How to Use the Slideshow Workflow Feature in FMX for Windows

Updated Today · 9 min read

The Slideshow workflow feature displays completed Final Photos from the current event as a full-screen, animated background. It is especially useful for keeping guests engaged while an AI result is processing or for turning the touch-to-start screen into a live showcase of photos from the event.

Slideshow uses two modes:

Start Slideshow activates or refreshes the background and continues to the next workflow step immediately.
Stop Slideshow removes the background and continues immediately.

The slideshow does not capture touch and does not pause the workflow. Animations and feature screens run above it, so a transparent touch prompt or loading animation can remain interactive while the event photos move behind it.

Important: The workflow Slideshow is an Experience View background. It is not an online-gallery slideshow, FMSlide, or a separate external-monitor output.

What the Slideshow Displays

FMX reads the completed Final Photos stored locally for the selected event.

Behavior	What to expect
Media source	Final Photos from the current event
Supported files	JPG, JPEG, and PNG images
Initial order	Newest completed photo first
New photos	Queued to appear after the current photo's hold time
No photos	The slideshow layer stays transparent and waits for the first Final Photo
One photo	The photo remains visible without transitioning to itself
Session changes	The slideshow remains active until Stop Slideshow or Experience View is closed

Raw Photos, incomplete AI results, GIFs, and videos do not appear. A photo becomes eligible only after the workflow creates a completed Final Photo.

Guest privacy: Slideshow can show Final Photos from earlier sessions in the same event. Use it only when your guest notice, consent process, and event policy allow those images to be displayed publicly.

How the Background Layer Works

Start Slideshow installs a persistent visual layer behind Live View, normal animations, and interactive feature screens. The Start node then advances; it is not the screen on which the guest waits or touches.

To reveal the slideshow, place a foreground asset with transparent areas above it. A PNG containing a logo and Touch to Start prompt works well. A fully opaque image or video covers the slideshow even though it is still running.

A typical pattern is:

Start Slideshow → Transparent foreground animation → Stop Slideshow → Continue the experience

Use a Stop node when the background should disappear. Without one, the slideshow continues behind later workflow screens and across session rotation until Experience View closes.

Before You Start

Prepare the following:

Requirement	What you need
Current FMX workflow	A workflow assigned to the intended event
Final Photo output	Each photo path must include Save Final Photo
Foreground design	A PNG or other screen asset with transparent areas
Wait trigger	Touch, AI Processed, or another trigger on the foreground animation
Test media	At least two completed Final Photos for checking transitions
Privacy approval	Permission to display prior guests' event photos

At a brand-new event, the layer is transparent until the first Final Photo is saved. Keep a branded Timeless Background or other suitable design below it so the screen still looks intentional when no event photos exist yet.

Add and Configure Start Slideshow

Open the event's workflow in Foto Master Cloud → Workflow Builder.
Select Add Step.
Open Feature and add Slideshow.
Select the node and set Mode to Start. The node label becomes Start Slideshow.
Configure the timing, transitions, motion, and photo fit.
Connect Start Slideshow to the foreground animation or screen that should reveal it.

Start Slideshow advances immediately. Place the guest-facing wait trigger on the animation after it, not on the Slideshow node.

Start Slideshow settings

Setting	Options	What it controls
Mode	Start or Stop	Activates or removes the slideshow
Photo Duration	1–60 seconds	How long each completed photo remains visible; transition time is additional
Transition Duration	0.1–5 seconds	How long the change between photos takes
Transition Selection	Random or Sequential	Random avoids immediately repeating one effect; Sequential follows the configured list
Transitions	Fade, Slide Left, Slide Right, Slide Up, Slide Down, Zoom In, Zoom Out	The transition effects available during playback
Motion Effect	Ken Burns or None	Adds a subtle pan-and-zoom during the photo hold or keeps the image static
Photo Fit	Full with Backdrop, Fill, or Fit	How photos of different proportions fill the experience screen

A new Start Slideshow node uses a 5-second photo duration, a 0.8-second transition, Random selection, all transitions, Ken Burns motion, and Fit.

Choose transitions

Choose Random for varied playback. FMX will not use the same transition twice in a row when more than one is selected.
Choose Sequential for a repeatable order. Drag the transition chips into the desired sequence.
Keep at least one transition selected.
Use fewer, subtler effects for a polished corporate event; use slides and zooms for a more energetic attraction screen.

Choose Photo Fit

Full with Backdrop shows the entire photo over a blurred, darkened copy that fills the screen. This is a strong choice when portrait and landscape photos may be mixed.
Fill covers the entire screen while preserving the photo's proportions, cropping the edges when necessary.
Fit shows the entire photo without cropping. Unused areas remain transparent, allowing the experience background to show through.

Test Photo Fit at the booth's actual resolution and orientation. A setting that looks correct on a landscape editor preview may crop important content on a portrait booth.

