Adding and Ordering the Other Image Layers

Now it’s time to add the other four Layers to Slide 5, as shown in Figure 3.14. Open the Chapter 3 folder and have the ProShow Slide Options window open as Layers>Layer Settings. Hold down the Control key, and drag the four images in the Chapter 3 folder that start with a number (# TC.jpg) onto the Slide, one at a time. The numbers at the start of each of the filenames match the destination Layer. So 3 TC.jpg should be loaded first, so it becomes Layer 3. (The first two Layers are the TC-frames.png image that holds the frames.) If you drag and drop in numerical order, the Layer Stack number will match the number in the front of the file name.

If the Layers are not in the right order, use the Up and Down arrows to place the Layers in the right order. (The Up arrow is next to the mouse cursor and has a tooltip visible in Figure 3.14.) Place the image of the boy getting ready on Layer 3, the little girl in the doorway on Layer 4, the bride and groom from the back on Layer 5, and the bride and groom with the bouquet on Layer 6.

Figure 3.14. Adjusting the order of Layers is often the first task after importing new images into a Slide.

[View full size image]

Layer order can be important when more than one object uses the same space on a Slide, when two objects have to move through the same space, or for special Effects involving Masking and Opacity. The reason Layer 4 (the little girl) is on Layer 4 is so she won’t hide the image on Layer 3 when we add Motion, which is what would happen if their order were reversed. When you add Motion, any placement has to work the entire time the Slide is displayed. You don’t want part of one Layer covering another at the wrong time.

Adjusting Size and Rotation

When you drop an image onto a Slide, the new arrival is automatically sized to fit the available space based on the current scaling defaults and is assigned a Zoom value of 100 (percent). Zooming changes the visual magnification of a Layer. A Layer can be Zoomed using the mouse wheel, or by setting a percentage in the Zoom box in the Layer Settings section. It can be entered as a number or adjusted using the slider, accessed by left-clicking the marker beneath the number in the box. Make the number larger than 100, and the image gets larger; a negative number shrinks the Layer on the Slide. We are going to do both using the mouse.

Planning for a Move

The four new Layers are going to reside underneath the picture frames (Layers 1 and 2). We need to Zoom and Rotate them into their Starting Positions. We’ll adjust the Ending Positions and create the Motion Effects after all four are in place. Double-click on the Preview pane in the Slide Options window to open the Precision Preview window. I’m going to show you the easy way to place one Layer under another.

Right-click on the image in the Precision Preview to open the context-sensitive menu, shown in Figure 3.15, and adjust it so that only the Show Inactive Layers and Show Layer Outlines are active; uncheck the rest of the items. Now deactivate all the Layers—except Layers 1 and 3—by unchecking their boxes in the Layers List. Select Layer 3. Your Preview pane should now have only those two Layers visible. With these settings we only see the Layers we are working with, and only the selected Layer can be adjusted. That means that we can place Layer 3 “under” the lower Transparent frame in Layer 1 without having to bring it to the top of the Stack.

Figure 3.15. Reducing the number of Layers shown in the Precision Preview, and limiting mouse functions to only the selected Layer, speeds design when working with Slides containing multiple Layers.

[View full size image]

Use the mouse to size and position the boy under the frame. As you work, the values for the Pan and Zoom will change. The final result should be about −27 Pan X, 38 Pan Y, and a Zoom 15 for both X and Y. I’ve pasted an “after” view of the lower frame with the boy’s picture in place (bordered in red) in the lower righthand area of Figure 3.15. Note that the above screenshot was taken before the picture of the little boy was adjusted to fit into the small frame. So the shot has the prior values of 57 for Zoom X and Y. Don’t worry if the final readings of your settings are slightly off. As I have said, Producer makes its own corrections and sometimes the numbers are a bit “off.” Trust your eyes to tell you when things “look right.”

Don’t forget that the Zoom at the top of the Precision Preview window controls the size of the frame in the Preview pane. You can use it to aid in working with the Positions. The Zoom controls for adjusting the Layers are located under the Pan controls in that window.

Now select Layer 5, enable its check box, and adjust it to fit under the larger frame in the upper portion of Layer 1. (You can leave Layer 3’s check mark, since it won’t get in the way.) We want the bride and groom centered in the frame as shown in Figure 3.16. The final settings for this Layer should be about −27 Pan X, −5 Pan Y, and a Zoom 75 percent both X and Y. This takes care of the initial settings for the left side of the design.

Figure 3.16. Layer 5 in position with Layers 1 and 5 visible in the Preview pane.

[View full size image]

Enable the check boxes for Layers 2 and 4. Now you can see all four picture frames and both candles. The Layer 4 Border is centered in the Slide, with portions visible in the larger picture frames. (Layer 3 is “above” Layer 4 and hides it from the lower-left picture frame, and it’s too narrow to be shown in the smaller frame on the right.)

Use the mouse to adjust Layer 4 so it fits inside the lower picture frame in Layer 2 as shown in Figure 3.17. The Pan X settings should be about 33, Pan Y 39, and both Zoom values at 20 percent.

Figure 3.17. Layer 4 in position with the settings superimposed above.

There is one more image to place. Layer 6 with the picture of the bride and groom goes inside the remaining large picture frame on Layer 2. Enable its check box for the Layer and adjust it to about the following settings: Pan X = 31, Pan Y = −6, and both Zooms at 70 percent. See Figure 3.18.

Figure 3.18. Layer 6 in position with the completed initial design.

[View full size image]