Making a DVD@ccess link to a Button on a DVD Menu

Is it possible for me to have a button link to a website using DVD@ccess?
In other words, I have a menu with 3 buttons on it. 2 of those buttons will link to chapters on the track. The third button I would like to be able to press and it will go to a webpage.
Can this be done and if so, can you explain how?
Thanks in advance

Not possible with any degree of reliabilty. Read this thread:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1523556&tstart=0

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DVD@ccess linking to file folders

I need to link a folder that contains multiple .pdf files to a menu button in DVDSP 4.
The project itself looks clean, and everything works great ...except this last feature.
I've used DVD@ccess in the past to link a singular file with great success.
But now I need to link an entire folder of files, and have the folder open in a new window.
Do you have any suggestions, tips, work arounds?
Thanks in advance for your help.
James Wicks
West Palm Beach
G5 PowerMac 2x2 Mac OS X (10.4.8) Final Cut Studio 5.2

Hey James,
I'm pretty sure you can't use DVD@ccess to link to a folder. But you can (as you know and have done before) link to a file.
So, you could link to the first file in the folder and leave it to the user to find the rest.
Or, you might consider creating a simple html file that lists the pdf files in an index.
I'm sure there are other workarounds, too, but they will all involve linking to a file that allows you to access the folder of pdf files.
Good luck.

Dvd@ccess no button in inspector

I am trying to link my video to a web site, In reading the manual it says to tick the check box in the inspector to set the link, but there is no dvd@ccess button in the inspecter, what the....
Help
rex

Hi Rex, welcome.
The DVD@ccess link is usually placed into a menu, click on the menu background and look in the property inspector...
It can also be used on other disc elements, but it cannot be attached to an individual button.
The way it works is the link is activated when the menu holding it is displayed. You will find that @ccess has a flaky history (to say the least) on PCs and the applicationj of choice for adding interactivity is Sonic's eDVD, which is PC based, but far more robust in its implementation, IMO.

DVD@ccess Burned Disk Tip

I just fixed my problem and so thought I would share what I did in the hopes that it will help someone else.
I built a DVD with DVD@ccess files on it. It worked great in Simulator but did not open the files once I burned the DVD. I was totally confused. Then I decided to try renaming the .pdf files I was including so there were no spaces (e.g. My Document.pdf became My_Document.pdf). Now the DVD works.
I had to go in and change all my DVD@ccess links to the new name, but it's working now.
Hope that helps someone.
~Luke

Yep, that seems to be the issue, project built in HD. However, when I go into the project, the selection buttons for HD (selected) and SD are greyed out and cannot be changed. Is there a way to change that, or do I rebuild from square one?
Thanks in advance.
Dan

Using DVD@ccess for .PDF (not clear to me in Manual)

So I've got a link typed into a certain page of the DVD to link to a .pdf file. The link is typed as:
file:///DVDname/foldername/file.pdf
This is how it tells me to link it in the Manual, however whenever I burn a test disc, put it in the computer, check the "enable DVD@ccess" box in the DVD Player prefs, and test it, it does not open the file. How is this not working? Do I have to place the folder in a specific location when the DVD begins to build and format, or do I have to include the full line of folder names (folders within folders) when I type in the address above? Am I selecting the wrong folder when I choose the "content" folder before building the DVD?

