Power Tools is a button just above the time line. It is only visible when a clip is selected in the time line. __________________________________
CORNBLOSSOM

Quote: I bught power director 11. I bought a downloadable version and they are sending a cd. I cannot figure our how to stretch a video clip or make it into a time lapse. Everything that I see says to select power tools. I cant find power tools unless it is a picture inserted into the timeline. Do i need to upgrade to something else or is there something I am not doing? Helpme please.

The Power Tools work on stuff that you've added to the timeline, not in the media library. That's by design.

You can't stretch a clip. You can use the Power Tools to slow it down or speed it up, which will change its length, but you can't just grab it and pull.

Time lapse is a different thing altogether. So far as I know, you'd have to split your video into individual frames and delete most of them, keeping every 5th, 10th, or whatever. That would be pretty tedious. Time lapse is usually done by having the camera take a snapshot every so many seconds.

Jerry Schwartz

Thanks for the response guys. I am selecting the clip while in the timeline. As I stated before, I can see the powertools when I select a photo in the timeline, as soon as I select a .mts file in the timeline, the powertools button goes away. Does this sound like a softwear issue?
THANKS MUCH
Jason

Try moving the clip to a different track temporarily and see if it works, or click on a blank spot in the time line and then back onto the clip. If that doesn't work, save the project, close it and then reopen. __________________________________
CORNBLOSSOM

thanks so much. I will try that and report back.

Did both of the things you reccomended. I am going to uninstall and re-install and try again. Do you think that is the wrong thing to do?

Jsyens;
Have you modified the MTS file in the timeline (Like- split or edited the audio portion)? As this will cause the Powertools button to disappear when you select the Edited MTS in the timeline.

Can you attach a snapshot of the screen/timeline for us to see?

Time lapse is a different thing altogether. So far as I know, you'd have to split your video into individual frames and delete most of them, keeping every 5th, 10th, or whatever. That would be pretty tedious. Time lapse is usually done by having the camera take a snapshot every so many seconds.

Well, that's one way to do it. However, you can use PD11's Video Speed function to speed up your video by up to 1000x (once you get the Power Tools button to stay, that is

I did this last year for a video of me setting up Christmas ornaments, but PD10 could only speed up the video 10x max, so I had to render my entire 6 hour video at 10x, then open the resultant .mt2s file and speed it up 10x more. With PD11, you'll be able to do that all in one step. In fact, you can speed up 24 hours (1440 minutes) into just a minute and a half!

The Video Speed simply automates the removal of every x frames and gives you a great time lapse video, as you can see here.



Like FredB said, uploading a screenshot might let someone figure out what's going on. Just press and hold ALT + PrintScreen and paste the image as a .png or .jpg in your reply. I hope we can get the problem resolved soon!

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Hi Jsyens,

As FredB eluded to (re: modified audio), try this.

- Right click on the .mts file in your timeline.
- In the dropdown menu, choose… Unlink Video & Audio.
- Then click on a blank space in the timeline(s).
- Now click on (or highlight), just the upper “video” portion of your clip.

Does your PowerTools button now re-appear?
If so, we can then advise as to why the PowerTools and other editing buttons disappeared.


Click here PDtoots for a collection of PowerDirector Tutorials and Tips

Thanks to everyone for your eagerness to help! What a pleasant expierience. What I did was unistalled the softwear and reinstalled it. Yahtzee, it works fine now. Thanks for all the tips. When I am done learning, I will post something that I made. Thanks again so much

Quote:

Time lapse is a different thing altogether. So far as I know, you'd have to split your video into individual frames and delete most of them, keeping every 5th, 10th, or whatever. That would be pretty tedious. Time lapse is usually done by having the camera take a snapshot every so many seconds.

Well, that's one way to do it. However, you can use PD11's Video Speed function to speed up your video by up to 1000x (once you get the Power Tools button to stay, that is

Well, I certainly feel like an idiot.

For some reason, I never equated speeding up a video with time lapse photography. Jerry Schwartz

Quote: Hi Jsyens,
- Right click on the .mts file in your timeline.
- In the dropdown menu, choose… Unlink Video & Audio.
- Then click on a blank space in the timeline(s).
- Now click on (or highlight), just the upper “video” portion of your clip.

Does your PowerTools button now re-appear?
If so, we can then advise as to why the PowerTools and other editing buttons disappeared.

I'm having this same problem as the original poster, with my Power Tools and other editing buttons disappearing. Using the suggestions above, the buttons did re-appear. Can you advise as to why these editing buttons disappeared?

Thank you,
Kevin

Can you advise as to why these editing buttons disappeared?

Most likely a bug in the program. A program this complex is bound to have a few. __________________________________
CORNBLOSSOM

Quote:

Quote: Hi Jsyens,
- Right click on the .mts file in your timeline.
- In the dropdown menu, choose… Unlink Video & Audio.
- Then click on a blank space in the timeline(s).
- Now click on (or highlight), just the upper “video” portion of your clip.

Can you advise as to why these editing buttons disappeared?

Hi Kev921hs,

One reason may be that the audio in your video clip is changed from it’s original format, to the .wav format when you use "Save" in WaveEditor to modify your clip’s audio. So it appears that (in effect), the audio become separated from the video portion.
And thus the combination of these two results of editing the audio portion of a video clip in WaveEditor, causes PD to lose it’s way? I really don't know why.

I only know that by trial an error, I stumbled across the fact that if I didn’t first use the right click Unlink Audio and Video option, “before” I sent the audio to and from WaveEditor, then I would lose those editing buttons above the timelines.
So I am now in the habit of first separating the audio from the video when planning to use WaveEditor to modify the audio.

Perhaps a more tech astute member will chime in with a definitive answer as to why it happens in the first place. But right now I just go with the flow and do what I know will work.

Click here PDtoots for a collection of PowerDirector Tutorials and Tips