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Surprisingly, PD ignored the scaling. Everything else responded, but not PD.
BUT, I finally figured out what I did to make PD17 behave, and it works on PD21 as well.
So, for anyone else who finds this thread:
On the desktop icon for PD, RC > Properties
Go to the Compatibility tab
Select "Change DPI settings"
Under "High DPI scaling override", check the box and select "System" (actually, all 3 seem to work, but PD17 was set to "System", so, if it ain't broke...
Thanks for all your help, Optodata!
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Funny, it doesn't seem to have any effect on my system. Here's what I did:
Exited PD
Set display to 125%
Checked this by dragging another app onto the screen
Started PD, took screenshot
Exited PD
Set display to 175%
Checked this by dragging another app onto the screen
Started PD, took screenshot
Exited PD
They look the same.
So you change the display settings every time you use PD??
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I did some searching on this and can't find anything recent, so here goes:
I have a 3840x2160 monitor. When I start PD17 on it, the fonts are readable. When I start PD21, they're not.
Windows "scale" setting is 150% (Recommended), but changing this has no effect on PD.
I have a vague recollection (but no OneNote entry) on having done something to fix this in PD17 - maybe something OUTSIDE PD itself. Some windows setting, maybe?
Anyway, I cannot be the only person with a high-res monitor these days.
I noticed that PD21 starts (after the splash screen) on the monitor it shut down on, which is a big improvement from PD17, but having it start on the hires monitor has no effect on the menu text size.
How do I get readable menu fonts?
Thanks,
Paul Zimmer
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It was removed. You can still use Page Up and Page Down to toggle between. pref > Editing also provides an option to Switch to movie mode ........
Jeff
Interesting. Why'd they remove it? I seemed like I was always using those buttons.
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Moving from PD17 PD21 and I can't figure out how to switch the preview from "Movie" to "Clip". PD17 had a button for this, but it doesn't seem to be there in PD21. Is there some sort of "Advanced" button I need to click to get this back, or is there another way to do this now?
Thanks!
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Here's what I mean. Take a look at a regular PDS file in any text (or better, XML) editor and you can see the content locations like this:
On the other hand, if you use Pack Project Materials from PD's File menu, it "flattens" the folder structure and places a local copy of all content in the packed folder. In that case, no location info is saved:
The only way I can think of that you'd manually need to pre-change the import folder location is if you'd used Pack Project Materials when you originally saved the project - but now for some reason the PDS file is no longer located in the same folder as the related content.
I understand that PD keeps track of the path. And I want every path in there to be in the project directory (because other directories may not be there the next time I open the project).
That INCLUDES THE CACHE DIRECTORY.
I always edit the file paths before opening the project dir for two reasons:
1) As soon as I open an existing project, PD will start creating cache files in whatever directory it was last in. This is probably a waste of time and resources, as the cache files may already be there - in the PROJECT DIRECTORY for THAT project, where they belong. It also causes problems with cloud-based file systems (like OneDrive) because the "always keep locally" bit may be set differently on the REAL project directory and on the LAST project directory. The cache files don't belong in the previous project's directory. If you do this professionally, do you really want bits of video from one client to be stored in the project directory of another client?
2) Browsing for the target directory on each write only shifts the problem (you still have to navigate to the project dir, albeit with a MUCH better file browser than the one in Edit>Preferences>File) and multiplies the opportunities for error. Now, in the heat of video creation, I have to check the directory each time I save a snapshot. If I'm not careful, I'm going to end up saving a snapshot that belongs to one project in the directory of another. Yes, PD will find it when I reload IF the directory is still there and is available on that machine.
Anyway, I thank you for your answer. So, it seems that people use the tool mostly the way I do (saving project-specific stuff in the project directory), they just remember to navigate to that project when they write anything out.
Tedious and error-prone, IMHO. It seems so much more intuitive to store the default directories in the pds file. That's kind of what a "project" means.
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I just moved from PD17 to PD21 (having started with, I think, PD14) and I'm disappointed to find that my #1 complaint about the tool hasn't been fixed. I must be missing something. Why doesn't this drive everyone batty?
I currently have about 400 videos. I store each in a separate folder on my computer. That folder contains ALL project-specific data - source videos, snapshots, stills, audio, etc. Because of the way PD works, it also contains PD temporary files, although I wish it didn't.
Every time I want to revisit a project, I have to do Edit > Preferences > File and change the entries to point to the desired folder BEFORE I load the .pds. Why isn't this info stored in the .pds file itself? As I bounce back and forth frequently between projects, this is a real PITA.
