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PowerPlugs PhotoActive FX
by Geetesh Bajaj, August 2nd 2003
...Continued from Page 1
Still Effects
Animated Effects
Pricing
Conclusion

Still Effects
Follow these steps to apply a sample effect:
- Insert and select a picture in PowerPoint. Click the 'Still
Photo Effects' icon on the PhotoActive FX toolbar.
- This opens the Still PhotoActive FX interface (see screenshot
below) - on the left you will find various categories of effects.
The middle pane previews these effects and the right pane allows
you to preview a chosen effect on the selected image. Most such
previews work only on square images - to make them work on rectangular
images, you might want to click the 'F' button.
- Try and experiment with various effects - once you are happy
with a certain result, click the 'OK' button.

Since I cannot possibly explain every effect in this review, I've
created a slideshow with most of the effects applied. Click here
to view it in a separate window (Flash SWF file - approximately
1 mb)
Still
Photo Effects Slideshow
While working with any effect, you can click the 'Advanced' button
to launch a specialized image editor that offers more possibilities.
All custom settings can be saved to be used again. All settings
are saved as individual file presets in folders and can be shared
with others. Amazingly, this aspect of PhotoActive FX is not particularly
well publicized.
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Animated Effects
Animated effects work exactly like still effects - the only difference
between them is that unlike still effects, animated effects are
saved as AVI files linked to the active presentation. This screenshot
shows the animated effects interface:

All animated effects can be further fine-tuned using the 'Advanced
Edit' controls (see screenshot).

I wish CrystalGraphics allowed rendering of these videos to MPG
and WMV video formats other than plain AVI. Many of these videos
can be created within PowerPoint and exported for use in other
programs as well. A word of caution though - experimenting with
all video effects can become very addictive and you might not realize
the amount of time you spent trying it out!
I've converted some of these AVI files to Flash SWF (using Wildform
Flix) videos to allow faster streaming over online
connections. View these samples:
Animated
Effects Demo (323 kb)
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Pricing
For what it does, PhotoActive FX is surprisingly very competitively
priced. Each volume costs US$49 and both volumes together cost
US$98. The product includes full image and video editing engines
and is entirely customizable. What's more - presets can be saved
to be used again or shared. I have no hesitation in recommending
this product at this price point.
You can buy the product
online from ppted.com after reading more about
this product.
You can also buy the product
online from CrystalGraphics.
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Conclusion
Barring a few glitches like no availability of MPG and WMV export
in the animated effects, PhotoActive FX is a winner. Also, you
get a 'More Effects' option in both the Start menu group and the
PhotoActive FX interface - clicking this takes you to the PhotoActive
FX homepage. I could find no extra effects available there.
Having said that, PhotoActive FX is still one add-in I would never
like to be without. It saves you from running back and forth between
PowerPoint and an image or video editor. The amount of saved time
alone would be worth investing in this product.
Other than that, almost anyone can be creative using PhotoActive
FX.
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