Copyright: PowerAlbum Version 3.0


Glossary

Click the glossary term you want defined.

ALB

album

book

button

category

clipboard

control menu box

description

display

double-click

drag

drag and drop

drop

export

file format

filename

file type

filmstrip

filmstrip view

frame

frame selector

group

import

Indicator

keyword

menu commands

menu bar

minimize

miscellaneous object

name

object

object type

OLE

path

picture object

primary object

properties

property page

raster

resolution

screen saver

secondary object

slide show

sound object

sprocket

status bar

table of contents

thumbnail

title bar

toolbar

vector

video object

view


ALB

PowerAlbum, version 1.x and 2.x, saved albums as ALB files. These files are not usable in PowerAlbum 3.0, but may be imported to PowerAlbum 3.0 and converted to PWR files. The PWR file format is the PowerAlbum 3.0 native file format.


album

An album is a collection of objects that are placed in frames and organized into categories. It is the type of file created and used by PowerAlbum. An album has the file extension .PWR.


book

The Book view allows the objects in an album to be viewed in a two page photo album metaphor. The display in this view provides a Table of Contents and categories separated by tabs. The Book view can be sized to use the entire screen. Adding, grouping, categorizing and organizing objects is most easily accomplished in this view.


button

A button is a small icon that provides quick access to menu commands. They are provided for often used actions and commands, such as Save, Add and Display. Buttons are present in the tool bar in the Book view and on the Filmstrip.


category

A category is a division of objects, usually defined by subject. Categories are separated by tabs in the Book view and are provided in a list in the Filmstrip view. You may place a single object in more than one category, if it seems appropriate.


clipboard

The Clipboard is a part of memory used to store information (objects) temporarily. You can use it to move or copy objects from one page or category to another in the same album, between albums, or even between Windows applications. You cannot use it to paste pictures from other applications into PowerAlbum.


control menu box

The Control-menu box is the application icon in the upper left corner of the PowerAlbum window. When you click this box once, the Control menu appears. If you double-click it, you exit the program.


description

Each object and category can have a brief description, up to 1,024 characters. You can use the Find command to search for words or characters in a description. A description can be entered, edited or viewed when the properties of an object or category are displayed.


double-click

To press and release a mouse button quickly two times.


drag

To move an object or resize a window by pressing and holding down the left mouse button as you move the mouse to the desired location. Your mouse cursor will change to an arrow with a small box to the right.


drag and drop

An OLE 2.0 function used to select an object in one application and move or copy it to another application, or to another place within the same application.


drop

To place an object in a new location or application by releasing the left mouse button after dragging the object.


export

Export is the ability to convert a picture object from one file type to another. You can only convert bitmapped raster graphics to other bitmapped raster formats and vector images to other vector formats. Raster format include: BMP, GIF, JPG, PCX, TIF. Vector formats include: CGM, DRW, WMF, WPG.


filename

The name of an object, or file, that is saved to disk. A filename may contain up to 256 characters, including the optional .XXX extension indicating file type. Filenames are recognized and recorded by Windows.


file type

A file's type indicates how it stores information. A file type is indicated by a three letter extension, such as BMP, PCX and TXT. PowerAlbum can organize and document all file types, including EXE and DLL files.

For more information, including a detailed description of each format, see About File Formats .


filmstrip

The Filmstrip view allows the objects in an album to be viewed either horizontally or vertically in a single line. The display in this view resembles a strip of film and saves screen space. Drag and Drop is most easily used in this view.


frame

Frames contain objects in a PowerAlbum album. A frame may contain one object or multiple objects. Frames allow you to group objects, providing a cross-reference between objects. They also conserve display space in an album, helping you look through an album quickly. Frames appear in both the Book view and Filmstrip view.

Each frame may contain a maximum of four objects and only one of each supported object type. The object types supported are: picture object, video object, sound object, miscellaneous object.

If a frame contains multiple objects, a thumbnail represents the primary object in the frame and indicator icons represent the secondary objects.


frame selector

A yellow triangle that appears in the upper left hand corner of a frame. Clicking on the frame selector activates, or selects, all the objects in a frame.


indicator

A small icon that is used to show the presence of multiple objects in a frame. Indicators represent secondary objects in a frame. They may be toggled on and off.

Indicators appear below the thumbnail in Book view and horizontal Filmstrip view. They appear on the right hand side of the thumbnail in vertical Filmstrip view.


keyword

Each object can have a series of keywords, up to 256 characters. You can use the Find command to search for words or characters in the keywords field. Keywords can be entered, edited or viewed when the properties of an object are displayed.


menu bar

The menu bar appears directly below the title bar near the top of the PowerAlbum screen. It contains the following menus: File, Edit, Object, Category, View, and Help. Each menu contains a list of related commands.


miscellaneous object

All files and file types may be classified as miscellaneous objects.  There is no restriction on file type for this object type. Miscellaneous objects include all file types, even EXE and DLL files.


minimize

You can leave an application but keep it in memory by reducing it to an icon on the task bar. This is done by clicking the minimize button.


name

In PowerAlbum, each object, or file, can be assigned a name to further define the object within an album. Names can contain up to 256 characters and are only recognized by PowerAlbum. When a name is assigned to an object, the name appears on the status bar instead of the filename. The default name is the filename.


object

Items tracked and organized by PowerAlbum are called objects. Objects represent files and are often referred to as files. An object in PowerAlbum is actually a link to the actual file on disk. PowerAlbum objects are divided into specific object types: picture object, video object, sound object, miscellaneous object.


object type

PowerAlbum objects are divided into object types: picture object, video object, sound object, miscellaneous object. Each object type supports only specific file types; miscellaneous object type can support all file types.


OLE

Object Linking and Embedding refers to the ability to place an object native to one application in a second application, while maintaining its relationship to the originating application. For example, you can place an Excel spreadsheet in a Word document.  The spreadsheet maintains its identity as an Excel spreadsheet and can be edited in Excel by double clicking on its image in the Word document. OLE is an important feature in PowerAlbum.


path

A path indicates the location of an object, or file, by specifying the drive, directory, and filename. For example, the complete path for BONES.TIF might be C:\ART\MEDICAL\BONES.TIF. PowerAlbum stores an object’s, or  file's path in an album file (.PWR). It does not store or encapsulate the actual graphic file in the .PWR file.


picture object

Picture object is an object type in PowerAlbum. Picture objects support only the following file types: BMP, CGM, GIF, JPG, PCD, PCX, TIF, WMF, WPG.


primary object

Frames always contain a primary object in the upper middle of the frame. The primary object is always visible, even when indicators are toggled off. It is the picture object, when present, or the first object placed in the frame. The primary object is represented by a thumbnail or icon.


properties

Objects and categories have properties. Properties are fields that define the item. Object properties include: filename, name, keywords, description. Category properties include: name, description.


resolution

Resolution is the number of dots used to create an image on a screen or printer. The greater the resolution, the sharper the picture.


secondary object

Frames may contain multiple objects, or secondary objects. A secondary object is represented by an indicator, or small icon. Secondary object indicators appear below or to the right of the primary object in a frame. Secondary objects are only visible when indicators are toggled on. They may be one or more of the following: video object, sound object or miscellaneous object.


slide show

The Slide Show feature allows users to sequence through the pictures in a category or album. It is also possible to add transition effects and timing to the slide show. The slide show can be used as a screen saver.


sound object

Sound object is an object type in PowerAlbum. Sound objects support only the following file types: MID, RMI, WAV.


sprocket

The sprocket option displays small holes along the edges of the Filmstrip view to simulate the look of an actual piece of film.


table of contents

The first page in the Book view contains the Contents. It lists the number of objects, by type, in each category. Each type is represented by the appropriate indicator at the top of the page. If a Book has been sized too small to show all the object type indicators, only the category names will appear. Clicking on a category in the Contents takes you directly to the appropriate category.


thumbnail

A thumbnail is a reduced image of an object. Each thumbnail displayed in an album points to the object, or file, on your disk.


title bar

The title bar appears at the very top of the PowerAlbum screen. It displays the application name and the open album name. It also contains the Control menu box and the Minimize button.


video object

Video object is an object type in PowerAlbum. Video objects support only the following file type: AVI.


menu commands

The main menu in PowerAlbum includes: File, Edit, Object, Category, View and Help. Each menu has its own menu commands that provide access to all the PowerAlbum functionality.


filmstrip view

The Filmstrip view is one of two views provided by PowerAlbum. The Filmstrip saves space on the screen, simplifies Drag and Drop and provides access to all PowerAlbum functionality.


view

PowerAlbum provides two different ways to access, view and navigate albums. These views are: Book and Filmstrip. Each view has its particular strengths and each provides complete access to all PowerAlbum functionality.


raster

A bitmapped raster graphic is a collection of dots that form an image, much like the pointillist techniques of the Impressionist painters.

For more information, including a detailed description of each format, see About File Formats .


display

Display is a way to view a picture object at full size, in all its detail, without invoking an editing application.


vector

Vector images are defined by mathematical formulas. Vector graphics are often referred to as being object-oriented images because they are produced as a combination of various objects - lines, boxes, and ovals - often layered one on top of other.