Also, two default folders doesn't really cover what PD does. I can think of at least four distinct folders it uses:
1) Where it reads media files from
2) Where it writes PERMANENT files to (like snapshots)
3) Where it writes TEMPORARY files to (it's own caching files) <- don't power users want to direct this to their fastest disk???
4) Where it writes PRODUCE files to
I could split 1) into multiple pieces, but I'll leave it at that.
As this has never been addressed in all the years I've been using PD, I assume that I must be using the tool differently from most others. Do other people just dump everything in one giant folder? If so, how do you ever find anything? Or do people work on one project at a time and never go back to an old one?
Why doesn't this drive power users up the wall??
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Thanks so much!! Silly me, should have realized that adjusting the volume would be under "Dynamic Range Compression". ;=)
Not as good as the real-time slider in Audacity, but a whole lot better than all that back-and-forth.
Thanks again!
Paul Zimmer
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You can? How? Attached is what I see when I do RC > Edit Audio > Audio Editor.
I can select one channel, but I don't see how to adjust gain.
Thanks!
When I drag the slider on the bottom up and down, in "edit one channel" mode, it still adjusts both.
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Have you tried Audio Editor in PD17, it's part of basic PD17 with no additional purchase? Limited but you can boost the gain on one channel independently.
Jeff
You can? How? Attached is what I see when I do RC > Edit Audio > Audio Editor.
I can select one channel, but I don't see how to adjust gain.
Thanks!
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This has probably been asked and answered before, but I couldn't find it with search. Too much chafe related to stereo output.
In my videos, I bring in audio clips that are in stereo. I often want to adjust the R/L balance, but the built-in audio editing of PD 17 seems to lack this rather basic feature.
What I do now is pull the audio into Audacity, adjust the stereo balance, then write it out and import it into PD. Messy and time consuming.
If I buy one of CL's audio tools that links to PD, would that allow me to adjust stereo balance directly, without leaving PD?
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Yes. Those steps and the pack project materials step in the next paragraph. All are simple and should be quick to do, and hopefully we'll have more insight into what's going on afterwards.
OK, I did what I think you asked. I created two versions of the project, using the audio file directly downloaded from google drive. In one, I kept the data (where I stretched the audio). In the other, I deleted everything.
I then changed the audio file by pasting in a longer version and changing the name.
Then I re-loaded the (now messed up) with-data project file and write it out from Pack Project Directory.
I recorded all of this, so you can see what I did (it only took a few minutes). Those videos are in the uploaded zip file as well:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GjiSJTRejURQm4EjSLKPB1yaP2LWf3mJ
Thanks,
Paul
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Sorry, I got busy finishing a promo video I was doing for someone, and fell behind on this thread. Were you referring to this paragraph?
Now instead of avoiding the issue you'd actually rather pursue the root cause(s), be sure to take things in small steps and see where they lead. For instance, save 2 copies of a test project, one with the library contents saved and one without. If you're using the sample clips you've already shared, you can simply attach the projects here, and we can quickly check the PDS files for consitency and content.
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OK. That was a single idea and now we know it's not the solution.
What happens if you try the steps I suggested starting in the 3rd paragraph of this earlier post? Even though PD14 won't ever be updated again, I think it would still help to understand what's going on.
If the issue might be present in current versions, the problem can be reported and addressed by Cyberlink. If the problem turns out to be with your workflow, steps can be taken to avoid encountering the elephant, or at least reducing the likelihood of it appearing.
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Hey optodata,
Thanks for helping (I'm sure it took some time to put that together). Unfortunately, it didn't work. I did all the deletes, then started PD and went into one of the test directories that has the 24 sec clip. Loaded it - 48 seconds (silence at end).
Paul
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I've been working with Cyberlink tech support on a couple of issues recently, and I wonder if something I've learned might apply here.
Open up regedit and go to Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\CyberLink\MediaCache5 (if that key is present) and delete all the subkeys. Do the same thing for Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\CyberLink\PowerDirector14\MediaObj\MediaCache5 and then see if the elephant is no longer in the room...
(PD will regenerate the cache files whenever you import clips, so there's no damage from deleting these)
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Oh, and before you all conclude that PD simply caches based on path+filename - it's not that simple.
This morning I created a brand-new directory, copied the 24-sec mp3 into it, started PD, and it showed up as 19 sec long. I didn't have screen recorder running, and I haven't been able to reproduce it (this problem is squirrely).
