Documentation - SMILE - Slideshow Maker In Linux Environement

# Table of contents

1. Introduction
   - SMILE presentation
   - History of SMILE
2. Startup
   - First start
   - General organization of the interface
   - Important tips
     - Selecting a color
     - Selecting a value
     - Floating toolbox
     - Taking a snapshot
     - Showing a grid
     - Using PAL/NTSC
3. Using
   - Projects management
     - Creating a project
     - Saving a project
     - Opening a project
   - Creating a slideshow
     - Image management with the timeline
       - Adding images
       - Adding a video
       - Ranking slides
       - Removing slides
       - Editing a slide
       - Preview
       - Expert timeline
     - Transitions
     - Soundtrack
     - Management of the slides' movement
       - Form of the slide (cube, flag, ...)
       - Moving slides
       - Movement in the slideshow - Begin-End - Expert timeline
       - Applying the same mouvement to several slide - Copy-paste coordinates
       - Deleting a movement - Reseting the coordinates
     - Title management
       - Legend
       - Audio comment
     - Various tools (background, drawing, fog, ...)
       - Scale tool
       - Slide opacity
       - Slide's background
       - Fog effect
       - Motion blur effect
       - Other effects : snow, rain, ...
       - Superimposing an animation
       - Drawing tool
   - Rendering a slideshow
4. License

# 1. Introduction

## SMILE's presentation

SMILE means Slideshow Maker In Linux Environnement. SMILE is a slideshow creating tool (developed with qt4), for GNU/Linux, although it also works on Mac OS/X and maybe one day on Microsoft Windows. It allows, from images, to create a video slideshow, that can be played on almost all medias. The numerous features and the simplicity of use make it possible to create dynamic and rich slideshows in just a few clicks, without having to worry about technical issues or complicated settings.

## History of SMILE

#### By the author of SMILE, Stéphane Gibault

A few years ago when I landed in the Linux sphere, I quickly felt the desire to develop my own tools .... simply because existing ones did not meet my needs completely. For me I train began by writing a little game in QT3 appointed Eggibault, then I leaned towards the heaviest: write a software to create your own DVD videos ....

While I was reaching my goal, the requests from users became more and more sophisticated and my code less and less clear. It became indispensable part of any rethinking. During the same period emerged replacing QT3 of ... QT4 is ... The latter called into question many things for a former developer and COBOL Pacbase. But above all, and it was not to reproduce the same mistakes as ManDVD. The first task has been to rethink the tool and especially to define the broad guidelines. The vast majority of asks for ManDVD focused on the slideshow module which only made static slides. So I simply launched first the slideshow new module named: Manslide.

The development of Manslide progressed slowly when I found myself here two or three months required to produce a slideshow for myself ... and I stormed as the tool totally lacked of flexibility of use. My knowledge in C++ has grown, so I decided to rewrite it and Manslide give a new name to avoid some saucy puns ... this will be SMILE : Slideshow Maker for Linux Environment.

So that's why SMILE was born and it explains why I abandoned ManDVD development and why a new tool will soon emerge for replace. But do things in order .... finish SMILE and the rest will follow .... indeed I always say the biggest work was ManDVD slideshow part .... the rest was very fast to develop and as said my analysis teacher at the time ... pfff c'est du pipi de chat ;-)

Stéphane

# 2. Start up

## First start

At the first start, the program asks you to select a folder to store the temporary files ans the slideshows. Click on the folder icon and go the the wanted folder, then click "Choose". You are in front of the SMILE's main window (you can notice that everything is inactive but the project management functions, because you have to create a project to begin using SMILE).

## General organization of the interface

The interface is divided into three major parts, outside the menu bar, which give access to key features of the software (project management, slideshow rendering, ...).

At the bottom, there is the timeline, which allows you to organize images (moving, deleting, ...), to edit slides, to see the transitions, and to add a soundtrack.

In the upper left, you can see the viewing area, where we see the selected image (marked with a star on the timeline). This area includes a toolbar.

