Here's another little utility I've grown a fondness for which was developed by my
friends in Russia. When I first received the nomination, I was tempted to dismiss it
because of its simplicity, but it is its simplicity which makes it so attractive and
useful.
PicturesToExe does exactly what
the name implies: it packages individual graphic files into a self-running slide show. You
can add background music, sound effects, and titles to each slide. You even have the
option to add a customized start-up window which can include your name and contact
information (it would be nice if the URL and email address fields were hypertext links so
a user could jump to a web site or initiate an email message, but beggars can't be
choosers). Slide shows can be advanced automatically or manually.
The reason I like this utility so much goes back to my days of using Lotus' Freelance
Graphics. Lotus understood early on that people who make presentations frequently need to
distribute their presentations to other people who may not have Freelance Graphics. So
they built in the ability to create stand-alone, self-running shows.
This was enormously useful back then and it remains one of the few features Microsoft
has never seen fit to add to Powerpoint. Everything is so web-based these days, but the
fact is that people work disconnected from the Internet for several hours every day. And
with tools like Powerpoint and Microsoft Office getting so bloated by their storage and
RAM requirements, it's refreshing to see a developer in Russia create a small utility to
get the job done.
PicturesToExe can create shows containing a maximum of 32,000 slides and files as large
as 2.1 GB. Not that anyone would want to do this, but it's nice to have no limitations.
The resulting EXE file runs on Windows 95 or higher (NT and 2000 included). It will work
in virtually any resolution and pictures will automatically size to fit the screen being
viewed.
There are a number of uses for this tool outside of self-running slide shows:
computer-based training modules, electronic brochures and books, and art portfolios come
to mind right away. Starting at only $15 (US), this utility is priced to sell. You can
download a trial version at www.wnsoft.com.
Update: The other day I was trying to make a demo for another
site. I tried several of the tools I have reviewed here, and then I thought about using
Pic2Exe. As I started working, it came together quickly, but I needed some other features.
I decided to visit their site to see if they had updated the product -- and they did -- in
a big way. Stop. Don't read anymore. Go to their site right now to see how great this tool
is for making demos (if you want to see a cool demo I made, click here).
