Adobe Encore CS4 * Using Photoshop to create menus

23.1.11. 00.48

Adobe Encore CS4

This Help system only

Download Help PDF (9.8MB)

Using Adobe Encore CS4

Getting started
Workflow and workspace

Search

Menus

Using Photoshop to create menus

Planning the project

Creating projects and importing assets

Contents [Hide]

Menus

About creating menus in Photoshop

Menu basics

Layer name prefixes for menus

Creating menus

Edit a menu in Photoshop

Using Photoshop to create menus
Edit menus
Styling and transforming menu objects
Apply styles and transformations
Adding text to menus
Add and format text
Button subpictures
Menu color sets
Button routing
Creating styles for menu elements
Video and audio in menus
Menu timing and looping
Menu templates
Chapter indexes
Using After Effects to enhance menus
Timelines and slide shows
Audio and subtitles
Creating and managing links
Testing and building the final product
Keyboard shortcuts

About creating menus in Photoshop

Encore is designed to work directly with Adobe Photoshop to build and
edit menus and buttons. You can create entire menus or elements for
menus (such as buttons and backgrounds) in Photoshop and import
them directly into Encore. You can also edit Encore menus at any time
in Photoshop, and have the changes updated immediately.
Menus, including the menus created in Encore, use the Photoshop PSD
file format. All layers and layer sets you create in Photoshop remain
intact when you import them into a project. If you follow the layernaming convention, Encore automatically recognizes button sets,
button subpictures, replacement layers, and video thumbnails. After
importing, you can edit or modify the menu, or return to Photoshop
to fine-tune it using the extensive design tools in Photoshop.
Visit Resource Center on the Adobe website to view a tutorial about
editing menus in Photoshop.
When creating menus in Photoshop, consider the following:
Menu size Set the size and pixel aspect ratio of your background
images and menus to match the frame dimensions and pixel aspect
ratio of your TV standard. Photoshop includes preset image sizes for
digital video projects.

Format

Frame
dimensions
(in pixels)

Pixel
aspect
ratio

Equivalent frame
dimensions in
square pixels

NTSC
fullscreen
(standard
definition)

720 x 480

0.9

720 x 534

NTSC

720 x 480

1.2

854 x 480

Legal notices

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/EncoreDVD/4.0/WS2C3F3ABD-6457-4ca0-898F-720B7E3D0C10.html

Page 1 of 5

Adobe Encore CS4 * Using Photoshop to create menus

23.1.11. 00.48

widescreen
(standard
definition)
PAL fullscreen
(standard
definition)

720 x 576

1.07

768 x 576

PAL widescreen
(standard
definition)

720 x 576

1.42

1024 x 576

High-definition
formats

1280 x 720

1.0

1280 x 720

1440 x 1080

1.33

1920 x 1080

1920 x 1080

1.0

1920 x 1080

Button size Create buttons at least 70 x 60 pixels in size to

guarantee their visibility on a television.
Number of buttons Include no more than 36 buttons for a fullscreen
(4:3 aspect ratio) menu or 18 buttons for a widescreen (16:9) aspect
ratio.
Graphic elements Use vector shapes and masks, rather than
bitmaps, where possible, because scaling these elements does not
affect their quality. If creating pixelated content, such as buttons and
logos, make sure that you create them at the largest size needed for
the disc. If you want to resize some elements, it is better to scale a
pixelated object down, rather than up. (Scaling images up can cause
quality loss; scaling images down does not.)
RGB color Create your images using RGB color. Convert any CMYK
images to RGB before importing them into Encore.
NTSC colors Use only NTSC-safe colors if you want to play your
project on an NTSC television display. You can create colors in your
graphics application that are beyond the color range that NTSC
televisions can display. These colors can cause an unwanted halo
effect. Use RGB values from 0 through 255.
Horizontal lines Set lines at three pixels or greater. Horizontal lines
thinner than three pixels flicker when displayed on a television screen.
Font size Use a font size of 20 points or greater to ensure that the
viewer can comfortably read titles and button text.
For a video tutorial on creating menus in Photoshop, see
www.adobe.com/go/vid0241.

