10 Feb 2009 07:25 AM  
Have you tried making that word a separate text object? Getting everything to line up the first time could be tricky but once you have your template nade it should work.
Tom
Dick AkiinsUser is Offline
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10 Feb 2009 07:43 AM  
It is a series of about 10 promises in scripture. Each slide begins with a word or two representing the entire scripture. This initial phrase is bold and a little larger than the rest of the text (which follows). After a few seconds the rest of the scripture fades in around the representative phrase and all zoom in slightly (maybe 10%). Finally all the text disintegrates.
Example text, 1 Cor. 12:27. Each one of you is part of
Christ's body.
So "Christ's body" would be first on screen and then the rest would fill in around that. The initial and final locations of "Christ's body" must be very close to avoid a distracting jump in the presentation. I find this a very effective method in a number of situations.
Dick
College Heights Baptist
Manhattan, KS
Joel OsbornUser is Offline
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10 Feb 2009 08:34 AM  
Sounds great.

I've had problems doing things like that with Powerpoint, with grids and such. It's just not that exact.

I end up using a solid color background behind the text and putting the text I don't want to see in the background color initially, then copy the object and have it show up in a contrasting color when I want it to appear. That way the spacing of the original visible text was set correctly.

I'm not sure how I'd do it with the 10% zoom and all that. Sound like you need Adobe After Effects.
...Joel

Milton Seventh Day Baptist Church
______
"I'm working on my 5 year plan. I just need to pick a font." - Chuck
Dick AkiinsUser is Offline
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10 Feb 2009 12:53 PM  
Joel, I can do what I want, but it's messy. I made a couple of grids (one white and one black) on transparent backgrounds. I add one of those to the slide with all the text and then clone it and remove the unwanted text. Next, I position the 2nd slide (with all the text) so that the outstanding word(s) is on convenient grids marks. Then go to the first slide (with just the key word) and position it exactly as on the 2nd slide. I can then delete the grids and add motions, etc. In order to get the text to dissolve, I add a separate text box with a single letter which I make transparent. There's a lot of stuff along these lines I wish for --- but all in good time?
Dick
College Heights Baptist
Manhattan, KS
Gary PresleyUser is Offline
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10 Feb 2009 06:23 PM  

The best I can tell you is to use the object properties to set the top and bottom of each object to the same level, layer each word (in its own object) under the word in the full phrase, and tweak the left a little at a time - as you check the live display. It takes a while but it is how I created this.
http://www.iamgap.com/welcome.ssppak

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_(___/_(___(__/___/_
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Dick AkiinsUser is Offline
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10 Feb 2009 06:53 PM  
iamgap,
Thanks for the suggestions and the example. I find that the use of an over-laying grid is very helpful and eliminates a lot of going back and forth trying to get the locations just right. That's especially true in my case where the word on the first slide must exactly match the position of the word on the next slide. If SSB had grid-lines it would be even better since there would be no chance of the grid itself moving from one slide to another.
Dick
College Heights Baptist
Manhattan, KS
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11 Feb 2009 04:10 PM  

Unfortunately, I have found that a grid doesn't always work. If the Screen resolution changes, it somehow changes how SSB displays the object. When I changed my output from 800x600, to match the resolution settings of the video switch, it changed the alignment of the words. I then had to go back and tweak the alignment. Also... If you copy the slide I attached to a new SSB, the alignment is all off again.

I don't know if the is a product of SSB now using percentages or not, but I don't remeber having this problem when you could actually set pixel locations for object positions.

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   /      )  /      )    /      )
_(___/_(___(__/___/_
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Dick AkiinsUser is Offline
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11 Feb 2009 04:23 PM  
iamgap, unfortunately you are exactly right. When took my accurately positioned text slides to the projection computer, they were no longer registered correctly -- close, but not good enough. It is strange (to me) that when a slide is cloned, changed slightly, and then registered with the original that it would be "un-registered" on another machine.
Dick
College Heights Baptist
Manhattan, KS
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07 Apr 2009 08:01 AM  
I submitted a wish about this, but it is waiting for updated software in "wish heaven," so I thought I would show an example of what I would like to do in hopes that someone might have a way to get it done with the present edition.

I saw this at my daughter's church and am guessing it was done with AfterEffects, but not sure. This is just one clip from about a dozen or so -- I thought is was a very effective technique with music playing in the background. I can get everything done (up to the exploding text), but can't find a way to register the text accurately.
Any suggestions??

CLIP
Dick
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Joel OsbornUser is Offline
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07 Apr 2009 08:15 AM  
I'd bet that is AfterEffects, although you can do some of that with Flash.

SwishMax is a low cost Flash animator with some interesting effects and a free trial.