For more information, including a detailed description of each format, see About File Formats .


property page

Every object and category has properties. A property page contains the specific properties for each object type and category.


group

A group of objects is contained in a frame. Each group may have one of each of four different object types: picture, sound, video and miscellaneous.


screen saver

PowerAlbum’s slide show feature can be used as a personalized screen saver function. A choice of transitions and timing options make this a very personal tool.


file format

A file's type indicates how it stores information. A file type is indicated by a three letter extension, such as BMP, PCX and TXT. PowerAlbum can organize and document all file types, including EXE and DLL files..

For more information, including a detailed description of each format, see About File Formats .


status bar

A status bar appears at the bottom of the Book view. It displays the filename or name of an object and the menu command function, depending on the location of the mouse cursor.


import

Import allows ALB files, albums from previous versions of PowerAlbum, to be converted to PWR files, the PowerAlbum 3.0 format.


toolbar

A toolbar provides quick access to the most popular and repetitive commands. A toolbar is provided in the Book view.


Book View

See Also

The Book view displays an album as an open book with a Table of Contents and frames on two pages. This view provides access to all PowerAlbum functionality.

Note:	The Book is recommended for adding, grouping and organizing objects. You can see more in this view and it helps the process to go quickly.

The Book can be resized by dragging the border of the application window.  The book will snap to size to accommodate full frames.

The following graphic represents the screen in Book View mode. Click on the graphic for further explanations of screen objects.


See also

Moving, copying, and rearranging objects

The Filmstrip


New

Creates a new, untitled album.


Open

Opens an existing album.


Save

Saves the current album to the hard disk.


Copy

Copies the selected object to the clipboard. The object remains in the album.


Cut

Copies the selected object to the clipboard. The object is removed from the album.


Paste

Places an object from the Clipboard into a new frame at the end of the current category. Paste only works on objects cut or copied from within PowerAlbum.


Add Object

Allows the user to add objects to the current album. This action creates a new frame at the end of the current category.


Add Category

Allows the user to add a new category to the current album. The new category will be placed at the end of the album, behind all other categories.


Find Next

Locates an object in the open album based on information and properties entered in Find. This button may be used multiple times.


Print

Prints selected categories or the entire album. The amount of information printed is based on user selections.


Category Tabs

Clicking on a category tab will take you directly to the appropriate category.


Picture Object

Picture objects are represented by thumbnails. Double clicking on the thumbnail will activate the associated server application and display the image. Picture objects include the file types: BMP, CGM, GIF, JPG, PCD, PCX, TIF, TGA, WMF, WPG.


Movie Object
Video Object

Video objects are represented by the video cam icon. Double clicking on this icon plays the associated movie object. When a movie object is the only object in a frame it is represented by thumbnail. Movie objects include the file type: AVI.


Sound Object

Sound objects are represented by a speaker icon. Double clicking on this icon plays the associated sound object. When a sound object is the only object in a frame the icon is enlarged and takes the place of a thumbnail. Sound objects include the file types: MID, RMI, WAV.


Text Object
Miscellaneous Object

Miscellaneous objects are represented by a page icon. Double clicking on this icon will activate the associated server application and display the object image. When a miscellaneous object is the only object in a frame it is represented by the thumbnail of the object file or the icon of the application that created the object file, such as Excel. The thumbnail or icon takes the place of the picture object thumbnail. Miscellaneous objects include all file types, even EXE and DLL files.


Display

Displays the currently selected picture object.


Filmstrip
The Filmstrip

See Also

The Filmstrip view displays an album as a single column or row of frames. This view provides access to all PowerAlbum functionality and saves screen space. The Filmstrip can be resized by dragging the border of the application window. The Filmstrip will snap to size to accommodate full frames; partial frames will not be displayed.

Note:	The Filmstrip view is recommended when using Drag and Drop functionality with other applications. This view uses very little space on your PC screen, allowing you to have both PowerAlbum and the target application visible and easily accessible at the same time.

Click on the graphic for further explanations of the screen objects.


See also

Navigating an album in Filmstrip view

Using the Filmstrip view


Change Category

Allows you to change the current category while in the Filmstrip view. When this button is depressed, a list of available categories is displayed, with the current category highlighted. Scroll bars allow you to move through the list to find the desired category. Clicking on a category changes the category visible in the Filmstrip


Main Menu

Gives you access to all the menu items. Clicking on this button displays a cascading menu that mirrors the standard menu bar in the Book view. From this menu, all PowerAlbum options can be accessed.


Display

Displays the currently selected picture object.


Change Orientation

Toggles the Filmstrip view between the horizontal and vertical display modes.


Move One

Moves the frames in the Filmstrip, forward or backward, one frame at a time.


Move Multiple

Moves a group of frames, forward or backward, at one time. The number of frames moved depends on the number of frames displayed in the Filmstrip at any given time.


Move to Beginning

Moves to the first frame of the current category.


Move to End

Moves to the last frame of the current category.


Help

Displays the Overview Help topic.


Minimize

Minimizes PowerAlbum, allowing you to leave the application but keep it in memory by reducing it to its icon on the taskbar.  Minimizing allows you to return to Windows without losing your place in the application. Clicking the minimized icon on the taskbar restores PowerAlbum to its last position and place in the Filmstrip.


Exit

Exits the PowerAlbum application.  If the open file has not been saved, you will be prompted to name and save the album. Exiting saves all desktop configurations, such as window size and orientation, for both Filmstrip and Book views.


Find

Locates a particular object in an open album based on information in the Category, Filename, Name, Keywords or Description properties.  A combination of two or all of the properties may be used.


Commands and Menus

PowerAlbum’s wide range of functions can be accessed through the use of its menus and commands. Click on one of hte menu options below to see the commands available in that menu.

The File Menu

The Edit Menu

The Object Menu

The Category Menu

The View Menu


The File Menu

Use the File menu to access the commands which access, maintain and print albums. Click on one of the commands below to see detailed explanations of the functions available.

New

Open

Import

Merge

Save

Save As

Revert

Send

Print

Print Preview

Exit


New
File,  New

See Also

Use the New command on the File menu to create new albums. Reasons for using multiple albums include:

•	More albums provide more ways to categorize your objects.

•	Smaller albums are easier and faster to use.

•	If two or more people use the same computer, they can have separate albums.

When you use the New command, PowerAlbum automatically closes the open album. PowerAlbum will prompt you if there are unsaved changes before closing the unsaved album. Choose Yes to save the changes or No to discard them.

New albums are blank and contain no categories. A new album is opened to the Contents page. You must add at least one category before you can add any objects.

Keyboard shortcut

CTRL+N


See also

Commands and Menus

Creating a new album

Adding categories

Adding objects

Saving an album


Open
File,  Open

See Also

Use the Open command on the File menu to open an existing album. Opening another album automatically closes the active album. PowerAlbum will prompt you if there are unsaved changes before closing the active album. Choose Yes to save the changes or No to discard them.

Keyboard shortcut

CTRL+O


See also

Commands and Menus

Opening an album


Import
File,  Import

See Also

Use the Import command on the File menu to open an album (.ALB files) that was created with previous PowerAlbum versions (1.x or 2.x). The ALB albums will be converted and saved in the .PWR file format.


See also

Commands and Menus

Converting ALB files

Merging albums


Merge Files
File,  Merge

See Also

Use the Merge command on the File menu to copy the contents (frames, objects and categories) of one or more closed albums into the open album.

Albums joined in this manner must be .PWR albums, generated using PowerAlbum 3.0. To merge albums generated by previous versions of PowerAlbum (.ALB files) use the Import command first.


See also

Commands and Menus

Saving an album

Merging albums


Save
File,  Save

See Also

Use the Save command on the File menu to save changes (such as added objects or categories, merged categories, new object descriptions) to the open album. If the album you are saving has not been saved before, the Save As dialog box appears. Use it to give the album a name and specify its location.

Keyboard shortcut

CTRL+S


See also

Commands and Menus

Saving an album


Save As
File,  Save As

See Also

Use the Save As command on the File menu to save a new album for the first time, or to save an existing album with a new name or in a new location.

When you are using the Save As command, you do not have to specify a file extension. PowerAlbum automatically adds .PWR.

Once you save an album for the first time, you can use the Save command to save any changes from that point on.


See also

Commands and Menus

Saving an album


Revert
File,  Revert

See Also

Use the Revert command on the File menu to undo all changes made to an album in the current session. This command removes changes made since the last save. Revert is available only if the album has been saved to disk.


See also

Commands and Menus

Saving an album


Send
File,  Send

Use the Send command on the File menu to send albums and objects to other users via email.


Print
File,  Print

See Also

Use the Print command on the File menu to print a category or entire album of

objects and their properties from the open album.

You can decide how much information to print, selecting the object properties of your choice. You cannot print individual pictures.

Before you can use the Print command, you must have a printer driver installed with the Windows Control Panel.

Keyboard shortcut

CTRL+P


See also

Commands and Menus

Printing an album

Printing categories


Print Preview
File,  Print Preview

See Also

Use the Print Preview command on the File menu to see how the album or category will look when it is printed. You can decide how much information to preview, selecting the object properties of your choice.

