Constantly Having to Re-Do DVD Menu Changes?

[edrizz]

Given issues I am having causing me to have to make the same DVD menu changes over and over within the same project, I am about to the point where I am ready to leave Corel X5 and move on. Here is my typical scenario: I get a project just like I want it then go into the "Share" feature to create a DVD with menus. I add chapters and create my my menus just like I want them (changing background pictures, changing music, changing the disc title, adding text, changing fonts and text colors, changing the chapter names to reflect a title of each chapter, etc.). Then I find a need to make a small change to the video. Most recently, I just deleted a song off of the music track. Next time I go in to create the DVD, most all of the changes I have made to the menus is lost and the default menu attributes are there again (most, but not all changes remain with the main Title menu, but most all changes are lost in the Chapter menus). I had to make the same changes to my 4 different menus three times today. This gets reallly old and is very time consuming. Does anyone know how to keep this from occurring or is it just an inherent bug with the integration between the editing and DVD menu software? Any help is appreciated.

[Ken Berry]

Sorry you are having these problems. The trick is to *manually* save your project after you exit the burning module. Normally, when you close the burning module, your get a message asking if you want to save it. You say yes and assume that it is saving. Well, it might be, though it is certainly not saving the project up to the point of burning. Anyway, you still say yes, and the burning module closes. Then you manually save once again. That should preserve your menus -- though for some people, there still remains a quirk in that *chapter* titles (not the main title title, if you will pardon the apparent repetition) are not saved. That would still be annoying, I realise, but far less trouble than changing everything else to the way your want it every time you reopen the burning module.

I think Trevor (lata) has a better handle on this, and I imagine he will jump in when the sun has risen (hopefully) over a somewhat frozen English landscape to give more detailed advice...

[Kingston]

I'll add what I know about the menus.

After you have modified the chapter menus by changing the chapter names to something meaningful, you cannot go back into the video editor and modify any chapter markers in any way. Do not touch the markers with your mouse. No matter how you save the project, the next time you go back into the menu designer, the meaningful chapter names revert to the default "Chapter nn" sequence. Background images also revert to defaults.

If you have to move a chapter marker, you have to do it in the menu designer, not in the editor.

[edrizz]

This is really quite sad. As a test, I went into a completed project, went into Share DVD, and all of the menus looked good with all of the changes I had made. I closed the DVD menu and went back to the project in the video editor, and made one small change-- I turned mute off on one of the clips in the project. I then went back into Share DVD. The Title Menu looked fine but EVERYTHING was lost on each of the chapter menus-- menu background, menu music, menu label, chapter names, font changes, text color changes, and text boxes that I had added. Everything was back to what was on the default menu. No way it should lose all of this just by turning mute off on 1 clip. Is there a way to report this as a major defect to Corel to get it fixed?

[Kingston]

There is a cumbersome way to save changes you make to menus. I think I recall someone describing this method for an earlier version of VS.

After you make changes to a menu, save the menu as a Favorite. When you work on the menu again at a later time, if you see that the chapter names or other objects have reverted to defaults, you can apply the menu page(s) that you saved to Favorites.

For the chapter names on the chapter menus that are subject to reverting to default text, change the transparency level to 99 for the "Chapter nn" text, then add a new Text object for each chapter, and size and position the Text object over the invisible chapter text. It helps to turn on highlights. There is a context menu with menu items to copy and paste shape attributes that will come in handy. Don't use the "hide object" menu item because objects don't stay hidden when the menu is saved to favorites, a bug.

To save a menu to Favorites is tricky. Click on the "Edit" tab, which is next to the "Gallary" tab, then click the "Customize..." button. Now move an object in the menu design window so that the menu becomes "dirty" and the "Add to menu template" button becomes enabled. Then click on that button to save the menu page in Favorites. You'll have to do that for each menu page.

[lata]

Hi edrizz

Try this method

1 / Save your edited project, then close. If you add Chapter points on the timelines don’t bother naming them, I do not think Corel have fixed that at the moment.
2 / With a new project open, nothing in the timeline Share Create Disc
3 / Add Project File, (the VSP Icon) browse the hard drive to add your project saved in (1)
4 / Edit/Create your Menu, including any Chapter Points.
5/ Close the burner module, important—now save the project maybe as
“Burn My Movie” (File Save As)
Each time you close the burner module you must do File Save.
6 / If you wish to edit the original project open the project saved in (1)
However if you change the overall duration of the project you may affect the Title / Chapter points location, but simply muting a file should be ok.
7 / File Save to save your changes.

8 / Open Burn My Movie.VSP to return to the burner module.
Your project should be there with the menu in tact.—Hopefully---

[edrizz]

Thanks for the suggestions on how to save menus. They sound like they will work and I will definitely give them a try. Sure wish Corel would just fix such an obvious problem. I certainly will not updgrade to any other Corl version and will not recommend Corel to anyone until they do.

[lata]

Hi

Well that’s your decision, don't tell us tell Corel, We do not work for Corel, we are just like you members of the forum……….

Generally I complete the editing before thinking of burning the disc.
We would normally recommend rendering the project to a Mpeg2 file, then use that to burn a disc.
I play the final video to check quality, and if need be re-edit the project, which would then require a further render.
But the final file would burn to disc without problems.

I suggested adding the Project File VSP which does work reasonable well, but will be rendered to Mpeg2 prior to burning.
Either way you need the Mpeg2 file to burn the disc.

[edrizz]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like a good approach before burning to disc. I realize this is a user board and I think it is great. With this boad, myself and other users get great support. Much appreciated!

Is there a way to report problems to Corel? I have not been able to find one.

[lata]

Hi edrizz

There have been many problems in saving the Chapter points menu details, Corel have fixed most of these, but some still occur especially if you go directly to the burner module.
Doing Share Create Disc then adding the VSP or Video File does improve things.

The option to Create the video file first was the only way to go in the past, Ulead/Corel then allowed us to export the open project, many users had problems , hence our recommendation to create the Mpeg2 first, something that older members may do anyway. One way or another the Mpeg2 file will be created before burning the disc.

Creating Chapter points in the edit timeline is possible, but don’t bother naming them via the Chapter Points Manager, the details will be lost. Name the chapters in the burning stage.
As I say the problems were different depending on how you used the burner module.
That in itself made it difficult to explain.
Always go to the burner module from a New empty project, then add your files.

Contacting Corel support, Via your Corel registered account, you apparently have 90 days from purchase to use your free support, then I am afraid it will cost you, something that nobody agrees with and Corel should address this.