Adobe ENCORE 2 Manual page 176

setting. If a viewer leaves, for example, the menu can jump back to the main menu after a reasonable wait period, to
be ready for the next person.
This is an optional setting that can override the end action of the destination. The standard link
End action override
sets the next destination; the override sets the end action of that destination, replacing its default end action.
Overrides give you dynamic control over the navigation through a DVD. You can change the path through the DVD
according to what the viewer has just watched.
For example, to create a music DVD, you could put the video for each song on its own timeline. The end action of
each timeline would point to the next timeline so that the viewer could play the entire disc if desired. When creating
the menu, you simply link the Play All button to the first timeline, and each playback will automatically lead to the
next.
The viewer may also want to play the clips individually. After playing a single timeline, you want the DVD to return
to the menu rather than moving on to the next clip. To do this, you create separate buttons for each timeline. Then
you link each button to its individual timeline and set the override for the link (via the button's Properties panel) to
display the menu. When the viewer presses the Song 1 button, the first timeline plays. When it ends, the Song 1
button's end action override returns the viewer to the menu.
Playlists let you create this type of navigation scheme even faster than using overrides. For more information, see
"About playlists" on page 175.
Sample use of an override: Song 1 links to Timeline 1. End Action of Timeline 1 leads to Timeline 2. Override option for Song 1 changes the
End Action of Timeline 1 so that it returns to the menu.
Link options
All links in Adobe Encore DVD point to a menu, a timeline, a playlist, a chapter playlist, or a slide show. (Buttons
can contain a link transition attribute.) Elements allows for specific link types as follows:
When linking to a menu, you can designate the button to be highlighted (selected) when the menu
Menu and button
appears. Adobe Encore DVD uses button 1 as the default button. You can choose any button in the menu to be
highlighted, or you can choose None. If you choose None, Adobe Encore DVD uses the default until the viewer
chooses a button. After the viewer chooses a button, that button is highlighted whenever the menu is accessed.
Controlling which button is highlighted improves the usability of your DVD. It lets you control the menu depending
on where the viewer has just been. You generally highlight the button that the viewer just activated, which helps the
viewer keep track of what clip has just played. For example, a video's end action can point back to the menu and its
own button. After the viewer watches the video, the end action leads to the menu, highlighting the video's button,
not the default button. (Of course, you could also choose to highlight the button for the next video, to anticipate the
viewer's progress through the DVD.)
When linking to a timeline, you also choose one of its chapter points. The chapter point
Timeline and chapter
indicates the starting location for a timeline. In other words, the link specifies not just the timeline to play, but also
a specific start point in the timeline. Hollywood DVDs typically include a scene index menu that uses a single
timeline for the entire movie with chapter points for each scene.
A playlist is a group of timelines, slide shows, and chapter playlists that play sequentially. When linking to a
Playlist
playlist, you can also choose an end action.
ADOBE ENCORE DVD 2.0 171
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