Good links from Drew...
The process is complicated. I'll try to make it simple.
First off, your pdf file needs to be in a folder somewhere on your machine - let's call it EXTRAS. That folder itself now needs to be in a parent folder as well, let's call that one ROM_CONTENT. For simplicity just set this up on your desktop for now.
From within DVDSP you need to set the location of the pdf file in the property inspector, but you do this in two places. First off, click on the disc icon in the outline view and then look in the property inspector for the ROM section. Use the 'Browse' facility to specify the outer folder you made earlier, and make sure the path in the property inspector points to the location of 'ROM_CONTENT'.
Now, in the menu that is going to hold the DVD@ccess link you also specify the path to the file, but this time you set up the path as it would appear after the disc is built. If your pdf file is called 'products' and your DVD itself is called 'My_Disc' then the URL that you put in the menu needs to be:
file:///My_Disc/EXTRAS/products.pdf
Note that you *do not* use the name of the parent folder... this is very important!
When DVDSP builds the disc it will place the Video_TS and Audio_TS folders at the root level (the first thing you see if you open the disc in your finder). When you use DVD@ccess it will also put a folder to hold the @ccess.exe file with instructions to PC users, and it will also put whatever it finds inside the ROM_CONTENT folder at the root level of the disc. In the example here it finds a folder called EXTRAS and so the root of your disc looks nice and tidy - four folders. If you didn't use the inner folder then your pdf would appear as a file on the root... which to me is plain messy.
Now, since the folder called EXTRAS is now at the root level and holding the file to launch, that's what you MUST specify when writing the menu URL.
Finally, in order to see this working on your Mac (simulator) you need to turn on the DVD@ccess prefs in both DVDSP and DVD Player. Once done, the file should launch your default pdf viewer (probably 'Preview'). If it doesn't then there is either something wrong with the paths you have used inside DVDSP, or there is something wrong with your Mac! I'd suspect the paths before anything else...

DVD@ccess folder copy

Hiya - does anyone know if there's a way to PREVENT DVDSP copying the DVDccess folder during a build? I'd rather place the DVD@ccess Windows installer in a folder with other items, which I can in the DVD-ROM content but a redundant DVDccess folder is created no matter what. I can use other tools (like mkisofs) to get rid of it from a disk image, but this is a DVD-9 project and I need to make layered DDP2.1 files for replication, which means the build and format steps need to happen within DVDSP.
I've also trawled through the various project xmls like ObjectDatB (plutil is my friend) but there seems to be no switchable option to prevent inclusion of this folder once DVD@ccess links are in place.
Ideas? Thanks in advance.

DVD@ccess looked promising but it's a non-starter. The technology was unreliable when it was new and I do not believe it has seen neither improvement nor revision. I have used it successfully only once back in DVDSPv2 and that was for a Mac-only release.
Can you accomplish your goals with any other technology? Does Adobe Encore offer you any better solution for a Windows client (never used it myself)?
sorry not to have ay better advice for you other than to forget DVD@ccess. Please come back and let us know if you find a workable solution; it will help others in similar situations.
bogiesan

Why does firefox not open the address in the browser window via dvd@ccess?

I am building a dvd with dvd studio 4 latest version on a brand new MB Pro / Snow Leapard. dvd@ccess is enabled in dvd studio pro 4 as well as on my computer. The function opens a browser window, but firefox does NOT automatically type in the required address. Therefore the browser does not look it up. This is not likely related to dvd studio pro, since dvd@ccess links to mailto: with no problem, and entourage correctly opens a new mail with the proper address. Please help. Fast – I am supposed to deliver a project! Thanks ;-)

Ok, well I found it quickly without really finding the source of the problem. I created my account here in order to post this problem, and when I received the account confirmation email to activate my account, clicking the hotlink opened a browser window WITHOUT the address! So I restarted firefox and lo and behold, I could confirm my account via the hotlink and dvd@ccess now works, even in the dvd studio pro simulator. Why this bug appeared remains to be answered. Thanks and good luck.

DVD@ccess and PDF linking

So I've successfully linked a 94 page PDF document, and it works no problem. (Although I can't wait to run the DVD on a PC) I use a track and set the DVD@ccess through the chapter points.
My question is; *does anyone know if DVD@ccess can direct a PDF reader to a specific page in the document?*
A client wants to be able to access certain pages of the PDF document from the DVD menu, as opposed to a menu within the document. And while I've read many articles on how to direct the reader via HTML, this doesn't seem to translate over to DVD@ccess.
Any thoughts, notes, hints, etc.
Thanks.

