Celestia Forums

SLIDESHOW-DIAPORAMA
is a multipurpose tool but mainly designed to make presentations without having to write any kind of script.
It is aimed mainly at demonstrations and educational purposes.



SLIDESHOW comes with

a pack of fonts for Celestia to enhance the presentations
some ready to use pictures as frames or arrows to make the presentations easier. You can change the color or the shape of these "cliparts" in real time inside the plugin.
a demonstration slideshow to discover the possibilities of the plugin and practice with it.
a comprehensive illustrated documentation in English, French and Dutch.

With SLIDESHOW you can enhance the screens of Celestia by incorporating texts and images that you can format like you want.

The principal function of the plugin is to let you make and present the slide show as efficiently and easily as possible.

A slideshow is made of a number of "slides" and each slide may contain:

as many pictures as needed
as many texts as needed
a recorded position in Celestia (cel:/URL)
a file to launch while the slide is displayed. These files may be any kind of file like

audio, video, or pdf files
internet links
Celestia scripts (cel and celx)

All this is done directly without programming SLIDESHOW or writing any script.

Here are some interesting features of the plugin

Manual or automatic mode to run a slideshow. In automatic mode you can adjust an overall or individual display time for each slide.
Images can be moved and resized with the mouse. Other manipulations are also possible such as :
- rotations, symmetries, deformations, recolorations, transparencies
Text can also be moved at will with the mouse.
For each text of a slide, you can adjust the size or the font. It can easily be left justified, right justified or centered by a simple mouse click. You can define precisely the margin in relation to the background.
For both text and images you can define an individual color and transparency for the foreground, the background and the border.
You have a complete control over how images and text are attached to the screen (in relation to the edges or horizontally or vertically to the center of the screen.)
With powerful tools (alignment, resizing, magnetism ...), you canplace the elements of a slide easily and accurately in relation to the others. You can also coordinate the position of elements between different slides.
It is now possible to copy a slide or cut and paste it to another place in the slideshow or even from a slideshow into another.
You jump from a slideshow to another and you can create new slideshows with no need to quit and relaunch Celestia.
As an educational tool, it is easily localizable and even the slideshows may be translated.
. At this time, it is localized for English, French, Duth, German, Italian and Spanish.
. Localization for other language is easy.

And of course the result of these manipulations can be recorded easily from Celestia with a simple mouse click.

Thanks to J.L Doreste, this addon now works as well in a Windows or Linux environment.

From a technical standpoint, it is a plugin that works with lua plugins or Lua Edu Tools. Once it is installed with either of these programs, it works seamlessly with the other installed plugins.

Installation

Download this addon at the Lua Edu Tools section on the CML:
http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/catal ... ities.html (Slideshow 2.0).

Unzip the archive slideshow_2.zip in the MAIN DIRECTORY OF CELESTIA

You will find a comprehensive illustrated documentation file (in 3 flavours) in the "celestia/extras/slideshow" folder

- slideshow_en_2.0.pdf (in English)
- diaporama_fr_2.0.pdf (in French)
- silideshow_nl_2.0.pdf (in Dutch)

This document explains precisely how to install and activate this plugin in lua_edu_tools or in the lua_plugins.
YOU MUST ABSOLUTELY READ THIS DOC.

Of course any feedback is welcome.

Enjoy
Jogad.

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Impressive! I hope of not to be offensive, but your plug-in is both a reminder as a PIM...

Fenerit wrote:I hope of not to be offensive, but your plug-in is both a reminder as a PIM...

This is not offensive at all

This plugin was designed to be independent of Celestia's data and therefore can be used in several different ways.
I even thought to use it to present my holidays pictures on a background of planets

Very nice
The things I can think of doing with this in my Star Trek addons.
Thanks,
Tim

This is a great Add-on.
Although I did not go through all the possibilities yet, I'm really impressed about the possibilities it opens for presentations and education.

