mrbothered1,
welcome to the volunteer forum.
You have discovered the menu system, eh?
Not the most favored module of PD, but we can help.
Follow this link to PDTooTs.
http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/29377.page
Scroll down to the menu Toots and you'll get a better explanation and instructions than I can give you here in a post.
If it helps, add a note to the PDTooTs thread, please.
Good luck.
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Thanks BarryTheCrab, The video helped a little. I realised that although it shows three buttons they don't appear in the preview? very confusing. In the video they are almost ignored and are not a problem. Wish that was explained before I spent a couple of frustrating hours trying to get rid of them. Anyway, another question. I add a sound track to the menu, it is over two minutes long and I would like it to play for the full track if nothing is clicked. It will only play for 10-15 seconds then repeats. Any ideas?

Hi mrbothered1 -

I can tell you that you're not the only one who's ever been bothered by the menu module in PD. You mentioned you are new to PD, but you've dived into one of the most convoluted un-user-friendly parts of the whole package.

I'm sure that members will be able to help you on your learning curve, but at the end of it you probably won't say, "Ah. So it's as easy as that!"

Buttons. In the menu module there are different buttons & I'm not sure to which you refer. Do you mean the buttons that display the video thumbnails? or the labels on the Root Menu? or the Navigation buttons? Yes - they're all called "buttons".

I realised that although it shows three buttons they don't appear in the preview? very confusing

In the templates, there may be buttons labelled "Item 1", "Item 2" & "Item 3" but they will not appear in preview (or the actual menu) if they're not needed.

e.g. on the Root menu page Item 1 is typically "Play", Item 2 is typically "Chapters/Scenes" & Item 3 is "Subtitles".
Let's say you have a project with only 1 video without chapters & no subtitles - they'll only be a "Play" button because the others are superfluous.

Or maybe you're talking about other buttons.

Do you see what I mean? This is the most unintuitive part of PD.

The more you can say about what it is you'd like to do, the more members can assist.

Cheers - Tony


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Thanks ynotfish, the answer was there - e.g. on the Root menu page Item 1 is typically "Play", Item 2 is typically "Chapters/Scenes" & Item 3 is "Subtitles".
Let's say you have a project with only 1 video without chapters & no subtitles - they'll only be a "Play" button because the others are superfluous. -. I noticed the buttons didn't appear so assumed not really a problem, just confusing, it's like they are options but I assumed they were 'fixed'. I am new to PD but did a little video with Roxio a few years back. I have another question about audio. When I preview the video, the menu plays the audio for 10 - 15 seconds then repeats. Is there a way for me to play the whole audio track complete then maybe repeat until something is clicked?

Quote: I noticed the buttons didn't appear so assumed not really a problem, just confusing, it's like they are options but I assumed they were 'fixed'

That confuses a lot of people. When you're working in Menu Designer, you're creating or modifying a template, which can later be applied to your project. When PD applies the template to your project, it determines which (& how many) buttons are needed.

Quote: Is there a way for me to play the whole audio track complete then maybe repeat until something is clicked?

On the Root Menu page, the music duration is determined by your playback mode setting (maximum 99 seconds) - see attached image
On the Chapters/Scenes page, the music times out at about 14-15 seconds and I know of no way to change that.

Forum member Xerox once managed to get around it http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/17273.page#87533 but I don't know how.

Cheers - Tony
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Thanks Tony for your help. I played with PD a whole day and learned much, and got frustrated plenty. That's just the nature of the beast I know. I think I have the basics of the menu down now, seems easier to create one from scratch rather than modify one? I have audio on the first page for the max 99 secs but the chapters page? like it said in your post, it's a nightmare. Maybe Cyberlink will release a patch someday? It would be a nice option.
Thanks again.