Given Photoshop is the first choice is there an alternative second choice? :)

Ulead PhotoImpact. It's up to version 12, but version 10 has all you need (V12 has gotten more bloated and slower -- V10 is still pretty nimble, especially compared to the stupid Adobe products). You can get version 10 on eBay for next to nothing.

Many thanks for the suggestions. I have PhotoImpact XL which may too old.

Ed

Download Serif Photo Plus 6 for free from www.freeserifsoftware.com. It's the full version, not a trial. It supports layers, and MAY be able to export to PSD format, in which case you have a real bargain,

Worley

Many thanks for the suggestions. I have PhotoImpact XL which may too old.

I had XL as well, and when I upgraded to PhotoImpact 10, it was the biggest jump I've experienced in any application in the past ten years. Everything was better, and the number of advancements was HUGE. Versions 11 and 12 have added very little. Go to eBay and buy PI 10. You'll be happy you did. Guaranteed.

Could someone please post or point me to a link to a zip file with a dar using a single psd file with layers assigned to background... I am having no luck getting the layers to auto load. Thanks in advance.

Ed B

Here's a sample PSD file. Nothing too magic here. The key to getting DVDA to recognize the names (besides entering the names correctly) is to remember that you have to use the DVDA "Insert Submenu from File" option. (Right-click on a menu and this option will appear as one of the choices). You can then move this menu around, if you don't want it to be a sub-menu.

Here's the link (good for one week):

DVDA Example.psd

If you really want a DAR file, I can send that too, but I have to create it, and I'm in a hurry.

"The key to getting DVDA to recognize the names (besides entering the names correctly) is to remember that you have to use the DVDA "Insert Submenu from File" option."

That was the key! :) Once I hit "Insert Submenu from File " my PSD file loaded perfectly. Many thanks John!

ECB

That was the key! :)

Yeah, I knew you were smart enough to have figured the rest of it out, but that little "secret" eludes most people: Quite a few of us have stumbled over this "gotcha." You'd think that if you simply used the "Replace" function to change the menu background to the PSD file that it would import the buttons, but it doesn't.

BTW, if you have DVDA version 4, you don't have to bother with all the naming conventions. Instead, you can just load the PSD file (using the replace function). Then, for each button, insert a button using DVDA's Insert->Empty Button menu action. Finally, click on the image portion of the button and change the thumbnail, frame, and/or highlight to the PSD file, and then change the layer to match the name of the item in the PSD file that you want to assign to the button. To get the size correct, right-click on the button and select "Make Graphic Actual Size."

I found this easier for most of my projects, because it took too long to get all the layer names to match what DVDA insisted on using. Either way, you have to do some work, but this seemed easier. Also, once the whole concept starts to sink in, you will find all sorts of neat "tricks" that make it extremely simple to assign buttons and highlights.

I keep missing these. johnmeyer, any chance you could repost one of your examples?

I too keep missing these - johnmeyer, I would like to learn from your experience. Perhaps a post to VASST?

Jerry

Here's an example of that "Inverted Selection" trick

~10mb - active for 7 days
http://tinyurl.com/28475a


NOTE: this is only the prepared DVD Folders (not the source or project files)

Hi George. I was looking for the DAR and PSD examples to help me figure out how to set up button/menu masks in Photoshop, and then use them in DVDA. I find the manual very confusing and incomplete in this area.

EDIT: For others who may be looking for examples - George's download is a zip of the Prepared files (VOBs), not the source files.

Jerry