Change Letter Spacing In Dvd Builder Main Menu Title

[stevehas]

I am using emc 7.5, does anyone know how to change the letter spacing in DVD Builder's main menu title?

I can change the size, font, attributes, but the letter spacing is so big I can't get anything other than a 2 word title to appear unless its 8 pt or below!!!!

[southside_glen]

Did I say something to offend you? I just don't have the patience or time to make a custom graphic and frankly, the people I make DVDs for wouldn't notice the difference. This is a hobby, not a source of income for me.

No, you didn't offend me, nor did I intend to offend you.

 

Look, I totally understand that we are coming at this video stuff from two opposite ends of the spectrum, that you dabble in it whereas I make a big portion of my living out of it. And that's alright; neither one of us is "wrong" in that regard. But there are sometimes issues brought up in these forums that involve points that go beyond rudementary involvement and understanding.

 

I'm just trying actually address that guy's problem and answer the question accurately. If he can't fit a title on screen in one line at 8points, there is a serious problem with either the font itself or with DVDB's font processing routines. If that's too technical for some, I can't help that; that's the diagnosis.

 

I don't believe that I am the only reader of ths forum who needs to build DVDs with at least a little more than just a kid-in-the-garage quality to them, has at least a little more than that level of technical knowledge, and who requires more than that level of answer sometimes.

 

If I'm wrong, and this forum is intended solely for those dabblers who don't know a drop frame from a drop cloth, and who are willing to adapt their work to fit around problems with the tool they are using rather than adapt their tools to fit the needs of their work, I'll happily pack up and leave.

 

G.

[lynn98109]

Glen -

 

Don't go.

 

I understood your explanation better than the workaround, in fact.

 

And you answered the question as it was asked.

 

Perhaps ml assumed the OP was unfamiliar with PhotoShop.

 

But the fact is, either one uses something from outside (as you explained) or has to make do with what is there.

 

Lynn

 

No, you didn't offend me, nor did I intend to offend you.

 

Look, I totally understand that we are coming at this video stuff from two opposite ends of the spectrum, that you dabble in it whereas I make a big portion of my living out of it. And that's alright; neither one of us is "wrong" in that regard. But there are sometimes issues brought up in these forums that involve points that go beyond rudementary involvement and understanding.

 

I'm just trying actually address that guy's problem and answer the question accurately. If he can't fit a title on screen in one line at 8points, there is a serious problem with either the font itself or with DVDB's font processing routines. If that's too technical for some, I can't help that; that's the diagnosis.

 

I don't believe that I am the only reader of ths forum who needs to build DVDs with at least a little more than just a kid-in-the-garage quality to them, has at least a little more than that level of technical knowledge, and who requires more than that level of answer sometimes.

 

If I'm wrong, and this forum is intended solely for those dabblers who don't know a drop frame from a drop cloth, and who are willing to adapt their work to fit around problems with the tool they are using rather than adapt their tools to fit the needs of their work, I'll happily pack up and leave.

 

G.

[REDWAGON]

"I don't believe that I am the only reader of this forum who needs to build DVDs with at least a little more than just a kid-in-the-garage quality to them, has at least a little more than that level of technical knowledge, and who requires more than that level of answer sometimes."

 

What I hear you saying here is that Roxio EMC is just a "Kid In The Garage Quality" program. I certainly can be wrong, but I suggest that EMC is a lot better than you give it credit for. Can you give a suggestion as to what other video editing program will do better at the price ? And you are absolutely correct in saying that you are NOT only the only reader of this forum that has a level of technical knowledge that I assume is as great as yours and that can answer questions at that level.

"If I'm wrong, and this forum is intended solely for those dabblers who don't know a drop frame from a drop cloth, and who are willing to adapt their work to fit around problems with the tool they are using rather than adapt their tools to fit the needs of their work, I'll happily pack up and leave."

 

Again, what I hear you saying is that this forum is most fitted for those "Dabblers" that don't know nearly as much as you suggest. I have found that some of the "work arounds" that some of our gurus have suggested on this forum are great. As far as "packing up and leaving" that is your choice. I suggest you stick around and with all of your professional abilities to make DVD's (I assumed that from some other words in your posts), and help others "adapt their tools to fit the needs of their work". Much of what you say is understandable and workable. It's just the way you have of saying it that seems to put others on a very defensive stand. And I really don't think that the original poster really wasn't as familiar with the menu in DVD Builder to know how to get more than one line in the menu, even if it required a work around.

 

By the way, I did like your answer as to how to use "a more flexable text editor" to facilitate a better menu.

 

Frank.........

[REDWAGON]

Southside Glenn:

 

Take ml's suggestion and use NotePad or WordPad to make a text file and make it as many lines as you want and then paste it into the Menu on DVD Builder. This topic has been posted several times in the past and if I remember I was one of the first ones to post it in the old forum and I'm not so sure it wasn't you ml, that gave me the advice. I have been using that work around many times now, and it works every time.

 

Frank...