When I get back from dance practice tonight, I'm just going to let the screen recorder run while I play around and see if I can catch it in the act. Then I'll pull the video into PD and cut down to just the problem.
Thanks,
Paul
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My apologies if this ends up being a duplicate, but I submitted it and, after several minutes, it hasn't shown up. Fortunately for me, I'm paranoid, and I did a ctl-a ctl-c before I hit the submit button...
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Unfortunately I think you're creating headaches for yourself by contining to reuse file and folder names.
But that takes us back to the subject of my original post - data management. It's hard to believe that a program that's been around as long as PD actually requires SYSTEM-WIDE uniqueness of file and directory names! Loads of new users are going to create a directory called, "Birthday Party", then move it to "Birthday Party - old" so they can create a new "Birthday Party". And loads of users are going to use the same background music in multiple videos. The only thing that makes sense, it seems to me, is to keep all project-specific data in a project-specific directory - and store that directory IN the project file. I'm still baffled. How do the rest of you structure your data? Do you really do all your work in a single directory? If not, do you change the preferences > files setting every time you switch projects? If not, don't you find it confusing to have your snapshots for all videos jumbled together in a single "export" directory? How do you clean out the unused ones? How do you FIND anything?
How do other people work with this tool?
In my particular case, I'm not free to name the directories and files any way I like. I create dance videos. Besides going to youtube, they're uploaded to a server - and that server has very specific naming conventions. I have scripts to build the data structure with all the correct naming. If I have to rename a file just to make PD happy, it creates a lot of headaches.
I know most people don't have this problem, but new users are NOT going to expect to have to use globally unique file and directory names. No other piece of software I've ever used has ever had that requirement.
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There are several ways that practice can come back and bite you unless you know where every possible cached copy resides, and it won't matter how many times you delete the original, because as soon as PD sees the same file name in the same folder, it will access the cached version.
A fundamental rule of caching is that it must be transparent to the layer above (in this case, the user). Most users don't even know what a cache is. It's the tool's responsibility to make the cache transparent to users. Your OS is caching your data at half a dozen different levels, but you don't have to worry about them. Cache coherency must be managed by the entity doing the caching.
I'm back to my original question: how have generations of users dealt with this? What am I missing? Surely there are other people with multiple projects who move back and forth between them. How could the tool STILL not save the relevant (local) directory information in the project file?
Thanks,
Paul
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To understand what's going on when you delete the files from the disk that are in your project's media library, and they somehow reappear when you reopen PD, please use this command to find out where the files really are located:
That's not what's happening. I haven't tampered with files that are IN a project file, I've tampered with files that were ONCE in a project file, but have since been deleted.
It's odd that, if the file is still in its original location, PD puts it BACK in the library, even though it was deleted from the library before the project was written. But that's just an annoyance (or maybe a clue as to what's really going on).
What I did was:
Read the file into the library, drag it to the timeline, modify it, then write out the project
Delete the file from the timeline and the library, and WRITE OUT THE PROJECT.
(project should no longer have any reference to the file)
Start PD again, and, poof, the file is back in the library.
I then exited PD, deleted the file and replaced it with another file of the same name with different content. That's when all hell breaks loose...
Paul
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A
I just tried the simple part of your test, importing an MP3 file into PD14 (14.0.4207.0) and using ctrl+shift to increase the duration/slow the playback speed. I tried it without saving the project, then again and saving the project, and again after adding it to the library, and I didn't see anything unusual. If I deleted the file, PD would prompt me to locate it. If I left the files intact, it always had the correct length.
Was this on PD14 or PD17?
Also, I assume you re-used the file name (which had been deleted from the project and so should be free for future use).
Thanks,
Paul
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Another way to see if there's something odd about your MP3 clips is to upload one to your Google Drive folder so other people can examine the details and test it on their systems.
That's easily done: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1bg1GkJ-GqBgMNULhsO8-PyQFRBZDOF0E
You'll obviously have to rename the "slowed down" one to match the original name to reproduce.
Paul
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Not generically, but mp3's have various flavors, some encoding settings have made some more challenging for use in PD and display symptoms as you observed, wrong duration. WAV usually very safe.
Try the suggestion as see if your "elephant" bug persists.
Jeff
wav seems to work. I did it twice, and it worked both times. This might be better than the convoluted workarounds I've been using so far.
My flow (more details in a later post) involves mp3's with a specific naming convention. But using wav as the "exception" case is simpler than my current workarounds (which, maddeningly, don't always seem to work).
Thanks!
Paul Zimmer
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