iLife '04: The Missing Manual

Chapter 22. Advanced iDVD

Although iDVD appears simple, straightforward, and direct, there’s more power lurking inside than you might expect. You can see, change, and control things you never knew you could—if you’re willing to try new and unusual approaches. Some of these approaches require add-on software programs. Others demand nerves of steel and a willingness to dive into hidden iDVD files. And a few even require some familiarity with programming.

In this advanced chapter, you’ll discover how some of these sideways (and backwards and upside down) methods can expand your iDVD repertoire.

Designing Your Own Themes

Apple’s iDVD themes can be hit or miss. Some themes offer great backgrounds but weak audio. Others provide terrific sounds but terrible text. Some create a nearly perfect package, while others seem broken beyond repair. Fortunately, in the end it doesn’t matter, because iDVD lets you adapt themes to your taste and save them as new Favorites.

With iDVD customization, you can move buttons around and change their styles, change the fonts and colors for button and menu titles, move text around the screen, substitute new background art or background patterns, replace or remove the audio loop that plays when the main menu is onscreen, and much more. Let the following pages be your guide.

The Themes Pane

To view your list of starter Themes, click Customize to open the Customize drawer, then click the Themes button at the top of the pane.

As you study the scrolling list of themes, ...