And SSP will show flash animations (SWF) with the flash module installed.
...Joel

Milton Seventh Day Baptist Church
______
"I'm working on my 5 year plan. I just need to pick a font." - Chuck
Dick AkiinsUser is Offline
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07 Apr 2009 09:55 AM  
low cost Flash animator


It looks like $100 to me .... that's past my "low cost" limit.
Dick
College Heights Baptist
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07 Apr 2009 10:14 AM  
Sure enough. It was the upgrade that was only $30. The bare bones version used to be $35 or so, but I guess that was years ago.

And back then, $35 was beyond my definition of "low cost"
...Joel

Milton Seventh Day Baptist Church
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"I'm working on my 5 year plan. I just need to pick a font." - Chuck
Dick AkiinsUser is Offline
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07 Apr 2009 12:05 PM  
I'm working on doing it with BluffTitler, but it would be so much easier in SSB if only we could count on the positioning to be accurate when fading in one image over another. I was hoping someone had discovered the "magic" of doing that.
Dick
College Heights Baptist
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JasonUser is Offline
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01 May 2009 11:13 AM  
Just installed the trial version of "Atrise Golden Section", turned it to a standard grid, and set transparency.  It looks like it will work great in laying out items.  It's shareware ($19.95 I think).

www.atrise.com


Dick AkiinsUser is Offline
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01 May 2009 12:05 PM  
Ffunky, thanks for info. Will this work with SSB? I'm going to look into it myself.
Dick
College Heights Baptist
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01 May 2009 12:17 PM  
I just looked over (briefly) this software. It looks like it is nice for positioning items on one page, but my problem is positioning the same text on two (or more) pages so that the text doesn't "move" from page to page. I can position text perfectly with my own grid system, but when it is projected, there are small, but very noticeable, shifts in the text position from slide to slide. It seems to be something to do with SSB/SSP. As an example, you can put a dot or period at the very same location on two slides which have other text and/or backgrounds and when they are shown, one after the other, the period will be in slightly different locations.
Dick
College Heights Baptist
Manhattan, KS
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12 Mar 2010 11:11 AM
RE: Does December 2009 Edition Support Unicode? by dreece in User Support - V7

We understand the need for this, and work continues under the hood torward that goal. We will be sure to make it well known once this capability is supported.

12 Mar 2010 10:00 AM
RE: some avi's kill SSP by George in User Support - V7

All AVI files are not created equal....

AVI is a wrapper format that can contain audio and video in just about any format, created with just about any CODEC.  Part of the problem is that once in the AVI wrapper it is not obvious what file encode types are being used.  It is possible that either the audio or the video in the AVI file is not supported in SSP.

That said, even if something is not supported we would expect that we can make notification or at least exit gracefully without SSP dying.

Dick - If you can contact the support team they can verify the behavior and get one or two of the files you are using for testing. 

12 Mar 2010 09:49 AM
RE: Bug in 2/26/10 build by akins in User Support - V7

I might add to what George said by directing you to "presets" for songs and other items. We use somewhat similar formats for songs and scriptures each Sunday and I have "preset" these for quick application. I then can make modifications as desired for a particular Sunday.

12 Mar 2010 09:44 AM
RE: How to use ssptimer files by akins in User Support - V7

Just select the type you want (5 min, etc.) from the list and place it in the program. You can then edit the timer changing font, size, color (just two), placement, and two lines of text. Actually, the editing choices are fairly limited and have been the subject of wishes for sometime, but you can usually play around and get a decent look. Right clicking on the timer in the program and selecting "display properties" at the top of the list will allow you to add background color, images, and/or videos and you can apply "advance effects" to any of these.

11 Mar 2010 11:18 AM
Right-Click copy/paste menu does not work in PPT song import panel (TS098) by George in Troubleshooting

Symptom:
During a Song import from PPT the right-click menu is no longer available in the Slide Text box when importing song text from a PPT.  This may cause difficulty in editing content. Import is still possible and text entry and deletion are possible, only the right click menu is affected.   

Possible Cause:
Unknown - the root cause of this is still under investigation.
 
Possible Solution:
Import is still possible and text entry and deletion are possible.  The CTRL-X, CTRL-C and CTRL-V keyboard shortcuts work as well.  If a significant change in the arrangement of the text in the PowerPoint file is needed, this can be done using Microsoft PowerPoint. 

