What are subpictures in relation to menus and Photoshop??

[rbatty11]

After I make my menus in Photoshop.. and I mean very simple menus --> capture image or screenshot, import to Pshop and add text... save as bmp and then author/burn (while authoring, I simply draw a button around the text and link). The end DVD menus, buttons and links work fine, but after authoring, I keep getting warnings that I don't have subpictures ("No subpictures")..

Can someone explain what I'm doing wrong?

[Baldrick]

author using?

[rbatty11]

Sorry.. I'm using DVD WS2 and trial of DVD Lab. (DLP is the one that gives me the warning; WS2 gives me a warning but can't remember exactly what it is).

[canadateck]

Its telling you,You dont have any Buttons to (Click).

When making your menus,Make the (Text) a Layer,Or just use the Text tool inside DVD Workshop.

Cant help with DVD Lab.

[rbatty11]

OK.. I guess the question now is.. how do I make the text a layer in Pshop? Is it as simple as Edit, New Layer, add text and save? Thanks.

[guns1inger]

Which version of PS are you using ? From at least version 7 onwards, text automatically get's it's own layer when you create it.

I use photoshop to create still menus for DLP. It is one of the simpler programs to do this with because unlike many others, DLP does not require that your PS layers be in specific orders or have stupid names. Where you have gotten yourself into trouble is by exporting the image as a bitmap, which can only be used as a background. So let's create a simple, two button menu in Photoshop.

1. Open photoshop and create your background image. If you are using PS CS2, use the appropriate template for your format (NTSC D1 or PAL D1) with guides, to make sure your menu stays visible.

2. Create your first text button "Play". Add whatever effects you need - drop shadow etc. and position it where you need it. It should be on it's own layer.

3. Create your second button "Chapters" as with the first. Position it where needed. Again, it should be on it's own layer.

You should now haveat least three layers - your background and two text layers. So far, so good.

4. Duplicate the text layers. Right-click and select Duplicate Layer from the dropdown menu. Leave the name as-is and click OK.

5. On the duplicate layers only, right-click and select "Clear layer style".

6. Click the little eye symbol to the left of the duplicate layers only, to make them invisible. Now go Layer, Merge Visible.

7. You should now be back to three layers - background and two text layers. Make all the layers visible. Click the empty box next to the eye to link them all. Go image -> Image Size, and resize the image to 720 x 540. Save as a PSD file.

In DLP, use the "import menu from PSD" function (under the Menu menu item). The background should be your menu background, and the text layers will be your subpictures. Right-click on a text item and link it to make it a button. Repeat for the other button.

When you test the menu, you will see that the subpictures become the map for the button, and highlight as you move. The text remains visisble when you move off because it is also part of the background.

I have most of this automated using actions that set leyer effects and create copies. Makes it very quick to create menus.

[rbatty11]

Thanks, gunslinger..I haven't tried yet but will so next week (after family's wedding's done). Btw, I'm using Pshop 6.0 but plan to upgrade to CS2 as soon as I can.. Since I'm using 6.0, that means the text I'm creating is not being saved as a subpicture, correct?

Actually, I'm still unsure what a subpic is.. sounds like different layers so the authoring app can distinguish between background and a ..um.. button?? I just tried with Maestro and the same thing happened.. 'No subpicture' warnings (a bunch of them)??

[guns1inger]

The subpicture is the overlay on a dvd menu that creates the highlights. It can be up to 4 colours, and even animated. DLP reads the psd file and takes the background to be the menu background, and all other layers as the subpictures. It doesn't care what they are calledor what order they are in. I don't use Maestro, but a number of programs that do read psd files expect subpicture level to have specific names and be in a certain order. If you just imported a bmp file, which only has one layer anyway, then you have not imported an subpictures.

You can just import a bmp into DLP as a bacjground, then create you subpictures in DLP using fonts. I have done this many times by using dingbat fonts to create the shaped for the buttons. Very quick and easy.