New user problem -- Don't press the "Set Chapters" button in "Create Disk"!

Tony2323

Newbie Joined: Jun 21, 2011 16:14 Messages: 11 Offline

Solved by

Jun 26, 2011 14:22

Last in a series.

So I've finally got all the bits of my movie sorted out. I've got the first 8 minutes of my slide show as the main project, two subsequent chunks as included projects (forced on me by various other bugs). Another slide show (with chapters) as another included project). And a 30 minute video as another. I'm prepared to live with the nonsensical chapter organization because the menu template suggests i'll soon be viewing a panty liner ad.

I wonder what the "Set Chapter" button does in the list of included projects?

It takes me to the last included project's edit section. Presumably, so I can make changes to the chapter organization. But I'm not in that project's PDS file. I'm in the original first 8-minute fragment's PDS file, which I failed to notice. After a precautionary "Save Project" I'm hosed -- the original project-first-bit file now contains the videos from the last part, and its original contents are nowhere to be seen. When I build the project, there is now no chapter information from the first bit at all. So no menu items on the subsequent disk, which is thankfully still buildable even though the menu items are at this point totally confusing and essentially unusable. And the photos from the first-bit file have now found themselves into the video project's media room.

This whole design looks like cluge after cluge as "included projects" were stapled on to the original design haphazardly, followed by not even the most basic testing.

But I was expecting this, kind of. So I made a copy of the PDS file of the original (33 minute) project) prior to the split of the base into three bits. I save the original file with the name "Broken". I rename the backup PDS copy as the original file. I then open it with PD. I get "Can't find file". No indication of what file, of course.

Anyone know if it is possible to recover from this? I'd hate to have to reconstruct that 8 minute video again...

Tony

1Nina

Senior Contributor Location: Norway, 50km southwest of Oslo Joined: Oct 08, 2008 04:12 Messages: 1070 Offline

Jun 26, 2011 16:19

Hi Tony,

I must first confess I'm a bit bewildered reading your posts.
I'm not sure this is the thread you've started that is the right one for my reply.
It's just that you here write PDS- files- and I (maybe wrongly) read your
post here as if you have been combining the PDS-files.

I see Barry suggested to you (in the crash-thread) to produce minor bits to videofiles,
and then combine the videofiles.. This is the procedure many use; pre-render
bits- and pieces.

Have I maybe read your posts wrong, or have you tried what Barry suggested?

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

Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Jun 26, 2011 16:19

But I was expecting this, kind of. So I made a copy of the PDS file of the original (33 minute) project) prior to the split of the base into three bits. I save the original file with the name "Broken". I rename the backup PDS copy as the original file. I then open it with PD. I get "Can't find file". No indication of what file, of course.

Anyone know if it is possible to recover from this? I'd hate to have to reconstruct that 8 minute video again...

In your PDS copy for the original file, did you get a window that had a browse button, it so click it and find where your files are located. Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Tony2323

Newbie Joined: Jun 21, 2011 16:14 Messages: 11 Offline

Jun 26, 2011 17:56

Quote:
Hi Tony,

I must first confess I'm a bit bewildered reading your posts.
I'm not sure this is the thread you've started that is the right one for my reply.
It's just that you here write PDS- files- and I (maybe wrongly) read your
post here as if you have been combining the PDS-files.

I see Barry suggested to you (in the crash-thread) to produce minor bits to videofiles,
and then combine the videofiles.. This is the procedure many use; pre-render
bits- and pieces.

Have I maybe read your posts wrong, or have you tried what Barry suggested?

Nina

Hi Nina,

I got the impression that each issue should be in a separate thread, so that people looking for solutions could queue off the subject line. Someone was admonished for asking unrelated questions in the original thread & I'm keen to follow established procedure for this forum. All 5 of my posts seem to me to be different, but who knows, perhaps they have the same solution! What do I know, I'm new here!

As it happens, I'd already split my project up into 3 sub-projects, which turned out to be *almost* what Barry recommended. The difference is that he suggested a master project wrapping them all as included projects; the solution I came up with was to split off the first part as the master project and setting parts 2 and 3 as included projects.

Had I known to do what Barry suggested,, I would have been immune to the "Set Chapters" corruption. But I'd still have got an odd and non-intuitive hierarchical menus, this time in a different form.

That's why this forum is so useful. You old-timers know where the dragons are & stay clear. New users have to work out how to avoid them themselves.

But it's not clear at all to me that any of this splitting should, in a properly designed program, be necessary at all. In spite of having been accused of having precambrian hardware (2 years old), I'm perfectly content editing a 33 minute movie. The system is responsive; editing is easy; saves go quickly. The only downside is on opening a project and updating the timeline, which is a bit tedious. Having one slide-show project is logically coherent; splitting it up arbitarily into three parts is artificial. That's why I attacked the problem as I did.

Cheers, Tony

Tony2323

Newbie Joined: Jun 21, 2011 16:14 Messages: 11 Offline

Jun 26, 2011 18:09

Quote:

In your PDS copy for the original file, did you get a window that had a browse button, it so click it and find where your files are located.

Hi Carl,

I'd changed back to the original (now corrupt) file, so I changed it a second time just now to verify behaviour.

This time it behaved differently. It seemed to have worked, displaying my original 33 minute movie. The last time I tried this, PD wouldn't even open it -- displaying "Cannot find file" even when clicked on. Whatever was annoying it seems better. Presumably, PD was trying to open something referred to in the PDS file & somehow whatever it was is now back in place.

Is there some guide to the functions of the various XML files that PD squirrels away all over the place??

Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Jun 26, 2011 21:35

Is there some guide to the functions of the various XML files that PD squirrels away all over the place??

No, not a guide, but experience with the program will soon teach you what the project file contains.

A corrupt project file will cause very strange things to happen in Powerdirector.

If you are brave enough, you can open a pds file in Internet Explorer and read the contents. Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.