In This Issue...
Impatica for PowerPoint Version 4.0.2
Desktop and handheld software now support Palm OS 5 smartphones.
Impatica is pleased to announce the release of Impatica for PowerPoint Version 4.0.2, which offers support for smartphones running Palm OS 5. This release marks another milestone for Impatica's flagship product, Impatica for PowerPoint, as well as the Impatica ShowMate.
Requirements for Palm OS Smartphones:
- Current Palm Smartphones with:
- Palm OS 5
- Bluetooth enabled
- Software verified on 680p, 700p and 755p smartphones
To check your eligibility for a free upgrade to Impatica for PowerPoint Version 4, please visit the upgrade eligibility page on our website.
Odd BlackBerry File Names Explained
When Impatica for PowerPoint creates content destined for a BlackBerry device, it changes certain characters in file names to a BlackBerry friendly format.
Here is a breakdown of the BlackBerry file name character replacements:
- A space is replaced with an underscore "_"
- A hyphen "-" is replaced with "0x2d"
- An open bracket "(" is replaced with "_0x28"
- An underscore is kept
- An at sign "@" is replaced with "0x40"
- A number/hash sign "#" is replaced with "0x23"
- A dollar sign "$" is replaced with "0x24"
- A percentage sign "%" is replaced with "0x25"
- An ampersand "&" is replaced with "0x26"
- A closing bracket ")" is replaced with "_0x29"
Given that, a PowerPoint file named "My-PowerPoint File.ppt" will be renamed "My0x2dPowerPoint_File.cod" for BlackBerry output.
In addition, if the file name does not start with a letter, number, currency symbol or commenting punctuation, then an underscore "_" will be appended to the file name.
For example, a PowerPoint file named "(_@#$%&).ppt" will be named _0x28_0x400x230x240x250x260x29.cod
There may be other characters that will be replaced with similar replacements. If you see this in an Impatica file, examine the original PowerPoint file for non-alphanumeric characters. Remove these characters from the file name if you do not want to see this type of replacement occur.
Non-BlackBerry Output Character Replacements:
The naming convention is different for files destined for any other type of mobile device. In all other cases, the non alpha-numeric characters _?@#,&%"> and spaces are replaced with hyphens "-".
So, a PowerPoint file named "My-PowerPoint File.ppt" will be renamed "My-PowerPoint-File.imp" for Sony Ericsson and Windows Mobile output and "My-PowerPoint-File.pdb" for Palm OS output.
A PowerPoint file named: "(_@#$%&).ppt" will be output as "(---$--).imp" for Sony Ericsson and Windows Mobile output and "(---$--).pdb" for Palm OS output.
Coming soon - Project BlackBerry Screen Contents with Impatica ShowMate!
The ShowMate is a small, lightweight device to project impaticized PowerPoint presentations and now BlackBerry screen contents wirelessly from a handheld.
The ability to project what's on the BlackBerry screen offers ShowMate users the following benefits:
- Demo a BlackBerry application or solution more effectively
- Deliver in-depth training of a BlackBerry application
- Travel laptop free!
It's the ideal solution for trainers, public speakers and sales people alike.
How does the screen projection work? Connect the pocket-sized ShowMate to a projector or monitor and click on the Impatica Screen Projector Application icon on your BlackBerry smartphone (BlackBerry software 4.3+). The contents of your BlackBerry screen are then transmitted to the ShowMate via Bluetooth or USB and displayed on any VGA device, without any noticeable delay.
Shipping in early December, screen projection capability will be included in all new Impatica ShowMate devices and will be available as a free software upgrade to all existing ShowMate customers. If you'd like to learn more please contact sales@impatica.com or visit http://www.impatica.com/showmate.
The ShowMate makes a great stocking stuffer, so don't delay - order yours in time for the holidays!
Video only OnCue Presentations With Templates
Now you can put the focus on your video!