(TS098)

10 Mar 2010 05:37 PM
December 2009 Edition - Bug Fixes (SSP070) by George in SongShow Plus Issues

There are some previously reported bugs that have been fixed in the December 2009 Edition:

  • Drag and drop in Win XP was broken and fixed in the Beta cycle. 
  • Quick Message was broken and fixed in the Beta cycle. 
  • Live Video was broken and fixed in the Beta cycle.  This fix was an improvement of the previous patch that was required to use the Live Video Plug-in.
  • An issue with nvidia driver version 196.21 that broke the SSP Beta on XP was corrected.
  • Print Slideshow and song list selection spinners grayed out
  • Builder re-run error causing file browser to open unexpectedly.
  • H.264 issue with playback of .m4v, .mp4v, and .mpg4 video corrected.
  • Path displayed incomplete when adding sub-folders to panels.
  • Snowflake Wipe transition not working as expected.
  • Font selection when editing text in the Slide Show Builder not working as expected.
  • Background Improv folder navigation and state save corrected.
  • Monitor options placements selector not working as expected.
  • CTRL-V does not paste copied objects as expected in Slide Show Builder.

(SSP070)

10 Mar 2010 03:05 PM
H.264 videos or thumbnails may cause SSP to be unstable and lock up (TS097) by George in Troubleshooting

Symptom:
H.264 Video or thumbnails may cause SSP to be unstable and lock up when added or viewed.  

Possible Cause:
It appears that there are some H.264 video that can cause trouble in SSP. At this time this is very rare, however, the root cause of this is still under investigation.
 
Possible Solution:
This was discovered using movie trailer files that would play fine in applications other than SSP.  At this time there is no solution but it is best to try a different file to make sure it is not a wider issue.  Please contact the Support Team and provide the video file for analysis. 

(TS097)

10 Mar 2010 11:56 AM
RE: Audio clip doesn't restart when slide show restarts by George in User Support - V7

Hmm - Interesting...

I just tried this using blank slides entered as program elements and got the same expected behavior I described before.  Are you using "blank" blank slides (default blank slide is black color only) or do you have something else set for your blank slides?

I would say at this point if the behavior persists and you can duplicated it, contact the support team so they can do a remote with you and actually see what is going on.

09 Mar 2010 05:59 PM
RE: SSP Version 5.5 with SongSelect Online by iamgap in User Support - V5.5


I too would recommed that you backup/archive/zip your current R-Technics folder and install the evaluation of version seven. If the PC cannot handle it, which I doubt, do a complete uninstall of Version 7 and go back to version 5.5.

It is my understanding that version 7 is much more stable, and can function more efficiently on an older machine than version 5.5 can.

09 Mar 2010 05:52 PM
RE: 32bit vs. 64bit by iamgap in User Support - V7 on Windows 7


To add yet another fly into the ointment...

I didn't realize that my MoBo has a 4 year old (2 yr older than the mobo) chip on it (intel 945). So even though the processor and motherboard can support up to 4 GB of RAM, the chipset can only address 3.2 GB of RAM.

What I am most upset about is that the board advertised that it could support up to 4 GB of RAM, but didn't say it could only address 3.2. Had I known that, I wouldn't have bought this board. Time for an upgrade. Now I gotta find a board that supports the RAM that I just bought for this board.

09 Mar 2010 10:47 AM
Video file types supported in Video Chain (MI016) by George in Media Issues

The video file extensions that are supported in SongShow PlusTM for the Video Chain tool are a subset of the video file extensions that are supported in SSP globally. 

Keep in mind the required codec/filter still needs to be available on the system for proper playback of these file formats.

  • Video Clip (*.avi)
  • Video (*.mpg4)
  • Video (*.mp4)
  • Video (*.m4v)
  • Video (*.mp4v)
  • Video (*.mov)
  • Movie Clip (*.mpg)
  • Movie Clip (*.mpeg)
  • Movie Clip (*.mpe)
  • Movie Clip (*.m1v)
  • Windows Media Audio/Video File (*.wmv)

If some of the listed types do not appear in the Video Chain panel, review the instructions for selecting visible video types in the KB article MI010.

(MI016)

09 Mar 2010 08:11 AM
RE: SSP loses audio when run with PowerDVD by norvilles in User Support - V7

Ah. Never would have thought that those two things would go hand in hand.

09 Mar 2010 07:30 AM
RE: Cinematic Effects Collection: Easter Special from GoFishMedia by osborn4 in Latest News

And if you have multiple projection licenses, one purchase covers all of them.

08 Mar 2010 03:26 PM
RE: Animated GIF Support by pgulezian in User Support - V7

Cool!! I wonder when they'll finally add this as a feature??? I also wonder WHY it hasn't been added in the past. It just seems like a "No Brainer", because it's a basic feature to support. ESPECIALLY, because we're dealing with a projection type of program. Like I said, PowerPoint supports it and probably has for years... I guess it just confuses me as to why it wasn't always a part of SSP, being the awesome program that it is. GIF's MUST be harder to deal with than I think.