Use Slideshow Behind Touch to Start

Build this path near the beginning of the workflow:

Start Slideshow → Touch-to-start animation → Stop Slideshow → Live View or the first guest step

Configure the Slideshow node as Start.
Add a Single Animation after it.
Use a transparent PNG that contains the event branding and touch prompt. Leave enough transparent space for the photos to remain visible.
Set the animation's continuation trigger to Touch.
Add another Slideshow node after the touch animation and set its Mode to Stop.
Connect Stop Slideshow to the first active step of the guest experience.

The guest touches the foreground animation, not the slideshow. Because the slideshow ignores touch input, the Touch trigger continues to work normally.

When the workflow completes and loops to the start, Start Slideshow activates it again for the next guest. Stopping it after the initial touch prevents it from appearing unexpectedly behind Live View, capture, preview, or other transparent screens.

Use Slideshow During AI Processing

Start the AI request before entering the slideshow wait section:

Take Photo → AI feature → Start Slideshow → Transparent loading animation → AI Processed → Stop Slideshow → Preview or next result step

Add the required Take Photo and Cloud AI steps.
Place Start Slideshow after the AI feature has begun processing.
Add a transparent loading animation after Start Slideshow. A small message such as Creating your photo… can sit above the moving event images.
Configure the loading animation's outgoing connection with the AI Processed trigger.
Connect that path to Stop Slideshow.
Continue from Stop Slideshow to Preview, Save Final Photo, another AI step, or the next intended result screen.

Important: The AI Processed trigger must be after the AI feature. Start Slideshow does not wait for AI by itself; it starts the background and advances immediately.

The slideshow shows Final Photos that are already complete, usually from earlier guests, while the current guest's AI result is processing. The current AI result cannot join the slideshow until it has been saved as a Final Photo.

Add Stop Slideshow

Add another Slideshow feature node.
Set Mode to Stop. The label becomes Stop Slideshow.
Connect every successful exit from the wait or attraction section through this node.
Continue from Stop Slideshow to the next workflow step.

Stop mode has no presentation settings because it only removes the active layer.

In a branched workflow, check every branch. If one route bypasses Stop Slideshow, the background can remain active for the rest of the experience.

Save, Sync, and Test in FMX for Windows

Save the workflow and assign it to the intended experience.
Open FMX for Windows and sync the event.
Enter Experience View and confirm that Start Slideshow advances without showing a separate screen.
Confirm the foreground prompt or loading animation has transparent areas and remains interactive.
Let at least two Final Photos rotate and inspect the duration, transition, motion, and fit.
Complete a new session and confirm its Final Photo is added after the current photo finishes its hold.
Follow every path through Stop Slideshow and confirm the layer disappears.
Close Experience View and reopen it to verify a clean start.

Test with the production monitor, Windows scaling, resolution, orientation, and GPU. Also check the first-session experience when the event has no completed Final Photos.

Troubleshooting

The slideshow area is blank

Confirm that the current event has completed Final Photos.
Confirm that each photo workflow reaches Save Final Photo.
Confirm that the Start Slideshow node is on the active workflow path.
Sync the event again after editing the workflow.
Check whether an opaque animation or feature screen is covering the background.

With no Final Photos, a transparent layer is expected. The slideshow waits for the first eligible image.

The touch-to-start prompt works, but no photos are visible

The foreground asset is probably opaque. Use a PNG with transparent areas. Also verify that the event contains completed JPG, JPEG, or PNG Final Photos.

Touch does not start the workflow

Slideshow does not own a Touch trigger. Configure Touch on the foreground Single Animation or its outgoing connection, and make sure that animation follows Start Slideshow.

The current AI result does not appear in the slideshow

This is expected while AI is processing. Slideshow displays completed Final Photos, not pending AI output. The result becomes eligible only after Save Final Photo writes it for the event.

Photos are cropped or surrounded by empty space

Choose Fill if edge cropping is acceptable and the image should cover the screen.
Choose Fit to show the full image with transparent unused areas.
Choose Full with Backdrop to show the full image over a filled blurred background.

Transitions appear in the wrong order

Choose Sequential, then reorder the transition chips. Random intentionally changes the order while avoiding an immediate repeat.

A newly completed photo does not interrupt the current photo

This is intentional. New Final Photos are queued for the next change after the active photo's hold time; they do not interrupt a transition already in progress.

The slideshow remains visible later in the experience

Add Stop Slideshow after the attraction or AI-wait section. Check retake, AI error, timeout, and alternate-selection branches for paths that bypass the Stop node.

Videos or GIFs do not appear

The workflow Slideshow accepts completed JPG, JPEG, and PNG Final Photos only. Use a different workflow animation or a dedicated display product when video playback is required.

See Workflow Builder Overview, Final Photo in FMX for Windows, and Session Lifecycle in FMX for the surrounding workflow and media concepts.

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