Frequently Asked Questions

I bought my license at KAGI but PhotoPresenter doesn't recognize the license information. How do I install my license?

If you bought your license at Kagi Online Store your license information will look like this:

Name: PhotoPresenterUser-** or PhotoPresenterFamilyUser-** Serial Number: PAN0100001-***

Please don't enter a Username that differs from the original Username sent by email!

To install the license correctly:

• Start PhotoPresenter
• Click Enter Serial Number… in the dialog box appearing after launch
• Enter you license data from above. Due to technical reasons the user name you have to enter is not your real name. The name is always PhotoPresenterUser-** or PhotoPresenterFamilyUser-** followed by a number.

I would like to share a screen saver with somebody else. How can I do that?

When you export an animated slideshow as a screen saver by choosing the menu item Share > Screensaver, a screen saver is created and placed in the folder ~/Library/Screen Savers. The screen saver only contains the Quartz animation, but not the image files (so to avoid unnecessarily duplicating pictures and consuming your disk space).

If you want to share the screen saver you've created with someone else, here is a workaround:

• Share the .qtz file corresponding to the exported screen saver located in your folder ~/Library/Screen Savers with your friend
• Your friend should then place this file in the same directory of his computer.

Your friend can then tell the screen saver where to look for images (which allows him to use his own images if he wants).

• In Apple Menu > System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver > Screen Saver, select the screen saver from the list (probably somewhere in the middle) and click Options.
• The last option, at the very bottom, is called Folder Path. Edit the value and enter the location of the folder containing the images to display during the screen saver, such as ~/Pictures/My Screen Saver/ (note that subfolders will not be searched).
• Click Done and you're all set.

It takes very long to export an animated slideshow. How can I speed up the exportation?

As always, there is a trade-off between the speed of the exportation process and the quality of the exported movie. Here are a few things you might want to try to speed up the exportation:

• Choose the exportation as QuickTime (so that you have the control over all parameters; you can always add later your exported slideshow into your iDVD project or your iWeb site)
• Reduce the frame rate (i.e. the number of frames per second)
• Reduce the video size
• Choose a static slideshow style (such as “Random”, “Modern”, etc. as opposed to “Ken Burns”, “Aquarium”, etc.) that only animates the transition between slides.
• Make sure that the slides are not displayed for too long
• If the movies are too long, try to exclude them from the slideshow

PhotoPresenter crashes when I export a slideshow. What can I do?

First of all, we're really sorry that you're experiencing some problem with our software. We do really our best to ensure the best possible quality. Nevertheless, it's almost impossible to guarantee that a program is absolutely free of any bug. Here are a few things you can try, which some users have reported to be effective in resolving the instability of the software — at least on their computer:

• Try exporting without music. (Music can be added subsequently with other software such as iMovie.)
• If you have any third-party components for QuickTime (such as x264Encoder, mp4vEncoder, etc.), try removing them before exporting again.
• Try exporting shorter slideshows. (You can then use other software such as iMovie or QuickTime Player Pro to compile together the several smaller sequences you've exported.)
• PhotoPresenter doesn't work wioth Safari 4 DP2

In any case, we're currently working as hard as we can to fix this issue!

Bug Report
You can help us by sending us the log files, which contain information that can help us better understand the reason of the problem, and give us a bit of information about how the crash occurred (What animated style were you using? How many elements were you trying to export? etc.). To do so, simply choose the menu item Help > Send Bug Report or Feedback

PhotoPresenter seems to freeze when I export a slideshow. What can I do?

Exporting a slideshow with many pictures or with long movies can take quite some time.

If the progress slider doesn't move, it probably means that you're trying to export so many elements that the whole exportation will take hours to complete. Try selecting only a few elements that you want to export (e.g. one album, or a couple of pictures), make sure that the display duration of the slides is not too high, and try again.

If PhotoPresenter seems to “freeze” during an exportation, your slideshow most probably contains a movie. When a movie is being exported, the progress slider will slow down, as each frame of the movie needs to be rendered (whereas for pictures, only the transitions needs to be rendered).

At the end of the exportation, i.e. when the progress slider turns into an animated barber pole.

