FM 5.4b1 "Blending Layers"

FotoMagico FotoMagico 5 Beta
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Just downloaded the 5.4b1 version and tried it, particularly the “blending layers” feature. I opened a previously created slideshow and every Title layer that appears either “flashes” with a white box behind it, then disappears, or the box stays until progression to the next slide. Seems to be happening with every title layer. The “blending” is set to Normal (default, I guess). I tried changing the blend to each of the options, but nothing worked.

Tried to create a NEW file with just one slide, two image layers, and a title layer on top. Experimented with the blending on the top image and it seemed to work. The Title layer, on the other hand, needs to have the Background set to 0% for the title to appear correctly, otherwise a background shows up, but its size defaults to the default rectangular “mask” size IF a mask had been selected. That is, even without a mask originally applied, there is a rectangle behind the title the same size as the mask HAD IT BEEN APPLIED. It’s just not working correctly (or as expected).

Hopefully there will be some sort of user manual addition regarding using the “blending layer” function – it looks interesting. But in its current form, there seems to be some obvious bugs :frowning: Obviously I’m just playing around with it on my own, not knowing what I’m really doing!!

Would also like to see if “blending” can be applied to BOTH the Start and Finish of a layer if animation is being applied. Say start with Normal and finish with Lighten, or start with Lighten and finish with Darken. Let FM do the interpolation from one to the other.

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@stantastic Thank you for checking out the 5.4b1 and reporting back. I’ll forward your comments to the engineers.

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@stantastic Just fixed the blending bug. Version 5.4b2 will be out shortly. Regarding the different blending for start and finish: Unfortunately this will not be possible with the current rendering architecture. But who knows, maybe some time in the future…

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Hi, Peter – thanks :slight_smile:

Downloaded 5.4b2 and opened a previous slideshow. Looks like the “flashing” bug has been fixed. So that’s good.

But as far as adding titles, I still see a problem. Opened a NEW slideshow, placed a single image, then a Title layer on top of it. The title appears correctly in all BUT the Darken (blending) mode. It’s still doing as I described previously. The area within the title box behind the text is (defaulted to) black – BUT – the black box extends OUTSIDE the title box boundaries even when no mask is applied. IF I immediately go to add a rectangular mask, the mask becomes the size of that extended area around the title box itself. I can adjust the mask to eliminate the black showing outside of the title box (as expected), but that isn’t what I’d expect I’d have to do. It seems to work correctly on all blending options EXCEPT for the “Darken” option (I guess because all of the other options result in a “transparent” background behind the title box. I haven’t tested it thoroougly, though.