"I have DVD Architect 4.5"

I don't know if this is the full version, or IOW if you can do this...

Drag a rectangle button from the buttons browser on the lower left. With the button selected go to button properties on the upper right, select the media tab, set your graphic as the thumbnail media, size the frame as needed, select the highlight tab, set style to image mask overlay.

Alternatively you can create a custom mask as suggested, or read the help file on using button frames.

Thanks RCourtney and MPM for your suggestions. Will give these a go.

OK .. I've put a white frame around the button thumbnail. I've used a preset from the buttons set bottom left. I've set the highlight to custom with transparency mapping. The button thumbnail is now clear with a white frame and is about how I would like it but only when selected. When the button is not selected I would like just the clear thumbnail .. no frame or mask.

I have tried following threads for custom highlight and tried the manual but I just can't get the effect I want.

Unselected buttons ..... Clear thumbnail only.
Selected button ..... Clear thumbnail with the white rectangle.

I have tried searching for threads and following suggestions but I'm obviously missing something.

Is there a way I can apply the white rectangle from the buttons set only to a selected thumbnail on the menu keeping the thumbnail clear (with no 'hazy' mask over the selected thumbnail)?

I appreciate your help. Thanks.

The project defaults have 4 color sets with transparency levels.

Under the Menu Page Properties == General tab
You can tell which color set to use for Selected, Activated, and INACTIVE button colors.
Select NONE for the INACTIVE button colors.

Fill , Antialias, Outline./Background, and Transparent can be adjusted for the project
or you can change it for each button individually for fancier effects.

Thanks for your reply.

I just checked and I had those settings.

Under the Menu Page Properties == General tab
You can tell which color set to use for Selected, Activated, and INACTIVE button colors.
Select NONE for the INACTIVE button colors.

I've just realised that the buttons from the set bottom left are just frames to which we can add our own thumbnails. They are not part of the highlights as such.

I think what I'm going on about is just the selected highlights, I want to show the rectangle part of the highlight around the image or text but I want the thumbnail image to remain clear without the haze effect.

I have searched for threads on highlights and there are plenty but I can't find one which explains how to remove the 'haze' from the selected highlight leaving just the rectangle.

In the paint program of your choice, create an image approximately the size of your thumbnail or larger. The aspect ratio (height / width) should be as close as possible to your thumbnail image in order to avoid distortion.

If you can save to a format that restores transparency (PNG is great), then use a transparent background and use white to paint the area that you want to act as a highlight. (In your case, this would be a white border around the edge of the image.) Save this to a file, using your paint program's option to keep the transparency.

Alternatively, use black in place of the transparent areas and save to a regular, non-transparency-havin' image.

Back in DVD Architect, select your button, go to the Highlight tab of the Button Properties window. Change the Style setting to "Custom." Click the Mask setting and then select Replace from the dropdown list. Browse to the highlight mask file you created. If it has transparency, leave the Mask Mapping setting as "Transparency." If it is black and white, change Mask Mapping to "Intensity."

That should do it.

By the way, if the resulting border is too "hazy" for you, edit the color set being used for that menu (Menu Page Properties, Color Set tab, whichever color set is assigned to selected buttons on that menu -- most likely Color Set 1). Select the Fill color, hit the dropdown arrow on the right, and increase the A setting. 0 is clear, 255 is opague.

Rob

Guessing that's a DVD Architect 4 file? If so, he's not gonna be able to open it. His first post said he's using "DVD Architect 4.5," which means he's really using DVDA Studio.

By part of it being "hazy," I assume that 1) the highlight is still covering up the entire button and 2) the color set for that menu has a fill color that's semi-transparent.

Rob