Free Download link here

Steps in using the program                                                   Helpful Hints and Points to Remember

1. Open the Photo Story Program.  Select “Begin a new Story” which is the default.  Click Next.
2. Import the pictures from your saved file.  Click on the button Import Pictures and find your file.  Highlight the pictures you want to import and click OK.  Remember Shift and click will highlight more than one picture.
3. Put the pictures in the order you want them.  Edit the pictures as needed, removing black borders etc.  Click Next.
4. Add titles to your pictures.  You can change the font, the color of the font, the placement of the title or any other title issue here.  You do not have to use titles for each slide. Click Next.
5. It is now time to Narrate your Pictures and Customize the Motion of your Photo Story.  Preview your Photo Story to see if you like the transitions.  Change any which need to be changed by clicking on the “Customized Motion” button.  Then using any of the tabs at the top, you can change the motion and direction or the transition.  You need to click on the specify start and end position of motion to change the path transition of the slide.  Click on Close and go on to the next picture you want to edit.
6. If you want to add notes to help you with the discussion of the slide, you do it at this step.  You can also record your own voice or the voice of others to add to the story.  Obviously you will need a microphone connected to your computer or some kind of recorder.  Click Next.
7. Either select music from a file you have downloaded, or can access from a CD or other music format OR you can create your own music by clicking on the create music button and making the choices you like.  You can listen to the music at this stage.
8. You can change the music for each slide if you want, or have some music for one group of slides and a different tune for another.  Just make sure you have the picture you want the music to begin on highlighted when you add or create your music.  Click Next
9. Save your story.  You can choose to save your story, for this project choose the option to save it to your computer.  Click on the browse button to save it to your portable drive.  The default location to save will be “My Videos.”  Click on the settings button to save it for a computer with a screen 800x600.  This is what we use in this class. You then save the project and click next.
10. In order to use this program, you have to have two saves, one, the project, which you can go back and edit at any time and it will have the extension .wp3, and two, the video which is what you play for any presentation and it has the extension .wmv.  If you do not see "your story has been successfully created", you have not done the final save step.  It will play on the Windows Media Player if you click on the “View your story” button.
11. You are done; you can click on the exit button or create another story.
12. This file needs to be saved to a different server than the regular ones used for your class websites.  Take your file to CSTL and they will tell you where it will be placed and help you link it from there.

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1. If you want to have slides with just words, an easy way is to create a slide in PowerPoint and then save it as a .jpeg file.  This can then be imported into your Photo Story project.  All images must be in a .jpeg format for this program.
2. If you have finished and find you still want to make some changes, you must go back to the file which saved the project (.wp3), not the video file.
3. Your pictures must have a high enough resolution to be blown up without the pixels showing.  Check this before you show your story to others or students.  Usually 3.2 or higher is sufficient.

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Microsoft FAQs here

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