Frequently Asked Questions
Why can’t I work on a Presentation and Dataset at the same time?
Permalink to Why can’t I work on a Presentation and Dataset at the same time?You can only work on one task at a time and you must save or clear your work (by selecting New from the Tool Bar) before going on to another task.
Sometimes, I can’t I modify the Layer and PIP Elements of a dataset that I am editing as an override from my presentation playlist. Why?
Permalink to Sometimes, I can’t I modify the Layer and PIP Elements of a dataset that I am editing as an override from my presentation playlist. Why?A presentation playlist consists of a list of datasets. Each dataset’s playlist.sos location is specified via the include attribute (one include attribute/value pair per dataset, where the value is the absolute path of the playlist.sos filename). Layer and PIP Elements specified inside a dataset’s playlist.sos file may not be editable because they are defined within a different file (i.e. the dataset playlist.sos file, not the presentation playlist file itself that you are currently working on). Editing these Elements would require editing the dataset’s file, which is not allowed. For example, you cannot modify or delete an existing Layer or PIP Element, but you can add a new Layer or PIP Element. You also cannot delete an Audio or Label Element, but you can modify them (i.e. select a different audio file or label file from the Element tab).
Where is the yellow resize corner for Base Layer Elements?
Permalink to Where is the yellow resize corner for Base Layer Elements?You cannot resize or move a Base Layer. Therefore, you will not see a yellow resize corner on a Base Layer Element in the Preview when you click on it.
Why does it look like my dataset is not animating even though the Time field is increasing?
Permalink to Why does it look like my dataset is not animating even though the Time field is increasing?If you load a dataset and press the Play button, and then you notice that the
Time field is updating but the Frame # is not updating, this is likely because
the Time to Dwell on First Frame (milliseconds) (firstdwell
attribute in SOS)
has been set to a non-zero value. This is the same for Time to Dwell on Last
Frame (milliseconds) (lastdwell
attribute in SOS). These attributes are shown
in the Animation Tab.
I clicked on an Element in the Track View, but no Element was highlighted in the Preview. Why?
Permalink to I clicked on an Element in the Track View, but no Element was highlighted in the Preview. Why?If you click on an Element in the Track View, the Element gets highlighted in the Preview. If you find that no Element was highlighted in the Preview, the Show/Hide button of that Element in the Track View may be set to Hide. For PIPs, the PIP might have a Delay time or Fadein Time set to values that prevent the PIP from showing up until a specified animation time is reached. Or, PIPs or Layers might have an Opacity value set to 0.0.
Why is my Layer’s Eye button in the Track Lane disabled?
Permalink to Why is my Layer’s Eye button in the Track Lane disabled?One of the attributes for Layers in the Element tab is a Layer is Visible
checkbox (layervisible
attribute in SOS). If this is set to off (unchecked),
the Layer will not be visible in the Preview, and the Layer in the Track View
will have an Eye icon with a slash through it, indicating it is in Hide mode.
The Eye button will also be disabled. To show the Layer in the Preview, the
Layer is Visible checkbox must be set to on (checked) in order to enable the
Eye button.
Where is the background attribute located in the VPLE?
Permalink to Where is the background attribute located in the VPLE?The VPLE does not support the deprecated SOS background
attribute.
How do I add KML and WMS media types to my dataset?
Permalink to How do I add KML and WMS media types to my dataset?Why do I see a Data File Error in the Preview window when I load a dataset that has KML or WMS data in it? The visual preview for datasets with KML or WMS data types are not supported by the VPLE.
I set the Skip attribute in the Animation tab, but it is not skipping in the Preview when I play the dataset. Why?
Permalink to I set the Skip attribute in the Animation tab, but it is not skipping in the Preview when I play the dataset. Why?The Skip every N Frames While Animating attribute (skip
attribute in SOS) can
be set in the Animation Tab and will be honored on SOS,
however, it is ignored during playback of the dataset in the VPLE Preview.
Changing the Start Dataset on Frame attribute (startframe attribute in SOS) to 1 does not seem to do anything. Why?
Permalink to Changing the Start Dataset on Frame attribute (startframe attribute in SOS) to 1 does not seem to do anything. Why?A startframe
of 0
and a startframe
of 1
both correspond to the first
frame in the dataset. A startframe
of 2
corresponds to the 2nd frame in the
dataset, and so on.
How do I enter negative end frame values?
Permalink to How do I enter negative end frame values?Negative values for the End Dataset on Frame attribute in the
Animation Tab (endframe
attribute in SOS) cannot be
set using the VPLE. However, you can open the dataset’s playlist.sos file and
edit that attribute manually.
How do I enter negative start frame values?
Permalink to How do I enter negative start frame values?Negative values for the Start Dataset on Frame attribute in the
Animation Tab (startframe
attribute in SOS) cannot be
set using the VPLE. However, you can open the dataset’s playlist.sos file and
edit that attribute manually.
How do I enter negative end frame values?
Permalink to How do I enter negative end frame values?Negative values for the End Dataset on Frame attribute in the
Animation Tab (endframe
attribute in SOS) cannot be set
using the VPLE. However, you can open the dataset’s playlist.sos file and edit
that attribute manually.
My movie is showing up as black. Why?
Permalink to My movie is showing up as black. Why?Sometimes, when you first load a dataset that has movie data, the movie will not show up unless you press the Play button.
My image directory sometimes plays out of sync. Why?
Permalink to My image directory sometimes plays out of sync. Why?Limitations for a dataset that contains a directory of images that may cause a dataset’s data to get out of sync during playback include:
- Images whose resolution is greater than 4096 in width
- Frames per second (fps) greater than 25 or 30
- A dataset with many image directories (for example, image directories specified by many Layers and PIPs) running at high frame rates