Now regular readers of this site will know that there have been plenty of reviews of high end, professional programs that can create the world... and with a price tag to match. For businesses or professionals that use these programs, such powerful features are well worth the initial outlay of purchasing the product. You certainly need the experience too, as you cannot dive straight into the programs and utilise their options without at least some background knowledge. In many cases this just isn't an option for those without the time to sit and spend hours working on a presentation

In the area of interactive photo galleries and presentations, users are typically faced with two avenues: possess the time and programs available to produce powerful and professional looking projects, or to use an entry level program that looks just that... entry level. There is an option that meets these two requirements halfway. Auto FX Software offers an option that not only creates stylish and professional looking presentations, but also won't break the bank or require hours of meticulous work in order to operate it.

Pixtivity is a visual gallery program that allows the integration of images and photos into a flash presentation ready for use on the web. The great thing is though, it's simple and it works. The first thing I came to appreciate about this software is the fact it makes no assumptions on the user's skills in multimedia. Be you a seasoned designer with years of knowledge, or an inexperienced computer user simply dabbling with the program, both will find it equally easy to get started. Designed with a clear and open interface, it's a very simple process of selecting the type of template you wish to use, selecting your transition effects to occur between images, and then adding and modifying your images content, ready to be published. These different areas can all be navigated between a series of tabs that are located at the top of the screen

If you are still not sure how to get going, the program also sports a well documented help station that directs users to the Auto FX Software website. Here, each section is explained in detail, directing which options best suit your requirements. I would recommend visiting the beginners tutorial first up, just to get a basic idea of how this works.

I think when I initially reviewed this product, I had some expectations about what I would be able to achieve with its use. Creating the gallery and presentation is certainly easy. I'm quite confident that anybody (assuming they follow the beginner's tutorial in the help menu) would be able to work through this in a short amount of time. And the adding of content and animations is also a very simple click and drop process, again all effortlessly explained in the help sections tutorial. And once I viewed the 'Full Preview' within the program, I was well impressed with the professionalism of the gallery.

My gripe though concerns the output folder, and probably the only reason I can't rate this any higher. The program outputs the presentation in a .SWF file and a .htm file. Great I thought, as this gives me two options. If for example I wished to create a webpage with my presentation within it, I could simply insert the .SWF file. Likewise if I didn't have time to produce a page or had no html skills, I could simply use the output .htm file to display my work. What I didn't realise however was that in order for these files to work; they need the accompanying source folder with it. Why this couldn't be compressed into a single file I don't know, but my whole 'this is really easy mindset' started to wane. All I wanted was a single .swf file, not another folder of sources that I needed to upload.

In the program's defence, this process is all explained within the help section, though if you were unaware of this, or didn't read through the help to start with, you could be in a bit of trouble. Essentially, if you wish to give this presentation to someone else on disk, it will be necessary to copy both the .htm file AND the source folder in order for it to run. Likewise if including it within a webpage, the whole source folder will need to be uploaded as well.

The bottom line though, it's a great program that creates quality presentations in a relatively short space of time. The interface is easy, editing and modifying of effects is quick and painless and the preview presentations run without a hitch. I guess this is a program for users of any skill, though I strongly recommend running through the tutorials as to completely understand what to do with the output files once you have published your presentation. I'm going to give a thumbs up here, simply because something like this would be a great asset to photographers who do not have a lot of time to create a professional interactive presentation.