Digital Workshop

I have just started wirking on a training package. The first page loads no problem, it has oen image and one line of text, both with transitions and teh page has a transitions on close. This works as it should, no problems.
The page is set to adavnace to teh next page from Page properties with a set time delay of 7 seconds.
The next page I inserted an interactive gif, set to repeat, this too loads OK and runs as it should.
I created an audio file and set this too to be run from the page proeprty on Show. So far everyuthing works well.
I then inerted some text, made them initially hidden, then gave them time delays to appear.
When I try the page, it will not run, if I try to run both pages, the page transition does not happen, the screen shows black after the first page completes and even if I wait up to a minute, the second page does not appear.
I removed the text, still the same problem.
I removed text and sound, no better. The only way I can get it to work is to delete the page and recreate it, but as soon as I enter text, the same oproblems recur. Is this something I am doing wrong, is it a bug, or is it a limitation of Opus. I am running a Pentium 4 with 1 Megabyte of Ram under XP.
Kind Regards,
Tom

Hi,

Thank you for your enquiry.

I suspect that this may be a problem with the transitions you have used to show the text objects.

As you may be aware, setting a transition to Exclusive forces it to the top of the processor queue and all other processes (including video and audio playback and other animations and transitions) are ignored to display the transition as smoothly as possible.

However, if you have two objects showing at the same time, both using exclusive transitions, these transitions end up fighting for processor attention and the publication may lock up.

I would recommend opening the properties of the text objects, selecting the Transitions tab and ensuring that the Exclusive option is not checked. Now preview the publication and you should find that all objects appear in the expected order without problems.

I hope this helps. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further queries.

Kind regards,

Many thanks Robin, it now looks like I intended it to. I had to delete the page as even with all tranitions removed, the page would still not display. I recreated it gradually, adding content and checking at every state, it is now compete and works as it sould if I remove the exclusivity.
Kind Regards,
Tom

Tom --

First, Merry Christmas!!! Using each Object's "Initially Hidden" and "Show After" features is one way of making different Objects appear at certain times. Another, more sophisticated way is to use a Timeline to Show Objects at specific times. I prefer this method, because when you need to make minor adjustments, you can simply "nudge" a "Show" in the proper direction. You can also visibly see the length of Transitions, and over ride the Default Transitions -- all from one place.

The next level of sophistication involves using "Sync to End", and "On Shows" to trigger other Object's appearances. This is especially helpful when the viewing computers could possibly be older/slower models which may mess up critical reveals (Example: audio runs slow/fast). Each Object will have a Transition, which upon full completion, will then trigger another Object to appear. (I hope this makes sense.)

After you have experimented and built several complex presentations, I'm sure you will have a greater appreciation of these "tips." It sounds like you are off to a good basic start. Try my suggestions, which should take you to the next OPUS level. Good luck! It's a GREAT product with lots of different ways to accomplish similar tasks.

Fred,
Merry Xmas to you too! Many, many thanks for the help and suggestions, I will certainly give them a go.
Kind Regards,
Tom