I was also inspired by your invitation to localize this Add-on and to upload it.
Here is my Dutch localization file, so you can incorporate is with your default distribution.
Hopefully more people around the world will follow with their own locale language support, so this Add-on get a real international status !!!



I was also wondering if the addon can support image transparency (probably now or in a future release) ?

Regards, Marco

Marco Klunder wrote:
I was also wondering if the addon can support image transparency (probably now or in a future release) ?

It support just now the image transparencies (png, dds).

Hello,

Marco, Tim, I'm glad that you like it

Marco thank your very much for the nl file. It is now part of the addon

H? Massimo ! an italian version ?

It lang is here:

http://marauder.webng.com/other/slideshow_lang_it.zip

Fenerit wrote:It lang is here:

Servizio rapido! Thanks you

I add your names in the Credits

Hallo Jo?l, I post all that follow just for a discussion about the plug-in, in particular where the plug-in could be even more refined. In the image below, with the aid of the SurfaceFeature directive, I've add two info-icons for showing some informations. Now, in the case they were PDF, its infoURL click would load the Reader in local and the things should be simple. For what concern the slideshow text/pictures, the way followed by the default LUA plug-ins' pictureBox has the advantage of assigning to each icon its picture, while the slideshow does achieve this by the use of cel/url. As you know, I do not like this latter method because it "freeze" the time at day/hour in which one do set the slide and meanwhile do freeze even the screen; thus it could be unsuited for real time changing-of-pictures due to the real time surf amongst informations (user get the change in visual, respect to the own, in that moment).



The prelude above is just for saying whether and how the plugin could be modified for accounting the change of the images and its slideshow without the use of cel/url, knowing that each info-icon has its caption. In sumn: respect to the pictureBox plugin, your slideshow plugin has the advantage of the text, of the memorization of the picture's position, of its resizing; while the pictureBox has the advantage of changing the images without cel/url. The union of the two would make a complete image/text management plugin. The cel/url must be not removed, of course, because it serves for other; but not for real time purposes (when I set the position of the picture/text I click just on two orange arrows to change the button-bar and then do return back, that is; I do not do other, and the position are saved).
In the case of the image above, suppose one do set the informations for the Palau trench and then moves itself to set the Yap's information and the Mariana, while this latter is centered on screen, the Palau info-icon is still visible; so, if one do click on the Palau yet, the cel/url' method move the camera where and when the Palau's image/text settings have been done. If they have been made at certain zoom/level which is not that of user-moment, the result could be inappropriate.
Like I said, this is just a discussion.

Hi Massimo,

I try to anser your post but I confess that I don't undersand all. (Mainly English problem).

Fenerit wrote:I've add two info-icons for showing some informations. Now, in the case they were PDF, its infoURL click would load the Reader in local and the things should be simple

Slideshow can have the same behaviour. I didn't stress on that point, but instead of a music file you can play pdf or other kind of files.
Just add the corresponding extension in the Config_Slideshow.lua file.

Fenerit wrote:the way followed by the default LUA plug-ins' pictureBox has the advantage of assigning to each icon its picture, while the slideshow does achieve this by the use of cel/url. As you know, I do not like this latter method because it "freeze" the time at day/hour in which one do set the slide and meanwhile do freeze even the screen

You already talked about that and I don't understand what you mean.
An Url does not freeze anything and certainly not "even the screen". If this happen there is another problem with your computer.

Certainly Slideshow and Picture Box don't work in the same way. As they can work together this is not a problem. These two manners are complementary.
Picture Box takes informations from Celestia to display pictures and does not interfere with Celestia while Slideshow displays pictures independently of Celestia and sometimes imposes a position in Celestia if you use and Url.
But rememember that you use urls ONLY if you want.

Fenerit wrote:pictureBox has the advantage of changing the images without cel/url

If you don't use urls, Slideshow doesn't change anything. YOU change the pictures and text when you want and YOU change the position in Celestia in the usual way. (or by script if you are this kind of fool )

Fenerit wrote:so, if one do click on the Palau yet, the cel/url' method move the camera where and when the Palau's image/text settings have been done

Abolutely not! clicking on an object doesn't activate an url in Slidewhow
The only thing I understant is that I don't understand anything!

