Q: I have a digital camera and would like to put pictures from a PC onto a CD-ROM and have the pictures display in the form of a slide show. Can I then make the CD autorun?A: A number of programs can create slide shows. If you have a drawing package of sorts, take a look and see if it has its own slide show feature.
You can use a free program called PicViewer. It lets you choose settings such as the duration of the slide show, size of screen display, and so on.
Once you have downloaded PicViewer, you will need to unzip the files. Put all the images you wish to use in one folder and run the PicView.exe file. You will see a layout similar to Windows Explorer and will be able to choose your images folder in the left.
You can then see a preview of your slide show. Once you are satisfied with the way your images are presented, copy the contents of the PicViewer files you unzipped into your images folder. You will then copy this entire folder onto a CD.
Expert tip: Autorun is a bit advanced, but follow these steps carefully and you can create your own file. We recommend that you install applications onto your CD, so you can share your disk with friends who may not have the application.
Follow these steps to create a slide show out of your digital images. To start, you'll need WinZip 7.0 or higher installed on your PC.
Create a folder (c:\presentation) to compile all the files to burn onto a CD. In the final burn, you'll be copying everything in the presentation folder, but not the folder itself.PicViewer is downloaded compressed in a WinZip file. Extract the entire application into c:\presentation.
Create a sub-folder (c:\presentation\images) and place all your images for your slide show in the folder.
Create an autorun.inf file using notepad (edit the extension if required to make it an .inf) and place it in the c:\presentation folder.
The autorun file should contain: open=picview.exe \images /fs.
The /fs switch forces a full screen playback. Add in /s at the end if you want the slides to scroll automatically.Burn all the contents of the c:\presentation folder onto a CD and you're ready to go.
Remember not to copy the folder, but just the contents of the c:\presentation folder.
If you would like to know more about creating your own icons, keep reading.
Q: How do you change the icon of a folder or shortcut you've created on your desktop?A: Yes, it's true. You're not stuck with boring Windows desktop icons. Icons aplenty are available for download on the Net. Or, download a shareware icon editor such as Microangelo and you can turn your photos of Fluffy into desktop gems.
Here's how to institute your flashy new icons:Right click on the icon you want to modify.
Select Properties from the pop-up menu.
Click on the Shortcut tab
Choose Change Icon button, located in lower right
Change Icon button will open by default to Shell32.dll -- the standard icon file.
Instead of opening Shell32.dll, open and choose icons from the file containing your downloaded or customized icons.(Note: This trick only works for shortcuts, not for actual folders, files or .exe icons on the desktops)
Users of Windows 98 (or Windows 95 with Microsoft Plus!) can also use the Display Control Panel to swap the Network Neighborhood, Recycle Bin, My Computer, and other standard system icons.
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