Wonky Pan & Zoom

Just want to confirm this is a bug. I’ve sent Peter a sample, but sometimes I’d like to be sure it’s not just me by having others try to duplicate it. Try this – it’s pretty simple:

  1. Using the latest beta (6.0b21 – but it’s been happening for a while) click on Create Slideshow (any size format will work).

  2. Drag one image onto the stage and set Zoom > Fit to Stage

  3. In the Options panel, choose Slide > Animation > Enabled

  4. On the Finish portion (right hand stage area), use the Zoom scroll to enlarge the image to something absurdly large (try 4000%).

  5. Now drag that image on the Finish stage so that some area OFF-CENTER is now near the center of the stage (for instance, find something in the image near any of the corners and move it so its near the center).

  6. Set the slide duration to something like 10 seconds to slow down the effect, or use the Animation Speed slider under the Image options to slow it down – otherwise you might miss the fun.

  7. Now click on Play and watch what happens.

  8. Now save the slideshow and import it into FM v5 and play it (ignore the caution that it was made in a later version).

  9. Now watch what happens

I’ve been asking for a long time for the ability to pan files across the stage using bezier curves, but it seems like there’s now a built-in ability to do so, although not under user control (albeit I’m guessing NOT Peter’s intent). Normally the image SHOULD zoom from the Start position to the Finish position in a straight line, but in this case the image zooms and pans (possibly) completely off the stage and then pans back onto the stage to its final Finished position.

It’s too complicated and not important enough for me to follow this tutorial. nevertheless, I would welcome the possibility to work with bezier curves.

Well, the point is that if you try to zoom to a location that’s not near the center of your image, then the image does NOT follow a straight line (as it has done since animation of layers was first introduced). If you use a simple (and in my opinion the boring Ken Burns effect) to just zoom in and out a small percentage while keeping the center fixed, you won’t notice it. The more the zoom factor and the more the panning (both combined), the more obvious is the wonky (strange) movement.

I’ve seen this too. I noticed it when zooming in on a Map image, but the behavior is the same - it zoomed in toward one (seemingly random) spot, then changed course and moved toward my chosen position.

Exactly – thanks for the confirmation. I had a strong feeling it WASN’T something on my end. I have already sent in a Feedback report a few weeks ago concerning the issue.

Hi guys,

I’m aware of the issue and looking for a solution…