This article will outline how to create a video only OnCue presentation that uses a video only template. The article will also outline known issues and the techniques required to create a presentation of this nature. The assumption is being made that you are familiar with OnCue and have used it before to make standard full OnCue presentations.
There is a known issue with OnCue where large Impatica video files (generally imv files larger than 7 MB) will create an out of memory Java error during playback. This will result in a distorted audio track for the video. In addition, playback of the video track will be jumbled. Due to this issue, creating a single large imv file is not recommended. This document will outline creating an OnCue presentation that uses a template that focuses on the video (video only template) but also includes placeholders for the other elements that are normally used to create full OnCue presentations.
These are the video only template options available:
Note that the main section of the template is devoted to the video (three different sizes of video placeholder are available) while the PowerPoint slide placeholder appears just above the navigation buttons (PowerPoint slide size is 4.58" x 1").
There is also a menu generated in the left-hand panel of the template (this panel is blank in the images above). The menu items come from the title placeholders of the slides in the PowerPoint slide placeholder file. The scrolling script has been hidden on the template, but the script file is still required in order to use this template.
The assets that you require to use this template are:
1. Video file. The frame size of the video must be either 160x120, 240x176 or 320x240 pixels. Please see the OnCue User's Manual for recommended video formats.
2. Script Text file. For a video only template project, the script file will simply indicate how many slides are in the presentation. There is no script area on the template itself. You can keep the notes section of the PowerPoint slides blank.
3. Presentation Impatica file. Impatica OnCue is designed to break up the associated video file so that there is a clip of video for each slide in the impaticized PowerPoint presentation. This asset is the placeholder PowerPoint presentation that has been impaticized with Impatica for PowerPoint. Because of the known issue with large Impatica video files mentioned at the beginning of this article, we need to have several slides in this PowerPoint file so that the video will be divided into several small video segments. For the purposes of this presentation the PowerPoint file is simply a placeholder. It is recommended that you do the following:
- Create a new PowerPoint presentation
- Select File -> Page Setup and change the size of the presentation to be 4.58" x 1".
- Type Slide 1 in the title placeholder - remember this will be the menu item that your viewers will see. You can type whatever menu item you want them to see - Slide 1 is just an example.
- Insert several duplicate slides - one slide per minute of video.
- Change the title placeholder on each slide to reflect your desired menu items.
- Save the file.
- Add it to Impatica for PowerPoint.
- Launch Impatica for PowerPoint and add the PowerPoint file to the software.
- Within the software, click on the "Slide Show" tab.
- Ensure that the "Include playback controls" checkbox is not selected.
- Click on the "Extra Output Files" tab.
- Within the "Exported Notes" frame, ensure the "OnCue script file" checkbox is selected. The "Include paragraph cue points" checkbox is not required.
- Click the "Impaticize" button to convert the PowerPoint file into the Impatica format. During the conversion process, the software will also produce an OnCue script text file.
- Once the conversion is complete, close Impatica for PowerPoint
4. Impatica Template file. The video only template files depicted above are available for download and can be used. Select the template that matches the frame size of your video file.
5. Marker Text file. This file is created in the edit window of Impatica OnCue. With the above assets in place, launch the edit window. Then distribute the slide markers so that they are fairly evenly distributed but only start where there is silence in the video (e.g. when someone takes a breath). The available pause does not need to be long but the slide cannot be set to change while someone is speaking or the end result will sound choppy. A good tool to use would be to select the "Distribute slides evenly" menu item from the edit menu. Then, once the slides have been distributed across the time line, simply tweak the starting point of each slide so that it is in the closest available silent section.
Save the marker file and it will appear as the final asset in your project once you close the edit window.
The final step is to select the video speeds you want to produce and any other settings and then impaticize your OnCue project.
With some videos you may wish to create custom video speeds beyond those available with a full OnCue presentation. For instructions on how to do this please see this Knowledgebase article:
https://www.impaticize.com/impkb/questions/265/
If you have additional questions on this process please contact Impatica Customer Support.