If you've purchased a show ProShow Producer Template from Choice Slides, you'll find two files inside your zip file:
A .pst file (the Template file) and a .psh file (the Show file). These are basically the same thing, but you can access them differently from inside Producer.
Installing the Template file in ProShow Producer
1. Choose Tools>Manage Show Templates (....and wait a few seconds while the next window loads)
2. Down in the bottom left corner, click "Add"
3. Navigate through your computer to find the location of the .pst file that you unzipped. (The location where you save these files is completely up to you). Highlight the file and hit "Open".
Note: If you have Microsoft Office installed on your computer, your Template file will actually read as an Outlook Data file with an Outlook icon. It isn't! Both Microsoft and Photodex created files with a .pst file extension. Microsoft takes priority, so the file gets the Microsoft icon, even though it is a Photodex file.
Once installed, you'll see your new template listed!
To access the template, click the "New" icon in the upper left corner of Producer
When the New Slide Show window comes up, click on the Show Template Icon. Your new Show Template should be listed alphabetically!
There are a couple of "scary" messages that you could get:
First, you might get a message that says this show was created in either an older version of ProShow or a newer version of ProShow and, therefore, might not be compatible. When in doubt, just click through that. ProShow is forward compatible, so 99% of the time this message doesn't mean much. If you've purchased a show built in ProShow 7 and you still have 5 or 6, no worries. Everything will still work fine, you'll just be missing the music.
Second, you might get a message saying that several files are missing. With the exception of music, you probably have all the files you need, Producer just needs help finding them again. Click OK to find them, then click Browse to Locate. If it asks for an Image file, browse to the "Image" folder that came with your download and locate the first file it asks for. Once Producer "learns" the new path, it will automatically find all the other images in that folder for you. If you are also missing a video file, repeat that step for the video folder that came with your download. Once you've done that, click ok and you're done!
To Open the Show File in ProShow Producer (any version)
1. Click the "Open" icon at the top and navigate to find the show file that came with your download. That's it. So much easier than the template. See note above about missing files.
Before creating your show you should always save the show you just opened under a different name. This will keep the original show file in tact.