Questions / Answers ...

>> With which versions of Windows is MSN Pictures Displayer compatible ?

Answer : MSN Pictures Displayer is compatible with Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows Media Center, Windows XP (all versions) and Windows Vista (all versions). But MSN Pictures Displayer is not compatible with Windows 3.1, Windows 95 and Windows NT. MSN Pictures Displayer is compatible with all versions of MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger.       Thanks to Eric Gaudreau for all the tests !

>> What type of pictures can I add to my slideshows ?

Answer : All BMP, GIF, JPG and PNG files are supported by MSN Pictures Displayer and can be added to your slideshows. Nota : Only 96x96 thumbnails are stored in the slideshows : you can't restore original full picture from them. So, don't erase your original pictures.

>> My pictures are badly cropped when I add them into a slideshow. What can I do ?

Answer : This is a normal problem when you put a rectangular picture onto a squared area. If you want to manually crop or zoom on a picture to add it in MSN Pictures Displayer : In the files explorer area (the lower left panel), click on the picture you want to crop : its thumbnail appears in the preview area. Mouve the mouse into the preview area. Use the wheel mouse button to zoom if necessary. (if you don't have any wheel button on your mouse, you can use you keyboard by pressing + or -). Do a left click and drag/drop your picture inside the preview area. Double click on the picture to validate your settings and add it to your slideshow.

>> How can I add a personal message to each picture ?

Answer : When you're is connected, your messages will be displayed in the "personal message" area of Messenger and all your contacts will see them. If you want to add a message to a picture : Double click on the picture of your slideshow to open/close the panel of comments edition. Edit the comment in the reserved area (100 characters maximum). Select one of the three icons ("Office", "Music" et "Games") you want to be linked to your comment. Enable/Disable text animation : your personal message will flick when displaying. Nota : This option doesn't work with the "Music" icon. Ensure you checked the "Modify personal message" box if you want your comments to be shown.

>> The Messenger "What I'm Listening To" option doesn't works and doesn't display title and artist name when I'm listening to music. What can I do ?

Answer : Disable the "Modify personal message" option of MSN Pictures Displayer.

>> What is the "Update checker" option shown in the setup process ?

Answer : When you check this box, MSN Pictures Displayer will automatically search twice a month for some update to download. You can remove this option by reinstalling MSN Pictures Displayer without it.

>> How can I restore default background on MSN Pictures Displayer ?

Answer : Click on the "Background" button, and then on the "Cancel" button of the dialog window.

>> Which is the maximum number of pictures in a slideshow ?

Answer : Each diaporama can contain up to 500 pictures. Read this topic if you want to increase this limit.

>> Is it possible to merge two slideshows ?

Answer : Yes. Right click on a slideshow file (MPD extension) and choose "Merge the slideshow". This will be added at the end of the current slideshow.

>> How can I change the pictures order of my slideshow ?

Answer : You only have to drag and drop pictures inside the slideshows area edition. You can do it with your keyboard too, using Shift + arrows keys. If the comments editing panel is opened, add Ctrl to your key combination.

>> What is the "Random order" option for ?

Answer : When checking this box, your pictures will be displayed in random order on Messenger. Uncheck this if you want them to be displayed in the default order.

>> What is the "Modify personal message for" ?

Answer : Check this box if you want your pictures comments to be set as Messenger personal message during slideshow. Read this topic to learn how to add a comment to each picture of your slideshows.

>> What is the "Initialize Messenger pictures cache" button for ?

Answer : Each time you display a new display picture, Messenger saves it on your hard drive in a special folder. Then, when you want to modify manually your display picture from Messenger option window, you can see all the previous display pictures. This folder can contain many hundreds of pictures when using MSN Pictures Displayer a lot. Click on the "Initialize Messenger pictures cache" button to clear it.

>> What is the "Multi-accounts" option for ?

Answer : It is possible to have many Messenger accounts. In this way, if you wish to have customized parameters in MSN Pictures Displayer for each account, check this option. Then, current slideshow, language, and other options of MSN Pictures Displayer will be customized for each Messenger account. When you'll connect, MSN Pictures Displayer will load the right account, and, when you'll disconnect, you'll be able to edit/delete all the accounts parameters in MSN Pictures Displayer. For example, if you have two Messenger accounts and if you want to use MSN Pictures Displayer for only one acccount, simply disable MSN Pictures Displayer from the other account. Nota : MSN Pictures Displayer is not compatible with the "Polygamy" option shown on many Messenger patches, and which allows you to connect to many accounts simultaneously.

>> What is the "Context menu of pictures" option for ?

Answer : This option enables you to send directly pictures to Messenger, from Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer or Mozilla FireFox. Then, just right click on a picture and select "Choose as Messenger Picture" to do it. Nota : If MSN Pictures Displayer was displaying a slideshow, this will be stopped automatically.

>> What is the "Start with Windows" option for ?

Answer : Check this box if you want MSN Pictures Displayer to be launched automatically each time your start Windows.

>> What is the "Close as icon" option for ?

Answer : Check this box if you want MSN Pictures Displayer to be minimized in the system tray when you close its window.

>> What is the "Next picture" option for ?

Answer : Select this item if you want to display manually the next picture of your slideshow in Messenger. If you do this many times, you can increase the slideshow speed. Nota : This item can be found by right clicking on the tray icon when MSN Pictures Displayer is minimized.

>> How can I change manually my display picture on Messenger ?

Answer : In order to change manually you display picture when you're connected : From MSN Pictures Displayer, right click on a picture and select "Show this picture in Messenger". From Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer or Mozilla FireFox, right click on a picture and select "Choose as Messenger Picture". Nota : This option must be enabled by checking the "Context menu of pictures" option.

>> What is the script/plugin for Messenger Plus!/Messenger Plus! Live ?

Answer : When the picture is displayed in the right panel of MSN Pictures Displayer window, click on it to install the Messenger Plus! / Messenger Plus! Live script. You have to be connected and have installed Messenger Plus! / Messenger Plus! Live before. This script enables you to synchronize MSN Pictures Displayer execution with Messenger : MSN Pictures Displayer will be automatically launched when Messenger will connect, and closed when disconnect. This script has got an option to enable/disable this. Nota : If MSN Pictures Displayer was manually launched or if a slideshow is being edited, the script won't do anything. With this script, the "Start with Windows" option is unchecked because it is not needed yet for automatically starting MSN Pictures Displayer. With Messenger Plus! Live (only), the script file ("MSN Pictures Displayer.plsc") is copied on your desktop before being installed.

>> Is MSN Pictures Displayer compatible with Messenger skins ?

Answer : Yes ! Just download and install SkinPatch to patch your skin and make it compatible with MSN Pictures Displayer.

>> Can I add textual pictures in my slideshows ?

Answer : Yes, since version 4.5.1.5, you can add at the beginning of your current slideshow (or at the beginning in version 4.5.1.0) : A default textual picture, by pressing Ctrl+TAB. A customized textual picture : Double-click on a picture of your slideshow and add a comment to it. Press Ctrl+TAB to create the corresponding picture displaying the previous comment. Nota : The comment should be like "title - author" so as to be correctly recognized for the picture creation. If author info contains "http://" or "www.", it will be changed into blue (like an URL). Thanks to PoshKat for her idea !