Print Preview pages can be navigated for viewing of multiple pages.  You may also zoom in or out to get a better view of the information on each page.


See also

Commands and Menus

Printing an album

Printing categories


Print Setup
File,  Print Setup

See Also

Use the Printer Setup command on the File menu to choose between installed printers and to make changes to printer options. To install another printer driver, use the Windows Control Panel.


See also

Commands and Menus

Printing an album


Exit
File,  Exit

See Also

Use the Exit command on the File menu to close PowerAlbum and return to the Windows desktop or other active application. PowerAlbum will prompt you if there are unsaved changes before closing the active album. Choose Yes to save the changes or No to discard them.

Exiting saves all desktop configurations, such as window size and orientation, for both the Book and Filmstrip views.

Keyboard shortcut

ALT+F4


See also

Commands and Menus


The Edit Menu

Use the Edit menu to access the commands which manipulate and navigate albums and the objects within them. Click on one of the commands below to see detailed explanations of the functions available.

Cut

Copy

Paste

Paste to Frame

Find

Find Next

Object


Cut
Edit,  Cut

See Also

Use the Cut command on the Edit menu to move the selected object to the Clipboard. Cut removes the object from the album. You can then use the Paste command to move the object to a different page in the same category, to a different category, or to place it in another application.

If you want to leave the object in its place on the page, use the Copy command instead.

Keyboard shortcut

CTRL+X


See also

Commands and Menus

Moving, copying, and rearranging objects

Copy

Paste


Copy
Edit,  Copy

See Also

Use the Copy command on the Edit menu to copy the selected object to the Clipboard. You can then use the Paste command to place a copy of the object on a different page in the same category, in a different category or in another application.

If you want to move the object to another page in the same category or to a different category, use the Cut command or Drag and Drop instead.

Keyboard shortcut

CTRL+C


See also

Commands and Menus

Paste

Cut

Moving, copying, and rearranging objects

Placing objects in other applications


Paste
Edit,  Paste

See Also

Use the Paste command to place an object on the Clipboard at the end of the currently selected category. This command only applies to objects placed on the Clipboard by PowerAlbum via Cut or Copy.

Use the Add command, Add to Frame command or Drag and Drop to place objects from other applications and sources into PowerAlbum.

Keyboard shortcut

CTRL+V


See also

Commands and Menus

Adding objects

Copy

Cut


Paste to Frame
Edit,  Paste to Frame

See Also

Use the Paste to Frame command to place an object on the Clipboard into the currently selected frame. A total of four objects may be placed in a frame.  Only one object of each file type may be placed into a single frame.

Once an object of a particular file type is placed in a frame, attempting to paste an additional object of the same type results in an error message.


See also

Commands and Menus

Adding objects

Add to frame

Moving, copying, and rearranging objects


Find
Edit,  Find

See Also

Use the Find command on the Edit menu to search for objects or categories in an album. PowerAlbum finds objects by matching text you enter in the Find dialog box property fields, such as filename, name, keywords or description. You can enter entire words or only a few characters.

Search for objects by file type by entering a period followed by the desired file extension in the filename field. For example, enter "*.TIF" to search for TIFF files.

Search all the property fields for a word or string of characters via the All radio button.

Keyboard shortcut

CTRL+F3


See also

Commands and Menus

Searching for objects

Adding and editing object properties


Find Next
Edit,  Find Next

See Also

Use the Find Next command ion the Edit menu to select the next object whose properties match the text you entered in the Find dialog box. Continue to use Find Next until you find the object you want.

Keyboard shortcut

F3


See also

Commands and Menus

Searching for objects

Adding and editing object properties


Edit Object
Edit,  Object

See Also

Use the Object command to display a submenu which gives you the option of Playing, Opening or Editing the currently selected object. Selecting an Object option launchs the OLE server application and the specified operation can be performed.

The Object options displayed vary by object type:

Picture object:	Edit

Open

Sound object:	Play

Edit

Video object:	Play

Edit

Open

Miscellaneous object:	Activate Contents

Edit Package


See also

Commands and Menus

Playing Sounds

Playing Video


The Object Menu

Use the Object menu to access the commands which add, remove, group, define and display objects in a album. Click on one of the commands below to see detailed explanations of the functions available.

Add

Add to Frame

Remove

Delete File

Display

Export

Properties


Add Object
Object,  Add

See Also

Use the Add command on the Object menu to add objects to the open album. You can add more than one object at a time by using the standard keys for multi-selecting files.

Note:	Adding a great number of objects at once could be slow.

An object is placed in a frame at the end of a category. You can either select an existing category in which you want to insert objects or create a new category for them.

Note:	An album must have at least one category before you can use the Add command. If you add an object before adding a category to the album, you will be prompted to enter a category name.

Keyboard shortcut

INSERT


See also

Commands and Menus

Adding objects

Add to frame

Adding categories


Add to Frame
Object,  Add to Frame

See Also

Use the Add to Frame command to place an object into the currently selected frame. A total of four objects may be placed in a frame.  Only one object of each object type may be placed into a single frame. Object types include: picture, sound, video and miscellaneous.

The Add to Frame command displays a submenu which gives you the object type options. Once an object of a particular object type is placed in a frame, that option is grayed out.


See also

Commands and Menus

Adding objects

Moving, copying, and rearranging objects


Remove Object
Object,  Remove

See Also

Use the Remove command on the Object menu to delete the selected object or frame from the selected category. This command does not affect the actual object file on your disk. If an object or frame exists in more than one category, the other occurrence are not affected.

If you want to replace the object, you must either add it to the album again or copy it from another category.

Keyboard shortcut

DELETE


See also

Commands and Menus

Removing objects from a category

Removing frames from a category

Adding objects

Moving, copying, and rearranging objects

Moving, copying, and rearranging frames

Deleting object files from your disk


Delete File
Object,  Delete File

See Also

Use the Delete File command on the Object menu to delete the selected object from the album and the file from your disk. Be careful; you cannot undo this command using PowerAlbum.

If you simply want to remove the object from the album, but you do not want to delete the file, use the Remove command.


See also

Commands and Menus

Deleting object files from your disk


Display Object
Object,  Display

See Also

Use the Display command on the Object menu to see the selected picture object in all its detail. Because picture object sizes can vary, the selected picture may not fit within the Display window. If this occurs, you can use the scroll bars to see the hidden portions of the picture. Click on the Close control in the Display window to close it.

Note:	Only picture objects can be displayed. A program named ImageIO will be invoked to display the picture objects. This program is a part of the PowerAlbum application.

Keyboard shortcut

CTRL+D


See also

Commands and Menus

Object

Playing Sounds

Playing Video


Object, Export

See Also

Use the Export command on the Object menu to convert picture objects to other file formats. A new file is created but not automatically added to the album. To add the file as a picture object in an album, see Object | Add.

Note: You can not export sound objects, video objects or miscellaneous objects.

Note:  You can only convert raster images to other raster formats and vector images to other vector formats. For example, you can convert a .BMP file to a .PCX file, but not to a .WMF file.

Raster formats	BMP, GIF, JPG, PCX, TIF

Vector formats	CGM, DRW, WMF, WPG


See also

Commands and Menus

About File Formats

Converting Picture Objects to Other Formats


Object Properties
Object,  Properties

See Also

Use the Properties command on the Object menu to enter and edit descriptive information for each object. A property page contains the information for each object. The properties associated with each object are Filename, Name, Keywords and Description.

Objects grouped in a frame also have their property pages grouped.  Tabs at the top of each object’s property page indicate the object type.


See also

Commands and Menus

Adding and editing object properties

Adding objects

Adding multiple objects to a frame


The Category Menu

Use the Category menu to access the commands which add, remove, merge and define categories in an album. Click on one of the commands below to see detailed explanations of the functions available.

Add

Delete

Merge

Properties


Add Category
Category,  Add

See Also

Use the Add command on the Category menu to add new categories to the open album. You can enter a category name and description. Multiple categories can be added in one session. New categories are empty.

To add objects to them, use the Add command on the Object menu, Drag and Drop or copy objects from other categories.


See also

Adding categories

Adding objects

Moving, copying, and rearranging objects

Commands and Menus


Delete Category
Category,  Delete

See Also

Use the Delete command on the Category menu to remove a category and its frames and objects from the open album. Deleting a category does not affect the actual object files; they remain in their original locations on your disk.

If you want to delete a category, but keep its objects in the album, merge the category with another, Drag and Drop or copy the frames or objects to another category.


See also

Commands and Menus

Deleting categories

Merging categories

Moving, copying, and rearranging objects

Moving, copying, and rearranging frames


Merge Category
Category,  Merge

See Also

Use the Merge command on the Category menu to merge two or more existing categories into the currently selected category.

PowerAlbum copies all the frames and objects from one or more categories into a target category. The categories that are merged into the target category will no longer exist as separate entities..

You may want to merge two categories if you want to delete one category but keep its pictures in the album.


See also

Commands and Menus

Merging categories

Deleting categories


Category Properties
Category,  Properties

See Also

Use the Properties command on the Category menu to enter and edit descriptive information for each category. The properties associated with each category are Name and Description.