PhotoPresenter is appending all the music to the exported movie (which can again takes some time for very long slideshows). If PhotoPresenter seems to “freeze” at this point, try exporting a slideshow without music.

PhotoPresenter crashes. What can I do?

First of all, we're really sorry that you're experiencing some problem with our software. We do our best to ensure the best possible quality. However, it's almost impossible to ensure that a program is totally bug-free. The best thing you can do is help us with reporting the bug you're encountering (see below).

Bug Report
To report a bug, simply choose the menu item Help > Send Bug Report or Feedback. Log files contain useful information that can help us better understand the reason of the problem. We collect all the log files to speed up the process of fixing the bug, and treat them confidientially.

I can't add a picture or a movie into my slideshow. PhotoPresenter tells me “Some Files Ignored”. What shall I do?

Make sure that the file has the correct extension. PhotoPresenter should recognize all common picture and movie extensions (including “mov”, “avi”, “mpeg”, “wmv”, etc.).

I can't open a folder with PhotoPresenter. Why is that?

The only folders that PhotoPresenter will prevent you from opening are the folder that are inside your iPhoto library (since the elements are already available from the iPhoto library item).

PhotoPresenter displays a yellow warning sign “Missing File”.

PhotoPresenter cannot find or open the original file for the slide. Possible reasons include that the original file has been moved, renamed, deleted or is located on a volume that is not mounted on your computer.

Another possible reason, if it is a movie which gets replaced by the warning sign, is that the format of the movie is not recognized by QuickTime (which PhotoPresenter uses to play movie). In this case, you need to install some plugin so that QuickTime can play the movie (e.g. Flip4Mac for .wmv movies).

Some of my movies are truncated during the slideshow. How can I fix this?

Make sure that you didn't assign a custom display duration for the movies. You can easily check this by looking whether the movie thumbnail.

To remove the badge and restore the default display duration:

• Select the movie(s) with a badge
• Choose Window > Show Adjust Inspector
• Click Reset to Defaults

I need to rotate some pictures in my iPhoto or Aperture library. Why can't I do that with PhotoPresenter?

PhotoPresenter aims at being a simple and easy-to-use slideshow viewer that complements iPhoto and Aperture. For safety reasons, PhotoPresenter will never modify the contents of your iPhoto or Aperture library.

If you want to rotate an image in your library, simply use iPhoto or Aperture. When all your photos are oriented correctly, you might then want to use PhotoPresenter for a great slideshow experience that complements the slideshow options of iPhoto and Aperture.

I have lost my serial number. What can I do?

Just send us an email and tell us the email address you have used for purchasing. We will reply with your license information.

I want to rotate a picture outside my iPhoto or Aperture library. How can I do that?

Double-click the thumbnail of the photo you'd like to rotate, which should open in Preview. You can then choose Tools > Rotate Left or Rotate Right to adjust the orientation of the photo.

We plan to add a feature in a future release that will allow you to rotate photos outside your iPhoto or Aperture library.

Can PhotoPresenter display a slideshow with random animated styles?

Yes. On the one hand, there is a style “Random” for basic transitions. On the other hand, you can download and install the PhotoPresenter Scripts, and select the item “Random Animated Slideshow” from the Scripts menu in PhotoPresenter.

Can I assign different animated styles to individual styles? Can I export a movie with different slideshow styles?

No. An animated slideshow can only use one style at a time. The workaround described above works only for onscreen display (i.e. not for exportation), and does not allow to specify different styles for individual elements.

I want to automatically/manually advance to the next slide.

Simply select the option Play each slide for XX seconds in the slideshow settings.
During the slideshow, you can simply hit the Spacebar to toggle automatic and manual advance to the next slide.

Can I speed up or slow down the slideshow while it is running?

Sure! Keep the Shift key down and hit the Arrow Up or Arrow Down key to increase or decrease the duration of each slide.

Is there a version of PhotoPresenter available for PC?

No. The reason is that PhotoPresenter extensively uses technology that is only available on Mac OS X Tiger.

You can however easily export and share your animated slideshows with just anyone, on Mac, PC or Linux.

What are the known issues and bugs of PhotoPresenter?

• PhotoPresenter sometimes crashes while exporting an animated slideshow
• The duration of the slideshow does not always match the duration of the music (option “Fit slideshow to music”)
• Aperture keywords and comments are not displayed

What are the limitations of PhotoPresenter?