Layer name prefixes for menus

For Encore to recognize the components of a menu from Photoshop,
add predefined prefixes to the layer names. The prefixes identify the
layers as button sets, video thumbnails, replacement layers, and
button subpictures. This lets you import a finished menu that is ready
to use in the project. You can also manipulate and change elements
from within Encore.
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/EncoreDVD/4.0/WS2C3F3ABD-6457-4ca0-898F-720B7E3D0C10.html

Page 2 of 5

Adobe Encore CS4 * Using Photoshop to create menus

23.1.11. 00.48

Instead of creating menus from scratch in Photoshop and adding all

the prefixes manually, you may want to open a menu template thats
similar to the one you want to create, save it as a Photoshop file, and
then edit the exported file in Photoshop.
View full size graphic

Layers panel in Photoshop (left) compared to the same layers in

Layers panel in Encore (right)
The following layer-name prefixes identify the components of your
menu.

Menu item

Photoshop
component

Layername
prefix

Example

Button Name

Layer set that

contains button
components

(+)

(+)Daisy
button 1

Chapter
Button

Layer set that links

to the chapter in a
timeline or slide
show when chapter
indexes are created

(+#)

(+#)Chapter
1

See About chapter

indexes
Next Button

Layer set that links

to the next
submenu when
chapter indexes are
created

(+>)

(+>)Next

Previous
Button

Layer set that links

to the previous
submenu when
chapter indexes are
created

(+<)

(+<)Previous

Main Button

Layer set that links

to the main menu
when chapter

(+^)

(+^)Main
Menu

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/EncoreDVD/4.0/WS2C3F3ABD-6457-4ca0-898F-720B7E3D0C10.html

Page 3 of 5

Adobe Encore CS4 * Using Photoshop to create menus

23.1.11. 00.48

indexes are created

Button Text

Text layers within

the button layer set

Daisy button

Button Image

Image layers within

the button layer set

Daisy image

Button
Subpictures
(optional)

Single-color image
layers. Each layer
represents one color
of the three-color
button subpictures

(=1)
(=2)
(=3)

(=2)Daisy
outline
(=3)Check
mark

See Create
subpictures in
Photoshop
Video
Thumbnail
(optional)

(=1)Text
highlight

Image layer within

the layer set that
serves as a
placeholder for
video

(%)

(%)Daisy
thumbnail

(!)

(!)Daisy
image

None
required

Summer
Flowers

See Create video

thumbnail buttons
Replacement
Layer

Layer that acts as a

drop zone for
images
See About
replacement layers

Other design
elements or
text (such as
logo or menu
title)

Individual layer

Edit a menu in Photoshop

As your project evolves, you may want to change elements in a menu.
Encore is designed to work directly with Photoshop. Without closing
the project, you can jump to Photoshop to refine any menu, even
menus created in Encore. Once you save the changes in Photoshop,
the changes automatically appear in Encore.
1. Select the menu that you want to edit in either the Project
or Menus panel.
2. Choose Edit > Edit Menu In Photoshop, or click the Edit
Menu In Photoshop button

in the Tools panel.

Photoshop starts, displaying the selected menu.

3. Make changes as necessary.
4. In Photoshop, choose File > Save, and then File > Close.
Photoshop saves the file to the project folder. It does not overwrite
the original file that you imported into your project.

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/EncoreDVD/4.0/WS2C3F3ABD-6457-4ca0-898F-720B7E3D0C10.html

Page 4 of 5

Adobe Encore CS4 * Using Photoshop to create menus

23.1.11. 00.48

Note: When you import a menu into Encore, it creates a copy of the
menu. The Edit Menu In Photoshop command opens this copy, not the
original file. Photoshop saves any changes to the copy. If you want to
update the original as well, be sure to first save the copy so that your
project contains the revised menu. Once the copy is saved, you can
also save changes to the original file by choosing File > Save As In
Photoshop or Menu > Save Menu As File In Encore.

Content from Using Encore CS4.

Other versions:
Online Privacy Policy

Using Encore CS5

Using Encore CS3
More

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/EncoreDVD/4.0/WS2C3F3ABD-6457-4ca0-898F-720B7E3D0C10.html

Page 5 of 5