21 Replies Latest reply: Jan 7, 2012 9:45 PM by Michelmnr RSS

    button offset caused navigation to fail

    avpromedia Community Member

      I have a 2-disc project, each with 3 chapters.

      The 2nd dvd contains chapter 4, 5, 6 so I put 3 as the button offset in the main menu. The button routing still displays the buttons as 1, 2, 3. Fine, perhaps this is by design.

       

      After burning the DVD, I can indeed go to chapter 4, 5, or 6 by pressing the numeric buttons on the dvd remote. However, the arrow keys do nothing! They are automatically routed by encore to each other and should respond to arrow keys.

       

      I remember this feature used to work in earlier version. Do I have to do something different in cs4?

       

      I saw an earlier poster also having problem with offset but there is no solution in that thread.

        • 1. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
          Stan Jones CommunityMVP

          the arrow keys ... are automatically routed by encore to each other and should respond to arrow keys.


          Turn button routing on in the menu viewer and see what the routing is.  Post a screen shot if it is not obvious what the status is.

          • 2. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
            Bill Hunt CommunityMVP

            I agree that you should be able to Manually Route Buttons, and clear that navigation up.

             

            Now, when Buttons (Layer Sets in PS) are created, they are both named (can be changed) and numbered (cannot be changed, except by moving the Layer Sets, or the Button Offset). Initially, the name and the number match, and often the text in the Button will match up too. Many users will first change the text to reflect what they want displayed. Other users, such as I, will also change the Buttons' Layer Set names to reflect exactly where I will be linking. Those do not change the Buttons' numbers. Those numbers will appear in the middle of the "cross" in the Button Routing schematic.

             

            If one needs to change the Button numbers, they could move their Button Layer Sets around in the Layers Palette, but this is really unnecessary, unless one is very confused by their numbers, and Button Offset SHOULD change these. Note: in the Layers Palette, the lowest Button (bottom of the hierarchy in the Layers Palette) will be Button 1, with Button 2 right above it, and so on.

             

            Good luck, and let us see that Button Routing schematic.

             

            Hunt

             

            [Edit] While doing some research, I did find that one CAN change those Button numbers in the Menu Editing Panel - learned something new!

             

            Message was edited by: Bill Hunt - Added [Edit]

            • 3. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
              avpromedia Community Member

              I captured the screen and ran the preview within encore -- even in the preview the arrow keys (clickable on screen or the ones on keyboard) don't work but direct numeric entry works (e.g. pressing 5 on the keyboard goes to chapter 5). Putting the mouse cursor on the chapters also works.

               

              Here's a screen shot:

              http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/13692105_Ryynr

               

              hover the mouse over the photo and select original to get full resolution

               

              I changed the offset after I placed the buttons. Do I have to change the offset before I place the buttons?

              • 4. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                Stan Jones CommunityMVP

                Are you sure the up and down arrows don't work?  The left and right don't go anywhere, that's true.

                • 5. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                  avpromedia Community Member

                  To make sure I'm sure, I created a new encore project, created a blank menu, change the button offset to 3, then place 3 buttons in it by double clicking on a library button 3 times.

                   

                  Then I did a preview, and the up/down arrows don't work.

                  I cancel preview, changed the offset back to 0, ran the preview, and the up/down arrows work.

                   

                  If I changed the offset to 1, it does something strange: while the top button is selected, clicking the up arrow activates the middle button.

                   

                  Could someone else do a test in cs4, and also in cs5?

                   

                  I guess I have to use invisible buttons to bump up the offset.

                  • 6. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                    Bill Hunt CommunityMVP

                    When I get back in the studio, I will check this.

                     

                    As a workaround, just leave the Button Offset out of it. The Buttons are named on your Menu, or can be, and even the Button Layer Sets can be named (just make sure to leave the Menu characters, before the space, untouched - change the name AFTER the space, to what you want). Then, the Button navigation should work fine. I have to admit that I do not use Button Offset, so have never really explored it. Will probably learn something else new, when I do.

                     

                    Good luck,

                     

                    Hunt

                    • 7. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                      avpromedia Community Member

                      Could you elaborate on why naming the buttons would help navigation?

                       

                      To implement the hidden button trick, I added 3 new buttons. Since newly added buttons get the higher button numbers, these become buttons 4, 5, 6.  To make the 3 older buttons into buttons 4, 5, 6, I cut and paste back them back.

                       

                      I set it up so that if the user press 4, 5, or 6 it would go to chapter 4, 5, or 6. In anticipation of wise guy users like myself, pressing 1, 2, or 3 would also cause chapter 4, 5, or 6 to be highlighted (but not activate). This is done by linking buttons 1 to button 4, button 2 to button 5, and button 3 to button 6 and have them auto activate.

                       

                      Strangely, when I tested this in preview, pressing button 1, 2, or 3 all cause chapter 4 to be highlighted. But when I actually burned the dvd and play it, it works correctly. So there's something wrong with the preview as well.

                      • 8. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                        Stan Jones CommunityMVP

                        Interesting.  In PREVIEW only (I have not tested a burn or folder build), setting any offset results in the arrows not working in CS3 and CS4.  They work correctly in CS5.

                         

                        Will try to test further....

                        • 9. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                          Stan Jones CommunityMVP

                          Did a test to disk.  Both CS4 and CS5 work with the number keys based on the offset (4 offset with 4 buttons; 8 executes button 4 etc).  Arrows DO NOT work in CS4, WORK in CS5.