Finally, at right, the tabs containing all the effects (transition, title, ...). It's possible to hide this menu in "View -> View / hide right menu" (or Ctrl + M).

## Important tips

### Selecting a color - "circles of color"

Each time you'll have to choose a color, you'll have to use this tool. To select a color, just click on it, it will appear in the little circle at the upper left. If you hold the left click, you can change the color as the mouse move.

You can adjust the colors's brightness with the mouse wheel when the mouse pointer is on the circle.

### Selecting a value

This type of button allows you to easily choose a numerical value, and is used in several places in SMILE. To use it, you can move the small blue circle in the large cercle, controlling the value, or use the mouse wheel.

### Floating toolbox

SMILE has several windows of this type. These are small windows (with no title bar), which are not fixed in the interface, so they can be simply moved with the mouse, per example if the hide a part of an image.

### Taking a snapshot

Available in "Edit -> Take a snapshot", this feature allows, at any time, to save in jpeg the display of the viewing area. You'll just have to select the file path to save.

### Showing a grid

Showing a grid ('View -> Show/hide grid" or Ctrl + G) can display a grid on the viewing area, helping positioning the different elements.

### Using PAL/NTSC

You just have to select "NTSC 4/3" during the project creation.

# 3. Using

## Projects management

The projects allows you to save a slideshow during its creation, or to modify the slideshow later (which is impossible with the video file created). SMILE uses files with .smi extension for the saves (you can link .smi files to SMILE, so you can open projects directly, without having to open them in SMILE).

### Creating a project

To create a new project (which is necessary to create a slideshow), click on "Project -> New" or on the first icon in the toolbar at the top of the windows (or Ctrl + N). Then, you have to select the folder where temp folder and the rendered slideshows will be stored. So it's necessary to have enough space available there.

You also have to select the output format : PAL 4/3, PAL 16/9 or NTSC 4/3.

### Saving a project

In the menu, there are two choices to save a project ("Save" and "Save as"). At the first save, both open a windows asking you to choose the name and the location of the backup file. But after, the first choice just overwrites the previous backup, with the current status of the project, while the second can create a new backup, for example to keep several versions of the same slideshow.

### Opening a project

If you want to open an existent project, simply click on "Project -> Open", and select the .smi file.

Beware : Currently (test versions), the backup files a not compatible between different versions. It is therefore not possible to open a backup file made by a previous version of the program.

## Creating a slideshow

### Managing slides - The timeline

#### Presentation of the timeline

The timeline, at the bottom of the interface, represents the sequence of slides. It can handle slides, soundtrack and show an overview of the slideshow. The selected slide is marked by a star. If you have many slides, you can browse with the mouse scroll, or with the scrollbar, at the bottom.

#### Adding images

You can add 3 types of slides : an empty slide, an image or a video as a slide.

To add an empty slide, go in "Edit -> Add transparent slide" (or Ctrl + T). It allows you to create, for example, a slide with only a title.

##### Import parameters

You can select the important characteristics of the slides before importation. These options are available in "Edition -> Import parameters". It is thus possible to set the default duration of the slide, and to choose to automatically add a transition (one common to all images, or a random one for each) and set its duration. These options are attractive for long slideshows, for which it is tedious to change these characteristics on each slide.

Note : When you change the import parameters, SMILE offers you to apply these parameters to already imported images.

There are two ways to add slides to the slideshow :

##### - In SMILE

Click on "Edit -> Add new slides" or on the button in the toolbar. The top of the main window is replaced by a file browser. You can then navigate to the folder you want (the arrow represent the parent folder). To add images, you can use a drag-and-drop for each image to the timeline, or with several images at once (to select, you can use key bindings like Ctrl + A to select all, holding Ctrl button to select several images one by one, Shift to select multiple images, ...)..

##### - From another application

You can add pictures to the slideshow directly by dragging it into the timeline from other applications, like file browsers (Konqueror, Nautilus, Rox, Dolphin, Thunar, ...).

