Nina, I have one suggestion. For this, your first project, you might do what I have to do for now and find a menu template you can "live with" and try to modify it for your purposes.

If none of the supplied templates are close to what you want, the Director Zone has many that can be downloaded.

PD has a very "quirky" setup in that the menu edit function will let you add text but not edit any that originally exists in the template.

You have to be in the "create disk" mode to change something like "My Videos" to whatever the title of your project is. And there will be 2 or 3 menu pages that will need editing.

I realize this is not the answer you wanted but I hope this gets you started.

Hello Bif - and thanks for viewing, and answering to my question.
You are right, it's not the solution I want.
I have been visiting Director Zone ; many beautiful menues to see.
But you know, when you're working on your own movie for a very long time, I - at least, want to have control over the first scene; the intro.
For me, the converting/rendering and burning have worked perfectly to my satisfaction so far. I just think it's a pity I have to make the dvd without a meny, or use Nero's choice.

Nina
Just something.
https://www.petitpoisvideo.com

I had a similar experience.

I created a video and very carefully selected thumbnails for each chapter.

Then I discovered that the menu template that I selected displayed the thumbnail for chapter one on the main menu. Well, that certainly wasn't the thumbnail that I would have selected, but after a lot of frustrating research, I decided there wasn't anything I could do about it, so I went on.

Then -- horror of horrors -- I discovered that the chapter thumbnails and the image on the main menu wasn't the single frame of the chapter thumbnail I had selected -- it was several seconds of action immediately after that frame. Including a bunch of action that I definitely did NOT want in the thumbnail. And there was no way of editing that. I couldn't trim it. I couldn't freeze it to one frame. Nothing. If I had selected that frame as a chapter thumbnail, by golly I was going to have it and the next ten seconds or so of action in my menu, whether I liked it or not.

I don't know why things like that aren't editable. They sure should be.

Hi Joe!

If you search the Forum for menues/menu-trouble/simpel menues etc. you will find quite a few people who's hair has turned grey in dealing with the menues/disc creation in PD7.
It certainly should not be a mind game - creating a menu you want, but it is - or not doable at all in PD7.
I have given it up.
So for now, PD7 is not my choice when preparing for DVD-burning.

Nina
Just something.
https://www.petitpoisvideo.com

Quote: Then -- horror of horrors -- I discovered that the chapter thumbnails and the image on the main menu wasn't the single frame of the chapter thumbnail I had selected -- it was several seconds of action immediately after that frame. Including a bunch of action that I definitely did NOT want in the thumbnail.

Here's an update...

I just discovered the "Enable video thumbnail" option in the "Create Disk Preferences" button. When I unchecked that, the thumbnails became static images instead of ten seconds of video -- which is what I was expecting in the first place.

In my defense, that's not a good place to hide this option. The dialog box doesn't have a help button or a mouse-over option to explain what that means. And in MY brain, there is a difference between "authoring" options (navigation and the presentation of the content) and "burning" options (disk capacity, quality). That's why the significance of the option never occurred to me before.

So PD7 provided the option. They just put in in a place that was far from intuitive.

Aghghg!

Yes, but deselecting that option affects all chapters.

I just want to be able to DESELECT what PD7 has chosen for me as chapter 1.....can't find a way to delete it, change it or freeze just that chapter while letting the others "play" a bit.

ALSO---I want to ADD a button on the main menu that links to a "notes page"----you know, click it and a page with a personal note appears. Anybody know how to do that?

"Birthday Video" is now 3 weeks late and needs to be overnighted......any help would be appreciated.

Melissa in Maine "Pray for the Dead and Fight like Hell for the Living"- Mother Jones

Quote: Aghghg!

Yes, but deselecting that option affects all chapters.

I just want to be able to DESELECT what PD7 has chosen for me as chapter 1.....can't find a way to delete it, change it or freeze just that chapter while letting the others "play" a bit.

ALSO---I want to ADD a button on the main menu that links to a "notes page"----you know, click it and a page with a personal note appears. Anybody know how to do that?

"Birthday Video" is now 3 weeks late and needs to be overnighted......any help would be appreciated.

