Project Properties

In visiting the Main Menu Properties dialog, we learned that we have a multitude of settings for adjusting the look, feel, and content of our menus. We also discovered that we can define an entirely different set of properties for each and every menu. But Camtasia MenuMaker has another dialog containing global settings for your menu structure, meaning that these settings affect the entire project. This dialog is called Project Properties, and can be accessed from the File menu.

The Project Properties dialog, where preferences that affect the entire project can be set.

The Project Properties dialog contains three sections: Preferences, Display, and Resources.

Project Preferences

The Preferences section contains two check boxes that control how the menu and its AVI files are presented:

• Start menu automatically when CD-ROM is inserted. Checking this option will include an autorun.inf file with the project that instructs the operating system to run a particular program (in this case, your menu executable) upon insertion of the disc. This is pretty standard on most multimedia CD-ROMs and program installation discs, and prevents the user from having to search around on the disc in order to launch your menu. Unless you have a compelling reason to disable it, it’s best to keep this setting enabled.

• Use Camtasia Player for AVI files. When you check this box, MenuMaker will package a copy of Camtasia Player on your disc as well as ensure that any AVI files on your menu will open specifically in Camtasia Player. For more about the benefits of using this handy AVI player, please see the section on the Camtasia Player in Chapter 15, “Other Output Options.” If you have AVI files in your project, I strongly recommend keeping this feature enabled.

When you check the Use Camtasia Player for AVI files box, notice that a button marked Options… becomes available. This will open the Camtasia Player Options dialog, allowing you to set a wide variety of preferences pertaining to exactly how you want Camtasia Player to handle your AVI files. Here’s a quick breakdown of these preferences:

• Start playing automatically. When checked, Camtasia Player begins playing your AVI file as soon as it loads, as opposed to starting the file in paused mode.

• Exit after playing video. As soon as the video concludes, the file closes. While a bit cleaner than leaving the file open, it also means that if the users want to go back and rewatch part of the file, they have to click the corresponding menu item again.

• Repeat video until closed. This option effectively puts your video in an “infinite loop,” playing it over and over again until the user finally closes it.

• Stay on last frame. By default, the playback head returns to the first frame of the video upon reaching the end of the file. Checking this option will force it to remain on the final frame. This is handy for when you’ve attached an ending title screen with your URL and other contact information.

• Always on top. If checked, your videos will always be on top of all the other windows on your desktop, regardless of which window has the focus.

• Play in maximized mode. This automatically maximizes the Camtasia Player window immediately upon opening the video. If the user’s screen resolution is greater than the dimensions of your video, your video will be surrounded by a colored background that takes up the rest of the screen.

• Play in fullscreen mode. Your video will play full screen. If the user’s screen resolution is greater than the dimensions of your video, your video will be surrounded by a colored background that takes up the rest of the screen. The video’s title bar, menu bar, tool bar, and status bar will all disappear.

• No title bar. This option opens your video without a title bar. When coupled with the option No dragging by video area, the user will be unable to move the video window.

• No menu bar. Ditto, except this time it’s the menu bar that gets the ax.

• No tool bar. You get the idea. Careful with this one, though. The tool bar is where your video’s scrubber bar and other navigational controls are located.

• No status bar. This bar shows the video’s playback status as well as its elapsed running time and total duration. Click here to get rid of it.

• No dragging by video area. Normally, the user can move the window not only by clicking and dragging the title bar, but also by dragging from anywhere in the main video window. This option disables that capability.

• Background color. When in maximized or full-screen modes, you’re going to see a background color if the dimensions of your video are smaller than the resolution of the user’s monitor. This option allows you to choose this color from a palette. Just click the drop-down arrow and select a color.

Note that these options affect all the videos in your project, but if you want a different option for one or two of your videos, you can set parameters for that menu item on the Content tab of your Main Menu Properties dialog (see that section for details). Also, while you’re not able to set different presets in the Camtasia Player Options dialog (like you can in Camtasia Studio’s Audio Format dialog, for example), you can save one custom configuration for these settings if you have particular settings you use all the time. Just check off your items and then hit the Save as Default button. If you have a special project where these options need to change, a simple click of the Load Default button upon conclusion will bring back all your old settings.