Hi Gary - I'm not knocking Intellidisc or how it works, but am bemoaning the fact that there isn't a reliable cross platform solution available. eDVD was as close as it got IMO, and I am of the opinion that the 1% of people do matter. The fact is that we as authors cannot reliably create a blended content disc that plays seamlessly on all platforms.
The issues with Vista will no doubt eventually be resolved. It is, after all, a new (ish) product and software will need to be revised in order to catch up. I also agree that a lot of folk won't migrate to vista very quickly, but there is inevitably a percentage who will do so. The proportion of folk who cannot play the content therefore increases beyond the 1% of mac users (until Vista issues are resolved) and thus, until Intellidisc, eDVD or @ccess can be made to work they are not providing a total solution.
We therefore come down to a numbers game. Which of these apps will give us the best coverage of end user machines, and best flexibility for the content we are adding? For example, @ccess can launch any app where the file type is known... as can eDVD, but Intellidisc works better if the file is a web based link?
I don't think I can say which is best - none of them give us what we need and each of us therefore has to choose between them when creating a disc with enhanced content. I ought to give Intellidisc a try - I have used the other two with fair degrees of success and ought to have some first hand knowledge of Intellidisc. I would like to know, for example, if the end user needs to run the .exe file and install some software - if so, what is the benefit over @ccess in that respect? If the install is automatic, then the argument will surely be why not include the same function with @ccess? The issues for me come back to the fact that @ccess and eDVD will launch any content (if they work at all) and Intellidisc is restricted to web based links and files.
But I agree entirely with the need for DVDSP to have this kind of thing built in - the software already does at least go some way towards it with the ROM content tools. All we need is a version of @ccess which reliably plays on a PC under all circumstances. Or for eDVD (or interactual) to fix the issues with the player in vista AND mac and make it available as a stand-alone... or for intellidisc to launch different types of content, and we should be home and dry... right?

Tips for making DVD@ccess works on PC reliably !!!

Anyone here have experience Authoring in DVDSP using DVD@ccess where your DVD will be played on a PC ??
I beleive you need to install the DVD@ccess plug-in but i can't seem to find it anywhere on the net. Also someone told me the plug in ( for PC ) is installed on the DVD once you authored with DVD@ccess but i can't seem to find it either. Any suggestion ??? Thanks

When you burn an image with DVD@ccess checked in your buld and burn window, it adds the file to the image -- NOTE: As I recall this only happens when you burn an image or master to a Tape backup.
Also, you can put an autostart.ini file on the DVD-rom portion of the disk that runs DVD@access, but unless you get a little fancy with you autostart file, it will try to install it every time!!!
Bottom line is, it's a little quirky!!! Good luck.
Jason
PS - there are some DVD programs that flat will not work with DVD@ccess. I think POWER DVD is one, but I can't remember.

DVD@ccess problems

I'm using DVD studio Pro 3.0.2 and I can't get DVD@ccess to work at all. I follow what the book tells me to do exactly and it just won't work. It doesn't open my browser and link to the website, it just sits there on the menu that I enable the @ccess on. What am I missing? These are the steps I've taken:
1. Create a new menu.
2. Enable DVD@ccess on that menu
3. Type in the url complete with the http://
4. Link menu to desired button from main menu.
5. Simulate and test
I've doubled checked to make sure "Embed Text Data" is still activated and it still won't work. Please help, what the heck am I missing?!!

You don't mention enabling DVD@cess links for simulator in the prefs - this is off by default in the simulator prefs in DVDSP, as well as off by default in Apple DVD Player.
Also, since typing a buch of slashes and colons always feels like greek to me, and I usually get it wrong, I almost always copy and paste a url from my web browser after checking it there, rather than typing it in. An invalid url will cause DVD@ccess to appear to do nothing, even if it is enabled.
You might consider providing a local html page on the ROM sector of the disc instead of the web url, in case users are not connected to the internet.
Hope this helps -
Max Average

DVD@ccess

Is there a possibility to link an URL via button (i.e. to open a URL/site in i.explorer or safari) DVD@ccess??
any help would be great!
greetings, max

No - not in the way you might think, at least.
What you do is set the button to go to a blank menu which itself has the URL embedded in it (done by using the property inspector for the menu). You set the menu to time out after a few seconds and then set the action to jump back to the menu that held the original button.
When the second menu is accessed the web browser will open in front of everything and obscure all that menu switching activity. To the viewer, it will look as if the web page opened just after they clicked a button.
Of course, if the disc is viewed on a TV then this will look odd - the button click takes you to a blank screen for three seconds and then goes back to where you were... What I tend to do is add a little bit of text to the blank menu to explain what is happening and to recommend the disc is seen on a computer. Leave it long enough to read before jumping back out again. This way, the computer viewer is catered for and the TV viewer is informed.
If you want anything other than this kind of route then you'll need to consider eDVD on the PC platform - there are a lot of other things eDVD can do and it will be a worthwhile investment if you plan to do any more interactive discs.

