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PE4 main menu navigation button size set too small

Mar 7, 2011 10:33 AM

I have been using PE 4 since pretty early in its release. I recently made a movie that could not be burned to DVD or written to the HD as a DVD. It would encode media files to @ 95%, shift to burning, and then hang. The burn could be cancelled, and the project could be saved from the file menu. PE4 could not be closed except with the task manager; and, in that case, it did not save updates.

In short I found that I made the main menu navigation buttons too small. I was trying to showcase a photo so I wanted the 'scenes' and 'play movie' small and out of the way. The preview worked fine, though.

I think this is an arcane unwritten idiosyncracy of PE 4 and perhaps later versions, as well.

It is not really a problem, but there seems to be a limit as to how small the buttons can be made.

735 Views   3 Replies   Latest reply: Bill Hunt, Dec 14, 2011 10:34 AM
 
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  • Bill Hunt
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    1. Bill Hunt,
    Mar 10, 2011 5:51 PM   in reply to stannails
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    Exactly how did you modify the Buttons on your Menu?

     

    PrE is very careful to follow the DVD-specs. for all things related to DVD authoring very closely, just like Adobe Encore. The DVD-specs. are very limited and detailed, on what can be used, and what cannot.

     

    If you created your Menu Set in PS, I strongly recommend that one has an existing Menu Set Open, so that every convention is adhered to. It can be very confusing otherwise. Though I create my Encore Menus in PS, I normally start with one of the Library Menus, just to save me typing and having to name things, as they should be - that work is done already, and I just have to modify things to suit - within the confines of the DVD-specs.

     

    Good luck,

     

    Hunt

     
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  • stannails
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    2. stannails,
    Mar 11, 2011 12:00 PM   in reply to Bill Hunt
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    Bill,

     

    I'll try to answer these questions.

    I never studied PE; I learned by making mistakes (sometimes again and again)

     

    I started the menus from the menu template library.

    I replaced the background image of the main menu with one that I had made in

    photoshop.

    It was a composite of 2 video frame captures. At first I did not pay any

    attention to its pixel size or file size.

    As I had trouble, I changed the size to 720x480 pixels, but it was standard

    aspect.

    It took me quite a while to find and use the "interpret footage" menu in 'file'

    so that the image aspect was 9x16.

     

    I shrunk the default navigation buttons 'play movie' and 'scenes' in the main

    menu by compressing the boxes which outline them after they are Left click

    selected for editing. 

    I have usually done this on my previous movies without a problem, but in this

    case I wanted them to be even more inconspicuous.

    So I modified the buttons by making them smaller.

     

    After a few failures I stopped trying to burn a DVD and instead selected

    share/personal computer/ mpeg/NTSC widescreen, and this also failed.

    After many failures (and 2 repairs and one reinstall of PE4 of no help) , I

    decided to remove my composite photo from the main menu and use instead a color

    matte for the background. I did not think about this at the time, but I did not

    shrink the navigation buttons as much since they would not hide anything of

    interest.

    This worked without a problem.

    I then added my composite photo as a still to the video, and there was no

    problem.

    I concluded the photo, per se, was not the problem, but it was something I did

    in making the menu.

    The idea about the navigation buttons came to me as I was lying awake with a

    minor headache.

     

    I recreated the original main menu, and I made the buttons smaller than the

    default but not as small as before.

    I had success saving to the HD and independently burning a DVD.

    The navigation button script on the successful runs is about 70% of the original

    default size.

     

    I am pretty certain, without definite proof, that the failure was caused by

    making the buttons too small.

    I can't define 'too small' other than when the project fails.

     

    I thought I would post this because someone else might encounter this problem

    and be as confused as I was.

     

     

    Thanks for your interest.

     

    Allan Pilloff

    Exactly how did you modify the Buttons on your Menu?

     

    PrE is very careful to follow the DVD-specs. for all things related to DVD

    authoring very closely, just like Adobe Encore. The DVD-specs. are very limited

    and detailed, on what can be used, and what cannot.

     

    If you created your Menu Set in PS, I strongly recommend that one has an

    existing Menu Set Open, so that every convention is adhered to. It can be very

    confusing otherwise. Though I create my Encore Menus in PS, I normally start

    with one of the Library Menus, just to save me typing and having to name things,

    as they should be - that work is done already, and I just have to modify things

    to suit - within the confines of the DVD-specs.

     

    Good luck,

     

    Hunt

     
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  • Bill Hunt
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    3. Bill Hunt,
    Dec 14, 2011 10:34 AM   in reply to stannails
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    Thank you for posting your solution.

     

    Sorry that it took me so long to get back to you, but I probably do not visit this sub-forum as often as I should. Actually, I think that your post belonged out in the main PrE forum, as your problem, and solution, could well help others.

     

    When I go to edit a Menu (Menu Set in PrE), I always do that in Photoshop (PS), and follow the required conventions (PrE does its authoring semi-automatically, so all the various conventions are extremely important), and then do the PNG thumbnails (required to show in the Create Menu Library), and add the folder, with my edited Menu Set into the Library folder hierarchy under Hunt Menus.

     

    When I alter the Scale of my Buttons, I do so in PS, by Scaling (Free Transform) the entire Button Layer Set, so that all elements in that Button will be Scaled exactly.

     

    I can also adjust the Opacity of my Buttons' elements, to make them less obtrusive too.

     

    To date, I have never had an issue with the Buttons' Scale, but may just never have reached a critical point. I am surprised that Scale made a difference to you (but glad that it did), as some have greatly Scaled down certain Buttons in the PrE Menu Sets, to effectively "hide" them, and the Menu Sets still worked. In my cases, if I do not want a Button, I just Delete the entire Button Layer Set, and that has always worked on my Projects.

     

    Still, thank you for taking the time to report what did work for you. That might well help others in the future, and also gives me some advice to pass on, when others encounter a similar issue.

     

    Good luck,

     

    Hunt

     
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