Melissa in Maine

I know your pain. My son's piano recital video was a week late. My neice's wedding video was three weeks. I still haven't completed the Christmas video from last year. All because I have vainly fought issues such as what you describe.

Unfortunately, it appears that you are asking for features that do not (yet) exist.

They would be nice features to have. But I would also like it if they would fix the bug-ridden menu editor that randomly re-adds music that I thought I had deleted, restores default thumbnails that I thought that I had changed, and ocasionally wipes out all the changes that I had made on its own whim.

Thanks for the reply and making me smile.....just went with the simplest thing I could get to work (wrote a message on a piece of paper and taped it to the dvd container) and while I considered adding a color board to the beginning to "take up" that first chapter space....doing so would require that all pips/titles/music etc. be moved and until I can find a way to make that happen as a GROUP.....I chose not to mess with the timeline.

So what if she sees the best part without even having to start the video--at least she'll have it before she leaves on her trip. That was before I went to UPS to overnight it...she won't be seeing it any time soon.

As info for all frenzied/past deadline/gotta get it there/ people....if its a Friday, relax or be prepared to pony up big bucks to overnight it-apparently Saturday doesn't count as a "regular" day for UPS or USPS and it would have cost me 3 times the price to mail it today than yesterday.

All those harried, agonizing, monitor face, manual reading hours. Refuse to pay 100 bucks so here it sits for the next few weeks. Maybe she'll get it before she's 22. Oh joy: today is another daughter's birthday and I haven't even started her's...then another daughter right after that...4 in all...all in California and all waiting for their "special" presents (WHO started this trend?). I should have gone to Target.

OK....nuff whining. I am most glad to see that someone else is having that whole "where did the music I imported into the menu" problem. Mine kept reverting to some cheesy romance theme.....huh?

Good luck with your Christmas video from last year....maybe if you call the whole thing off this year you'll have time to make it.

I'll be waiting for PD to fix these little "issues". Hmmmmm.

Peace
Melissa in Maine "Pray for the Dead and Fight like Hell for the Living"- Mother Jones

Quote: and while I considered adding a color board to the beginning to "take up" that first chapter space....doing so would require that all pips/titles/music etc. be moved and until I can find a way to make that happen as a GROUP.....I chose not to mess with the timeline.

You must have your tracks unlocked somehow. I just took the current project I'm working on and dropped color boards at the beginning and in various other places.

In all instances music, PiP, titles, etc. all shifted position to remain with the main video track clips they were with.

I don't have time right now to go dig up where you lock or unlock tracks right now as I'm taking a brief break from that current project but that's part of your problem.

Hi Melissa in Maine,

Sometimes things just don't work out right. I had organised a traditional hard copy book for my brother's 50th birthday made from selected photos etc over the years. Needless to say shit and fan come into it.

So I (luckily) have the facility to make quick flash streaming website videos (from the basic video slideshow used for the book) including a personalised video shot in the garden and I used that as the present - arrived on time (just) followed a couple of weeks later by the 'proper' version.

Not suitable for everything but better than nothing. Streaming video is not everyone's cup of tea but maybe worth considering if users can view it?? Website design could incorporate personal messages etc etc.

Cheers
Adrian

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

Hi everyone!

Since I posted this, I have been following you all who have problems similar to mine. And I see it's quite many!
When I was looking for a video editing program, I checked out many.
In the end I landed on PD7 - as the program looked sort of easy to manage and had gotten awards.
When I once or twice a week log in to the Forum, I'm amazed how many people have issues and questions - and despair.
Again, I will point out 2 things;
the Help-manual is just about useless
the Create disk/Menus is just about useless

PD7 should be an editingprogram from start to finish (?) - for mainstream
people (?). Is it?
Many of the problems/issues people encounter are such that you have to set out on a several hour mind-game- journey, or cry out for help in the Forum.
It seems to me that many are happy about the editing part, I also,but very, very frustrated when it comes to completing a project. I hope CL takes it to heart and mind - and that they do something about it. Maybe we can expect an UPDATE in 2009 which gives people a rest....
In the meantime, some will be looking for other solutions elsewhere.
That's a pity.

Nina

Just something.
https://www.petitpoisvideo.com