To rename a category, change name field.


See also

Commands and Menus

Renaming categories


The View Menu

Use the View menu to access the commands which determine how the PowerAlbum screen will appear. Thumbnail sizes can be varied and the view mode can be toggled between Book and Filmstrip. Click on one of the commands below to see detailed explanations of the functions available.

Style

Slide Show

Toolbar

Status Bar

Filmstrip

Sprockets

Always on Top


Style
View,  Style

See Also

Use the Style command on the View menu to choose how large the thumbnail for each picture or video object will be and how a frame is displayed. Style options apply to all frames in a view. The Book view and the Filmstrip view may have different options selected.

The Style command displays a submenu which gives you the thumbnail size and a toggle option. The options in this submenu are: Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, Huge and Indicators.

The size options determine how many frames will be displayed on Book pages and on the Filmstrip. The smaller the size, the more frames displayed. Huge allows very few frames to be displayed. For example, for an album of very detailed clip art, you may want to each thumbnail to be larger so more detail can be seen.

Tiny	-	32 pixels by 32 pixels

Small	-	48 pixels by 48 pixels

Medium	-	64 pixels by 64 pixels

Large	-	96 pixels by 96 pixels

Huge	-	128 pixels by 128 pixels

Note:	Sizes may be changed at any time; however, for a very large album, it may take some time to change the display to a new style.

The Indicators option toggles on and off the display of secondary objects in a frame.

•	Indicators must be toggled on to add an object to a frame or to remove a secondary object from a frame.

•	When Indicators are toggled off, objects still remain in position but cannot be accessed for Drag and Drop. Object properties still show the object information.

Note:	Removing or deleting the primary object in a frame with indicators toggled off will result in removing or deleting all the objects in the frame. The frame itself will also be deleted.


See also

Commands and Menus

Adding multiple objects to a frame

Removing objects from a frame

Deleting object files from your disk

The Filmstrip

Book View


Slide Show
View,  Slide Show

See Also

Use the Slide Show command on the View menu to view a sequential display of the picture objects in the open album. The Slide Show is a good way to review the picture objects in your album and may be used as a screen saver.

Several options are provided to help you enjoy the Slide Show or screen saver.

Categories	Select one, multiple or all categories to be displayed.

Transition Type	Select a method of displaying the picture.

Time between Frames	Set the time a picture is displayed before changing pictures.

Play Sounds	If a sound object is in the same frame, play the sound.

Play Continuously	This screen saver feature must be stopped manually.

Manual Advance	Advance the display by clicking the left mouse button.


See also

Commands and Menus

Viewing a slide show


Toolbar
View,  Toolbar

Use the Toolbar command on the View menu to toggle the PowerAlbum toolbar on and off. This option can be used to save space on the screen, allowing more frames to be viewed at one time. This command is only available in the Book view.

Note:	The toolbar provides fast access to some of the most commonly used menu commands. It is a considerable timesaver.

This option is toggled on when there is a check mark to the left of the Toolbar command in the View menu.


Status Bar
View,  Status Bar

Use the Status Bar command on the View menu to toggle on and off the display of the status bar. The status bar is displayed along the bottom of the PowerAlbum window. It shows the filename of the object or menu command over which the mouse is positioned. This command is only available in the Book view.

Note:	The status bar provides fast access to the object names.  This is particularly helpful when you want to quickly determine information about the object represented by an indicator. It is a considerable timesaver.

This option is toggled on when there is a check mark to the left of the Status Bar command in the View menu.


Sprockets
View,  Sprockets

Use the Sprockets command on the View menu to toggle on and off the sprockets which appear on the sides of the display in Filmstrip view. This command is only available in Filmstrip view.

Note:	If screen space is limited on your PC and you are using Drag and Drop with multiple applications, toggle the sprockets off to save space.


Filmstrip
View,  Filmstrip

Use the Filmstrip command on the View menu to change the display mode from Book view to Filmstrip view. This command is only available in Book view.


Book View
View,  Book

Use the Book command on the View menu to change the display mode from Filmstrip view to Book view. This command is only available in Filmstrip view.


Always on Top
View,  Always on Top

Use the Always on Top command on the View menu to ensure that PowerAlbum is always displayed on top and is viewable, even when other programs are open and active.

Note:	This is a very powerful feature for Drag and Drop. It is particularly effective with the Filmstrip view.


Index Command (Help menu)

Displays a comprehensive index to the information contained in the PowerAlbum Help system.


Help Using Command (Help menu)

Displays help on using the Windows Help system.


About Box Command (Help menu)

Displays version information for PowerAlbum.


How To

Following procedures for commonly performed tasks:

Objects

Adding and editing object properties

Adding objects

Converting Picture Objects to Other Formats

Deleting object files from your disk

Displaying a picture object in full size

Moving, copying, and rearranging objects

Placing objects in other applications

Playing Sounds

Playing Video

Removing objects from a category

Removing objects from a frame

Searching for objects

Frames

Adding multiple objects to a frame

Moving, copying, and rearranging frames

Removing frames from a category

Categories

Adding and editing category properties

Adding categories

Deleting categories

Merging categories

Printing categories

Renaming categories

Albums

Converting ALB files

Creating a new album

Merging albums

Navigating through an album

Opening an album

Printing an album

Saving an album

Viewing a slide show

Book

Customizing the Book view

Using the Book view

Viewing the Table of Contents

Filmstrip

Customizing the Filmstrip view

Using the Filmstrip view

Drag and Drop

Drag and Drop

Drag and Drop an object into PowerAlbum from another application

Drag and Drop an object from PowerAlbum into another application

Drag and Drop frames within PowerAlbum

Drag and Drop objects within PowerAlbum


How to view a slide show
Viewing a slide show

1.	Choose View | Slide show. The slide show dialog box is displayed.

2.	Select the categories to be included in the slide show by clicking on them from the categories list box. To select a continuous list of categories click on the first name, hold down the Shift then click on the last name. To select several categories which do not follow each other hold down the Ctrl key and click on each required category name.

3.	Choose the required transition type from the list available in the transition type drop-down list.

4.	Select the time between frames and other options by clicking on their respective check boxes.

5.	Click on OK when finished. The picture objects in the selected categories are displayed sequentially separated by the chosen transition effects.

NOTE: The picture object objects must be accessible for the slide show to work correctly, i.e. if your original picture objects were acquired from a CD-ROM the CD must be in the drive for the slide show to work.


How to add multiple objects to a frame
Adding multiple objects to a frame

1.	Select the frame you want to add an object to by clicking on the frame selector.

2.	Choose Object | Add to Frame. A sub-menu is displayed listing each object type.

3.	Select one of the active object types. The open dialog box is displayed.

4.	Select the object you want to add from the open window. Click Open.

5.	The object is placed in the current frame, as a thumbnail or icon, depending on the object type.

Note:	Only four objects can be placed in a window at one time, each object must be a different type.

See also

Adding objects

Frames

How To


How to Add objects
Adding objects

See Also

You can add one or more objects, or files, to an album in a single operation. When adding objects, you can either add them to an existing category or create a new category and add them to it.

To add large numbers of objects, from any source, to your album, use the Object | Add command. When adding a single object from an OLE 2.0 application, you may want to use the powerful Drag and Drop feature of PowerAlbum.

To add objects to an album:

1.	Choose Object | Add. The Add Object dialog box appears.

2.	Choose the drive and directory where the objects you want are located.

3.	Use Files of Type to see only files of a particular type (*.PCX, *.TIFF, and so on) or to see all the files in the current directory (*.*).

4.	Select the object(s) you want to add. To select adjacent objects, click on the first object, hold the Shift key down and click on the last object you want to select. To select nonadjacent objects, hold down the CTRL key as you select each object. To select every object in the list, choose Select All.

Note: 	Adding objects takes time. If you try to add a large number of objects at one time, it may take a considerable amount of time.

5.	Choose Open. The object will be added to the open category. If you have no categories in the album, the Add Category dialog box will appear.

6.	A frame will be created for each object you add. The object will be placed in the primary object position. It will be represented by a thumbnail or icon, depending on its object type.

To Drag and Drop an object into PowerAlbum from another OLE 2.0 application:

1.	Find the desired object or indicator. Press the CTRL key while you click and hold the left mouse button on the object. This action will copy the object from the OLE 2.0 application to the PowerAlbum album.

Note:	To move the object from the OLE 2.0 application to PowerAlbum, you simply click and hold the left mouse button on the object.

2.	Drag the object into PowerAlbum and wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	When the object is at the desired location, on top of a category tab or between two frames, release the left mouse button.


See also

Add

Adding categories

How To


How to Delete object files from your disk
Deleting object files from your disk

See Also

You can delete an object file from your disk without leaving PowerAlbum. Be careful, as this is a permanent deletion.

To delete an object file from your disk:

1.	Select the object whose file you want to delete and choose Object | Delete File.

2.	Choose OK to delete the file.

3.	Choose File | Save to save the change to your album.

If you do not save the album, the deleted file’s object will appear the next time you use the album, although the file is no longer on your disk.