                          • 10. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                            Bill Hunt CommunityMVP
                            Could you elaborate on why naming the buttons would help navigation?

                            For the user, to have a logical name, whether it is "Chapter 1," or "Liz's Birthday," will help them to know what they are clicking on.

                             

                            As for the Buttons' names, that is mainly to help me when it comes time to link things. If I have "Button 1" through "Button12," I have to remember where each one is to be linked. If I have Renamed the Button to "Liz's Birthday," then I know exactly what to link to - the Liz's Birthday Timeline.

                             

                            Hope that helps,

                             

                            Hunt

                            • 11. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                              Bill Hunt CommunityMVP

                              Stanley,

                               

                              Looks like a Bug to me. I had not gotten back to this, until after you tested, and what might have worked in En 2.0 is moot also.

                               

                              Thanks for reporting. Looks like it got fixed in CS5.

                               

                              Hunt

                              • 12. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                                avpromedia Community Member

                                Thanks all. I guess the solution is to not use the offset field or to upgrade to CS5.

                                • 13. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                                  Bill Hunt CommunityMVP

                                  It is looking like those might be the only options.

                                   

                                  I did test in Encore 2.0, and all was as I had anticipated, though that is meaningless in the case of En CS4.

                                   

                                  Sorry that I was not able to be more help,

                                   

                                  Hunt

                                  • 14. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                                    Stan Jones CommunityMVP

                                    First, thanks for focusing me on the "remote number key" method for selecting chapters.  My chapters don't follow a chapter 1, 2 etc flow, but names or dates, etc.  So I never think about it.

                                     

                                    Second, I'll file a bug report.  (Not where I have the link at the moment.)  It is somewhat moot, since it will not be fixed in the versions its broken in (!), but just in case it is not being  tracked and gets broken again!

                                    • 15. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                                      Michelmnr Community Member

                                      Hi again I can see this post is spanning over a few years!

                                      I'm here because all of the sudden my buttons won't rout and there is nothing in Property about Automatic/manual routing. When I display the routing it shows but when I want to to connect there is a little red "no allowed" icon showing.

                                      I've read as much as I could find about it and Bill's post was mentioning something about button layers. I was using the theme "travel" and the beach menu. I did get rid of many of the surroundings (using highlight and clear) to thin out the buttons - Would this be my problem? And would this make the options in property disappear? I hope it's ok to use this post to find out rather starting a new question Thank in advance MM

                                      Well Well Well I don't know what happened but I went back to the layer panel and click the little "button?" in the third column against the first icon of a button's name (looks like a folder icon but grey followed by the + sign) the little button I clicked on disappeared and I was allowed to rout again and could see the option in property! but I had to get this / these little buttons back on to enable the routing!!! In the process all my linking had been unlinked to their "timeline sequence" but it's working - I could not sort it out in my manual

                                      • 16. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                                        Stan Jones CommunityMVP

                                        My assumption at the beginning of  your post was that you had the wrong thing selected (button rather than menu), but that actually does not affect manual button routing. However, you get the behavior you describe if you try to rouite buttons while "automatically route buttons" is still selected. And you won't see the "automatically route buttons" if you have a button, rather than the menu selected.

                                         

                                        Encore help does not explain this:

                                         

                                        http://help.adobe.com/en_US/encore/cs/using/WS74BC1059-66C3-46c5-9FA6-78DF10B38353.html

                                         

                                        There is a user comment that says: "The instructions are accurate, but it would help in step 3 of "Change the routing order" to spell out it's the MENU properties panel that lets you switch automatic routing on and off, not the button properties."

                                         

                                        Exactly correct.

                                        • 17. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                                          Michelmnr Community Member

                                          Thank you Stan, Yes I think I had the menu but selected a button

                                          Hm, I turned my pc off b4 posting!

                                           

                                          Yes thank you, I did see the difference between the 2 selections. At least I managed to get everything working ok. But I could not reproduce the situation where routing was disallowed and got the "No Go" sign instead of the "hand" to connect buttons in the order i wanted. I can't remember how automatic routing works but I think it would be good if it just allowed the navigation to go anywhere it can go. In my present case I have nine buttons for nine different timelines in for the user to be able to choose the particular segment he she would want to watch so it would be nice for the navigation to go directly from any button to any other. (as such I connected almost every four arrows to anything around the closest buttons. I had never had it so simple with each timeline end of action back to the only menu I used with my nine buttons I had scattered about the menu. So I was a little surprised that the "Build Check" did not report any fault! (this is very  unusual to me!)

                                          • 18. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                                            Stan Jones CommunityMVP

                                            You can help automatic routing by using the preferences for automatic routing, but it does not handle irregular button layouts. It can't predict the layout.

                                             

                                            Build check does identify some problems that are not actual errors, but I doubt it will ever be set up to find navigation issues like this.

                                            • 19. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                                              Michelmnr Community Member

                                              Thanks again Stan, I guess my routing all the buttons together is probably the answer for free navigation. But I'm happy with the last outcome - My previous encoding after modifying 2 timelines had their buttons not playing but I could not see any error so encoded again on a new dvd  and it worked well the second time!

                                              • 20. Re: button offset caused navigation to fail
                                                Stan Jones CommunityMVP

                                                The "Do Over." An essential Encore troubleshooting technique.