gPhotoShow can create standalone slideshows or screen savers that can be distributed royalty free. Standalone slideshow means that the resulting executable won't need gPhotoShow or the original files anymore then it can be freely distributed. It can be sent by email, uploaded to web sites or any other use you can imagine.
This kind of slideshow can be installed and run on any windows based computer.
gPhotoShow installer optionally creates a shortcut on the desktop to easily start gPhotoShow:
If you have that icon simply double click on "gPhotoShow SlideShow Maker" in other case open the windows start menu as shown here:
Windows 11
Select "gPhotoShow Slideshow Maker" and gPhotoShow will start:
This is the gPhotoShow main window, the tree on the left allows you to choose various sections where you can configure specific options:
- Images: basic settings for pictures
- Display Options: settings to control pictures resize and display
- Information: settings to control which info to display over images. For example here you can configure gPhotoShow to display file name or Exif / IPTC / XMP metadata fields over pictures.
- Transitions: transition effects. Here it is possible to choose transition effects or set Pan&Zoom
- Scrapbook: Scrapbook mode. When is enabled gPhotoShow first displays a background image then overlays several smaller pictures until it finds available space or a file of another type is found (for example a video)
- Panoramic Images: basic settings for panoramic images. Panoramic images are images where the horizontal side is much wider than normal pictures so they don't look well when resize to fit the screen so gPhotoShow offers you another way to see them, they are scrolled across the screen.
- Video and Animations: basic settings for video files
- Web and 360 Panoramas: basic settings for web pages and spherical panoramas
- Files options: in this sections there are settings to filter file names and to control the display order
- Slideshow options: options for the slideshows, for example you can configure mouse actions and hot keys used during the slideshow
- Global Exclusions : options to exclude files from slideshow with filters on file names or file dates
- Filters: settings to choose which files to display on each monitor. For example it is possible to display only horizontally oriented images or pictures with a rating greater than 1
- Sound and Music: basic settings for audio files played during the slideshow. For example here you can configure a background music.
- Multiple monitors: specific settings for multiple monitors systems
- Plug-Ins: in this section you can configure installed PlugIns
- System Settings: in this section you can set some system wide options. For example you can set gPhotoShow as logon screen saver (screen saver the runs when no user is logged in)
All pages are exactly the same as the screen saver so you can take a look at the screen saver tutorial
To create a slideshow or screen saver for distribution simply configure gPhotoShow in the way you prefer, for example you can enter one or more folders where you stored your pictures and video.
When you are ready to create your slideshow save current settings to a file then click on "Save" and choose "Create standalone EXE or SCR":
Enter in this windows all details of your screen saver or slideshow. Most fields are required since them will appear in the about window of the created slideshow.
Optionally gPhotoShow can also create a setup program that will automatically install your slideshow on the destination computer. In order to do this gPhotoShow needs InnoSetup (a free installer for windows programs), you must download and install it before creating a slideshow.
If you decide to create a setup for your slideshow enter also the details for the installation: Program group (the folder inside the Windows Start Menu), installation folder inside "Program Files" and setup base filename (choose a name different from the slideshow name !!).
If you are preparing slideshows or screen for distribution on internet it is strongly advised you also create a setup since this will make installation a lot easier, your users will simply download an executable file and by double clicking on it they will be guided through the installation process.
When you are ready just click on "Create", enter the name of the executable file and wait, after few minutes your slideshow or screen saver will be ready.
If you are and advanced user and already know InnoSetup you could also customize the script created by gPhotoShow adapting it to your specific needs.
Note: if you are unsure whether to choose "Standard executable" or "Screen Saver" consider that a screen saver is installed inside windows, became part of the system and can be started when the system is idle. On the opposite "Standard executable" can't be used as a screen saver and must be manually started by using a shortcut on the start menu or on the desktop
