Slideshows

Elements makes it easy to create very slick little slideshows—some even with music and fancy transitions between the images—that you can play on your PC or send to your friends. In Elements 3, there's a difference between the Windows slideshows, one of which can include sound, and the Mac version, which makes a PDF slideshow that can have transitions but not sound. (PDF is Adobe's Portable Document format.) Each version is explained separately in the following sections.

Creating Windows Slideshows

In Elements for Windows, you have a choice of two kinds of slideshows: a simple PDF slideshow and a much fancier Custom slideshow that you burn to a VCD (video CD format). There are advantages and drawbacks for each.

Simple PDF slideshow

The easiest way to create a PDF slideshow in Windows is to use the slideshow option in the E-mail window. Start by selecting the photos you want to include in the Organizer, then choose File → Attach to E-mail. You can also create a PDF slideshow by clicking the Create button in the Options bar. Go to Create → Slideshow → Simple Slideshow. This option works pretty much the same way as the E-mail window, but you get more control over your slideshow. Once you click OK, the window shown in Figure 16-5 appears.

The thumbnail images you see here are just for your convenience while creating your slideshow—the finished version doesn't include thumbnail navigation. To change the order of your photos, just drag the thumbnails into the order in which you want them to appear. Use the Add Photos button to find additional images, or highlight a photo and click Remove Photo to remove it. If you want to use a photo more than once in your slideshow, highlight the photo you want, then click "Use Photo Again." Elements makes a copy that you can drag to the place in the thumbnails where you want it to appear.

Figure 16-5. The thumbnail images you see here are just for your convenience while creating your slideshow—the finished version ...

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