Re: TDA 1.6: Changing thumbnail frame?

"Ken Maltby" <kmaltby@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


"Terry Pinnell" <terrypin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:g8elh4dka3od05nukf94c6htlt302feuag@xxxxxxxxxx
"Ken Maltby" <kmaltby@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


"Terry Pinnell" <terrypin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:jiajh4l921eo498qqfd79p71oeau4b1nsb@xxxxxxxxxx
Hoping that Ken Maltby or another TMPGEnc DVD Author user is around...

It's been a while since I did any menu work so maybe I've just
forgotten something elementary. Opening an old project (.TDA) file I
display its existing menu:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s247/terrypin999/TDA-ChangeFrame-1.jpg
But I note that has no frame and I'd like to add one. But how? If I
use 'Edit menu theme' I lose the title and background and thumbnail
caption. Is there no way to change just the frame please?

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

There is a "Specify image for thumbnail frame" option under
the "Image" pop out when you right click on the thumbnail
while in the "Edit menu theme" mode. It's been a long time
for me as well but you can make your own frame ( that was
the basis for a number of tricks, including mouseover text)

You would have to make your own frame or replace the
background after making a new theme with the frame added.
The text didn't change unless I changed the layout. If I just
changed from no frame to one of the provided ones, the text
didn't change.

Luck;
Ken



Thanks Ken, good of you to dust off 1.6 and try it.

I knew about that "Specify image for thumbnail frame" option, but -
unless I've missed it - that only allows you to choose from your own
prepared frame images. Not from the built-in range. So I'm puzzled by
your last sentence above, about 'the provided ones'.

Although in future I'll try making some myself (thanks for the link in
your other post - I'll try adapting the method for PaintShop Pro), up
until now I've used only those built-in frames, under Create New
Theme. But they seem to be 'internal only', as TME files, like
C:\Program Files\Pegasys Inc\TMPGEnc DVD Author
1.6\Template\Data\Frames\Metal.tme

The background is that I'm housekeeping. For reasons I haven't quite
worked out, under the Create menu tab many of the TDA files originally
made on my old PC are now on this PC showing a thumbnail with no
frame. (The actual DVD made at that time, presumably from that TDA, do
show a frame when played.) That's the stage at which I'd hoped to just
re-instate the metal frame or whatever and re-save the project for
possible future use.

I'm sure some clever hacker would know how to hex edit a TME file, or
apply some other wizardry, to get a JPG or BMP version. But not me ;-)

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK


There was once a little program to extract the elements in a
TME file, that a guy in Brazil made. I had a copy but lost it
a long time ago. The ref. to going from no frame to one of
the provided ones was using the make new theme to put a
frame on an existing menu, and that the text fields remained
the same, in the menu. (You had mentioned the text
changing when you did that.)

Sorry if I'm making heavy weather of this particular point, but I
still don't follow. This is what I see directly before adding the new
frame:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s247/terrypin999/TDA-ChangeFrame-2.jpg

And this is what I see directly after:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s247/terrypin999/TDA-ChangeFrame-3.jpg
Both the title (text, font, colour) and the background image now need
restoring.

Basicly, the thumbnail frame is the same as your buttons
except there is a solid black layer named "thumbnail" that
fits inside the frame you make and is a layer between the
base frame layer and the "highlight" layer. You can have
the "highlight" layer be a copy of the "thumbnail" layer,
both solid black. The "thumbnail" layer is set visable and
the "highlight" layer is set invisable. TDA will accept such
a three layer, with the two layers named "thumbnail" and
"highlight", as a .psd file.

( kk_opp's "thumbnail speck trick" was a way to turn a
thumbnail frame into a button, by having the "thumbnail"
layer small enough that TDA wouldn't display it, but large
enough that TDA would except the .psd file as a valid
thumbnail frame. Then the background/base layer of the
.psd file can have text with effects that aren't available
with the TDA text. [ or pretty much anything else you
want to put on that layer] With this you also get the
"highlight" layer that TDA can manage and apply color
and transparency control. )

Thanks a lot, much to study!

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK
.