I'm not sure why stills would have a duration on a menu, laer. They're just there, as long as the rest of the menu page is there, right?

Or maybe I'm not understanding how you're using these stills. Are they a menu background? A button thumbnail? Or are you trying to create a Compliation slideshow?

Hello again, Steve

What I was doing was creating a menu page, then dragging in my images onto that... which conveniently created thumbnails that would display a fullscreen version if you clicked on the thumbnail. All that worked great, but the fullscreen image would be displayed for a set duration before returning to the thumbnail gallery.

Fair enough, but then I wanted to set the duration of the fullscreen versions, and couldn't figure out where that would be done.

It sounds like you're accidentally creating a Compilation -- but doing it in such a way that you don't have the control.

Try this. In the Project Overview panel, click to select the menu you want to add the link to and then, from the + menu, select Insert Picture Compilation.

Once the button appears on your menu, double-click on it and open the Compilation tab under the Timeline. Drag your photo (or several photos) into the Compilation. Once it's in there, you can click to select it and, in the Properties panel for Slide, you can drop down and select the duration. You can force your audience to stare at that picture for up to 15 minutes if you want!

Once you've created the compilation, you can go back to the menu page and add a thumbnail to the button if you want.

Ya, the compilation thing always worked fine... I'm not sure if I'm creating a compilation the way I'm doing it... It's possible that it is creating a compilation, though... although only a 1 picture one.

I'll have to experiment with that, and see if it is creating a compilation. If so, ya, I should be able to set the durations the normal way...

Well, technically doing what you're doing -- just dragging a still onto a menu page and creating a link -- isn't creating a compilation. It's just creating a link to a 5 second still photo clip. Which I don't think you want.

So, if you do want to create a link to a still photo that you can control the duration of, you need to create a compilation.

Understood... But it's odd that there is no global setting for how long that duration is for these links (created by dragging a still onto a menu page).

No bother... I just did a standard compilation now, seeing as I ran into a 'too many unique media' error (since there's 250 photos).

I'm still trying to figure out all is considered a 'chapter'.... Are things like menu pages, compilations, individual still photo links (as described above), or individual pages (created with the 'Insert Page' command) considered a chapter?

I believe that any item dragged onto a menu from the Explorer window is a title and each item in a compilation is a chapter. You can have 99 titles on a disc and 99 chapters per title.

I don't think menu pages count as either, but are subject to different limits. Perhaps others will correct/elaborate on this.

Mike

But it's odd that there is no global setting for how long that duration is for these links (created by dragging a still onto a menu page).

It's not that odd when you consider that, quite frankly, that's a rather uncommon thing to do. Honestly, you're the first person I've ever heard of who wanted to create a title from an individual image. Generally speaking, you add videos. There's no need for a "global setting" to define how long an inserted video is since videos inherently already have time lengths. Your media of choice, still images, don't.

My suggestion would be this:

1. Insert a picture compilation.
2. Add your images to that compilation.
3. As I've instructed before, select all of those images in the Compilation window, go to the Slide tab of the Properties window, and set the length there.
4. Go back to your menu, right-click the compilation's menu button, and choose Insert Scene Selection menu.

Now you've got your image compilation, all of the images have the duration you want, and you've got your thumbnails. What you won't like about it, I'm guessing, is that when you select a thumbnail, the compilation will play that image...and then continue playing the rest of the compilation.

I'm still trying to figure out all is considered a 'chapter'.

A chapter is a bookmark within a video title. Nothing more, nothing less. It allows the viewer, using his remote or buttons on the DVD player, to skip back and forth between designated points within that video. Menus are not chapters, menu pages are not chapters, compilations are not chapters.

Rob

The reason I was doing that way originally was because it seemed like it was the only method that allows you to create a thumbnail gallery of all your individual still images (rather than having a single button/thumbnail that represents a group of images in a compilation.

I wanted it like you see in many websites... A gallery of thumbnails, each leading to a larger version of that single image.

But, ya, I imagine you could do single image compilations... but I thought that's what I was ultimately creating by dragging the still images onto the menu (aren't I?).

All that said, the bottom line is that I have too many images (250) for the DVD format anyway (...in terms of access to each individual image, rather than having to watch a group of images in order to get to the one you want).

Compilations also automatically generate scene/chapter markers at each photo in a slideshow, so you could create a Scene Menu page with thumbnail links to each picture in our compilation.

Hi, Steve... Hmmm... I'll have to check that. That sounds like it could be what I'm looking for! I previously thought that a compilation would only have the one button/thumbnail. If it could then have a sub menu that shows each chapter (in this case, each still photo within the compilation), that would be great.

But, again, I think this all gets shot down by the fact that there is a 99 chapter limit... and I have 250 photos!

I'll look into it, though... just in case I do a similar project that has less than 100 photos!

For now, I just have categorized compilations (split into several compilations so that there's only a max of 21 images in each)... just so you don't have to sit through TOO many images to get to the one you want.

If you stick to less that 100 photos you might as well make each one a title. That way each could have its end action set to itself and thus remain on screen until the menu button is pressed.

The snag with compilations is that each picture will remain on screen for a pre-set time and then move on to the next.

Mike

I previously wasn't even aware of 'titles'. I had thought there was only chapters (...and wasn't aware of any limitations on those as it was).

I need to go through the manual once again to familiarize myself with some points I may have missed... although I'm noticing that there's some things entirely missing from the manual (...like documentation on the various button Highlight attributes, which to this day I'm still trying to find any reference to anywhere on the web).

I'm noticing that there's some things entirely missing from the manual (...like documentation on the various button Highlight attributes ...

I must say I'm puzzled by that, as there seems to be quite extensive documentation of this is the manual and in Help.

Mike

The button Highlight attributes?

All I have is this:

'Animated button highlights are not supported. If a button has keyframe animation applied, button highlighting is not animated or may not be visible when you burn your project to disc. You will see the button highlighting when you preview your DVD Architect Pro project but not after it is burned to disc.'

No list about the various highlight types. Underline and rectangle are self-explanitory, but I couldn't find anything on Text Mask Overlay, Image Mask Overlay or Custom, for example.