See also

Delete File

Saving an album

How To


How to Add and edit object properties
Adding and editing object properties

See Also

Objects in the albums you received with PowerAlbum may have entries in the property fields; you can change these or add to them if you like. Objects that you add to PowerAlbum later will not have entries in the property fields, but you can add your own.

Objects have four properties:

filename	256 characters

name	256 characters

keywords	256 characters

description	1,024 characters

Properties can be useful because you can use the Find command to search for any word, or part of a word, in one or more property fields. When entering properties, particularly keywords and descriptions, it is a good idea to use a variety of descriptive words, including some general concepts. For example, you might describe a picture of a sports car as "car, transportation, speed, vintage 1957 Chevy."

To add or edit object properties:

1.	Select the object you want to describe and choose Object | Properties.

2.	The object’s property sheet will display the four property fields and their current entries.

3.	TAB to the desired property field or place the mouse at the desired location within a field and left click to place the cursor.

4.	Type the new word or phrase at the cursor. Separate words by spaces and/or commas.

5.	After you have made all your changes or additions, choose OK.


See also

Properties

Searching for objects

How To


How to Display a picture object in full size
Displaying a picture object in full size

See Also

The picture objects in your albums are reduced to thumbnails to fit onto the album pages.

To see a picture object displayed in its actual size:

Select it and choose Object | Display. Click on the close window control to close it.

An alternate method:

Select the picture object and right click with the mouse. Choose Display. Click on the close window control to close it.

If a picture object is too large to fit the display window, scroll bars appear. To see the entire picture, use the scroll bars.


See also

Display

Placing objects in other applications

How To


How to Move, copy, and rearrange objects
Moving, copying, and rearranging objects

See Also

Moving Objects

To rearrange, or move, objects on a Book page or the Filmstrip:

1.	Select an object by clicking and holding down the left mouse button, then drag it to another frame or location (between two frames, in front of a frame or behind a frame).

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	Release the mouse button. The object will be placed in the target frame or into a new frame.

Note:	Only one object of each type may be placed in a frame.

To move an object to another Book page within the same category:

1.	Select the object and choose Edit | Cut.

2.	Move to the new page and select the frame where you want the object to appear. If you do not select a frame, the object will be placed into a new frame at the end of the current category.

3.	Choose Edit | Paste. The object will be placed in the target frame or into a new frame.

To move an object to another category in the Book:

1.	Select the object by clicking and holding down the left mouse button, then drag the object over the tab of the category in which you want to place it.

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	Release the mouse button. The object will appear in a new frame at the end of that category.

Note:	You can also use the Cut and Paste commands.

To move an object to another category in the Filmstrip:

1.	Select the object and choose Edit | Cut.

2.	Change to the desired category and select the frame where you want the object to appear. If you do not select a frame, the object will be placed into a new frame at the end of the current category.

3.	Choose Edit | Paste. The object will be placed in the target frame or into a new frame.

Copying Objects

To copy objects on a Book page or the Filmstrip:

1.	Select a object by pressing the CRTL key while holding down the left mouse button, then drag it to another frame or to a location (between two frames, in front of a frame or behind a frame).

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	Release the mouse button. The object will be placed in the target frame or into a new frame.

To copy an object to another Book page within the same category:

1.	Select the object and choose Edit | Copy.

2.	Move to the new page and select the frame where you want the object to appear. If you do not select a frame, the object will be placed into a new frame at the end of the current category.

3.	Choose Edit | Paste. The object will be placed in the target frame or into a new frame.

You can copy an object as many different times in a category as you want.

To copy an object* to another category in the Book:

1.	Select the object, by pressing the CRTL key while clicking and holding down the left mouse button, and drag the object over the tab of the category in which you want to place it.

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	Release the mouse button. The object will appear in a new frame at the end of that category.

Note:	You can also use the Copy and Paste commands in the same way as copying an object from page to page within a category.

To copy an object* to another category in the Filmstrip:

1.	Select the object and choose Edit | Copy.

2.	Change to the desired category and select the frame where you want the object to appear. If you do not select a frame, the object will be placed into a new frame at the end of the current category.

3.	Choose Edit | Paste. The object will be placed in the target frame or into a new frame.

*You can copy an object to as many different categories as you want.


See also

Removing objects from a frame

Removing objects from a category

Placing objects in other applications

Drag and Drop

Drag and Drop objects within PowerAlbum

Drag and Drop an object from PowerAlbum into another application

How To


How to Move, copy, and rearrange frames
Moving, copying, and rearranging frames

Moving Frames

To rearrange, or move, frames on a Book page or the Filmstrip:

1.	Select the frame by clicking on the frame selector in the upper left hand corner and holding down the left mouse button, then drag it to another location (between two frames, in front of a frame or behind a frame).

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	Release the mouse button. The frame will be placed in the target location.

To move a frame to another category in the Book:

1.	Select the frame by clicking on the frame selector in the upper left hand corner and holding down the left mouse button, then drag the object over the tab of the category in which you want to place it.

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	Release the mouse button. The frame will appear at the end of that category.

Note:	You can also use the Cut and Paste commands.

To move a frame to another category in the Filmstrip:

1.	Select the frame and choose Edit | Cut.

2.	Change to the new category.

3.	Choose Edit | Paste. The frame will be placed at the end of the category.

Copying Frames

To copy frames on a Book page or the Filmstrip:

1.	Select a frame by pressing the CRTL key while clicking on the frame selector in the upper left hand corner holding down the left mouse button, then drag it to another location (between two frames, in front of a frame or behind a frame).

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to

3.	Release the mouse button. The frame will be placed at the target location.

To copy a frame* to another category in the Book:

1.	Select the frame by pressing the CRTL key while clicking on the frame selector in the upper left hand corner and holding down the left mouse button, then drag the frame over the tab of the category in which you want to place it.

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	Release the mouse button. The frame will appear at the end of that category.

Note:	You can also use the Copy and Paste commands.

To copy a frame* to another category in the Filmstrip:

1.	Select the frame, by clicking on the frame selector in the upper left hand corner, and choose Edit | Copy.

2.	Change to the new category.

3.	Choose Edit | Paste. The frame will be placed at the end of the category.

*You can copy a frame to as many different categories as you want.


How to Place objects in other applications
Placing objects in other applications

See Also

Using objects in your albums with other applications is very easy. You can use the Drag and Drop feature of PowerAlbum or perform a standard Cut/Copy and Paste. PowerAlbum’s Filmstrip view makes the Drag and Drop function the fastest and most simple method.

To Drag and Drop an object into another application:

1.	Open the OLE application you want to Drag and Drop into.

2.	In PowerAlbum, find the desired object or indicator. Press the CTRL key while you click and hold the left mouse button on the object. This action will copy the object from PowerAlbum to the target application.

Note:	To move the object to the target application, you simply click and hold the left mouse button on the object.

3.	Move the mouse into the target OLE 2.0 application and wait until the mouse cursor changes to

4.	When the cursor is at the desired location, release the left mouse button. The object will now be placed in the target OLE application.

To copy an object into another application:

1.	Find the desired object or indicator and select it by clicking it. A gray shading appears around the object or indicator.

2.	Choose Edit | Copy to place a copy of the object on the Clipboard.

3.	Minimize or exit PowerAlbum.

4.	Switch to the document where you want to place the picture. This can be a document in any Windows application that lets you paste pictures from the Clipboard.

5.	Find the location where you want to put the picture and choose Edit | Paste.


See also

Searching for objects

Drag and Drop an object from PowerAlbum into another application

Copy

How To


How to Remove objects from a category
Removing objects from a category

See Also

Removing an object from a category deletes the thumbnail image or indicator of that object. If the object occurs in more than one category, you will only remove the actual object you selected. Other instances will not be affected. Remove does not affect the actual graphic file on your disk.

To remove a object from a category:

1.	Select the object you want to remove and choose Object | Remove.

2.	Click OK.

If you want to restore the object later, you will have to add it to the album or copy it from another category.


See also

Remove

Adding objects

Moving, copying, and rearranging objects

Deleting object files from your disk

How To


How to search for objects
Searching for objects

See Also

Use Find to search for objects by their filenames, file types, names, keywords or descriptions.

To use Find:

1.	Choose Edit | Find.

2.	Type the filename, filename extension, or the word you want to search for in the appropriate field in the Find text box. You may search based on one property field, all property fields or any combination of the property fields.

You can enter a whole word, or part of a word. For example, "vine" will find any filenames and descriptions that contain those four characters, such as "vineyard" or "ravine."

If you enter two or more words separated by a space, Find will search for all the objects whose descriptions contain any of these words. Entering "birthday party" will find all objects with "birthday" in their property fields, as well as all the objects with "party" in their property fields.

3.	Click Find to see the first object that matches.

4.	Choose Edit | Find Next to see the next object found. Continue to choose Find Next until you locate the object that you want.


See also

Find

Adding and editing object properties

Renaming categories

How To


How to Add categories
Adding categories

See Also

To add a new category:

1.	Choose Category | Add.

2.	Type a name for the new category in the Add Category dialog box.

3.	Choose OK to add the category and close the dialog box, or choose Add Another to leave the dialog box open so you can add another category.

