Testing: Checking All Links and Ensuring Logical Project Flow

Before you create your first DVD, it's best to take it for a dry run. Check all the links and settings. I'll take you through that process using the LE version of DVDit! plus give you a taste of the extra features available in SE and PE.

Task: Test Your Project

In this task you'll simulate what it's like for a viewer to sit down with a remote control and start clicking through your DVD. Follow these steps:

Open DVDit!. Select Open an Existing Project and select the project you want to test and "burn."
Check your Menu and Movie links, as I've highlighted in Figure 24.1, by right-clicking any button on your project's opening menu and selecting Show Button Links. Check each button and note its button number. Do this for each menu in your project.

Figure 24.1. Check your button numbers and links before previewing your project.

As you later click Next or Previous on the Preview Remote Control, you'll move ahead or back in sequential "button number" order.
Click the Preview button in the lower-right corner. This opens the Remote Control interface shown in Figure 24.3.

Figure 24.3. Four buttons in the Remote Control interface may not be self-explanatory: Title, Return, Next, and Previous.

Figure 24.2. Select the Preview button to access the Remote Control interface.

Most of the buttons are self-explanatory. I've highlighted four in Figure 24.3 that may not be. Moving clockwise from the upper-left corner they are as follows:

Title? Clicking this takes you to the menu at the top of your menu placeholder list.

Return? Performs whatever function you specified in the Movie/Menu Properties dialog box for your First Play item.

Next? Following the numerical order of your menu's buttons, pressing Next jumps to the next button's menu or movie.

Previous? Jumps back to the previous button's menu or movie.
Use the Remote Control's buttons to navigate through your project. Try out everything. Make sure they do what you expect. If there are any buttons with no links or buttons that take you to the wrong media or menu, return to your project's menus and fix them.
To exit out of the Remote Control interface, click the x in the upper-right corner.

If you were testing your project with DVDit! SE or PE, the procedure would be the same. The only difference would be in the number of possibilities. With this bundled version of DVDit! LE, you can set navigation properties only for your First Play menu or movie. With SE and PE, all your media and menus have Properties menus leading to many more branching opportunities.