Thanks for your reply.

07 Mar 2010 02:04 PM
RE: Troubleadvancing through a program by osborn4 in User Support - V7

If you can reproduce it, I'd contact tech support.

You might want to try installing the latest release to see if that shakes anything loose.

05 Mar 2010 04:12 PM
RE: Resizing rotated graphics by Lucas in Beta Test Support

To me that makes perfect sense, cause it's keeping the image in the correct aspect.

05 Mar 2010 12:27 PM
RE: SSP Crashes when adding a song by KingsleyUMC in User Support - V7

Update 3:

I have updated to the december release. It appears the problem has gone away for the time being. I noticed there was an update in the visualitation'S .dll . Also this machine is 4+ years old. I wonder if the video card might not be beefy enough for the improvements you have give the program during that time. I did run the hardware test and it didn't have a problem with the card.

Well, the problem is under control for the time being. Let's let it die.

Tim Goldsmith

03 Mar 2010 12:10 PM
RE: December 2009 Edition Released by norvilles in Latest News

No problem.

Also I tested on Windows 7 64bit and Windows XP 64bit.

02 Mar 2010 03:50 PM
RE: Exporting slide show from one computer to another by iamgap in User Support - V7


As Joel said, add the slide show to a program, save the program, and then Package to Go.

You can also save the SSB to an external drive, and you can copy it to another computer. The down side to this is all the linked files (images and videos) will need to be copied also, and then pasted to a relative location on the other PC.

02 Mar 2010 03:14 PM
RE: Computer Setups by norvilles in The 'Wave Pool'

Well I see what you mean.
There is the debate between Linux, Mac and Windows. Then there is the debate between what Distro.

But Linux is becoming increasingly popular. You see it more and more often on the laptops of those setting in StarBucks.

But, all I'm saying is that if SSP could open up to the different platforms, that would be great.

And there will always be bugs in programs, no matter what. That is unavoidable.

Unless its a simple:

class Driver {
static void main(string[]args) {
System.out.println("Hello World");
}
}

SSP News

09 Mar 2010 07:30 AM
RE: Cinematic Effects Collection: Easter Special from GoFishMedia by osborn4 in Latest News

And if you have multiple projection licenses, one purchase covers all of them.

03 Mar 2010 12:10 PM
RE: December 2009 Edition Released by norvilles in Latest News

No problem.

Also I tested on Windows 7 64bit and Windows XP 64bit.

05 Feb 2010 08:13 PM
December 2009 Edition, 2/4/2010 Candidate Release by dreece in Latest News

The 2/4/2010 candidate test release of the December 2009 Edition of SongShow Plus is now available to current subscribers.

  • XP/nVidia driver problem is resolve.
  • Single core use is now the default. Users can still switch to multi-core mode.

Read What's New for a more complete list of new features and enhancements. Subscribers can also visit the Beta Test Support forum to post feedback and questions regarding the beta version.

You can download the beta test installation from within SongShow Plus using the menu command Update > Check for Beta Version Updates  or by going to http://www.songshowplus.com then to the Download page.

29 Jan 2010 03:40 PM
December 2009 Edition, 1/28/2010 Candidate Release by dreece in Latest News

The 1/28/2010 candidate test release of the December 2009 Edition of SongShow Plus is now available to current subscribers.

  • Various bug fixes. 

Read What's New for a more complete list of new features and enhancements. Subscribers can also visit the Beta Test Support forum to post feedback and questions regarding the beta version.

You can download the beta test installation from within SongShow Plus using the menu command Update > Check for Beta Version Updates  or by going to http://www.songshowplus.com then to the Download page.

 

22 Jan 2010 03:31 PM
December 2009 Edition, 1/21/2010 Candidate Release by dreece in Latest News

The 1/21/2010 candidate test release of the December 2009 Edition of SongShow Plus is now available to current subscribers.

  • Added configuration option to enable/disable multi-core support (for support purposes, the default is multi-core support enabled).
  • Fixed missing Ctrl-V keystroke for Slide Show Builder.
  • Fixed problem when Video Playback Settings is used for the first time with a video file (introduced in the first beta build).
  • Fixed spin controls for absolute monitor placement settings.
  • Fixed problem that could occur when selecting transitions in the Display Properties window.

Read What's New for a more complete list of new features and enhancements. Subscribers can also visit the Beta Test Support forum to post feedback and questions regarding the beta version.

You can download the beta test installation from within SongShow Plus using the menu command Update > Check for Beta Version Updates  or by going to http://www.songshowplus.com then to the Download page.

 

 

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