Videowave Improvement Suggestions

[Brian68]

Hi there. I don't know if this is the right place to post this or if this will ever get back to the development team, but I'd like to make a few suggestions on improvements to Videowave.

 

1. Provide layer control for the tracks. In other words, add the ability for the user to select each track (overlay, text, effect, etc.) and say move upward or to the top or bottom. Allow me a way to decide that the text should be on top of a picture. Or overlay #2 should be on top of overlay #3. Allow me to change my mind later and have overlay #3 on top of overlay #2 without having to totally rebuild the slide from scratch.

 

2. I spend most of my time adding text to each slide, not text to the entire production. In the right-click menu give two options for adding text: "Add Text to Production" and "Add Text to Slide"

 

3. Provide a way to change the duration of all the slides at once. I want to change the duration of all the previously added slides to be 8 seconds instead of 5 seconds, for example. I seem to remember that an earlier version allowed me to do this. Videowave 2010 either cannot do this or it is hidden real well. Right now I have to select each slide one by one and change its duration. That is a pain in the behind.

 

4. Lastly, for now, a comment. I find the help function to be nearly worthless. I have yet to search for anything and actually find it.

 

I'm sorry if I'm sounding a little grumpy here, but I've spent the last three days fighting with suggestion #1. I hope that some of this is fixed in 2011 (though I doubt it).

 

Thank you for allowing me to make some suggestions and vent a little frustration.

Brian

[Willard M]

Brian,

 

I will grant that some of the commands are somewhat hard to find but most of what you want to do is included.

 

Starting with #1 It doesn't really matter whether one overlay is numbered before or after another. It only matters how you have selected them to open or close. In Timeline (The best choice for managing overlays.)Highlight the panel with the overlay or overlays. Click on Internal tracks. You can then drag each individual overlay to the desired start stop position you require. YOu can also, with the panel highlighted use the slider bar to position overlays. After adding the first overlay slide the bar just a little past the start of the overlay. Adding the next overlay will cause it to be positioned in the selected order. See attached. You will notice that Leonard 2 will open before Steve. It only matters on how you have arranged them

 

#2 I Don't understand the question.

 

#3 In Timeline. Highlight any panel. Right click. From drop down box select trim-Select time. Click on Apply to All Still Images.

 

#4 I don't have an answer for that one except to say that this is an excellent program and most of what you want is there. Keep on diggin'

 

Some of the gurus may have other and better answers for you but this is what works for me.

[bimicher]

Hi there. I don't know if this is the right place to post this or if this will ever get back to the development team, but I'd like to make a few suggestions on improvements to Videowave.

 

1. Provide layer control for the tracks. In other words, add the ability for the user to select each track (overlay, text, effect, etc.) and say move upward or to the top or bottom. Allow me a way to decide that the text should be on top of a picture. Or overlay #2 should be on top of overlay #3. Allow me to change my mind later and have overlay #3 on top of overlay #2 without having to totally rebuild the slide from scratch.

 

2. I spend most of my time adding text to each slide, not text to the entire production. In the right-click menu give two options for adding text: "Add Text to Production" and "Add Text to Slide"

 

3. Provide a way to change the duration of all the slides at once. I want to change the duration of all the previously added slides to be 8 seconds instead of 5 seconds, for example. I seem to remember that an earlier version allowed me to do this. Videowave 2010 either cannot do this or it is hidden real well. Right now I have to select each slide one by one and change its duration. That is a pain in the behind.

 

4. Lastly, for now, a comment. I find the help function to be nearly worthless. I have yet to search for anything and actually find it.

 

I'm sorry if I'm sounding a little grumpy here, but I've spent the last three days fighting with suggestion #1. I hope that some of this is fixed in 2011 (though I doubt it).

 

Thank you for allowing me to make some suggestions and vent a little frustration.

Brian

 

#1 If you want to have overlay 3 to appear over overlay 2 then simply set the transparency for overlay 2. There is no need to shuffle overlay tracks. I don't understand what you mean by "text should be on top of a picture"

#2 is easy. Simply add the text to the internal text track of a slide.

#3 Willard has shown you how simple it is to change the duration of all slides at once. Actually most of us do not like this feature, we prefer to have the ability to select the duration of only some slides. This of course would also include all slides.

 

Basically all of your "suggested improvements" have been in the the suite for several versions already.

[Jim_Hardin]

Hi there. I don't know if this is the right place to post this or if this will ever get back to the development team, but I'd like to make a few suggestions on improvements to Videowave.

 

1. Provide layer control for the tracks. In other words, add the ability for the user to select each track (overlay, text, effect, etc.) and say move upward or to the top or bottom. Allow me a way to decide that the text should be on top of a picture. Or overlay #2 should be on top of overlay #3. Allow me to change my mind later and have overlay #3 on top of overlay #2 without having to totally rebuild the slide from scratch.

 

2. I spend most of my time adding text to each slide, not text to the entire production. In the right-click menu give two options for adding text: "Add Text to Production" and "Add Text to Slide"

 

3. Provide a way to change the duration of all the slides at once. I want to change the duration of all the previously added slides to be 8 seconds instead of 5 seconds, for example. I seem to remember that an earlier version allowed me to do this. Videowave 2010 either cannot do this or it is hidden real well. Right now I have to select each slide one by one and change its duration. That is a pain in the behind.

 

4. Lastly, for now, a comment. I find the help function to be nearly worthless. I have yet to search for anything and actually find it.

 

I'm sorry if I'm sounding a little grumpy here, but I've spent the last three days fighting with suggestion #1. I hope that some of this is fixed in 2011 (though I doubt it).

 

Thank you for allowing me to make some suggestions and vent a little frustration.

Brian

I understand your frustration but it stems from you having not learned HOW to use the software…

 

1: ’Overlay’: pretty well self explanatory… the higher the Overlay Number, and it lays over everything before it.

 

To be able to move it from one track to another would add a level of confusion, Just that Effect or the Whole Track?

 

And of course the ability to move the individual Effects from Track to Track has been there all along…

 

2: Most of my text is Production wide, not limited to one photo… hence the option to accommodate both of our needs plus the ability to jump between each as needed has been provided.

 

3: Always been there, as Willard pointed out. What we have been whining about, for years is the ability to select multiple photos or transitions and change the timing of just those!

 

4: Goes back to being familiar with the program… You have to ask the right question.

 

I am looking for information on how to change the time of Photos & Transitions. Look how asking the right questions moves things along:

 

time?

 

duration?

 

Notice you use the word "Slide" a lot in your posting... Search with that word instead of "Photo" and you will get nothing! Pay attention to what the program calls something because that will carry into its' Help files

 

A Visual quickie on Cut, Copy & Paste:

 

I want to swap Overlay Tracks with ‘Binoculars’ & ‘Blur’…

 

 

Select ‘Blur’, right click and Copy:

 

 

Click on destination Track then right click and select Paste:

 

 

Now do the same for ‘Binoculars’ (insert point will be at scrubber location)

 

 

Click and Ctrl-Click on the 2 to be deleted:

 

 

Lastly, select the ‘moved’ ones and drag them to where you want…

 

 

This is complex stuff, don't expect a program to be easy

[Simeon11]

Thank you all for your help!