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Topic starter
15/01/2020 4:13 pm
I am trying to make this work, I honestly am. But it seems everytime I figure out one thing then another thing happens, or doesn't.
Today, with some time on my hands it was time to have another go with Director.
1. opened director and cleared out any slide shows from there, then went to directory c:\users\andy\documents\photopia slide shows\ and noticed that the show names were still there but with no data. Cleared them as well so it was now an empty directory.
2.Closed everything down and restarted pc so as to clear everything out and get a fresh start.
3. imported a .psh file which loaded (director named it ProShow Slideshow) and put the data (images etc) in the directory in 1. above.
4. checked that directory in windows file explorer and all the images etc were there. Note only the images I had just imported show in windows.
5. went to Director and lo and behold in the browser window of director, in the above mentioned directories most of the image files were from an old show which I had deleted or at least thought I had deleted. Some files were the right ones but it seems that using the same file names in different shows causes a problem? Maybe the director browser is not being cleared when deleting shows or the programme is referencing somewhere else and picking up the file name even though it is not for that show, thus not showing correct files.
6. closed the show and closed/opened director 3 times to no avail.
I had noticed this previously but put it down to me not doing something right. but this is now the 3rd/4th time I have noticed glitches like this. It seems that sometimes Director is (maybe) still reading from the original .psh file and its directory rather than it's own files???
What I had noticed previously was that if I imported a show from Proshow and then swapped the image files in the Photopia data directory directly that it did not work.
This is not helpful at all. Often if using existing shows as a template I will import everything and then swap images out by doing it in bulk directly in the file directory. I will use the same file names and do a replace file.
I have already sent a similar mail to Photopia a couple of days ago when I first noticed this.
Don't know if anyone else has seen this?
21/01/2020 4:04 pm
We are currently looking into this issue, which appears to be caused by a conflict it the media caching logic. Your screenshot here is helpful in identifying the exact manifestation you're seeing. We'll reach out if we need additional information / content.
Topic starter
21/01/2020 5:16 pm
Certainly seems to be a conflict in where the data is being referenced to/from.
Director collects the files and makes a new directory in the user/documents/photophia folder and I was under the impression that when a show was re-opened that that is where it went back to pick up the files. But it seems not to be the case. It seems to be referencing the original files or elsewhere!
Maybe an option to tell Director to reference these files/folder rather than original files is required.
I also note that there is a folder /Program Data/Photopia/AVCache/ImageEntries which collects ALL images used (renamed) and seems to have an index which points back to the documents folder image.
Why are images in this ImageEntries folder not deleted if the show is deleted? It can end up with a load of what should be redundant files and just use up space unnecessarily.
Cheers
A
21/01/2020 7:01 pm
Andy, have you tried using the “Save As” and giving a new name to see if it still looks to the original? I have not had the problem you described but I always do a save as. Throwback to Jennifer’s templates.
Bob
Topic starter
21/01/2020 8:32 pm
To be honest Bob I can't remember if I have nor not. I have done all sorts of things to try and figure this one out so probably have but will definitely give that a go tomorrow anyway.
It is not only when using .psh shows though. This will happen with a show from scratch. I can make a show, save it and close it then swap a couple of image files in the data file but when I open it up it will revert to the original files. Even when I have changed the directory those files came from! I do think that the cached files in the program data directory is the culprit but I am not a coder so not sure.
I have played with it so much now that it is starting to blur so will have to document it better tomorrow.
The problem for me is that I regularly use existing shows as templates and just swap out the images directly from the directory as it is so much quicker than going through each slide. I can then tweak the slide where required. It saves a heck of a lot of time when the show might have a couple of hundred images or more in it.,
A
Robert McMurray reacted
Topic starter
22/01/2020 2:09 pm
Bob,
Spent the morning going through this issue trying to see what was happening. Got about 3 pages of notes on what I have been doing.
It does not matter where or what name I save the show under or even if it was an imported proshow or a new one made in director.
When you make a show there are various index and data files produced also they cache ALL image files in the Program data and these are not deleted if you delete the show.
There is a file called imgindex.dat which keeps coming back to haunt me. When the original show is made this would appear to hold the original info on where the files were and the equivalent cached file.
Deleting the show or changing the location of the files does not seem to change this file. If the file is deleted then it is then possible to delete and replace files with no issue but, and it is a big but. If the original location and file is still on the computer then it will go back to that. Even after deleting this file 2 or 3 times it kept coming back and always came back with the original information on it. I don't know where it picks this up from though.
I used a usb drive today for the image files. Originally if I left the USB attached then it would mess things up. I changed the location and name of the show 2/3 times but each time I swapped the image files it would end up going back to the USB.
If the USB was removed then not a problem. But I did notice that even with no USB that the imgindex.dat file would keep appearing and the info in that would refer to the original usb files!!!. So if that was a folder on the computer then it would always refer to and go to that.
I am a user not a coder so I can only look at the obvious things which are wrong not the engine of the programme but it seems they have an issue with the cache and stuff not being deleted or changed when the shows are changed.
I will let the experts look but as it stands I don't trust it to do what I want.
I am currently working on a show which will be about 45 minutes in total playing time and I have to do the same show with 4 different sets of images. The easiest way to do this is to get the first one running then just do a quick replace of files. In Proshow it is easy but I would have no confidence doing that in director as it stands.
Cheers
A
22/01/2020 5:31 pm
22/01/2020 7:22 pm
That's a good call. This problem IS at the top of the list (along with a few other issues), have people working on it right now, in fact. 8)
22/01/2020 7:49 pm
This is all good information for our QA team. Please look for an eMail from us with additional questions. Thank you.
07/09/2020 11:34 pm
I am experiencing the same issue. I do memorial slideshows for a funeral home. Several times I have needed to change or edit once I watch the show or occasionally the client may receive it and request a change. However if my completed show is gone and my original unedited show is there I can't edit the completed show. Is there a way to open a previous save that would have the completed show? If this issue isn't fixed I will have to find a new program. This is my business which is why I pay for the program. I'm still annoyed they got rid of proshow.
Nicole
08/09/2020 12:32 am
Hi Nicole, Jennifer from Choice Slides did a video about this a few months ago, take a look and see if it helps.
https://choiceslides.com/blogs/photopia-tutorials/q-a-updating-edited-images
Bob
08/09/2020 4:29 am
Please reach out through the Contact Us form on our website if you're still having trouble opening completed shows. We'll likely need to do a bit of troubleshooting to see what's going on.