#### Adding a video

To add a video to the slideshow, go in "Edition -> Add a video as a slide", select the file you want (.avi or .mpg), and click on "Choose". It appears in the timeline, like a normal slide. After, it behaves like a slide, but remember that some things you can apply to the pictures can't be applied to the videos...

#### Ranking slides

To rearrange slides, the easiest way is to use the drag and drop directly on the timeline. But it's possible to choose "Edit -> Move current slide left / right" and the corresponding buttons on the toolbar.

You can mix the slides randomly right-clicking in the timeline, and selecting "Mix the slides randomly".

You can also reproduce a slide (with all configured effects) clicking on "Duplicate current slide", in "Edition" or in the right-click menu, in the timeline.

#### Removing slides

There are also two ways to remove a slide :

- Right click on the slide in the timeline, then click on "Remove selected slide"
- Select the slide to delete in the timeline, then "Edit -> Delete the current slide" (or the button in the toolbar).
- Select the slide in the timeline, and press Suppr.

#### Editing a slide

You can access this module by right-clicking on a slide in the timeline or in the viewing area and clicking on "Edit slide" or in the "Edit" menu. The editing window replaces the main window and has three areas of tools : horizontal and vertical toolbar and a floating toolbox.

The image editing changes the current image. Unlike effects, which are just superimposed on the image, the changes made in this module are final, once accepted, you also notice that these are the only visible in the timeline.

It is possible, at any time, to return to the initial state of the image by clicking on "Restore". Once the edition is complete, click "Ok" in the upper right (or "Cancel" to cancel the changes).

The features are :

- In the toolbox on the right of the editing window
  - Changin colors (brightness, contrast, balance)
  - Applying a fade (which all aspects are configurable)
- In the vertical toolbar with insights
  - Predefined colors modifications : negative, sepia, black and white
  - Flipping the image, mirror effect
  - Adding a frame around the image
- In the upper horizontal toolbar
  - Cropping an image : just make a selection of the area holding left button, and click "Ok"
  - Cutting the image using a form: select the form and click "Ok"
  - "Eraser" tool
  - Rotation: opens a floating window to rotate the image. Click the button again to close the tool.

##### "Eraser" tool

It allows you to add transparency to the image. The size of the eraser is adjustable in the toolbar. When the opacity is set at minimum, it amounts to make the area painted transparent, so that the background will be visible there. But if you increase opacity, you can choose a color, and create an area where the background will appear through this color. Click again the button "Eraser" to close the tool.

#### Preview

The timeline, full of features, can also display a slideshow preview. For this, use the buttons on the upper part of the timeline (begin, reading and end). The begin and end buttons position the view at the beginning and the end of a slide, and a the reading button launches the preview.

#### Expert timeline

You can see in the timeline a button "Expert timeline" that displays an enigmatic window above the timeline. It allows to finely control the movement of the selected slide. Its use is explained in moving slides part.

### The transitions

A transition can make the change from one image to another dynamic, with various effects. To apply a transition to a slide (at the beginning of the slide), select it and choose the transition in the pulldown menu in the "Parameters" tab, you can also adjust the duration of this transition. Once the transition is applied, it is represented on the timeline by an icon in the bottom left of the slide. To remove a transition, select "No transition" in the menu. You can also invert the transition.

### Soundtrack

The soundtrack management is done by the timeline. To add a soundtrack, right click anywhere in the timeline, and select "Add audio track". Choose the file (.mp3, .ogg or .wav), it will be visible at the bottom of the timeline (with the file name and its duration). You can move the soundtrack by dragging it under the slides, to choose its start point.

To stop the soundtrack at the end of a slide, right-click on this slide, and click "End soundtrack at the end of this slide. The track will be cut with a fade (the volume decrease gradually).

To adjust the slideshow duration on the soundtrack lengh, right click in the timeline, and select "Adjust slideshow duration on soundtrack length", which will extend (or get shorter) each slide duration.

