GUI for DVDAuthor File format (.gfd files)

[tacman1123]

I'd like my application to write a .gfd file for GFD to read and process. Although technically the file format is XML, it's pretty non-standard, with almost everything being a NODE and having parent pointers, etc.

Is there somewhere (on the web or even in the source code) that documents how an external program should create this? Are attributes that are empty (or more technically, blank) required (e.g. can I skip tag="")?

        
<NODE Caption="Duration=00:09:02.85" Key="FPVTime1" Tag="54286" Image="2" ParentKey="FPV1"/>

I'm guessing that Key is the variable name, Caption is the value, and usually consists of a name/value pair.

The biggest question I had has to do with the Image="n" attribute -- what do the image numbers refer to? I assume that tags are an internal thing.

While I think I understand most of the key names while reading a file (TS2HT = TitleSet2 Highlight), can you provide any insights into understand and creating those? What's the name of the VB source code file writes this out?

I'm pretty I'll be able to generate these files once I understand the Image pointers.

Thanks again for creating this, the more I understand DVD Authoring, the more amazed I am with tools like GFD and DVDAuthor itself.

Tac

[borax]

No, image is easy. It is just a pointer to an image array which shows the associated icon in the project explorer (treeview control). For each item only one type of image is used. Most times the image is "1" which means just the default normal yellow 'folder' icon like in the windows explorer. Other icons (like the folder icon with three dots or the three color icon) show the user, that a change dialog can be started directly from the project explorer with a right mouse click on this node. If you would use another 'image="..."', the project would most probably work, but this functionality would be lost.
The tags are much more complicated, these contain values which you do not see in the project explorer, but they are highly important for the consistency of the gfd-xml project file. In your example, the tag for the video file contains the duration of the video in hundredth of a second (calculating is much easier with such numbers, but they are worthless for the user). Of cause not all items have tags, but if a tag is used, it has a meaning! BTW: Even if the tag is empty, it has to be present in the file.
To start, just try to keep the Key, Tag, Image and ParentKeys as they are and just change the caption values by something like search and replace.
tin2tin (the writer of DVDslideshowGUI) has used such an approach and the result is ok. DSG can export a valid gfd project file now. Maybe it would help you to contact him.

What's the name of the VB source code file writes this out?

There is a method to save a treeview control from VB6 directly as 'xml' file:
http://www.devx.com/vb/Article/9707/1954

[tacman1123]

So the image= is more for the user interface of the program, determining what actions the user can take on this node?

Not all nodes have ParentKey's, but I'm not sure of the pattern. When isn't parentKey used?

Yes, I was inspired by DVD Slideshow GUI to use this approach. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense for what I'm trying to do.

Tac

[borax]

When isn't parentKey used?

When it is a 'top' node like MainMenu, FilmX, TitlesetmenuX...
All nodes you can see in the project explorer (when no node is expanded) are top nodes (in other words: No parent exists).

[tacman1123]

Thanks! I have to admit, I hadn't really paid too much attention to that window, but now I see that it's the key to the file format. Next step is understanding chapters...

[tacman1123]

Borax, why do you disable resizing the window for GFD? Now that I'm poking around looking at all the variables, I'd love to open it to the full screen and spend less time scrolling. Is there any downside to letting people expand the window and just keeping the left pane as a proportional width (with some minimum size)?

[borax]

All the methods and properties are based on pixels. It would require to redo around half of the source to make it fully 'proportional' and probably a quarter more code to fix rounding problems. And just resizing the controls windows (without the menu window) would not look 'nice'. Maybe it would help you now, but as you said:

I hadn't really paid too much attention to that window,

most people will not really care about the project explorer window.