New categories are empty. To add objects to them, you can copy objects from other categories or use the Object | Add command. You can also add a new category when you are adding objects to an album.


See also

Adding objects

Moving, copying, and rearranging objects

Searching for objects

How To


How to Delete categories
Deleting categories

See Also

Deleting a category removes both the category and the objects displayed in it from your album. Deleting a category does not affect the object’s files themselves; they remain in their original directories.

If you want to delete a category but keep the objects it contains, copy or merge them into another category first.

To delete a category:

1.	If you are on the Contents page, select the name of the category you want to delete. If not, make sure you are on a page in the category you want to delete.

2.	Choose Category | Delete.

3.	Choose OK to delete the category.


See also

Delete

Moving, copying, and rearranging objects

Merging categories

How To


How to Merge categories
Merging categories

See Also

Merging categories copies all the frames from one or more category(ies) into another. The categories that are merged into the target category will no longer exist as separate entities.

1.	From the Contents page in the Book view, select the category to receive the frames.

or

Open the category you want to merge into. This method can be done from both the Book and Filmstrip views.

2.	Choose Category | Merge. The Merge Categories dialog box appears.

3.	Choose one or more categories.

4.	Choose OK.


See also

Delete

Deleting categories

Merging albums

How To


How to Rename categories
Renaming categories

See Also

To rename a category from one of its pages:

1.	Select Category | Properties.

2.	Edit the name in the Category Name text box or type a new name over it.

3.	Choose OK.


See also

Adding categories

How To


How to Create a new album
Creating a new album

See Also

To create a new album:

Choose File | New. If you have not saved recent changes to the open album, PowerAlbum asks if you want to do so. Choose Yes to save the changes, or No to discard them.

The new album appears at once. It is untitled and contains no categories or pictures. Before you can add pictures, you must first add at least one category. PowerAlbum will prompt you to add a category when you choose Object | Add and no categories exist.


See also

New

Adding objects

Adding categories

Saving an album

How To


How to Merge albums
Merging albums

See Also

Merging albums copies the contents of one or more closed album(s) into the currently open album.

To merge albums:

1.	Open the album that you want to receive the objects.

2.	Choose File | Merge.

3.	Choose a drive, if necessary, and navigate through the Directories box to find the album you want.

4.	Choose the album(s) (.PWR file) that you want to merge from the File Name list box.

5.	Choose OK.


See also

Merge

Saving an album

Merging categories

How To


How to navigate through an album
Navigating through an album

See Also

In Book view:

1.	To move to the next page, click the arrow next to the page number of the right-hand page. To move to the previous page, click the arrow on the left-hand page.

2.	To move to another category, click its tab. When the album is too small to display all the category tabs, arrows appear on either side of the category tabs. Click the arrow to the right or left of the category tabs to move forward or backward one category at a time.

3.	Choose Contents to move to the Contents page. Clicking on a category on the Contents page will move you directly to that category.

In Filmstrip view:

1.	To move forward or backward one frame, click the single arrow.

2.	To move forward or backward multiple frames, click the double arrow. This will move you the number of frames that is shown on the screen at one time.

3.	To move to the beginning of the category, click the single arrow with a line on its left (or top, in vertical orientation). To move to the end of the category, click the single arrow with a line on its right (or bottom, in vertical orientation).

4.	To move to another category, click the Category button. Select a category from the list.


See also

Searching for objects

How To


How to open an album
Opening an album

See Also

When you open another album, PowerAlbum automatically closes the currently open album; you can have only one album open at a time.

To open an existing album:

1.	Choose File | Open. If you have not saved your recent changes, PowerAlbum asks if you want to do so. Choose Yes to save the changes or No to discard them. The Open Album File dialog box appears.

2.	Choose the drive and directory, if necessary.

3.	Select the desired album name.

4.	Choose Open.


See also

Open

Creating a new album

How To


How to save an album
Saving an album

See Also

To save a new album, or to make a copy of the album with a different name:

1.	Choose File | Save As. The Save Album File dialog box appears.

2.	Type the name in the File name field. Choose a different drive and directory if you want.

3.	Choose Save. The name of the album appears in the Title bar at the top of the window.

Once you have used Save As to give a new album a name, you can choose File | Save to save other changes, such as added pictures, rearranged pages, or new descriptions.


See also

Save As

Creating a new album

How To


How to print an album
Printing an album

See Also

To print an album:

1.	Choose File | Print.

2.	Select the categories you want to appear in your printout from the categories list box.

3.	Select the Print Options you want. Make sure all your desired selections have a checkmark next to them. If any item does not have checkmark, it will not print.

Print Options include:

thumbnail

filename

name

keywords

description

4.	Choose OK.


See also

Print

How To


How to play a Video
Playing Video

To play a video clip in PowerAlbum:

1.	Click on the thumbnail for the video clip that you want to play.

2.	Choose Edit | Object | Play or double click on the object.

The video clip immediately begins playing. The slider at the bottom of the video window displays the progress of the playback.

3.	Click on the stop button to pause the playback.

If you click on the stop button, it becomes a play button. Click on it again to resume playing or to replay the clip.

4.	Click on the menu button to display a list of video options.

View - Choose Half, Normal or Double.

Volume - Use the slider bar to increase or decrease the volume.

Speed - Use the slider bar to speed up or slow down the playback.

Copy - Copies the current frame to the Clipboard.

Configure - Choose to play the video in a window or full screen, to zoom in on the video, and to skip frames if necessary to keep the video in sync with any sound. Click the Default button to use the current options for all video clips. Click on OK when finished.

Command - See your video driver documentation for additional command you can use with video clips. Type the command and click on Send.

5.	If you’re playing the video full screen, you can click the mouse at any time to stop the playback and return to the video window.

6.	Double-click the top left corner of the video window to return to PowerAlbum.


How to convert Picture Objects to Other Formats
Converting Picture Objects to Other Formats

See Also

In addition to simply organizing your picture objects, PowerAlbum can also convert them to other formats.

To save a picture object in another format:

1.	Click on the thumbnail of the picture object you want to convert.

You can not export sound, video or other miscellaneous files.

2.	Choose Object | Export.

3.	From the List of File Types, select the format in which you want to save the picture.

4.	If necessary, type a new name and file extension for the new picture.

5.	Click on OK.

The new graphic file is created but not automatically added to an album. To add the new file as a picture object in an album, see Adding Objects.

Note:	You can only convert bitmapped raster graphics to other bitmapped raster formats and vector images to other vector formats. For example, you can convert a .BMP file to a .PCX file, but not to a .WMF file.


See also

About File Formats

Adding objects

How To


How to play Sounds
Playing Sounds

To play a sound in PowerAlbum:

1.	Double click on the thumbnail or indicator for the sound that you want to play.

or

2.	Choose Edit | Object. A submenu allows you to open or edit the sound. Choose Play.

Note:	If you do not have a sound card, you will not be able to play sounds with PowerAlbum.


How to Drag and Drop
Drag and Drop

Drag and Drop is a powerful new feature of PowerAlbum. It allows you to easily move objects and frames within PowerAlbum and it simplifies using your objects in other OLE 2.0 applications. You can even add objects to PowerAlbum from other OLE 2.0 applications with Drag and Drop.

To Drag and Drop an object into another application:

1.	Find the desired object or indicator. Press the CTRL key while you click and hold the left mouse button on the object. This action will copy the object from PowerAlbum to the target application.

Note:	To move the object to the target application, you simply click and hold the left mouse button on the object.

2.	Drag the object into the target OLE 2.0 application and wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	When the object is at the desired location, release the left mouse button.

To Drag and Drop an object into PowerAlbum from another OLE 2.0 application:

1.	Find the desired object or indicator. Press the CTRL key while you click and hold the left mouse button on the object. This action will copy the object from the OLE 2.0 application to the PowerAlbum album.

Note:	To move the object from the OLE 2.0 application to PowerAlbum, you simply click and hold the left mouse button on the object.

2.	Drag the object into PowerAlbum and wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	When the object is at the desired location, on top of a category tab or between two frames, release the left mouse button.


How to remove objects from a frame
Removing objects from a frame

Removing an object from a category deletes the thumbnail image or indicator of that object. If the object occurs in more than one category, you will only remove the actual object you selected. Other instances will not be affected. Remove does not affect the actual graphic file on your disk.

To remove a object from a category:

1.	Select the object you want to remove and choose Object | Remove.

2.	Click OK.

If you want to restore the object later, you will have to add it to the album or copy it from another category.


How to add and edit category properties
Adding and editing category properties

See Also

Categories in the albums you received with PowerAlbum may have entries in the property fields; you can change these or add to them if you like. Categories that you add to PowerAlbum later will not have entries in the property fields, but you can add your own.

Categories have two properties:

name	256 characters

description	1,024 characters

Properties can be useful because you can use the Find command to search for any word, or part of a word, in one or more property fields. When entering properties, it is a good idea to use a variety of descriptive words, including some general concepts. For example, you might describe a category of sports cars as "car, transportation, speed, vintage Chevys."

To add or edit category properties:

1.	Select the category you want to describe and choose Category | Properties.

2.	The category’s property sheet will display the two property fields and their current entries.

3.	TAB to the desired property field or place the mouse at the desired location within a field and left click to place the cursor.

