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DVD SLIDESHOW GUI

Pu b l i sh ed : 2011-04-28 L i cen se : GPLv2+

INTRODUCTION
1. WHAT IS DVD SLIDESHOW GUI?

1. WHAT IS DVD SLIDESHOW GUI?

It a free open-souce multi-purpose slideshow studio. Create a slideshow with more than 240 different transitions. Burn it to DVD or export to many fileformats including YouTube, avi, a ready to burn DVD-image(.iso), as a flash file ready to embed in your homepage or blog or even as a HD Blu-Ray disk! It will let you: Edit images. Animate images. Overlap animations. Add music. Add avi's. Rescale image size. Add background. Add music. Add texts. Add borders. Add visual effects. Set exposition time. Set transition time. Code your own avisynth transitions or make your own jpg transitions and much more.

DOWNLOAD
DVD slideshow GUI is a user interface for great free tools like Avisynth, MuxMan, Hcenc, Media Player Classic, FFmpeg, Flvtool2, Mplex, Demux, mkisofs ect. and is coded in wxBasic.

FILE MENU
2. NEW/OPEN/SAVE PROJECT 3. PROJECT SETTINGS 4. EXPORT 5. EXPORT TO DVD MENUS 6. BURN TO DISK 7. UPLOAD TO YOUTUBE

2. NEW/OPEN/SAVE PROJECT
Saves, loads or opens up a new native DVD slideshow GUI project. The file format is a simple txt file which can be opened in Notepad.

Saving a file as(overwriting) 'new.ini' in the .DVDslideshowGUI folder will change the ini settings, and this file will be opened every time 'new' is selected. Alternatively the 'Help>Restore to Factory Settings' function can be used to reset the settings. Startup settings: The .ini file is loaded on startup. If you want to change the startup settings then restart the program, change the settings you want to change and save as you normally do. Now delete the old 'new.ini' file and rename you new file to 'new.ini'.

3. PROJECT SETTINGS
Change the settings like PAL or NTSC, effects etc. for the entire slideshow.

If slides are selected the slide selected in the top will open as preview slide in the Project Settings media player - and if there is a text to the selected slide it will be used as preview text - if no slides are imported yet a default image and text will be used in the Project Settings.

Resolution - PAL/NTSC 4:3/16:9 720p/1080p: Set the resolution of the project. Pixel Aspect Ratio: Don't change this unless you need to export to web/computer use. In these cases use 1:1 TV Safe X/Y - Safe Area: Not all of a dvd image is shown on a normal television. The 'TV Safe X/Y' buttons area will set the image safe area(the red box) to the textsafe area. And the number spinners will let you set your own image safe area. All images will be downsized within this area. When rendering the downsize quality will be better than in the preset window. The value '0' can be typed in if no safe area is wanted. Border: Toggles a white border on images on/off. Background:

Changes the background used for slideshows. A lot of animated backgrounds(.avs - avisynth scripts) can be found in the 'DVD slideshow GUI/Backgrounds' folder. Avi - videos can be used too. The background will be streched to fit the current ratio. Font: Will let you change the font/size and color of the text. Subtitles: Toggles the text/subtitle on and on/off.

EFFECT SETTINGS

Effects: Pre-process(images): Will add an effect to the all the images before thy are added to the slidehow. Effects: Post-process(slides): Will add an effect to the entire finished slideshow. See tutorial: Adding more effects.

IMPORT SETTINGS

Lets you preset the settings of imported images: Transition: Random will add random transitions to imported slides See tutorial: Adding more transitions. Subtitles: Use Exif data if any. Slide Duration: In frames. Transition Duration: In frames. Duration can be negative for overlapping slides.

ANIMATION QUALITY

Preview: Range -300 to 75. Higher value means better quality, but lower playback speed. Export: Range: -50 to 75. Higher value means better quality, but slower render times.

THE MEDIA PLAYER

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The media player will allow you to preview the current settings on the first selected slide. The heavier effects and animated backgrounds you add the more stuttering the playback will be. Use mousewheel to flip through frames. If you don't see any preview the add some slides to your slideshow.