[Patty]

No, you didn't offend me, nor did I intend to offend you.

 

Look, I totally understand that we are coming at this video stuff from two opposite ends of the spectrum, that you dabble in it whereas I make a big portion of my living out of it. And that's alright; neither one of us is "wrong" in that regard. But there are sometimes issues brought up in these forums that involve points that go beyond rudementary involvement and understanding.

 

I'm just trying actually address that guy's problem and answer the question accurately. If he can't fit a title on screen in one line at 8points, there is a serious problem with either the font itself or with DVDB's font processing routines. If that's too technical for some, I can't help that; that's the diagnosis.

 

I don't believe that I am the only reader of ths forum who needs to build DVDs with at least a little more than just a kid-in-the-garage quality to them, has at least a little more than that level of technical knowledge, and who requires more than that level of answer sometimes.

 

If I'm wrong, and this forum is intended solely for those dabblers who don't know a drop frame from a drop cloth, and who are willing to adapt their work to fit around problems with the tool they are using rather than adapt their tools to fit the needs of their work, I'll happily pack up and leave.

 

G.

 

Please don't go.....although a number of us are on the middle to lower end of the learning curve, we are eager to learn more and having a technical person respond is great. That way we learn and if something you say isn't understood it gives us a chance to ask for a more simplified explanation from you so we can impliment your answers. I for one a eager to learn.

[southside_glen]

I am using emc 7.5, does anyone know how to change the letter spacing in DVD Builder's main menu title?

I can change the size, font, attributes, but the letter spacing is so big I can't get anything other than a 2 word title to appear unless its 8 pt or below!!!!

I personally would recommend not using DVDB's main title (just delete any text in it) and instead just making the title part of the background graphic. This will allow you to use Photoshop (or whatever your favorite image editor may be) to create the title with complete sizing, kerning and location/placement control on the text.

 

Also your choice of font can make a big difference in the quality of spacing.

 

G.

[Guest mlpasley]

I don't want you to go either.

 

Look, this is what I said " (1)No, you're not way off. (2) DVD Builder is pretty basic DVD burning software and the features you're looking for are just not part of the program. (3)The way to get the advanced features is to put them into a graphic (picture) background. (4)However, sometimes people just want a title that's readable from a distance and the two line approach fills that need. I was just trying to give an alternative to inserting a custom background. "

 

I thought that I was agreeing with you by saying that:

#1 you were correct (two negatives making a positive. )

#2 agreeing that DVD Builder isn't capable of advanced font capabilities

#3 agreeing that you need to put a background in a picture to get the advanced features that you described

#4 pointing out that I was just " trying to give an alternative to inserting a custom background"

 

Apparently, what I thought were statements agreeing with your post were not clear. I didn't think you were disagreeing with my post and I certainly hope that when you reread the post from my point of view, you'll understand that I was agreeing with you.

 

Can we make peace and agree that we'll try to help people in these forums?

[Guest mlpasley]

I don't think you can change the spacing.

 

However, you could get two line title on the menu by using notepad to type in a two line title. Then do a Ctrl+C to copy and a Ctrl+V to past it into the menu title.

[southside_glen]

Southside Glenn:

 

Take ml's suggestion and use NotePad or WordPad to make a text file and make it as many lines as you want and then paste it into the Menu on DVD Builder. This topic has been posted several times in the past and if I remember I was one of the first ones to post it in the old forum and I'm not so sure it wasn't you ml, that gave me the advice. I have been using that work around many times now, and it works every time.

 

Frank...

That's a good tip that I'll keep in my tool box. Thanks. From what I can tell (and again, please correct me if I'm wrong) if one just needs to throw a horizontally-center-justified title on a templated background and is not all that concerned about actual letter spacing then using the Notebook trick to insert a CR/LF into the text to make it a center-justified double line is certainly a nice shortcut to know.

 

However, in my admittedly limited experience with DVDB - maybe I'm misssing some more advanced capabilities - DVDB remains somewhat limited in what it will let you do with the menu title and where it will let you put it. For correcting the loose kerning, font sizing or aliasing rules that accompany many of the system and 3rd party fonts out there, the Notebook trick just won't be enough. And when Steve talks about "letter spacing" and the fact that he has to drop all the way down to 8pt font sizes just to fit a couple of words on his screen, it sounds to me like these are just the kind of problems that need addressing. Maybe I'm reading more into it that I should...

 

On the other hand, the option of just making it part of the backgorund graphic with a graphical editor such as Photoshop instead of using the title template in DVDB allows one to place the title anywhere on the screen they please, to use more powerful text kerning and antialiasing capabilities, to resize and reshape the text at will, to use multiple fonts, and to set the text orientation as desired. Correct me if I simply haven't learned all of DVDB's capabilities yet (entirely possible), but such a level of control and flexibility just does not seem to be available via the DVDB menu title option, and certainly cannot be addressed just by inserting a line feed into the text.

 

Am I way off here?

 

G.

[Guest mlpasley]

Am I way off here?