### Management of the slides' movement

#### Form of the slide (cube, flag, ...)

It is possible to change the form of an image, with several types defined. To do so, right-click on the image in the viewing area, then select an item in the first part of the menu ( "Plane" to "Box with reflect", "Plane" being the default choice). The image can then be manipulated in the same way regardless of the chosen effect.

#### Moving slides

The movement can be done with the floating toolbar of the viewing area. Here is an explanation of the effects of the different buttons :

- 1 - moves the slide
- 2 - rotates the slide axially X (hold left click, and move to left or right)
- 3 - rotates the slide axially Y (hold left click, and move to left or right)
- 4 - rotates the slide axially Z (hold left click, and move to left or right)
- 5 - free rotation, allows you to rotate the slide in the 3 dimensions (X, Y et Z) all at once
- 6 - zoom : control the zoom with the mouse (holding left click, move to right to zoom in, and to left to zoom out). The zoom is also controlled at any time by the mouse wheel.

It's possible to rotate directly an image right clicking on it in the viewing area (90 or -90°), for example to rectify quickly a portait picture.

Note: When you begin moving the slides, you will see that they are positioned by default on a black background, which is configurable.

#### Movement in the slideshow - Begin-End - Expert timeline

You may have noticed that all the movements that you make with the toolbar are not visible in the preview, or in a rendered movie slideshow. You have, in fact, to tell the program the position of the slide at least two times, and it will create the moving accordingly. To do it, you have to create at least two passage points (begin and end).

There are two ways to create passage points : Begin/end buttons, and the expert timeline.

##### Begin/end buttons

For movement with two passage points, use these buttons which are located on the toolbar, the green flag representing the beginning, and the red, the end. It is very easy to use :

- put the slide in the desired position for the beginning
- click on "Begin"
- put the slide in the desired position for the end
- cliquer on "End"

That's all ! You can now "move" between these defined points with the preview buttons in the timeline. You can click on the left button to return to the beginning of the current slide, the central button to launch the preview : the image is moving.

##### Expert timeline

The use of the expert timeline, which can may appear complicated, allows you to manage much more finely the movement of slides. It consists of several components : the upper bar, where each number corresponds to the numbering of the second of the slides, there are therefore as much as defined in the duration of the slide. Under each of these numbers, you can see a flag.

The first and last flags are green and red, the other are grey. If the flag is colored, it means that a position was attributed to the slide at this instant (by default, the slide has just a starting point and a point of arrival, which are identical: no movement).

To assign an instant a particular position, set the slide as desired, then right-click on the flag corresponding to the moment chosen : it turns colored, the position is registered. To remove this position, right click again on it (this lets you change the positions of the beginning and end). In fact, clicking on begin/end buttons in the toolbar just defines the position of the first and last flags.

You can let flags grey. In this case, the movement will take place between the two positions recorded (it thus becomes possible to create movement more or less long, in one slide).

If you click on a flag, you will see the position registered at this instant in the viewing area. You can also hold the left button on moving on the expert timeline : you follow the movement of the slide at every moment.

#### Applying the same movement to several slide - Copy-paste coordinates

The copy/paste coordinates can apply the movement from one slide to another one. It works well with the movements defined by begin/end and by the advanced timeline. It is accessible by a right-click on the image in the viewing area or on the timeline, or by the "Edit" menu. To use it, simply copy the coordinates of a slide and paste on another one.

#### Deleting a movement - Reseting the coordinates

If you want to delete a movement associated with a slide, the buttons "Cancel the coordinates" are available on right clicking on the image (in the viewing area or on the timeline), or in the "Tools" menu.

### Title management

#### Legend

The legend tool can add text on your slides, a tab is dedicated to it. You will notice that during its use, all other functions are inactive. The text is fully configurable (color, background, font, size) and fade in / out can display or erase the legend gradually. The button at the upper left of the font menu inserts the image name in the slide's title.