4. EXPORT
Export to a wide range of files: .mpg (muxed image, sound, chapterpoints) .m2v (image only) .mp2 (audio) .ac3 (audio) .all (m2v, ac3, ssa, txt(chapters) in one go - 'GUI for DVDauthor' and 'DVDauthor GUI' need these) .iso (image, sound, chapters, dvdfolders as a ready to burn file) .avi (video) .mp4 (video - YouTube friendly) .avs (There's a lot of encoders for this format ex. Virtual Dub. HcEnc, Quenc, Super) .flv (Flv is a flash videoformat which can be embeded in html and streamed on the net.) .gfd (Gui for Dvdauthor file with menus: main, slideshow, album, slides) .srt (subtitles format - to import into a DVD authoring app. or YouTube. This format doesn't support tags.) .ssa (subtitles format - to import into a DVD authoring app. This format support tags.) .txt (chapterpoints for each image in frames or as smpte) DVD folders. (image, sound, chapters, dvdfolders) Batch of Images(bmp) Storyboard(HTML)

Exporting with HCenc as render.

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5. EXPORT TO DVD MENUS

Author a dvd with predefined menus: A main menu with 3 buttons leading to... Slideshow as video. Chapter menu of the video slideshow. Menu for viewing the slides one by one(with back, forth and home buttons) controlled with your dvd remote.

Needs 'Gui for dvdauthor' installed and the path set up correctly in 'Slideshow > External Applications'. After the export is finished 'Gui for DVDauthor' will open the exported project.

The 'Gui for DVDauthor' interface. A few guidelines for 'Gui for DVDauthor': In the lower left corner you can doubleclick on the structure folders to see the various menus. Right click on texts in the menu to change them. Right click on the background to change the settings for that. Hit the 'Create DVD' button and the dvd structure will be authored. To preview the authored disk go to 'Settings(Menu) > Permanent > SoftPlayer' for 'DVD Preview' and set the path to mplayerc.exe, which you'll find in the 'DVD slideshow GUI' folder. A path to ImgBurn can be set in the same window. Click 'Show DVD' to watch the dvd. Click 'Burn DVD' to burn the dvd to disk. The full 'GUI for DVDauthor' documentation can be found here.

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6. BURN TO DISK
Author a dvd structure without menus and burns to DVD disk with ImgBurn. This function needs Imgburn installed and the path set up correctly in 'Slideshow > External Applications'.

1. If you want to add the original images/videos added to the DVD in a DATA folder then hit the 'Yes' button above. 2. After the export ImgBurn will open. 3. Insert a DVD disk in the DVD burn drive in the computer. 4. Hit the 'Write' button' to start burning the disk.

Burning a DVD disk with ImgBurn CD disks will not work as DVD!

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7. UPLOAD TO YOUTUBE
Exports as a high quality mp4 file and uploads to YouTube. To upload in High Definition select 'Project Settings>720p' in 'Project Settings'. After the export of the mp4 file, you'll need to log into your YouTube or Google account by entering your 'Username' and 'Password'. The password is kept safe and not saved locally or anywhere else.

Then you can enter the title of the video, the description, add keywords, select a catagory and select if it is going public or private after the upload. Add 'DVD slideshow GUI' as keywords then the uploaded video should link to more 'DVD slideshow GUI' produced slideshows.

When the upload is finished a link is presented. Copy and paste the link into your browser to watch the result. Important: It might take several minutes before YouTube is finished processing it and it's possible to watch it in full resolution.

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SLIDESHOW MENU
8. PREVIEW 9. ADD PICTURES AND VIDEOS 10. ADD MUSIC 11. SET FONT 12. SET BACKGROUND 13. SLIDE SETTINGS 14. ANIMATION 15. PAINT SLIDE 16. EDIT AVISYNTH SCRIPT 17. MATCH TO AUDIO DURATION 18. EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS

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8. PREVIEW
A preview of the current slideshow will be created and played in Media Player Classic.

The Media Player Classic interface What is happening under the hood is: DVD slideshow GUI will save correctly scaled images as temperary files and then save an avisynth script which include all information on music, background, effects and subtitles. The script will then be auto launched in the Media Player Classic. If the project is in 16:9 resolution the format can be changed in Media Player Classic by right click > Video Frame > Overide Aspect Ratio > 16:9. Unfortunately the animations, effects, animated backgrounds and avi's are too heavy to run realtime in the player(and music will be out of sync). If an animated background is added to the slideshow the previews will be in half resolution. The exported result will be much better and more accurate than the preview. Preview alternatives: Left double click on slides in the list control will preview the current selected slide, the transition and the next slide. If the selected slide is a video or avs script the only the current slide will be previewed. The 'Project Settings' will preview the first selected slide, the transition and the next slide. If the selected slide is a video or avs script the only the current slide will be previewed. The Animation tool allows preview of the current animation.

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9. ADD PICTURES AND VIDEOS

Images, videos, Avisynth scripts and PowerPoint/Impress presentations can be added to the slideshow.