 

No, you're not way off.

 

DVD Builder is pretty basic DVD burning software and the features you're looking for are just not part of the program.

 

The way to get the advanced features is to put them into a graphic (picture) background.

 

However, sometimes people just want a title that's readable from a distance and the two line approach fills that need. I was just trying to give an alternative to inserting a custom background.

[southside_glen]

However, sometimes people just want a title that's readable from a distance and the two line approach fills that need.

Of course you are correct.

 

I was just trying to address the problems actually posed in the initial post:

 

"does anyone know how to change the letter spacing in DVD Builder's main menu title?"

 

and

 

"I can't get anything other than a 2 word title to appear unless its 8 pt or below!!!!"

 

These issues as described cannot be addressed via the tools in DVDB nor via the insertion of a CrLf into the title text.

 

While the CrLf may provide a "work around" solution, it does not directly solve the actual problem: that the text is being improperly processed in DVDB.

 

Even if one is using the title "Supercalifragilistic Expialidocious", those two words of 8pt font should typically take less than 150 pixels width in a proportional font and less than 200 pixels width in a fixed font, even when emboldened. If he's saying that he can't get that title to fit on his menu screen, either he is making a postge stamp-sized menu and video (highly unlikely), has his Main Title text box shrunk too small (possible, I suppose, but in the context of his question, that doesn't sound like it in this case), or is having font processing and display problems with using his desired font for the title in DVDB. This last possibility is highly possibly indicated by the symptom of having problems with letter spacing.

 

If this is the case, he has three "solutions" available to him:

 

1.) Try a different font. Many fonts simply misbehave in many text editors, displaying in irrational sizes for the point size selected, using bad or non-existant kerning (letter spacing) rules, etc. This could be the case here. The problem with this solution is that he would be forced to use a different font then the one he desires. It's a compromise solution.

 

2.) Use the CrLf insertion trick to force the title to two lines. You're right, more casual users may accept that comprimise solution, but it still does not address the letter spacing issue he referred to, nor does it address the problem that the font is displaying waaay too large.

 

3.) Just create the title in the background using a more flexible text editor. This is a no-comprimise solution that requires very little extra effort and gives a payoff of solving the point-size problem and the spacing problem, at the same time giving even greater creative choice and flexibility. The downside to this approach is that it does require that the user use a seperate tool so there are a few extra steps involved.

 

G.

[stevehas]

Thanks to all. I have been working in the Graphic Arts/ Printing industry for 20 years, and am painfully aware of all of the details of typesetting, pagination, copy fitting etc on a professional level. (Yes I know how to make type bigger, and change the font). The default letter spacing in EMC does not seem to carry variable font bodies. The letter spacing is too big.

The suggestions posted here are great! I have used all of them with great success. But the fact remains that EMC's has very poor type attribute control. Its not meant to be a page make up program, but it still leaves something to be desired when simply creating a main title.

Thank You again.

Did I say something to offend you? I certainly didn't mean to......I understood all the issues that you raised in your original post. I'm not quite as dumb as I look.

 

I wasn't questioning your post. I assumed that anyone familiar with kerning as the original poster was, would be smart enough to understand your post.

 

All I was trying to do was clarify my original answer that if the poster wanted a 'quick and dirty' way to make the text appear bigger by using two lines in the DVD Builder title program, he could do so by using Notepad.

 

You are correct, I didn't address the WAY TOO LARGE issue. I should have asked if he tried the ' Advanced' tab and experimented with different fonts and sizes.

 

I've personally found that if I want the title readable on a TV, it needs to be either a short title or a two line title. In my personal opinion, the fine adjustments would help some, but not enough to make a difference on my DVDs. I just don't have the patience or time to make a custom graphic and frankly, the people I make DVDs for wouldn't notice the difference. This is a hobby, not a source of income for me.

[Guest mlpasley]

EMC's has very poor type attribute control. Its not meant to be a page make up program, but it still leaves something to be desired when simply creating a main title.

 

You're absolutely correct. You might want to send your comments to Roxio Customer Service. They need to know what features their customers want in their products.

[Guest mlpasley]

Did I say something to offend you? I certainly didn't mean to......I understood all the issues that you raised in your original post. I'm not quite as dumb as I look.

 

I wasn't questioning your post. I assumed that anyone familiar with kerning as the original poster was, would be smart enough to understand your post.

 

All I was trying to do was clarify my original answer that if the poster wanted a 'quick and dirty' way to make the text appear bigger by using two lines in the DVD Builder title program, he could do so by using Notepad.

 

You are correct, I didn't address the WAY TOO LARGE issue. I should have asked if he tried the ' Advanced' tab and experimented with different fonts and sizes.

 

I've personally found that if I want the title readable on a TV, it needs to be either a short title or a two line title. In my personal opinion, the fine adjustments would help some, but not enough to make a difference on my DVDs. I just don't have the patience or time to make a custom graphic and frankly, the people I make DVDs for wouldn't notice the difference. This is a hobby, not a source of income for me.