To move the legend, hold the left-click on the image, and move the mouse. You can also manage the legend movement during the slideshow, at the bottom of the tab. You just have to use the green and red flags to select the positions of the legend at the beggining and the end of the slide (the flags will be displayed on the image), and to use the previous and next buttons to display these positions.

#### Audio comment

The audio commentary adds a soundtrack to a single slide. If the soundtrack is longer than the slide, only the beginning of the sound will be played, and you can think about extending the slide's duration.

Note : you can also add an audio comment right-clicking on the slide in the timeline.

### Various tools

Below are the many effects you can apply to the slides in SMILE, most of them are available in the tabs.

#### Scale tool

Located in the "Settings" tab, it allows, as the tool of the toolbar, to zoom on the slide. But if the scale can't vary during the movement,it's proving very useful by its zoom level, much more powerful (which can also be combined with the toolbar one... ). Per example, it allows you to move inside the cube ...

#### Slide opacity

In the "Effects"tab , this tool can adjust the opacity of the image (that can't be modified during the duration of a slide). A tool to change the opacity of only certain parts of the image is available in the edit tool.

#### Slide's background

The background is set in the "Settings" tab. It is useful to set one if you move the image during the slideshow. You can choose :

- another image by clicking on "Load image" (opens the file browser)
- a color as background
- a color gradient : the first "circle of color" select the top color, the second, the bottom color, and the "Balance" rules the proportion of each color.

#### Fog effect

Available in the "Effects" tab, it allows the application, as its name indicates, of fog to the image. You can adjust its opacity (at the beginning and end, allowing it to vary during the slideshow). The fog applies to any part of the video, and not just to the image (for example, if it's moved, the background will also be under the fog).

#### Motion blur effect

The effect motion blur is useful if your slideshow includes movements. The movement will be marked by a blur, which varies depending on the speed of travel.

#### Other effects : rain, snow, ...

In the "Effects" tab, the "Other effects" allows you to create rain on a slide, with different images. There's already several images (rain, snow, heart, ...), and you can add yours (in .png). You can adjust the size, speed and the number of images.

#### Superimposing an animation

The first part of the "Effects" tab allows you to superimpose an animation to the dipositive.Three images are supplied with the program, but it is easy to add and remove with the buttons at the right of the menu. This animation is configurable (size, rotation, opacity), and movable on the image (move it with the mouse).

#### Drawing tool

Accessible at the bottom of the floating toolbar of the main window, this tool can paint on the slide, with different forms of brushes, and by adjusting color, size and opacity. The "Erase" button allows you to remove drawing from the wanted places. The third button allows you to reset the image, canceleling the changes you have just made.

Like the fog tool, drawing applies throughout the area of video, and not on the image, meaning that when moving the image, the drawing does not move.

## Rendering slideshow

To render a slide show, just go in "Rendering -> Rendering slideshow" (or the corresponding button in the toolbar). It opens a window offering to give a title, to delimit the images to include (all are included by default). you also have to select an output quality and a codec (compression format for video). These two parameters affect the quality of the video, and its weight. Here is a brief description of the codecs available :

Codec | File extension (container) | Weight | Compatibility with DVD players | Comments
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
MPEG-2 | .mpg | ++ | All players | Codec used on DVD
XVID (MPEG-4) | .avi | - | Only some players | Free codec
DV | .avi | - | ? | ?
FLV (Flash) | .flv | + | None | Especially designed for use on the Internet

The file will be generated in the folder selected at the opening of the project, with a resolution of 720x576 (DVD resolution). The choice of "quality output" changes settings for encoding, and therefore influences on the file size (though the resolution is always the same).

# 5. License

User documentation of SMILE.
Author : moostik (contact mooostik_at_gmail.com)
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. The text of the license can be found in the appendix GNU General Public License.

Official website (in french) - SMILE on kde-apps.org - Valid XHTML 1.0 and CSS