With either the 'shift button' or the 'control button' pressed more files can be selected in combination with the left mouse button. With 'shift button' pressed all files between the first and the last file will be selected. (To select all files in a folder - click both the first file and the last file with 'shift button' pressed). With 'control button' pressed only the picked files will be selected. When all images and/or videos are selected click 'Open' and the files will be imported if the formats are supported.

IMAGES
If you only see file names in a folder with photos select 'View > Large Icons'. Png files with alpha channel(transparent) will keep the transparency in DVD slideshow GUI.

VIDEOS
Not all video codecs is supported and therefore some video files might be rejected. DVD slideshow GUI expects that the imported videos will be in the same framerate(frames pr. sec.) as the project, if not the audio will be out of sync in longer clips.

POWERPOINT/IMPRESS
PowerPoint or Impress(OpenOffice/LibreOffice) presentations can be imported, however OpenOffice must me installed and the path to OpenOffice set up correctly in 'Slideshow > External Applications > OpenOffice'. When importing OpenOffice will open, do not touch it, it will close when it's finished processing the slides and the they will be imported in DVD slideshow GUI.

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10. ADD MUSIC

Imports one or more audio files in one go(wav, mp3 or m3u(textbased playlist)). With either the 'shift button' or the 'control button' pressed more files can be selected in combination with the left mouse button. With 'shift button' pressed all files between the first and the last file will be selected. (To select all files in a folder - click both the first file and the last file with 'shift button' pressed). With 'control button' pressed only the picked files will be selected. Right click in the music list control in the lower part of the main window to get more music options.

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11. SET FONT

Select the font, color and size used for subtitles.

The visibility of the subtitles can be set in 'Project Settings > Subtitles'. If this is unchecked then no subtitles will be added to the export. The actual texts of the subtitles can be set in 'Slide Settings' and tags can be used to animate or change the look of the subtitles. The subtitle tags will overrule the general font setting.

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12. SET BACKGROUND

One file can be used as background for the entire slideshow.The background file can be in various formats. Image/photo(jpg, bmp, png) Avi(ex. looping video) Avisynth scripts(avs). A lot of .avs - avisynth scripts(endless animated backgrounds and gradients) can be found in the 'DVD slideshow GUI/Backgrounds' folder. The all backgrounds will be streched to fit the current ratio.

Kaleidascope animated background

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13. SLIDE SETTINGS

The settings for each individual slide like subtitle, durations, transition style, EXIF data as subtitle can be changed here. Accessed through the menu, the toolbar or by right clicking on one or more selected slides. Only current changed values will be added to to all selected slides.

SLIDE

PREVIEW
In the slide preview the up and down arrow buttons will accept the current settings and go to previous or next slide in the slideshow.

SUBTITLE
The subtitle. Leave empty if none.

STYLE TAGS
Insert style tags at the cursor position or around a selection in the subtitle text. 'Clear Tags' will clear tags. Read up on various alternative tags here.

DURATION
Is the duration of the slide in frames pr. sec. On frames vs. seconds: PAL: 1 sec. = 25 frames. (default setting: slide duration 100 = 4 sec. and transition duration 25=1 sec.) NTSC: 1 sec. = 29.97 frames.

PHOTO DATA
Extract filenames and EXIF data from jpg. 20

ANIMATION
In the animation window you can use the left, middle and right button to move, rotate and zoom the image. Add keys, move the timeline and add some more keys and preview the thing. When you come up with an animation you want to reuse for other slides/slideshows you can save as a preset - which later can be loaded by selecting it in the combobox. 'Okay' will add the current animation to all selected slides unless there is less than two keyframes.

PAINT SLIDE
First time you use this, you'll have to select the photo manipulation program(.exe) you prefer, like paintdotnet.exe, mspaint.exe, Gimp.exe or Photoshop or set up/correct the path for ex. Paint.Net in Slideshow(Menu) > External Applications. The image is copied, so the original image will be untouched. Then it's opened in the paint program. The in the paint program you can now edit your image, when finished, save the image as the same name as it was opened and close the paint program. Now the edited image(the copy) will be updated in DVD slideshow GUI and be a part of the slideshow.

EDIT AVISYNTH SCRIPT

Avisynth scripts(images, avi can be converted to Avisynth script too) can be edited ect. in Avsp(an Avisynth script editor). Set up path for AvsP in Slideshow(Menu) > External Applications. This will give you total control over the video element of clips.

TRANSITION

Choose among the many transitions. The 'Overlay' transition will use the previous slide as background for the current slide. Great for adding animation on top on the previous animation.