DVD@ccess & eDVD together?

Hi There,
I'm making a DVD-rom with a lot of PDF material. I was recently well advised to use Sonic eDVD for better compatibility with PCs, however this looks like it will reduce functionality with Macs. So here's the question:
Can I use the Mac's DVD@ccess feature AND the eDVD feature on the same project ?
I imagine I just link the @ccess links to track markers, then build the VideoTS file and do it again in eDVD? So in theory a Mac will play the DVD through DVD Player and a PC will play it through whatever PCs play with.
BTW: I tried to post this on the Creative Cow forum but I can't seem to access it right now. Anyone else having this problem?
P

Hi Peter, I just caught this on the other thread...
My advice would be to stick to one or the other, not both. The reason being that whilst I think that you are right in theory, I don't think it would work in practice, simply because of the erratic way @ccess seems to work on PCs. Imagine the links all opening at once for no real reason, and the user not understanding why - this is a very likely prospect with @ccess present on a PC, regardless of whether or not the user has installed the @ccess.exe software, it seems (I am only going by what others have said about it, so apologies if this is incorrect).
If you can guarantee that no @ccess links will open on a PC (and this could be as simple as not providing the .exe software to install) then your idea might work. I am being particularly cautious as I simply don't know the answer, I'm afraid.

I cannot see why DVD @CCESS and DVD-ROM content are not working properly

Hi,
I am very new to DSP, and I know I am missing a piece of the jigsaw, but I do not know what it is. I used a tutorial from creative cow to try and make the @CCEESS function work, but no dice… for now at least. When I did a build/format (to the HDD) everything went fine. I mounted the image, and I could see the DVD @CCESS folder and the DVD–ROM content on the DVD image. When I went to play the image, the button did not work. The content I am trying to use with @CCESS is a PDF file.
The tutorial I followed was this: http://library.creativecow.net/articles/alexzander_alex/dvdaccess.php
By the way, I am using is 4.2.2
Help or just counsel is appreciated.

As Eric said - DVD@ccess is really not that useful. It was a way to get documents like PDFs to automatically launch in the application (like Acrobat) when watching a DVD on a computer. Since they can't launch on a set top player the technology was already limited. Then the whole issue of getting it to work on a PC arose - it simply wasn't reliable. I managed to produce one disc that was replicated with @ccess links, but I knew the parameters for it's use in advance and managed to get it to work. It doesn't work on modern machines.
For a while there was a Sonic app which was much better at getting this sort of thing to work, but you had to work on a OC to set it up. Sonic pulled the app shortly after I bought it (sigh) and never replaced it. The fact is, automating document launches and web links is actually pretty tricky on a DVD, the results were variable and it never really enhanced your discs like you wanted to think it would!
If all you want to do is include a PDF file on the disc, and alert viewers to it being there, you only need to use the ROM content functions not @ccess, and you can use a menu screen to give instructions to people to let them know how to find it.

Using DVD@ccess on DVD-Rom builds

I have been able to test creating a project using DVD@ccess but it seems that it only supports 1 of either file, email or web links. Is this correct? If not how do I set multiple links using the DVD@ccess program or is there another way?
If not I may simply have to create a pdf file with the document and other links embedded in it and use this.
Thanks
Rob

You can associate only one DVD@cces link per menu or chapter marker. If you'd need more than one link, you'll need extra menus or markers. I generally start with a single menu with all the links as buttons. I'll target each button to a new menu that looks identical, but has a specific DVD@acces link and have that menu immediately time out and target back to the original links menu.

Alternative to DVD@ccess

Aloha,
I need to create a DVD project with button that link to a website, I understand that DVD@ccess is a can of worm and will create headache on window machine, Does anyone came across an alternative, a different application (mac or window) in order to be able to web link.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, as well as any idea to resolve this issue.
mahalo

No....Unfortunately web access directly from a DVD is a thing of the past. You could provide HTML link in the ROM section though.

Making a DVD@ccess link to a Button on a DVD Menu

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