Modifing slides

Introduction

The "Slide properties" dialog allows you to define settings for the slides:

This dialog is called by double-clicking the assembly zone of a slide, in the timeline

Description of the dialog

This dialog includes numerous zones:

Zones to the left correspond to settings for the slide and its shots
Zones to the right correspond to settings for blocks

To the left, at the top: the shots zone

The shots zone consists of a toolbar and a timeline.

The shot toolbar

	Append a shot to the end of the timeline
	Remove current selected shot
	Change the order of the shots by moving the current selected shot a step to the left
	Change the order of the shots by moving the current selected shot a step to the right

The shot timeline

TThe shot timeline shows the shots as thumbnails, in the order in which they will be played (from left to right).
For each shot, the thumbnail shows:

The shot duration
An image representing the shot at the end of its duration

The shot time setting zone

Shot duration	Indicate here the duration for the current selected shot. For the last shot of the slide, there is a minimum duration. The following rules are used to calculate the minimum duration of the shot: The total slide duration cannot be lower than the sum of the durations of the entering transition of the slide plus that of the transition to the following slide The total slide duration must permit complete play of the longest video sequence (time of breaks is taken into account) If you specify a duration lower than the minimum calculated duration for the shot, it is this minimum duration that will be used in place of the value which you specified.
Total slide duration	The total slide duration is displayed here. This duration takes into account possible adjustments for minimal duration of the shot as described above.
Name of the slide	Indicate here a name for the slide. It is this name which will appear on the thumbnail in the main window timeline.

To the left, in the middle: the composition zone

The composition zone allows you to move and interactively re-size blocks for the current selected shot.
The blocks of the composition are shown with a frame (to differentiate them from graphical elements in the background).
The current selected block is shows with control handles (small squares appearing at the corners and borders).

With the mouse:

To re-size the block, click one of the handles and drag the mouse with the mouse button down.
To move the block, click the block and drag the mouse with the mouse button down.

With the keyboard:

To move the block, use the arrow keys.
To change the size of the block, use SHIFT+arrows to move the upper left corner handle or CTRL+arrows to move the lower right corner handle.

To the right at the top: the block zone

The block zone consists of a toolbar and a block table.

The block table

The block table lists, from top to bottom, the current blocks in the slide.
Blocks are displayed over 3 columns:

The first column indicates the type of block (=Title, =Image, =Video)
The second column indicates the block which plays the sound during the shot : a icon appears for the block which has the sound
The third column indicates:

The text of the block, if it is a title block
The name of the file, if it is an image or video block

The active block is the current selected block in the block table. To change the active block, simply select a block in the list or in the composition zone.

Remarks on blocks:

Block order can change from one shot to another
Hidden blocks are shown in greyscale and italics

The toolbar

	Change the order of blocks by moving the active block upward (towards the background)
	Change the order of blocks by moving the active block downward (towards the foreground)
	Add a new title block
	Add a new image or video block. A file selection dialog appears allowing you to select a file (it is not possible to select multiple files.)
	Remove the current block
	Copy the current block to the ffDiaporama clipboard. The copy is made with the block parameters defined for the current selected shot.
	Copy the current block to the ffDiaporama clipboard and remove it from the slide The copy is made with the block parameters defined for the current selected shot.
	Paste block from the ffDiaporama clipboard and insert it.
	Click this button to make the active block visible or hidden. Note: Hidden video blocks are automatically paused
	Click this button to give the sound, during this shot, to the current video block. (This button is active only for videos.)
	Click this button to call the Edit text block dialog.
	Click this button to call the Image framing and correction dialog This button is active only for objects containing images or videos.
	Click this button to call the Cut video dialog This button is active only for objects containing videos.

Remarks on blocks:

All blocks, whether title, image or video, possess a text element.
During the insertion of a new block (Add title, Add file or Paste), the block is inserted:

In visible mode for the current shot and for all the following shots
In hidden mode for the shots located before the current shot
Always in the last position in the list of blocks (in the foreground)

To the right below: the tab Block/Object tab

This tab allows you to set the size and the position of the active block and its contents.

	Represents the horizontal position of the block from the left. This position is defined as a percentage (%) of the total width of the image or in pixels (for a 1080p screen) according to the unit defined in the configuration dialog.
	Represents the vertical position of the block from the top. This position is defined as a percentage (%) of the total height of the image or in pixels (for a 1080p screen) according to the unit defined in the configuration dialog.
	Represents the with of the block. This value is defined as a percentage (%) of the total width of the image or in pixels (for a 1080p screen) according to the unit defined in the configuration dialog box.
	Represents the height of the block. This value is defined as a percentage (%) of the total height of the image or in pixels (for a 1080p screen) according to the unit defined in the configuration dialog.
	Rotation around the Z axis in degrees.
	Rotation around the Y axis in degrees.
	Rotation around the X axis in degrees.
Shape	Allows you to select a shape for the block. The selected shape will be used as: a fusion mask for the images and the videos. A cutting zone for texts
Opacity	Opacity	Defines the opacity of the block. This value also applies to the text of the block.
Border	Thickness of the border	Defines the thickness of the border (This value is defined as 1/1080 of the height of the screen. A value of 10 corresponds to 10 points on a 1920x1080 FullHD screen, but only to 6 points on a 1280x720 screen).
	Border color	Defines the color of the line to be used to draw the border
	Line type of border	Defines the type of line (solid, dotted line, etc.)
Shadow	Shadow position	Defines in which corner the shadow will be positioned (Note: the position of the shadow is independent of rotation of the block: the right lower corner is always the right lower corner, whatever rotation is applied).
	Distance of the shadow	Defines the distance between the block and its shadow
	Color	Shadow color

Object :

According to the type of object, various contents are possible:

For an image or a video:

The name of the file. The

button allows you to change the file

Warning! If you replace a file (image or video) with another one with a different image geometry, you will need to review the image framing in all shots.

Geometry: allows you to select the geometrical constraint to be applied to the block. Three type of constraint are available:

Project geometry : The block will be forced to the geometry of the project (4/3, 16/9 or 40/17)
Image geometry : The block will be forced to the geometry of origin of the image or the video
Custom geometry : The block will be forced to the geometry defined in the framing dialog box.

Transformation : Apply a filter to the photo or video images. (Note: these filters apply to all the shots of the slide).
The following filters are available:

Equalize (Histogram equalization)
Despeckle (Noise reduction)
Gray (black & white)

Blur/Sharpen and radius :

Increase the blur with a negative value, using radius.
Increase the sharpen with a positive value, using radius.

For a title: Definition of a background brush for the shape:

No brush	The shape will have no background and will thus be totally transparent.
Solid brush	Allows you to select a plain color.
Pattern brush	Allows you to select: A pattern among one of twelve available A color for the lines of hatching
Gradient 2 colors	Allows you to select a gradient of 2 colors
Gradient 3 colors	Allows you to select a gradient of 3 colors
Image from library	Allows you to select an image from the library

To the right below: the tab Information

Display information on the block:

If the block is a title: show that it is a title
IIf the block is an image: show the EXIF values contained in the image
If the block is a video: show the information of size and format of the video

TV margins

Enable or disable rulers corresponding to the margins of television sets.

If the TV margins are enabled, rulers corresponding to these margins and to the screen center are shown. The mouse will be attracted towards these rulers.
This is valid both for block movements and for movements of the resizing handles.
In ffDiaporama, the TV margins are of type "Title safe area" and are defined on 90% in width and 90% in height, for all project geometries..
If required, this point can be improved in the future versions of the software!