DURATION
Is the duration of the transition in frames pr. sec. Duration can be negative for overlapping slides. On frames vs. seconds: PAL: 1 sec. = 25 frames. (default setting: slide duration 100 = 4 sec. and transition duration 25=1 sec.) NTSC: 1 sec. = 29.97 frames.

RANDOM
If cheked, random transitions will be added to all selected slides.

TRANSITION PREVIEW
The transition preview will show the A-B transition once and the freeze in the middle of the transition.

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14. ANIMATION
Pan, zoom and rotate the slides with keyframes(often refered to as Ken Burns effect). Can be accessed from Menu: Options/Animation, Toolbar and Slidesettings. In the animation window you can use the left, middle and right button to move, rotate and zoom the image. Add keys, move the timeline, add some more keys and preview. Animation presets can be saved and loaded by selecting it in the combobox. When clicking 'Okay' the current animation will be added to all selected slides.

PRESETS
Select a previous saved preset in the combobox. ('Reset' will delete all keys)

ANIMATION AREA
The red line indicates the safe area. In the animation window you can use the left, middle and right button to move, rotate and zoom the image.

TIMELINE
The timeline lets you move back and forth frames. The number to the left is the current frame number.

ANIMATION BUTTONS
Move back and forth between keys. Sets a key at current frame. Delete current keyframe. No key at current frame. Preview animation(in low res for more smooth playback). Reset image position/rotation/zoom. The red dots above the timeline show where the keys are. Left click on a key will move the slider to that position. Right click will delete the key. 22

ABOUT KEYFRAMES
Keyframes are used to interpolate between animation positions.

ADDING AN ANIMATION TO MORE SLIDES

If more slides are selected when opening the animation tool, all slides with the same proportions, as the first will get the animation. If the duration of a video clip is longer than the added animation an additonal keyframe will be added to tha last frame og that clip.

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15. PAINT SLIDE

Opens the current slide in a paint program/photo manipulation program for editing that slide. Set path up for a paint program(ex. paintdotnet.exe(free), mspaint.exe(free), Gimp.exe(free) or Photoshop.) in 'Slideshow > External Applications'.

Image editing in Paint.Net When opening an image the image is copied, so the original image will be untouched. In the paint program you can now edit your image, when finished, save the image as the same name(overwrite) and close the paint program. Now the edited image(the copy) will be updated in DSG and be a part of your slideshow. Process can be used for ex. color correction, red eye removal and cropping.

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16. EDIT AVISYNTH SCRIPT

Open slide in an Avisynth Script editor(AvsP) for script editing. In order to use this function set the path up for 'AvsP.exe' in 'Slideshow > External Applications'. Avisynth scripts will be opened directly. Images and Avi files can be converted into Avisynth script by choice. When finished editing, save the files under the same name and close AvsP. The changed script will now be added to the slideshow.

Script editing in AvsP This function is good for editing, color correction, trimming and cropping video slides etc.

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17. MATCH TO AUDIO DURATION

Calculates the length of slides and transitions to match the duration of audio track. Take care with using this function when having animated slides, because shortning slide durations might cut keyframes and change the entire animation. This function can also be accessed by right click in the music list control.

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EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS
Set up the paths for the external applications.

Click the left row of buttons for updating the paths and the right row to go to the homepage of a suggested application to download and install. Media Player Classic is for previewing. HCenc is for temp files, mpg and m2v export. ImgBurn is for burning DVDs. FFmpeg is for exporting avi, flv, mp4. TSmuxeR is for Blu-Ray authoring. Paint is for manipulating images. AvsP is for editing Avisynth Scripts and edit videos. OpenOffice is for importing PowerPoints/Impress presentations.

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EDIT, VIEW & HELP MENUS

19. CUT, COPY, PASTE, MOVE UP AND DOWN 20. THUMBNAIL SIZE AND LANGUAGE SETTING 21. LIBRARY OF TRANSITIONS AND EFFECTS 22. SUPPORT DVD SLIDESHOW GUI

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19. CUT, COPY, PASTE, MOVE UP AND DOWN

Select one or more slides by pressing the 'Shift button' or the 'Control button' at the same time as selecting slides with your left mouse button to edit more slides at a time.

CUT
Cuts the selected slides and store them in the buffer.

COPY
Copy the selected slides to the buffer.

PASTE
Pastes the slides from the buffer to the first selected point in the slides list - if none selected, the slides will be pasted to the end of the list.

DELETE
Deletes the selected slides and store them in the buffer.

MOVE UP/MOVE DOWN

Use the arrow icons, '+' and '-' or move up/down from the menu to move the selected slides.

