"Executable" show possible?

I'm not sure just what you are looking for here Duane, but have you tried creating an MP4 file? It can be played on any number of devices including a PC.

In ProShow, one of the publishing options is to create an executable show.  This means it is an executable file that runs on a PC and opens up to a menu for the project, just as if you were playing a DVD or BluRay.  But no media is required.  That's what I mean by an executable slideshow.  Full menu, multiple shows, etc., etc.  Do I need to send a link to an example? 

   Duane

@duane-calvin

Photopia uses "Standalone Show" output for the kind of PC-based playback you've described.  While the NPX format does require a proprietary player, available from the link below, this allows us to support both Windows (currently) and Mac (coming soon) systems with a single output file.

https://photopia.nl/downloads/

OK, that makes sense.  How are we to learn about these things with not even a basic "manual" available.  The tutorials are great for what they cover, but are far from comprehensive. (I have not yet subscribed to the paid tutorials yet, but am considering that unless a book or manual is in the offing.)  By the way, a "Google" search for the .NPX file format and got no useful results related to Photopia. 

   Duane

@duane-calvin

We agree that a comprehensive manual is needed, although I can't say when that document might become available.  It's certainly up there on our list.

I'm not surprised that Google doesn't have an entry for our NPX file format.  It's a relatively new format and those sorts of details are often slow to be updated / added, even these days, and are rarely complete at any rate.

Thanks, Joshua - I'll "make do" in the meantime, and will most likely purchase the video tutorials just to be sure I have a good footing in Photopia. I appreciate your timely responses!

     Duane

I too was looking for the .exe file option. I need the file to play automatically on a PC....can't make that happen with MP4. Any other ideas?

Hi Claudia - see Joshua's response, above, on 4/25.  It is doable, but requires a player supplied by Photopia be installed to "execute" a standalone show.  The player is a free download on the Photopia Downloads page. Hope this helps.  (As long as the player is installed, you can double-click the .NPX standalone file and it will play, almost like an .EXE file.)

@duane-calvin

Thank you for that. They are looking to give grandparents and some not so tecky non-local family members copies on a thumb drive which will start automatically for them. I don't think having to download the player is going to work for them . Thank you. I've looked at other software which seems to have that capability and went with this because I was a long time PhotoShow user. I assumed Photopia would have the same capability.

@claudia-bennett

I have similar problems with distributing shows to family.  I'm hoping I can walk them through the install of the player as it only has to be done once.  Potentially, you could distribute the player install package with the show, although that does make it more difficult for non-teckie's.  Because of some other problems I'm doing my current shows in Proshow Producer until they get some of these things ironed out.  All that to say you are not alone with this problem.

@claudia-bennett

Hi Claudia, while not the resolution you were looking for you might try publishing as a MP4 in Photopia and then dropping that MP4 into Producer and publishing as a executable program.

Bob

@robert-mcmurray

Hello Claudia,

Hello Robert,

thats a good idea, but only when the mp4 smaler than 2 GB are. ProShow can Publish-EXE only up to 2GB only, because this is a 32 bit Version.

I have the same Problem because my Show is 3Gb and ProShow can't do an EXE.

Best regards   Dieter

@claudia-bennett

I'm curious to know if you're able to get EXE output (from ProShow) to start automatically on many (Windows) systems after inserting a USB flash drive.  My understanding is that the feature necessary for that behavior is disabled by default in Windows, a security measure implemented years ago to deal with viruses spreading through malicious EXE files.

In our experience, EXE files present a number of notable challenges, from being blocked by nearly all eMail servers / clients (even some anti-virus applications) to being platform specific.  Our new NPX format will obviously work on Windows systems, in much the same way PX file output from ProShow functions, but is also designed for playback on Mac systems.  Providing cross-platform support was an important consideration in the design of this non-video-based output option, although certainly not the only factor in play.