4.	Type the new word or phrase at the cursor. Separate words by spaces and/or commas.

5.	After you have made all your changes or additions, choose OK.


See also

Properties

Find

How To


How to print categories
Printing categories

See Also

To print a category:

1.	Choose File | Print.

2.	Select the category or categories you want to print from the categories list box.

3.	Select the Print Options you want. Make sure all your desired selections have a checkmark next to them. If any item does not have checkmark, it will not print.

Print Options include:

thumbnail

filename

name

keywords

description

4.	Choose OK.


See also

Print

How To


How to remove frames from a category
Removing frames from a category

See Also

Removing a frame from a category deletes the thumbnail image and indicator of all the objects contained in the frame and the frame itself. If the objects contained in the frame occur in more than one category, you will not affect the other copies with this remove. This does not affect the actual graphic file on your disk.

To remove a frame from a category:

1.	Select the frame you want to remove and choose Object | Remove.

2.	You will be prompted to confirm before the frames, and their objects, are removed from the category. Choose OK or Cancel.

If you want to restore the individual objects later, you will have to add them to the album or copy them from another category.


See also

Remove

Adding objects

Adding multiple objects to a frame

Moving, copying, and rearranging objects

Deleting object files from your disk

How To


How to customize the Book view
Customizing the Book view

The Book view can be customized to reflect the way you work. Customization options include:

1.	Resize the window to display more or less frames at one time. Simply drag the corner of the window to resize the album.

2.	Choose the size of the thumbnail for each picture object. The larger the thumbnail, the easier it is to see the reduced picture of the object and fewer frames will appear on a page. With smaller thumbnails, more frames appear on a page. Choose View | Style to change the thumbnail size.

3.	Frames can display a single thumbnail or they may show the primary thumbnail and indicators to represent secondary objects. Choose View | Style to toggle the indicators on and off.

4.	Place frames where you want them to appear by using Drag and Drop to move and copy.

5.	Move the window to a specific location on your desktop by clicking on the title bar and dragging to the new location.

When you save an album, all of the customization options are saved for the Book view. Separate options are saved for the Filmstrip; so each view can have its own thumbnail sizes, indicator toggle status, size and location on the screen. The next time the album is opened, the customization option choices will be presented.


How to use the Book view
Using the Book view

The Book view expands on the proven album metaphor. It has been expanded to provide more functionality and organization. The Book view is very powerful for organizing, grouping and documenting the files on your PC.

Key features of the Book that will help you use the objects organized in PowerAlbum:

1.	The Book view provides standard menus and shortcut keys to simplify and speed entry of objects in an album.

2.	You can change the size of the window to better see the organization of the categories and frames.

3.	Drag and Drop ease of use and “Always on Top” options are available to facilitate adding and viewing objects.


How to view the Table of Contents
Viewing the Table of Contents

To see a list of all the categories and the number of objects, by object type, in each category:

1.	Choose the Contents tab in the Book view. If the Contents tab is not visible, click on the left arrow next to the tabs until the Contents tab comes into view or press CRTL+HOME.

2.	The categories are listing in the order in which they appear in the album. To the right of each category is the number of each object type.

Note:	If the number of objects is only visible when the PowerAlbum window is large enough to show all the object information. If this information is not visible, resize the PowerAlbum window larger.


How to customize the Filmstrip view
Customizing the Filmstrip view

The Filmstrip can be customized to reflect the way you work. Customization options include:

1.	Resize the length of the Filmstrip to display more or less frames at one time. Simply drag the edge of the window to resize the Filmstrip.

2.	View the Filmstrip in a vertical or horizontal strip. Click the Orientation button to change the between the two choices.

3.	Chose the size of the thumbnail for each picture object. The larger the thumbnail, the easier it is to see the reduced picture of the object and fewer frames will appear on the Filmstrip. With smaller thumbnails, more frames appear on the Filmstrip. Click the Main Menu button and choose View | Style to change the thumbnail size.

4.	Frames can display a single thumbnail or they may show the primary thumbnail and indicators to represent secondary objects. Click the Main Menu button and choose View | Style to toggle the indicators on and off.

5.	Choose the distinctive Filmstrip display or choose to conserve screen space by removing the Sprockets. Select the main Menu button and choose View | Style to toggle the sprockets on and off.

6.	Move the window to a specific location on your desktop by clicking on the title bar and dragging to the new location.

When you save an album, all of the customization options are saved for the Filmstrip. Separate options are saved for the Book view; so each view can have its own thumbnail sizes, indicator toggle status, size and location on the screen. The next time the album is opened, the customization option choices will be presented.


How to use the Filmstrip view
Using the Filmstrip view

The Filmstrip is a completely new User Interface (UI). It has been designed to take up very little space on the screen, producing a small footprint with full PowerAlbum functionality.  The Filmstrip is very powerful for utilizing graphic/image files and multimedia files with other applications.

Key features of Filmstrip that will help you use the objects organized in PowerAlbum:

1.	You have full access to all PowerAlbum functionality while using very little screen space.

2.	Drag and Drop functionality is easier with the small screen space usage. The Filmstrip can be on your screen and visible at the same time another application is visible, making it very easy to use the files that have been organized in PowerAlbum.

3.	“Always on Top” option makes the Filmstrip available and useful as a quick Drag and Drop source/target.

4.	Filmstrip is a fun, distinctive, and customizable way to view your albums.  You can select the way the Filmstrip looks and how much information is on the screen at any one time.

5.	You can change to the Book view with a quick toggle.


How to Drag and Drop an object into PowerAlbum from another application
Drag and Drop an object into PowerAlbum from another application

To Drag and Drop a copy of an object into PowerAlbum:

1.	Open the OLE 2.0 application you wish to drag an object from and open PowerAlbum.

2.	Find the desired object. Press the CTRL key while you click and hold the left mouse button on the object. This action will copy the object from the source application to PowerAlbum.

2.	Drag the object into PowerAlbum and wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	When the object is at the desired location (between frames, behind a frame, or in front of a frame) or over the appropriate category tab, release the left mouse button.

To Drag and Drop, or move, an object into PowerAlbum:

1.	Open the OLE 2.0 application you wish to drag an object from and open PowerAlbum.

2.	Find the desired object or indicator. Click and hold the left mouse button on the object. This action will move the object from the source application to PowerAlbum.

2.	Drag the object into PowerAlbum and wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	When the object is at the desired location (between frames, behind a frame, or in front of a frame) or over the appropriate category tab, release the left mouse button.


How to Drag and Drop an object from PowerAlbum into another application
Drag and Drop an object from PowerAlbum into another application

To Drag and Drop a copy of an object into another application:

1.	Open the target OLE 2.0 application you wish to drag an object into.

2.	In PowerAlbum, find the desired object or indicator. Press the CTRL key while you click and hold the left mouse button on the object. This action will copy the object from PowerAlbum to the target application.

2.	Drag the object into the target OLE 2.0 application and wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	When the object is at the desired location, release the left mouse button.

To Drag and Drop, or move, an object into another application:

1.	Open the target OLE 2.0 application you wish to drag an object into.

2.	In PowerAlbum, find the desired object or indicator. Click and hold the left mouse button on the object. This action will move the object from PowerAlbum to the target application.

2.	Drag the object into the target OLE 2.0 application and wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	When the object is at the desired location, release the left mouse button.


How to Drag and Drop frames within PowerAlbum
Drag and Drop frames within PowerAlbum

Moving Frames

To Drag and Drop, or move, frames on a Book page or the Filmstrip:

1.	Select the frame by clicking on the frame selector in the upper left hand corner and holding down the left mouse button, then drag it to another location (between two frames, in front of a frame or behind a frame).

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	Release the mouse button. The frame will be placed in the target location.

To Drag and Drop, or move, a frame to another category in the Book:

1.	Select the frame by clicking on the frame selector in the upper left hand corner and holding down the left mouse button, then drag the object over the tab of the category in which you want to place it.

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	Release the mouse button. The frame will appear at the end of that category.

Copying Frames

To Drag and Drop a copy of a frame on a Book page or the Filmstrip:

1.	Select a frame by pressing the CRTL key while clicking on the frame selector in the upper left hand corner holding down the left mouse button, then drag it to another location (between two frames, in front of a frame or behind a frame).

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	Release the mouse button. The frame will be placed at the target location.

To Drag and Drop a copy of a to another category in the Book:

1.	Select the frame by pressing the CRTL key while clicking on the frame selector in the upper left hand corner and holding down the left mouse button, then drag the frame over the tab of the category in which you want to place it.

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	Release the mouse button. The frame will appear at the end of that category.

To Drag and Drop a copy of a frame to another category in the Filmstrip:

1.	can we do this?.


How to Drag and Drop objects within PowerAlbum
Drag and Drop objects within PowerAlbum

Moving Objects

To Drag and Drop, or move, objects on a Book page or the Filmstrip:

1.	Select an object by clicking and holding down the left mouse button, then drag it to another frame or location (between two frames, in front of a frame or behind a frame).

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	Release the mouse button. The object will be placed in the target frame or into a new frame.

