Preview window
The Preview window has two tabs:
Menu tab
The Menu tab is where you lay out menus and create button links:
- Menu under construction.
- Selection Tool. Use this tool to select, move, and resize button and text objects. See Using individual elements to create menus.
- Highlight Tool. Use this tool to draw and edit button highlight rectangles on menus created from layered Photoshop files (the highlight rectangles define each button to the DVD player). See Creating a layered menu.
- Text Tool. Use this tool to create and edit text blocks. See Adding text blocks to menus.
- Add Sub-Menu button. Click to create a new button on the current menu. The new button is linked to a new sub-menu that has the same background as the current menu.
- Add Movie button. Click to import a video file and create a new movie.
- Add Slideshow button. Click to create a new slideshow.
- Align Objects. Use this drop-down list to align selected menu objects.
- Background Color. Select to replace the menu background with a solid block of color (see Choosing the menu background). Use the drop-down list to choose the background color.
- View Safe Area button. Click to show/hide the menu “safe area” guides, which show where buttons and text can be placed without being cropped when viewed on a TV. See “Safe area” guides for details.
- Show Grid button. Click to show/hide gridlines to help you place menu objects.
- Snap button. Click to turn on/off “snap to grid and guides.”
- Menu button that is linked to another item in the project. The number in the top-left corner is the button number.
- This menu button has been selected for editing.
- Menu object that is not linked to anything.
- Subpicture Layer drop zone. Drag image assets here to add/replace the menu’s subpictures. See Replacing the menu background and subpicture layers.
- Background Layer drop zone. Drag video or image assets here to replace the menu background (or the entire menu, when creating menus with layered Photoshop files). See Replacing the menu background and subpicture layers.
- View Highlight Layer button. Click to show/hide the button highlight rectangles, which define the buttons to the DVD player.
- View Subpicture Layer button. Click to show/hide the button subpictures (the images that appear over menu buttons when the viewer selects them).
- View Background Layer button. Click to show/hide the full-color menu artwork (background, button images, and text).
- Button’s subpicture image.
Title tab
The Title tab is where you preview and trim movies:
- Playhead. Drag to scroll through the movie. The preview area shows the frame at this location.
- Timecode counter. Shows the timecode at the playhead location.
- End Trim Point marker. Drag left to trim the end of the movie.
- Out Point box. Shows the timecode at the end of the movie, relative to the start of the source video file. Enter a timecode to trim the end of the movie.
- Grab Frame button. Click to save the current frame as an image file.
- Next Chapter button. Click to skip to the next chapter.
- Next Frame button. Click to move forward one frame.
- Previous Frame button. Click to move back one frame.
- Previous Chapter button. Click to skip to the previous chapter point.
- Stop button. Click to stop playback.
- Play/Pause button. Click to play/pause playback.
- In Point box. Shows the timecode at the start of the movie, relative to the start of the source video file. Enter a timecode to trim the beginning of the movie.
- Start Trim Point marker. Drag right to trim the beginning of the movie.