Slideshow is versatile but is not a programming tool in any way . You use it only when necessary, together or in alternance with other useful tools like Picture Box.

My opinion is that this plugin must remain simple to use and do the job it is designed for. And not doing badly a job that other plugins achieve perfectly.

I must understand exactly what is your problem with urls...
For me urls match perfectly the idea of a slide in Celestia.

Fenerit wrote:Like I said, this is just a discussion.

Of course not! it is much more than that for me.
Your ideas and your opinion are greatly apreciated.

I try to anser your post but I confess that I don't undersand all. (Mainly English problem).

Do you mean my English problem?

Slideshow can have the same behaviour. I didn't stress on that point, but instead of a music file you can play pdf or other kind of files.
Just add the corresponding extension in the Config_Slideshow.lua file.

Yes, I know that.

You already talked about that and I don't understand what you mean.
An Url does not freeze anything and certainly not "even the screen". If this happen there is another problem with your computer.

This is the main problem! Probably I really have some sort of computer madness because the slideshow's Url freeze the time at moment in which the slides are set. If I set any slide at 30 Mar 12.00, when I load it at 1 Apr 22.00, the main Celestia time goes back to the 30 Mar 12.00; it doesn't remain at 1 Apr 22.00 (Sideral Time). To avoid this I must avoid the use of the Url, and I do avoid the use of the Url by clicking on the orange arrows, do move the picture/text where I wish and then do re-click on the orange arrows. But in accomplish this, is prevented the capability of assigning the slides to each info-icons during the switch amongst info-icons, because is the Url-saving which set the info-icons switching, otherwise my purpose cannot be achieved (and that is easy achieved by the picture Box's architecture).

Hello,

Yes, I begin to understand your problem.
The time is not frozen but reset to the moment when the URL is registered.

But I think there was a misunderstanding.

Fenerit wrote:respect to the pictureBox plugin, your slideshow plugin has the advantage of the text, of the memorization of the picture's position, of its resizing; while the pictureBox has the advantage of changing the images without cel/url.

For me, the most important difference lies elsewhere.
Even if I was inspired by PictureBox for pictures of my plugin, spirit and use of Slideshow are completely different.

In pictureBox, the content of Celestia determines what image is displyed by pictureBox.
Information goes from Celestia to pictureBox.

In Slideshow on the contrary, Slideshow detrmines what is displayed in Celestia.
Information goes from Slideshow to Celestia.

Under the circumstances a plugin is more appropriate than another.
Since we can use both plugins together, we cans enjoy the benefits of the one AND of the other.

Remember it is not at all an obligation to save and use URLs.
If you come back to normal mod with the button Urls blocked (red crossed), the slide will not contain any URLs. (But you know that)

The possiblity to easily hide or show chosen slides while you navigate in Celestia by conventional means is also very useful.

In fact the use of URLs is already an exception to the intended use of this plugin.

The spirit of the plugin is: you travel at will in Celestia and you display at will images or text without a formal link between the position in Celestia and the displayed slides.

Is an additional Url button like this an acceptable solution?

With this button you could record an url without time information. ie only the position in Celestia at the current time.

The time is not frozen but reset to the moment when the URL is registered.

Subtilissima quaestio de incipit et desinit:
"the time is not frozen but reset to the moment when the URL is registered" = "the time is frozen but not reset to the moment when the Url is registered?"

Under the circumstances a plugin is more appropriate than another.
Since we can use both plugins together, we cans enjoy the benefits of the one AND of the other.

I acknowledge this, unfortunately the case on which do pivot the discussion is not satisfied neither by one nor another. This doesn't mean nothing, of course. Probably the business with which I'd had dealt with could be best resolved with a feature request: the clickability of the location's name bounding box > tooltip's text and image-icon in tooltip's text.
Anyhow, long live rock n' roll!