There are recurring issues in the forums which are often the subject of comments in our articles. Those questions cover several steps in using Hollywood FX transitions. We have already provided many answers with either tutorials, comments, or in our FAQ HFX page, which aren't used nearly enough. Everything about the installation of our transitions is included in the tutorial "Installation of Declic Video transitions: A to Z". This tutorial attempts to gather together all the information we have already published and adding some points that have not yet been addressed.

But if you want to go directly to creating your own transitions, you can see our tutorial "Learn Hollywood FX (HFX)" which summarizes what you need to know to get started in this personal production.

Step 1 : Extracting HFZ files

The basic information has been covered in the "Tuto-1 Files with .HFZ extension" tutorial. Also, if you're not familiar with the subject, read these notes: " Before downloading special HFX effects, please read these notes ".

The various problems that can happen to you:

1. I double click the file icon but nothing happens :

When you double click on a file name or icon, the command that is in bold in the context menu is the one that runs (Open in this case). Sometimes this command is grayed out (inactive) or the "Open" command is no longer linked to any executable program. By right-clicking the icon and clicking "Open with ..." make sure the file is linked to the executable program "InstallHFZ" and that the checkbox "Always use this program ..." is checked.

2. Extraction is done correctly, but the transition is not visible in Hollywood FX :
   Did you close Hollywood FX before starting the extraction? NO? ... then exit Hollywood FX and extract the HFZ file again.
3. Extraction is done correctly but I get messages "* ERROR : Unable to install file"
   Re-read the reference (3) in " Before downloading special HFX effects, please read these notes ".

4. I cannot unpack all the HFZ files that I have just downloaded :
   This is a new phenomenon that appeared with Vista and had not been seen with XP. Vista does not extract the selected HFZ files when the sum of their sizes is too large. Double-clicking the selected files does nothing and right-clicking on selected files does not show the "Open" or "Open with .." context menu. Select only 30, 40, or 50 files (depending on their individual size) then right-click on the selected files, the "Open" option will be available. Click "Open" and the extraction of files begins. All you need to do is repeat the operation with another batch of files until you are done. If you're on Seven is more restrictive but simpler: select only 15 files maximum, otherwise you can not decompress HFZ files.

5. When I extract a HFZ file, Studio (12 or above or a new Studio version) asked me to insert the installation disc :
   Sometimes during extraction of a HFZ file, Studio launches a request to begin installation.

When you run an HFZ extraction file, Studio scans the components in the new transition and compares them with those already in the C: \ Users \ Public \ Public Documents \ Pinnacle \ Content \ Hollywood FX folder. If any items are not already installed, Studio will install them. To do this, it uses the Microsoft Installer, "Pinnacle Studio Bonus Content.msi" or "Avid Studio Bonus Content.msi", located on the installation disk. It will ask you to insert the CD-ROM to find the Microsoft installer. While holding down the SHIFT key to prevent autoplay of the CD-ROM, insert the disc (Don’t pay attention to the text that asks you to insert the “Avid Studio bonus disc” - that does not exist - but instead use the installation disk) and click "OK" without touching anything else. If you have installed the software from a downloaded file, Studio will basically do everything on its own, provided that downloads folders have not been moved or renamed ... As time goes on, the requests for installation become less and less frequent or stop altogether as in my case now.   Thank you to chris95   for his participation in tests and its screenshots.

The installation process is divided into 3 phases:

• Search for items to install (1 to 2 minutes) (Phase 1)
• Request to begin the installation from the CD-ROM (phase 2)
• Do the installation (1 minute) (Phase 3)

Just follow the instructions on the screen. At the end of the procedure, extraction is automatically launched.

Tip : To save time, select multiple HFZ files to decompress, right click and choose "Open." The procedure will run once and at the outcome all the selected files will uncompress it in stride.

6. When I double-click a HFZ file, I get the message "Installation complete. Warning : no items were installed"

The installation window looks like this. When Easy_FX.exe is activated, the activation key is displayed on the line below "Looking for installed Hollywood FX Products." Here Hollywood FX is not active. Since new versions of Studio (AVID, PS16 and PS17), the activation key is included in the product. If your Hollywood FX is not active, open an account on the Pinnacle forum and open a thread to ask for an activation key.