SELECT ALL
Selects all slides in the show.

INVERT SELECTION
Inverts the selection.

SORT FILENAME
Sorts the slides in alphabetic order of the filenames.

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SORT SUBTITLES
Sorts the slides in the alphabetic order of the subtitles.

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20. THUMBNAIL SIZE AND LANGUAGE SETTING

THUMBNAIL SIZE
Change the thumbnail size in the list control. Smaller sizes are good for manipulating many slides at a time. Bigger sizes are good for seeing the individual slides.

LANGUAGE SETTING
Change the language setting. Restarts to update the interface. DVD slideshow GUI needs your help for translating DVD slideshow GUI to your language. 1. The easy way now to update/make new translations for DSG is by registering at http://launchpad.net 2. Under you new profile you need to set 'Your preferred languages' to your language. 3. Go to this site: https://translations.launchpad.net/dvdslideshowgui/trunk 4. Now your language should be among the languages available for translation and you can start translating or update an existing translation. There is a tutorial on YouTube on how to translate in Launchpad here(but it is not that hard): Here! NB. wxBasic and therefore DVD slideshow GUI will not be able to show nonwestern characters. Ex. Russian and Chinese characters doesn't seem to work.

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21. LIBRARY OF TRANSITIONS AND EFFECTS

LIBRARY OF TRANSITIONS
Will render and show all the avalible transitions in Explorer.

LIBRARY OF EFFECTS
Will render and show all the avalible post-effects in Explorer.

RE-RENDER LIBRARIES
Will re-render the above Libraries.

The rendering can be quite time-consuming.

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22. SUPPORT DVD SLIDESHOW GUI

DONATE
Donate if these 6 years of my life spent on DVD slideshow GUI and these 17000 lines of code is worth something to you. Thank you. : ) Tin2tin

TRANSLATE
DVD slideshow GUI needs your help for translating DVD slideshow GUI to your language. 1. The easy way now to update/make new translations for DSG is by registering at http://launchpad.net 2. Under you new profile you need to set 'Your preferred languages' to your language. 3. Go to this site: https://translations.launchpad.net/dvdslideshowgui/trunk 4. Now your language should be among the languages available for translation and you can start translating or update an existing translation. There is a tutorial on YouTube on how to translate in Launchpad here(but it is not that hard): Here! NB. wxBasic and therefore DVD slideshow GUI will not be able to show nonwestern characters. Ex. Russian and Chinese characters doesn't seem to work.

DVD SLIDESHOW GUI ON THE WEB

Will take you to the homepage with loads of tutorials, downloads, links and most importantly updates.

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LIST CONTROLS FOR SLIDES AND MUSIC

23. LIST OF SLIDES 24. LIST OF MUSIC 25. STATUS BAR

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23. LIST OF SLIDES

The area where the order and info on each slide is visible.

MOUSE CONTROLS
Left single click and Shift/Ctrl on slides: Select more slides. Left double click on slide: Preview the current slide and the next(if video or avisynth slide only the current slide is previewed).

Right click on slides: Open the Slide Settings menu.

INTERFACE
Slide: Shows the image and the slide name. Duration: Shows the number of frames the image will be visible before the transition. Animation: Shows 'Yes' if the slide is animated and 'No' if no animation is added. Transition: Is the name of the transition. Duration: Shows the number of frames of the transition between the current slide and the next. Duration can be negative for overlapping slides. Subtitle: Shows the subtitle on the current slide, if subtitles are set to be visible in the Project Settings window. Path: Is the path of the image. Not visible.

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24. LIST OF MUSIC

Right click in the list of music to open the menu and get more audio options:

Add Music Imports one or more music files in wav, mp3 or m3u(playlist). Play Plays the selected music file. Move Up/Move Down Rearrange the order of the music. Use Video Audio If checked the music will be faded out on videoclips and in on slides. If unchecked music will be played though out the entire slideshow and no audio from videoclips will be heard. Loop Music Will loop the music till the slideshow is finished if checked. Match Slideshow to Audio Duration Calculates the length of slides/transitions to match the duration of audio. Take care with using this function when having animated slides, because shortning slide expositions might cut keyframes and change the entire animation. Delete Deletes the selected.

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STATUS BAR
Left side Information about functions, tooltips and export/import progress.

Right side The number of the selected slide out of all slides. Ex. 3/7 means 3. slide is selcted out of a total of 7 slides. The time of the selected slide will be shown out of the total duration. Ex. 00:00:19.00/00:00:57.00 means the selected slide will be shown 19 sec. into a slideshow with a total duration of 57 sec.

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