Display Preferences

Now that we’ve set up how our videos will be displayed, it’s time to specify the display properties of the menu itself. The Display section of this dialog will let you set the display mode as well as the default font for your menu items.

The Display mode option lets you select from two methods of displaying your menu:

• Window, which places the menu in a window on your desktop. Your task bar and possibly other windows and desktop icons will still be visible.

• Full screen, which places the menu window on a solid-colored background. The color of this background can be selected using the Desktop color drop-down control. Unlike full-screen mode for your videos, the menu still technically displays in its own window, only this time the menu window is sitting upon a background that covers everything else.

Your other option in this section is the Default Font… button. Clicking this button will bring up a dialog that lets you select the font, font style, and size for your menu items. Plus, you’ve got a handy Sample field to see just what your default will look like, and for menus with non-Western language characters, you can select any script supported by the font you’ve chosen. Any new menu items will display using the font information specified here, but pre-existing menu items won’t change. To change the font settings for individual menu settings, please see the section called “Content Properties Tab” earlier in this chapter.

Caution 

Remember that Camtasia MenuMaker does not package your fonts with your menu, nor does it render these fonts in any way. If you specify a font that the user doesn’t have installed, the menu program will use a substitute, which probably won’t look at all the way you intended. It is therefore advisable to use only the fonts that come with Windows.

Resources Preferences

In order to add a final stylistic touch to your menus, you have a few additional file resources you can add in the Resources section. These are nothing critical, but are nice effects that can give your project a little extra something if done subtly. You can specify a file for a custom icon, startup sound, and exit sound, either by typing in a path or by clicking the Open button ( ) and browsing to it. Let’s tackle these each in turn:

• Icon file. When creating your menu, you have the option of choosing a custom icon for your menu executable that fits your content stylistically. There are numerous royalty-free icon files (.ico) available online, or you can create your own with a program like Axialis IconWorkshop (www.axialis.com), which is the most comprehensive icon creation utility I’ve ever seen. I’ve been nice enough to include a trial version of this software on the companion CD-ROM, so go install it and start crankin’ out those icons. Camtasia MenuMaker can then assign your newly created icon to your menu’s program icon, rather than using its own stock icon (which, by the way, looks like this: ).

• Startup sound. When the menu first opens, you can use this option to play a WAV file containing intro music or instructions. This field also has a Play button ( ) that will let you sample your sound.

• Exit sound. The same kind of deal, except that the audio file plays when the user clicks to exit the menu. This file can be a musical exit, a “thanks for watching” message, or even sales information such as a toll-free number to call. Keep it short and to the point, though; people tend not to like it when their windows don’t quickly close when thus commanded.

Project and Template Files

Remember to save often when working on your project. All your settings are encapsulated in a special MenuMaker project file (.cmmp). As with any other Windows document, if saving for the first time, you’ll be prompted to choose a file name and location. Subsequent saves will assume you want to save over the top of this file.

You can save your work in a number of ways:

• Click the Save button ( ) on the MenuMaker toolbar.

• Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-S.

• Choose File > Save Project. If you wish to save your project under a new file name or location, choose instead Save Project As….

Another way to save your work is to save your settings as a template file (.cmmtpl). Doing so will save all your project properties and main menu properties settings, but won’t save any of the actual content. This creates a convenient starting point from which you can assemble subsequent menus. If you know you’re going to create a lot of menus with the same general look and feel (such as when a project is going to span multiple discs), it’s a good idea to create a template so that you’re not having to constantly reinvent the wheel. This template will show up with all your other templates whenever you create a new project.

To save your template, simply choose Save as Template… from the File menu, and you’ll be prompted for a name. Enter a name, and the template will be automatically saved in the template directory. This directory is stipulated in MenuMaker’s Options dialog.

To change the default template directory, do the following:

1. In the Tools menu, choose Options….

2. In the field called Select template folder, enter the path of the folder you wish to use, or click the Open button to browse for the appropriate folder.