Presentation Manager Upgrade Page

On this page you can view a comparison chart of version 5 and the new versions of the software, and you can find out about any changes we have made to the basic functionality of the software.

Presentation Manager Comparison Chart

This chart is meant to show the basic differences between Presentation Manager 5, Standard and Pro.  See the discussion below for more specific details.

Presentation Manager 5 Stand Pro Dual Screen Display X X X Triple Screen Display (Control 2 Projectors Separately) X Import all standard image file types X X PowerPoint® Integration X X X Multiple PowerPoint Integration X X Display  Text over Video Files or Live Video X X X CCLI Song Importer X X X Dynamic Bible and Song Search X X X Slide Builder Functionality X X Background and Image Editing Tools X Windows CE/Pocket PC Compatibility X Link Slides Together for Fast Editing X X Searchable Help File X X Play/Control Sound Files X Set Movie File In/Out Points X X MPEG 2 Codec included X Play DVDs with In/Out Points X Display Flash Media and Web Pages X Basic Price NA $200 $375

Software Feature Comparison Key 5 = Presentation Manager 5 Stand = Presentation Manager Standard Pro = Presentation Manager Professional Note: This is compared to version 5.321 and prior.  Version 5.422 was an in-between version that combined elements of 5 and the new release.

Not all of the differences between versions can be adequately explained in a chart.  In many ways the new software has to be used to appreciate all of the subtle difference.  For example, the user interface has been simplified, beautified, and enhanced.

The jump from $200 to $375 from Standard to Professional is due in part to the addition of several Bible translations to professional.  The Standard version comes with only the KJV and the Professional version also has the NIV, NKJV, NRSV, NASB, AMP and ESV.  These Bibles can be added to standard for $75.

The Background and Image Editing Tools allow a user to change the color of a background or image entity, change their shape, rotate, set transparency etc.  Entities can be made semi-transparent.

The MPEG 2 Codec assures that all MPEG 2 files will play in Presentation Manager Professional.

The Help file is searchable.  If you cannot figure out how to setup defaults for your songs and Bibles you can type in "default" and do a search in the help to find the right page quickly.  The Help has also been made context specific.  If you click the help button on any property page it will launch a help file setup specifically for that property page.

Changes to basic functionality

There are a few things that existing users should be aware of when they upgrade to the new software.

The "Arrowed" navigation has been changed from a right-click to a left-click

In version five, the typical way to navigate through the software was to right-click on a menu and then select from the dropdown menu.  This feature is still available. However, it has been changed to a left-click.  This change has been made to allow the possibility of a new right-click menu that offers other options that are not currently available.  For the time being the right-click has been replaced by a left-click.

Backgrounds are added to a slide differently

In version 5 a background was added to a slide by first clicking the slide and then dragging a background off the pallet onto the preview window.  In the new release a background is added to a slide by right-clicking the slide and choosing "Apply Current Background".  When this is selected whatever background is currently on the Preview Window will be added to the slide.  This was changed for two reasons.  The first reason is because many users were simply unaware that a background could be added to a slide by dragging it onto the Preview Window.  The second reason was to simply how graphics are added to a slide.  Now, if you drag an image onto the preview window it will be added as an entity.  Formally to do add an image as an entity the user would have to hold down the Shift key.  Many of our advanced users were not even aware of this feature.

If your movies are no longer found

In version 5 the movies and the images were all kept in one folder.  In the new version the images and movies are placed in separate folders.  Consequently, if you try to access the movies through the image tab on the pallet the movies will not show up.  To fix this problem you will need to move all of your movie folders from the Image folder in the Master Data directory to the new Movie folder.  These folder can be found on your computer at C:/CreativeLifestyles/MasterData or on some older installs, C:/CreativeLifestyles/Program Files/MasterData.

The Playlist is tabbed and not arrowed

This can be changed back if you liked the arrowed navigation.  Click the Edit Properties button (on the top right of the screen) and choose "Playlists" and in the "Tab Style" menu change the "Tab Layout" to "Arrowed" instead of "Tabbed" and make sure you set the Tab alignment properly.

The Movie Property Page has been moved

In version 5 if you right-click a slide with a movie background it would give you two slide tabs.  The second slide tab allowed you to set the movie properties.  In the new release you access the movie property page by going to the first (and now only) slide tab and then clicking the ellipsis (...) button next to the "Background" button.  Through this new menu you can set movie in and out points and set the movie thumbnail.

© Creative Lifestyles, Inc. 2006, 2007, 2008

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