How do I get project in focus?

[BML]

I created a family tree using Draw and saved it as a JPEG, a pdf, a png and an odg but when I imported the project to Pinnacle, a slide show package they were all out of focus. Does anyone know what I need to do?

[acknak]

Have you read the Forum Survival Guide?
What OS and OOo version are you using?

Also, please be careful to not post duplicate questions. I've marked the other one to be deleted.

The first thing is: export to PNG or GIF. Don't use JPEG, it's meant for photographs and doesn't do well with line graphics.

The next simplest workaround is to make your original drawing larger. Have you filled the entire page with your drawing?

If you've done that and the result is still fuzzy, try changing the page size (Format > Page > Page) to something a good deal larger than standard letter or A4 paper (about 2 times bigger), and adjust your drawing to fill the whole page, then export to PNG or GIF.

If that's not practical, there are ways to get a better image directly from your Drawing, but it requires installing extra software.

If you want to post your Draw file here (there's a 128Kb size limit), I can convert it for you. Actually, better to post your PDF file, since I may not have all the fonts you use.

[BML]

Could you please tell me how to post my pdf file?

[BML]

I have not read the Forum Survival Guide but I will do so. My OS is XP and the OOo version is Draw 2.4 I apologise for double posting in my haste.
I did export in png but it was out of focus like the other formats. Tomorrow I will try filling the page and changing the page size (Format > Page > Page) to something a good deal larger than standard letter or A4 paper (about 2 times bigger) adjusting the drawing to fill the whole page, then export to PNG or GIF.
I could not work out how to attaché the PDF file to this reply so I posted it to your E-Mail address which I hope is allowed.

Edit: How about the upload attachment tab at the bottom of the post. Grrr!

[acknak]

Give this one a try:

Edit: attached image deleted

[BML]

Many thanks for your help. As you can see the trial image looks in focus. However, when I captured it in Pinnacle, the slide show software, it was out of focus again. I then used a curser on the edit function of Pinnacle which alters the size of the image and the larger it became the more in focus it appeared. The problem was that it only showed the picture of the bride at the bottom of the slide.

[acknak]

I would say then that you're problem is with Pinnacle, not with OOo.

Are you preparing the slide show for a computer screen? Or for a video projector ("beamer")? Or something else?

It may be that the images exported from OOo are actually too big: if Pinnacle has to scale the image down, and it doesn't do a good job of it, the quality of the image may be degraded rather badly.

Here's a PNG made from your PDF at a more normal screen resolution (1024x724). See if it works any better.

[BML]

I think you may well be right because try as hard as I have I still can not get it in focuss when opened on Pinnacle, the sldie show software.

[BML]

When my Father-in-Law died I found a lot of old photographs which I scanned as I wanted to create a slide show with them. I also added some digital photographs. Building the slide show was simple but then I thought that a family tree would be a good opener and that has been a disaster.
I have tried six different family tree packages and saved the family tree in a number of different formats all of which looked good and in focus on my computer screen. However, when I imported them to Pinnacle they were out of focus so I then built a family tree using Open Office which also looked good on screen but was also out of focus in Pinnacle.
I collect sayings one of which states, "What ever exists must exist in some quantity." In other words, there must be an answer to this question but I can not find it so I may even draw the dam family tree, photograph it and download it to Pinnacle but it seems a stupid thing to do when all this technology exists.
I'm not going to live for ever and I know that when I die the old photographs will be thrown away and lost which will be a pity so I want to create a slide show built with Pinnacle software, save it to a DVD for my children so they may view it on a TV. as DVDs are more convenient than getting a box of old photographs out.

[acknak]

Sorry, I really don't know what to advise you--I have no experience with any of that.

Most DVD players will display a slide show if you give it a data disk with image files on it, so it's not strictly necessary to create a video DVD. Also, that would preserve the image files, which are the primary storage objects.

I think you probably need to find some support for the Pinnacle software, or for the larger process of creating an archive of genealogical information. This is somewhat beyond the question of using OOo.

[keme]

A shot in the dark...

Is the "out of focus" result what you see in a preview, or is it the final result from the program?

IIRC, with Pinnacle Studio (video editing software), some effects are "quick and dirty" in the preview, but look good after the final rendering. That may be the case with conversion of still images too (it's been a while since I used it).
Pinnacle Expression (which I guess you are using) may be different, though. I have no experience at all with that software.