7. Everything went well but some of my transitions have a watermark:
   Check out our FAQ " 11-Why do I have watermark on my HFX transition ? " and " Before downloading special HFX effects, please read these notes " in our Free HFX page . Download possibly InstallHFZ.exe file. This file, provided by Pinnacle, can help in some cases to obtain more unlocked transitions than usually come with Studio (Do not execute it, check the FAQ: 3-Error message: "This application has failed to start because HfxClasses60.dll was not found..." ).
    
8. I read the previous FAQ and some transitions should be unlocked, yet ...:
   Reread the reference (4) in " Before downloading special HFX effects, please read these notes ".
    
9. When I unpack a transition, I get the following message: "The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is not available. Click OK to try again or enter another path below to a folder containing the Pinnacle Studio msi installation package."
   When installing Studio, the installer saves where the installation files (especially PinnacleStudio.msi) are stored in the registry. If, in the meantime, these files have been renamed, deleted, or moved, it will, of course, not find them and in this case, it displays a warning about the Pinnacle Studio msi file.

10. When extracting a transition, I get a 1330 error. "A file that is required cannot be installed because the cabinet file C:\Users\(username)\Desktop\PinnacleStudioSetup\Studio\Data1.cab has an invalid digital signature. This may indicate that the cabinet file is corrupt. Error 0 was returned by WinVerifyTrust".
    This is a bug that prevents decompression of HFZ files. To work around the problem, the solution is to change the registry only if you are thoroughly familiar with the process. For all other users this method is strongly discouraged and you must drag the HFZ file onto the  InstallHFZ.exe file located in C: \ Users \ Public \ Documents \ Pinnacle \ Content \ HollywoodFX.
    If you have mastered the registry, proceed at your own risk:
    1 - Make a backup of the registry or at least a backup of the changed keys.
    2 - Under Windows 7 32 bit is here:
    .HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Hfzfile \ shell \ open \ command
    .HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Applications \ InstallHFZ.exe \ shell \ open \ command
    3 - Under Windows 7 64 bit is here:
    .HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Hfzfile \ shell \ open \ command
    .HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Classes \ hfzfile \ shell \ open \ command
    4 - Changes to be made:
    - Do not touch the "Command" key (in the left column)
    - Rename the "Command" value in the right column "Command-OLD" for example).

Step 2 : Showing the Transitions in Pinnacle Studio

The basic information has been provided in the "Install our free HFX transitions in Pinnacle Studio 9-15" and "Tip-2 My HFX thumbnails in Studio are black" tutorials. In each case, ever since Studio 10, it is necessary to force Studio to recreate its listing of transitions in order to include the new transitions in the album.

All the incidents revolve around a common theme: " I see my transitions in Hollywood FX but I do not see them in Pinnacle Studio ".

1. I did all the previous steps but I still can not see my transitions:
   It is sometimes necessary to know where to look for them...

If you have applied the "Install our free HFX transitions in Pinnacle Studio 9-15" tutorial to the letter, and especially if you ran the batch program (which reduces manual errors) provided by this tutorial, the transitions must be in Studio ... except :

• If you did not run the correct batch program:
• If the batch program ended abnormally;
• If you did not have administrator rights to run this batch file;
• If you did not disable - or set to its lowest- the account control (UAC) in Vista and Win7 .
• If you did not close Studio prior to running the batch file.

How does Studio 12 or above or new Studio version classify the transitions?

