Text position differs a little at random between saves of the project.

MummiPazuzu

I'm doing a lot of manual subtitles for some game footage where I place the text relative to which character speaks. The text is stationary, but each text instance needs a specific position.

My problem is that the positions get altered slightly every time I close and open the project. So right now I'm stuck in a round-a-loop:

Step 1: Fix the first 5 or so text positions.
Step 2: Save and close (because Videopad also keeps crashing a lot these days)
Step 3: Open Videopad, load project, see that the saved positions are correct.
Step 4: Fix the next 5 or so text positions
Step 5: Save and close
Step 6: Open Videopad, load project, discover that the last 5 are now correct and first 5 are now wrong.
Step 7: Go to step 1 and cry.

That's the short version, but sometimes I get to fix 15 to 20 text positions, but also sometimes that many get changed to a wrong position again.

I am so close to giving up, because between the crashes of the software and the struggle to get the text positions right this project has taken me at least 6 more hours than it should and now I can't seem to get it finished. I have close to 400 text instances. There seems to be no way I'll be able to fix them all and export a video without Videopad crashing, and saving doesn't work.

The crashes started with Videopad saying there's an update, but I don't dare update because I'm afraid the old .vpj file wont be compatible and because updating always causes Videopad to no longer be free and then I'll have only one attempt at fixing and exporting before I have to uninstall completely and redownload the free version.

Things I have tried:

Clearing cache
Deleting the text instance I want to change and add a new one with the right position
Changing just one and saving and closing and reopening

borate

What version of VP is being used? For licensed users upgrades are free for up to six months from purchase date. After that, VP will continue to fully function but a fee will be required in order to register the newest. Retain your old install file and registration info.

AVI export usually persists with the 'free' version. The one in use here which is months old still has that capability.

Are these actually subtitles - via the subtitle editor - or text clips?

If the former, the timings (left window) do not change. That's where the titles will be inserted.

If that latter, text clips should not spontaneously move - they never have here nor has this been reported. They're just clips, like any other.

However, making changes to audio or video clips may alter their position. To avoid changes in the text overlay track, right-click at its left and LOCK TRACK.

Save Project File AS routinely, giving it a unique # or name, so as not to overwrite prior saves. Using Save Project Files (no AS) will overwrite. Then you can restore a project to the state it was in when saved. Just double-click the VPJ file (which isn't playable).

When a project is saved it will restore exactly as it was when saved, so your step #6 above is a puzzlement??

As for crashing... https://www.nch.com.au/kb/10265.html A crash here is rare.

MummiPazuzu

It seems that when VideoPad is calculating offset on Simple Overlay Text it tends to move them slightly to the left and/or slightly downwards. I suspect this happens when the project is loaded and the timeline gets populated. This happens on version 8.97 and a couple of previous versions as well. It does not happen consistently on all text clips, and I struggle to find a pattern.

The crashes also seem related to handling of Simple Overlay Text - or creation/manipulation of objects. I suspect this has something to do with me having many objects/instances and VideoPad/my CPU can't handle the load. Typically it crashes as I'm creating a new Simple Text Overlay or while I'm moving it in the preview window.

All of this is related to the difficulty of placing text in VideoPad. The sliders for Position FX aren't intuitive the same way as using drag and drop in the preview window is. I also wish you got to move text directly in the Sequence preview window like you can with images, rather than the Clip preview. That way you'd be able to see how the text looks on top of the video while moving it, which would save me the workaround I had to create:

I've created placeholders for the different positions I want the text in with transparent images, and when I click one of those and then double click the text I want to move, I get to see the position of the image I last clicked while moving the text. But this creates a motion FX even though I'm not creating motion, just changing position (although if you do this and then check FX, there is seemingly no FX at all added.) And i suspect the motion FX creates a bigger load on my CPU and VideoPad than position FX does. And I have about 500 of these.

See https://imgur.com/a/ro37xvP for illustration of what I'm doing. As you see, here I can move the text 'So fast' relative to the position that is outlined: https://imgur.com/a/SlLXeHH

borate

MummiPazuzu wrote: I also wish you got to move text directly in the Sequence preview window like you can with images, rather than the Clip preview.

Click OPTIONS | DISPLAY tab and tic Show Dual Previews. Then the sequence window will be to the right, and display the result of the positioning.

If you use the buttons each entry should land exactly at the same spot. Five stacked lower-third text clips were created here and each precisely overlaid the others. Then the project was saved. Text hadn't moved when the project was reloaded after the cache had been cleared. Added another five, closed and reloaded and the initial group had not changed position.

The crashes hint at PC video issues. Verify that the drivers and Direct-X are up to date, per the linked FAQ above.

MummiPazuzu

Dual Previews is absolutely super helpful, and does indeed help me with positioning! This will help me a lot next time. I know someone suggested it in the previous thread and I should have checked it out immediately. Anyway, thanks!

Using the [left][middle][right][top][middle][bottom] doesn't do any good though, as my screenshot (https://imgur.com/a/ro37xvP) showed. I was however finally able to finish the project by ignoring anything that was close enough and only fixing the positions that were way off. The end result is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9thgJTnbOQ with a good example of what I wanted to accomplish at the 1:37 mark

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I also found that the problem seems to be related to re-changing the positions. That is to say: I drag the text to where I want it, then a little later decide I want to move it a little. I now believe this is triggering the problem, the text gets "anchored" at a position and further moving after that causes problems. I also think that sometimes when I drag the text the application lags out a little, thus "anchoring" at an unpredictable spot. This could explain how it seems so random.

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I just made a short recording where I show the problem. I open the project file I have been working on, move a text instance, go to another text instance on the timeline that I expected would be moving on its own to show it, saved and closed the project, opened it and voilá: It had indeed moved.

It doesn't move so much that it's easy to spot just with your eyes, because the preview pane is scaled down after all. But when I show the 'So fast' text, hold a piece of paper up to the screen left of the text to see where it is, and when I get back to that text after loading the project again, you will see that it has moved to the left.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xurRVFfFB5Q

The first time 'So fast' is shown is at the 1:27 mark

The second time when it has moved is at the 2:05 mark

Note: the video was just uploaded, it will be easier to see once Youtube has processed the recording to HD

borate

The movement - 1:27 vs. 2:05 is apparent - but the cause isn't. Try Clearing Unused Cache Files, under OPTIONS | DISK tab prior to making positional changes like this.

You can also submit a report to NCH. Include a link to this thread. Click the chevron at the top-right of the VP window for a drop-down menu link.