Note:	Only one object of each type may be placed in a frame.

To Drag and Drop, or move, an object to another Book page within the same category:

1.	Select an object by clicking and holding down the left mouse button, then drag it to over the page arrows.

2.	When the the cursor changes to [image], PowerAlbum will move you to the next page.

3.	When you have move to the desired page and location, release the mouse button. The object will be placed in the target frame or into a new frame.

To Drag and drop, or move, an object to another category in the Book:

1.	Select the object, by clicking and holding down the left mouse button, and drag the object over the tab of the category in which you want to place it.

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	Release the mouse button. The object will appear in a new frame at the end of that category.

Copying Objects

To Drag and drop a copy of an object on a Book page or the Filmstrip:

1.	Select a object, by pressing the CRTL key while holding down the left mouse button, and drag it to another frame or to a location (between two frames, in front of a frame or behind a frame).

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	Release the mouse button. The object will be placed in the target frame or into a new frame.

To Drag and drop a copy of an object to another Book page within the same category:

1.	Select an object by clicking and holding down the left mouse button, then drag it to over the page arrows.

2.	When the the cursor changes to [image], PowerAlbum will move you to the next page.

3.	When you have move to the desired page and location, release the mouse button. The object will be placed in the target frame or into a new frame.

To Drag and Drop a copy of an object to another category in the Book:

1.	Select the object, by pressing the CRTL key while clicking and holding down the left mouse button, and drag the object over the tab of the category in which you want to place it.

2.	Wait until the cursor changes to [image].

3.	Release the mouse button. The object will appear in a new frame at the end of that category.


How to convert ALB files
Converting ALB files

To use an ALB file, an album from previous versions of PowerAlbum, you must convert it to PWR file.

1.	Choose File | Import.

2.	Select the ALB file to be converted, or imported.

3.	Click Open.

4.	You will be prompted to save the album file before starting the import.

Choose Save As, Save or Cancel as appropriate.

Provide a name for the imported album to be saved.

5.	You will be prompted as to whether the error messages should be suppressed or not. Suppressing messages allows the import to proceed, regardless of errors. When messages are not suppressed, errors found will halt the import process.

Note:	Once an ALB file has been imported and saved as a PWR file, it can no longer be used in previous versions of PowerAlbum.


Contents
Index

Getting Started

Overview

Parts of the Screen

Book View

Film Strip

Using the menu commands and keyboard

Menu commands

Using the mouse

How to

Glossary


 Overview

See Also

PowerAlbum is an innovative way to organize and use any and all files on your PC or on removable media, such as a CD-ROM. Graphic images, photos, videos, sounds, text and more can be categorized, grouped and documented for quick identification and use. PowerAlbum makes it easy to locate and select files, or objects, because you can

-	Organize all types of files, or objects, in an album. Any files that reside on your hard disk, CD-ROM or floppy diskette can be organized, grouped and documented for quick, visual retrieval.

-	Arrange and order your objects into categories any way you please, even across drives and directories.

-	Group objects in frames to establish a cross reference association between objects and simplify searching for related objects.

-	See reduced images (called thumbnails) of the objects instead of a list of filenames. Five size options provide ease of viewing and object selection.

-	View albums in both the Book view and the new Filmstrip view.  Each provides full functionality and facilitates organization and use of your objects.

-	Search for objects by category, filename, name, file type, keywords or description. Combine criteria to produce a more narrow and specific search.

-	Use Drag and Drop to easily move or copy objects from PowerAlbum to other applications and from OLE 2.0 application to PowerAlbum.

PowerAlbum organizes all objects in albums. An album contains reduced thumbnail images and representative indicators of your objects. They are placed and grouped in frames and organized into categories.

PowerAlbum provides two distinctive views: Book view and Filmstrip view.

Book

PowerAlbum, in Book view, has the look and feel of an online photo album.  It has a Table of Contents and opens to two pages. Objects appear in frames on the pages and are organized by category. Categories are separated by tabs, as a real photo album often is. You can flip through the pages of an album or jump directly to another category.

Filmstrip

PowerAlbum now goes beyond the photo album metaphor and allows users to view pictures or objects in Filmstrip view. This option adds another dimension to the organizational features of the product while saving valuable screen real estate.

Once you find an object you want to use in a document use PowerAlbum’s powerful Drag and Drop capabilities to move or copy objects from PowerAlbum to other OLE 2.0 capable applications.

Another way to view pictures is via the slide show which cycles through a category or an entire album. This feature is very useful as a personal screen saver that can also play sounds.

This combination of features makes PowerAlbum a very comprehensive organizing tool.


See also

How To

Commands and Menus

The Filmstrip

Book View


Drag and Drop

See Also

PowerAlbum provides powerful Drag and Drop functionality, making it very easy to use and organize objects in PowerAlbum and in other applications.

Drag and Drop allows you to move or copy an object from PowerAlbum to another OLE capable application simply by clicking on the object in PowerAlbum and dragging it into the target application.

Note:	Drag and Drop is easiest to use in the Filmstrip view. The Filmstrip uses very little space on your screen, allowing you to have both PowerAlbum and the target application visible and easily accessible at the same time.

Using Drag and Drop to move and copy objects also helps you to organize and group objects in PowerAlbum.  Objects can also be added to PowerAlbum by using Drag and Drop from another OLE application


See also

Drag and Drop

Moving, copying, and rearranging objects


Right Mouse Button

PowerAlbum provides full right mouse button functionality. The right mouse button is available in three different places on both the Book and FilmStrip views.

On an Object

When the right mouse button is clicked on an object within a frame the following menu is displayed. Click on each menu item for a further explanation of the item.

Outside a Frame

If the right mouse button is clicked outside the frame area the following menu is displayed. Click on each menu item for a further explanation of the item.

On the Frame Selector

If the right mouse button is clicked on the frame selector  in the upper left hand corner of the frame, but not on any object within the frame, the following menu is displayed.


About File Formats

Graphic Formats

There are two basic types of graphic files: bitmapped raster and object-oriented vector graphics. PowerAlbum can export, or convert, graphic file formats to other file formats of the same type; raster to raster, and vector to vector.

A bitmapped raster graphic is a collection of dots that form an image, much like the pointillist techniques of the Impressionist painters. Scanners and graphics programs that create these images identify the color of each dot in an image, thereby creating a map of variously colored dots.

Vector images, on the other hand, are defined by mathematical formulas. Vector graphics are often referred to as being object-oriented images because they are produced as a combination of various objects - lines, boxes, and ovals - often layered one on top of the other. When you create a vector image, your computer keeps track of the image by remembering the characteristics of all the objects that produced it: the length of the line, its position, the width of a box, an so on.

Within each of these basic types of graphic files, there are several different, commonly used file types. PowerAlbum can manage all of the following formats.

BMP and PCX

BMP and PCX are bitmapped file formats created by paint programs like PC Paintbrush or some screen-capture programs. PCX is one of the oldest and most common bitmap formats available.

CGM

CGM files are a type of vector graphic that can be produced by drawing or spreadsheet programs such as Harvard Graphics, Applause II, Freelance Plus and Corel Draw. The CGM format was created by the American National Standards Institute, Inc. (ANSI) to provide a standard for graphical information exchange, and is widely supported.

DRW

DRW files are vector graphics created by Micrografx programs such as Designer and Draw.

EPI

Files with the EPI extension are bitmap graphics created by SoftKey’s TextEffects program. EPI files are similar to TIF files.

GIF

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is a file format established by CompuServe. A GIF (usually 256-color) is a bitmapped file.

JPEG

A JPEG file (Joint Photographic Experts group) is a specially compressed file in a bitmapped format. The file size of a JPEG file is much smaller than similar pictures in other formats.

PCD

PCD is a Kodak Photo CD file in a bitmapped format. A PCD file actually contains five different resolutions (ranging from low to high) of a slide or film negative.

TIFF

TIFF stands for Tagged Image File Format. Files with the TIF extension are usually created by scanners or image processing programs. These bitmapped files come in a number of different versions. Because the TIFF format is so flexible, PowerAlbum may not be able to successfully handle every file that claims it is TIFF compatible.

WMF

WMF stands for Windows MetaFile. This is a popular format for Windows graphics files.

WPG

WPG files (Word Perfect Graphic) can be vector or bitmapped raster graphics. PowerAlbum may not read WPG files that contain a combination of vector and raster data.

MultiMedia

PowerAlbum can also manage sound (MID, RMI, WAV) video (AVI) files. These file types cannot be exported, or converted, to other file formats.

Miscellaneous

PowerAlbum now has the ability to manage any file type that can reside on your PC, floppy diskette or CD-ROM. All files can be organized, grouped and documented in PowerAlbum, including EXE and DLL file types.


Credits

Producer:  Kathy Howell

Brand Manager:  Lori Grey

Engineering:  Snehal Vashi, David Nesfeder, Ted Nichols, Noshir Patel and Rodney Smith

Documentation:  Glenn White and Patrick Cumby

QA:  Gary Count, Dana Wright, Amy Sullivan and Shawn Bernard

Special Thanks To:  Patrick Gilman and John Rogers