• PhotoPresenter requires Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). There is no version available for previous version of the system.
• PhotoPresenter is only a slideshow viewer: it never modifies your iPhoto or Aperture library. If you want to modify your photo library (e.g. rotate, rate or edit photos), use iPhoto or Aperture.
• PhotoPresenter aims at being a simple and easy-to-use slideshow viewer. If you're looking for a slideshow editor, where you can exactly define your timeline, precisely adjust your Ken Burn (pan and zoom) effects, and modify all sorts of parameters, you need a professional slideshow editor, such as FotoMagico.
• PhotoPresenter only plays music from your iTunes library.

How do I uninstall PhotoPresenter?

You simply need to trash the following elements:

• The application PhotoPresenter
• The folder ~/Library/Application Support/PhotoPresenter
• The folder ~/Library/Cache/PhotoPresenter



Note
~ indicates your Home location, that you can access from the Finder by choosing Go > Home

I have difficulties entering my name and the serial number. PhotoPresenter tells me “Invalid Name and/or Serial Number”.

The name and the serial number that you have to enter are indicated in the e-mail you've received. Now launch PhotoPresenter and choose PhotoPresenter > Register, click Enter Serial Number, and enter these values in the corresponding fields.

Important
Enter the name and the serial number exactly as indicated! To avoid any typo, copy and paste the name and the serial number from the e-mail. Make sure that you do not copy and paste unwanted characters. Do not try to enter a different name!

What are the limitations of an unregistered copy of PhotoPresenter? What features will be unlocked after I register PhotoPresenter?

These are the limitations of an unregistered copy of PhotoPresenter:

• A kind reminder “Please register PhotoPresenter!” is displayed during the slideshows
• The duration of an exported slideshow is limited to 15 seconds.
• The number of pictures exported as a screen saver is limited to 5.

PhotoPresenter does not launch, or freezes during start up. What can I do?

You might want to try the following:

• Disconnect your computer from Internet.
  It sometimes happens that PhotoPresenter get locked while trying to check if any update is available. You can turn the automatic check for updates off from the preferences.
• Remove all connected devices.
  PhotoPresenter might be scanning an external drive, thinking that this is a digital camera (before showing it in the source list).
• Delete the preference file.
  This is the file named ch.arizona-software.photopresenter.plist and located in the folder ~/Library/Preferences (where ~ stands for your Home directory).

Need assitance
If you need assistance, do not hesitate to contact us. A very useful piece of information is the following:

• Launch the utility Activity Monitor (located in /Applications/Utilities).
• Select PhotoPresenter from the list of processes.
• Click the button "Sample Process"
• Save the sample and send it to us.

What will I receive after purchasing PhotoPresenter? Can I download a free trial version of PhotoPresenter?

You should first download and try the free trial version before purchasing it. After purchasing PhotoPresenter, you'll receive a name and a serial number that you can enter in PhotoPresenter to unlock all the features of the full version. We do not ship any item.

Can I share a slideshow with someone else, or with a PC? Can I burn a DVD with my slideshow? Can I export a QuickTime movie from PhotoPresenter?

Of course! Just choose the menu item File > Export. If you want to export a slideshow so that it can be viewed on a PC, choose to export a QuickTime movie. Make sure that the persons with whom you share your slideshow have QuickTime installed on their computer. For more information on how to export a QuickTime movie, a slideshow for your website, for a DVD, or as a screen saver, read the corresponding section of the Help.

Can I export and share a standalone slideshow viewer?

This feature isn't available yet with the current version of PhotoPresenter, but we plan to include this feature in a future release. For the moment, you can simply export your slideshow as a QuickTime movie, and share it with your friends and associates.

How can I improve the quality of exported slideshows? What are the optimal parameters?

There is always a trade-off between quality and size of the exported QuickTime movie. There is thus no “optimal” values for the different parameters. If the exported slideshow is blurry, move the Quality slider (in the export settings window) to Better Quality. You might also try a different compression format (for instance, H.264 produces movies that are more crisp than DV).

Hint

We suggest to first export a slideshow with only a few pictures to make sure that the format, quality and other settings that you can choose fit your desire.