In this section we'll look at how to make the most of watching a show. To do this, we'll use one of the demo Web shows included with the product.

The Envision main window

The Envision main window is shown below in Figure 1. You can refer to this figure to identify the window's various functional parts.

Opening a show

Any show can be opened in several ways

• Double-click the show
• With Envision running, go to the File menu, choose Open, and select a show file to open.
• With Envision running, go to the File menu and choose Open recent. The most recently opened shows will appear in a list.

For this chapter, we'll use the Picture of the Day 2007 show, located in the Astronomy folder within the Web shows (start here) folder within the Envision folder. Open the show using one of the three methods above.

The show opens in a main window (Figure 2), and automatically begins to run.

Play and pause a show

A show can be played and paused by

• Clicking the Play/Pause icon in Envision's toolbar
• Hitting the space bar
• Choosing Play or Pause from the Show menu

The Play/Pause icon and the Show menu item will change to reflect the current state of the show.

Display mode - single images and thumbnails

Envision displays images in one of two basic modes

• Single image - One image at a time is displayed in Envision's window (unless you have chosen the montage transition effect). This is the usual mode for watching a show. In single image mode the window's status bar displays Envision's current activity (downloading an image, for example). If you have chosen the montage transition effect, additional display windows will be present. See montage mode for details.
• Thumbnails - Envision displays a smaller version (or thumbnail) of each image in the show, with all thumbnails shown at once (Figure 3 below). This mode is useful as a general overview of a Web site, or for finding a specific image without having to go through images sequentially. When in thumbnail mode, the window's status bar displays
• the total number of image URLs found on pages on the Web site
• number of images downloaded from the site
• of the images downloaded, the number of images selected for display
• number of errors

We'll talk more in this chapter about how to use thumbnails.

Display mode is controlled in several ways

• The display mode icon in the toolbar (Figure 1)
• The Show thumbnails / Show single images command in the Window menu
• Typing cmd-L

Window size

Some shows look better in a larger window, some in a smaller window. Envision allows you to change the size of the main window in four ways:

1. Resize the window using the standard Grow Box in the window's lower right corner.

2. Zoom the window to fill the screen (but still display the menu bar) while keeping the window intact (title bar, toolbar, status bar). To zoom the window,

• Click the green Zoom button at the top left of the window, OR
• Type cmd-shift-M, OR
• Choose Zoom from the Window menu.

3. Go to full-screen mode. Use the full monitor as the display area of the show. In this mode, the window's title bar, toolbar and status bar are not displayed, nor is the menu bar. Only the images of the show are visible. This is a true presentation-style display of a show. To go into full-screen mode:

• Type cmd-F while a show is running, OR
• Choose Full Screen from the Window menu.

In full-screen mode, a play/pause icon is displayed (for a maximum of 10 seconds) whenever the mouse is moved. To get out of full-screen mode:

• Type cmd-F, OR
• Hit the esc key.

4. Make the window iPhone-compatible by choosing iPhone-size (vertical) or iPhone-size (horizontal) from the Window menu.

The info drawer and image information

Envision allows you to see information about the currently displayed single image, or the image whose thumbnail is currently selected. Information is displayed in the Info drawer, shown below in Figure 4.

The Info drawer, when revealed, appears below the bottom of the main window. To reveal and hide the Info drawer

• click the Info icon in Envision's toolbar, OR
• type cmd-I, OR
• choose Info from the Show menu

The drawer contains the following info for the current image

Field Name		Information
Picture		The URL of the currently displayed single image, or the image whose thumbnail is currently selected.
Size		The size of the image file in KB, and the width and height of the image, in pixels.
Picture information		URL and link to the Web page containing the image
Picture caption		Envision tries to determine a caption for each image. It gets this from either the title or alternate text of the image (hidden text added by the Web site's designer), or the text of the link to the image. The caption can be displayed in two ways In the Picture caption field of the Info drawer By drawing the text on the image in the main window. In the Settings dialog, go to the Show pane and choose an option for Show picture's caption text: Never, Always or Briefly. If you choose Always or Briefly, each picture's caption, when available, will be written over the image near the bottom of the main window.

Sequential navigation

If you're watching a show and just want to back up one or two images, the easiest way to do it is to pause the show by

• Clicking the Pause button in the toolbar, OR
• Hitting the space bar, OR
• Choosing Pause from the Show menu

and then move back and forth within the show, one image at a time, by

• Clicking the Back and Forward buttons in the toolbar, OR
• Using the left and right arrow keys, OR
• Choosing Previous and Next from the Show menu

When you're ready to resume the show, just

• Click the Play button in the toolbar, OR
• Hit the space bar, OR
• Choose Play from the Show menu

Note that you don't need to pause the show before navigating within it. However, if you don't pause it, it may automatically advance at times you don't want it to.

Random access navigation

If you want to move around within the show randomly, or if you want an overview of all images currently in the show, you can use the thumbnail view to

• Display any image - With the show paused, double-click the thumbnail of the image you wish to see.
• Resume the show starting at any image
  • Double-click a thumbnail, OR
  • Select a thumbnail and then go back to the main window by
  • Clicking the main window icon in the toolbar, OR
  • Typing cmd-L, OR
  • Choosing Show Single Images from the Window menu

You can also use thumbnails to

• get information about images
• go to an image's associated Web page with a browser
• save a copy of an image
• set an image as your desktop picture
• save images for your screen saver
• delete images from the show

Jump to the first image

Finally, you can always go to the first image in a show by

• Choosing First from the Show menu, OR
• Typing cmd-1

Going to an image's Web page

If you see an image in a show that's especially interesting, you may want more information about the image. Maybe you'd like to know if there's more information about the image on the Web site where Envision found it, or you'd like to explore the site with your Web browser. There are three ways to do this

In single image mode - While the image is displayed in the main window, or frontmost montage window

• double-click the image, OR
• type cmd-shift-I, OR
• choose Info from Web from the Show menu

In thumbnail mode - Select the image's thumbnail and

• choose Info from Web from the Show menu, OR
• type cmd-shift-I

Using the Info drawer

While the image is displayed, click the Picture information link in the Info drawer

In each case, your Mac's default browser will go to the page containing the image, allowing you to see any related text, and possibly explore the site further.

Viewing multiple shows

Envision allows you to view multiple shows at the same time. Aside from just looking cool, viewing multiple shows allows you to compare and contrast different sites or different parts of the same site.

The number of shows you can view at the same time is affected by

• Size of your monitor (in pixels)
• RAM
• Processor speed
• Bandwidth of your Internet connection

If you have more than one show open, you can pause all shows by choosing Pause all shows from the Show menu.

Viewing shows on your iPhone and iPod touch

Shows you create in Envision can be viewed on your iPhone or iPod touch, using iEnvision. Details of how to upload shows to your iPhone/iPod are in the iEnvision User's Guide.

Forward to Making a Show
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