INTERACT FORUM

There's this program called Media Center that'd work.  I'll try to dig up a link

There's this program called Media Center that'd work.  I'll try to dig up a link

I think that I have done a fairly good job of letting it be known on this board how completely sold I am on Media Center.  

I have also done my part to talk it up to as many people as possible.  I'm not sure if I've sold any copies for you though, at least not yet.

I just want to be clear that I am NOT trying to take anything away from MC.  I'm just looking for a little app that I could include on all my photo cd burns so I could fire up a slideshow whenever/wherever I wanted too.

Try IrfanView. It lets you burn your slideshow on CD and adds the app to view it.

It's easy and free.

http://www.irfanview.com/

Try IrfanView. It lets you burn your slideshow on CD and adds the app to view it.
http://www.irfanview.com/

I didn't know Irfanview could do that.  I'd still rather do all my burning from MC.  

I don't even want to set up a slideshow.  I just want a little app that will show all the pictures in a folder (including subfolders) in a simple slideshow.  

Maybe I'm really looking for something that will auto run a slideshow when inserted in a pc using all the pics on a disc.  Maybe you could just hit esc to get out of it and you could then navigate the disc like normal.

I'm thinking of something Easy Enough For Grandma to Use, that would also leave the files untouched on the disc and available for copying etc.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.  I'm not sure that I've found the answer yet.  It seems to me that I was given a disc that did this a long time ago but I don't know when/where/who etc. anymore......

P.S.  Matt - I knew you were just messing around....

What about something like ProShow Gold - it build VCD and SVCD discs which will play slideshows in your standard domestic DVD player (provided that it support DVD and CD R/RW discs.

It can also create standalone executable slideshows, streaming web shows etc etc.

Can't recall the link right now, try a Google..

I have used Second Nature Slideshow for over 10 years.

http://www.secondnaturecd.com/2nd/

It is free & very stable.

It has 15 slide effects which can be individually turned on or off.

It is a great screen saver with hot spots for activation.

You can select any image & make it your wallpaper or have the wallpaper change using many methods.

You can add your own text to show up on the top of an image.

Try it, you will like.

I proposed those features to Matt and JimH several times, but they seem deaf about that, or just moved my wishes somewhere at the bottom of their priority list.

We just have our own set of priorities.  They may not match yours.

Doc,
Can you be specific about what you think MC lacks?

Jim

Hi Jim;

Thanks for not taking it the wrong way.  Not trying to be negative or anything, just saying it as I see it.

It's a little hard to state exactly, but ACDSee is just a lot easier to use.

Some of the things I really like about ACDSee are...

* The database building is totally automatic.  The user does not have to import anything, simply put the mouse on the folder & the images are automatically added to the database.

* Adding new images to an existing folder are automatically added to the database with no intervention required by the user.

* Thumbnails can be of any infinite size which is very nice as I can make them fit in exactly the space I allow in the right side of the screen.  Also, the thumbnail border can be of any infinite size.  I also have complete control over what data shows up on the thumbnails such as image size, file size, file name, file date, etc.  I can also control the height to width ratio of thumbnails plus many more things.

* Printing images in ACDSee are wonderful.  The selection of options & print choices are very good.  Besides picking paper size & orientation, the user can choose how to print... Thumbnails, Fit to page, Position on page, Specify size, Number of columns, Number of rows, Add Header, Add footer, Add caption to printed image, and many other choices.  The amazing thing is all this is done with a simple right mouse click then select Print.  All of this is on the older v 5.0.  For 6.0, ACDSee added many more print choices but I do not yet have it.

* Image viewing in ACDsee is much faster then in MC.

* Slideshow is very easy, Ctrl S or right mouse click & select Slideshow.  You can select all images in a folder of only selected ones to appear in the slideshow.

* The number one thing that originally sold me on ACDsee (way back in v 2) was how it interacts with any file manager.  If I am in Explorer, PowerDesk 5, or any image window such as a Windows folder view, I can double click on any image & it will instantly appear full screen.  This is where ACDSee really shines... if I press the Escape key I am taken right back to the file manager, however, if I press the Enter key ACDSee loads with the image so I can edit it. Very slick indeed.

* When you double click on an image ACDSee uses a separate but well integrated image program that allows you to do some amazing things with viewing an image.  It is also lightning fast.

* ACDSee is also one of the only image managers that will directly view some very obscure image formats such as the one used by Second Nature *.SNX images.

* Any editor can be added to the ACDSee Activities menu & the right click menu.  I have added Adobe Photoshop to the right click menu.  This is simply a wonderful thing as Photoshop then appears to be an extension of ACDSee.

* I can scan an image very easily from a TWAIN icon which I added to ACDsee.  Any TWAIN device such as a scanner is automatically added to ACDSee when the scanner is installed.  Again, similar to Photoshop, the scanner appears as an extension of ACDSee & makes ACDSee the heart of all of my image management.

* ACDSee has a lot of image specific plug-ins available, some free & some for sale.  This again makes ACDSee the heart of all of my imagining management.

* ACDSee is the MC of imaging... very powerful with a lot of different looks, different layouts, different front ends.  There are at lease three default looks that can be set; it can be configured as a basic very simple looking layout called Classic (taken from the v 2.1 classic ACDsee).  Even though the look may be simple, all the power is still there as the menus have all the commands present.  There are two other looks each more complex.  You can also customize the look as virtually all items can be selectively turned on or off so everybody can have ACDSee just the way they want it.  I know we had talked about doing something similar to MC a while back & would really love to see that happen in MC 11.

* Batch renaming is very slick & extremely fast & easy; is all done with the right mouse click.

* Similar to MC, ACDSee Options are very powerful except it is all for image management rather then for music.

* ACDSee will also pay music & videos pretty well but there is no way it will ever replace MC as it is above all an image management program.

* I don't see MC & ACDSee as competitors but rather as complementary to each other... MC the music king & ACDSee the image king.

* There are so many neat things about ACDSee that the only true way one can really appreciate the power of the program is to use it over a long time frame.  Every time I think I can't do something in ACDSee I later find it can be very easily done (once I know how).

Well Jim, I hope this helps & I look forward to your thoughts on this subject as image management is as important to me as is music

Doc,
Thanks for the list.  We'll take a closer look at this, but a couple of comments:

* The database building is totally automatic.  The user does not have to import anything, simply put the mouse on the folder & the images are automatically added to the database.

In Explorer, you can right click on a directory and do MC/ Import.

* Slideshow is very easy, Ctrl S or right mouse click & select Slideshow.  You can select all images in a folder of only selected ones to appear in the slideshow.

Same in MC, except you press the Play button or hit Enter or double click.

* I can scan an image very easily from a TWAIN icon which I added to ACDsee.  Any TWAIN device such as a scanner is automatically added to ACDSee when the scanner is installed.  Again, similar to Photoshop, the scanner appears as an extension of ACDSee & makes ACDSee the heart of all of my image management.

This is under Acquire Images in MC.

"This is under Acquire Images in MC."  Can we have an icon for this ?  Did not see one.

Click on the Camera icon in the Action Window.  Then select the scanner.

Jim;

I started another thread...

Some Thoughts on MC as an Imaging Manager

Hope you don't mind

I couldn't find where I could designate with MC9.1 a specific monitor for the playback ... as if, the primary monitor would provide my thumbs display and GUI, but wanting to send the SS, and normalize image size, to my TV.

That can be done with 10.0.  Try searching for Jaguu's posts.