When Studio creates the transitions album, it uses three criteria contained in the description file of the transition: The heading: what is grayed-out in the dropdown list (STANDARD TRANSITIONS, HFX VOLUME 1, VOLUME 2 HFX, HFX VOLUME 3, USER TRANSITIONS, 3D PARTY TRANSITIONS); The folder: this is what is contained under a heading (Hollywood FX for Studio, Flying Windows, etc..). The name of the transition that will be used to display the thumbnail in the album page. Peculiarities : If you save all your personal transitions in Hollywood FX in a folder named "Perso" for example, you may find them scattered in the Studio dropdown list. Because if you create the entire transition yourself, Studio places it in the "Perso" folder under the heading "USER TRANSITIONS". But if it's is a modified transition from HFX VOLUME 1, it will be placed in a "Perso" folder at the end of the contents of HFX VOLUME 1. The same goes for HFX VOLUME 2 and HFX VOLUME 3. If you edit an existing transition and then you save it with exactly the same name in another folder, Studio does not display it anywhere ... Finally, Studio wants to help you and translate the English words contained in Hollywood FX into French in Studio. The file "Flying Windows" from HFX will be displayed "Fenêtres volantes" in Studio. But if, in addition to your "Perso", you create a "TEST" folder in capital letters in Hollywood FX, it displays "Essai" with only the first letter capitalized. For fun, I changed a transition from volume 3 and I have saved it under another name in a folder that I called "CAR" in HFX. The transition is found in a folder "Voiture" at the end of HFX Volume 3 -see beside (normal, no, considering what what I have just explained you?).

Here are some examples of XML to better understand:

The XML for a transition of Volume 3.
The XML of the same transition of Volume 3 edited and saved in my "Perso" folder.
The XML of a transition entirely created by the user.
In Studio 10 and 11, the property rackname was not always fill.	This explains the presence of a white line (header blank) before certain issues such as Déclic-Vidéo for example. Note: I strongly discourages any attempt to change these files ...

2. I do not see the header for HFX Volume...:
   Check out our FAQ " 20-HFX Vol. 1 and HFX Vol. 3 do not show up in drop-down list (S 12) ".

3. My transitions are present in the album but the display is bad in Studio :
   Often the problem is the graphics card driver is not updated, but there may be other causes.
   Check out our FAQ " 22-Some Transitions are not Being Adequately Rendered ".

4. When I double click a transition, I can not edit it :
   Check out our FAQ " 16-I can not edit a transition, why ? ".
5. How do I remove a transition in the Studio album?
   You can not perform this operation. You can only delete a transition from Hollywood FX and, in most cases, it will force Studio to recreate the transitions album to eliminate the transition from the album.
6. Some transitions present in Hollywood FX do not appear in Studio, even after running Repare-HFX :
   It has been observed that when the names of several transitions (variable number) begin with the same characters, Studio does not display all these transitions in its album.
7. The preview of my transition in Studio goes directly from image A to image B :
   Check out our FAQ "37- Preview of some transitions in Studio goes directly from image A to image B "

Step 3 :  Showing the Transitions in new Studio version

If you have Pinnacle Studio and a new Studio version installed on the same computer, refer to our news " Avid Studio, Pinnacle Studio and 00 - Declic-Video Transitions ".

But if you have only a new Studio version installed on your computer, you are not forgotten. By reading our tutorial "Install our free HFX transitions in Pinnacle Studio", you can use our transitions .

Step 4 : Some Peculiarities of Hollywood FX

1. I can not delete a folder in Hollywood FX:
   To delete a folder, it must be completely empty. If you have a few transitions in this folder, delete them one by one with the "Delete" command from the context menu then you can delete the folder with the command "Delete File" from the context menu. In most cases it will be necessary to force Studio to recreate its album. If you have a lot...
   Check out our FAQ " 19-How to delete an HFX effect or an HFX category ".
2. I have a transition icon which is grey and I cannot erase it any more :
   Check out our FAQ " 21-One of my transition is shown with a "grey box". I can not delete it. ".
3. The modifications which I made to a transition are not saved:
   It is a known random bug ... Before re-saving a transition, move the slider to get another view of the thumbnail, always watch the thumbnail during the recording: if the thumbnail does not change, the changes are not taken into account. Then save your transition with a new name, certainly not with the same name (See point 2 above).
4. When I export a transition with "File / Export HFZ..." the exported transition does not correspond to the transition that I just modified:
   Don't forget to save your transition before exporting. The export takes into account only the last saved version of the transition.

I think I have explained all tips, special cases, bugs ... but I promise to update this tutorial if you discover other interesting things.

{Thanks to Malobar who translated this tutorial from french to english, Loosecannon who cross-checked it}