18.2. Project Info iDVD 5 offers two particularly helpful tools that address project information: the Status pane and the Info window. They provide valuable feedback about your project, its resources, and its limits. 18.2.1. The Status Pane The Status pane shows you how much of the DVD capacity you've used, the amount of time you have left to use for motion menus, and the number of tracks (that is, movies) and menus you've included. Figure 18-2 describes how to locate and open the pane.  | Figure 18-2. To access the Status pane, start by opening the Customize drawer . Next, click the Status icon. This opens the pane and reveals information about your project contents. | |
The Status pane gives important feedback on several iDVD features, mostly because these features come with important limits. These limits include: -
12 buttons per menu. Each menu can't contain more than 12 buttons at the time you burn the disc. If you've gone a wee bit button-crazy (or just forgot to dispose of some temporary buttons) on a particular screen, iDVD will warn you at burning time, and won't proceed until you've reduced the button count. -
99 images per slideshow. You can't include any more than 99 pictures for any one slideshow, although you can add several slideshows to your disc. -
99 movies and/or slideshows per disc. Because it's a good soldier that endorses the official DVD specification, iDVD doesn't let you add more than that. Each movie and slideshow counts as a "track"a single playback elementand 99 is the max. -
99 chapter markers per movie. Same deal. That's the maximum a DVD can have. -
99 menus per disc. If you need more menu screens than that, well, heaven help the audience who has to navigate your DVD. -
4.0 GB per disc. This is, more or less, the amount of data you can cram onto a standard recordable DVD after taking into account the required amounts of digital overhead.  | Figure 18-3. The Info window lists all the materials (technically called assets) that make up your project. Here, you'll discover your disc's name , duration, video standard, and a list of all the files in your project. The checkmark means that iDVD has found the asset in the right place, and that it's available for burning. | |
18.2.2. The Info Window Choose Project  Project Info ( -I) to open the Info window associated with your project, where you can see more details about the status and contents of your project (Figure 18-3).
Tip: You can change the name of your disc by editing the text field at the top of the window. As a rule, use the letters AZ, the numbers 09, and the underscore (_). The resulting name will be case insensitive, with all lowercase letters converted to uppercase.
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