Aliu's Magic Lantern
How to put a slide show on CD-Rom

goto Aliu's Magic Lantern website

It is easy to copy a slide show on a CD-Rom and mail it to your friends.
Just follow the 5 steps below.

	Make a new "AML Project" folder in your hard disk
	Make a new "SlideShow" folder inside "AML Project"
	Copy your slide tray file (e.g. "Slide tray Magic1.aml") and all corresponding picture and sound files into the "SlideShow" folder. Warning: this will work only if your original slide tray file was created in the same folder as the corresponding picture and sound files. If it was created in a different folder, read the "dealing with multiple media folders" paragraph below.
	Copy the Projector's program files into the "AML Project" folder: these files are located in Aliu's Magic Lantern original installation directory (usually "C:\Program Files\Aml"): aml.ini amlp.exe imgdll.dll mfc42.dll useddraw.dll (if dll files are missing then read this) Warning: you should copy these files, not transfer them.
	Copy the contents of the "AML Project" folder on a CD-Rom. Your friends will run the Projector by double clicking its icon ; and they will start the show with the on-screen remote control.

If you follow these 5 steps, your CD-Rom should contain the files below.
In this example, the CD-Rom drive letter is "I" and the slide show is made of 10 pictures (dsc00001.jpg ... dsc00010.jpg)

C:\>dir I:\ /b/on/s (this is the Windows "dir" command which displays the file list)

I:\aml.ini
I:\amlp.exe
I:\imgdll.dll
I:\mfc42.dll
I:\SlideShow
I:\UseDDraw.dll
I:\SlideShow\DSC00001.jpg
I:\SlideShow\DSC00002.jpg
I:\SlideShow\DSC00003.jpg
I:\SlideShow\DSC00004.jpg
I:\SlideShow\DSC00005.jpg
I:\SlideShow\DSC00006.jpg
I:\SlideShow\DSC00007.jpg
I:\SlideShow\DSC00008.jpg
I:\SlideShow\DSC00009.jpg
I:\SlideShow\DSC00010.jpg
I:\SlideShow\Slide tray Magic1.aml

Advanced tips:

Dealing with multiple media folders:

We wrote in step #3 above that it was mandatory to have created the slide tray file in the same folder as the media files. It was to keep things simple for the majority of users. In fact, the only real requirement is that the slide tray must have been created on the same drive (or network server) as the media files.

So, if you keep your media and slide tray files in separate folders (on the same drive), you can also copy them on a CD-Rom. Just keep this is mind: in the slide tray file, the path of each media file (picture or sound) is recorded as "relative" to the slide tray's original folder. This means that you'll have to duplicate your original directory tree on the CD-Rom.

Projector's default settings:

Your program settings (all options from the Preferences dialog box) are saved in your aml.ini file. Before copying this file into the "AML Project" folder (see step #4), make sure they are safe enough to apply to your friends hardware. For example, we suggest that you set the video resolution on 800x600 if you are not sure that your friends computer supports a higher resolution.

MP3 warning:

Playing MP3 requires much more processing power than playing wave or midi files. Older computers cannot handle both MP3 and AML image transitions. If you plan to put your slideshows on CD-Roms, keep in mind that other people's computers may much slower than yours, and that MP3 music may not play correctly on their hardware. So you'd better use wave files on CDs: they work for everybody.

Text fonts compatibility:

Do not choose a font that may not be on another computer, since a default font will be used if a unusual font was chosen in Preferences. A standard Windows font like "Times new Roman" or "Arial" is best to use if sending a CD to others. If fancy title slides are wanted, these, including perhaps a really nice 3D font and cartoon graphics (if desired), can be done in software like Sierra Print Artist, and exported as .jpg files. The exported files can be put into the directory with the slide show images and brought into AML like any other image - and there would be no font problems when viewing on another pc since the fonts are part of the image itself.

What to do if DLL files seem to be missing in AML directory:

The files you are looking for are probably hidden, due to your computer default settings. To make them visible, you'll have to change these settings.

• Run the "Windows Explorer" program;
• Browse to folder "Program files\AML";
• Open menu "Tools / Folder options";
• Click the "Display" tab:
  • check option "hidden files: display all files"
  • UNcheck option "hide extensions of files ..."

Now you should see all the DLL files.

How to autostart the show:

AutoPlay is enabled by the new 32-bit, protected-mode driver architecture in Windows 95/98. Because the operating system can now detect the insertion of media in a CD-Rom drive, it has the opportunity to do some intelligent processing whenever this occurs.

To start the show as soon as the CD-Rom is inserted, create a text file named "autorun.inf" in the CD's root directory, with this contents:

[autorun]
OPEN = amlp.exe "SlideShow\Slide tray Magic1.aml"
ICON = amlp.exe

You can test your autorun.inf file without burning a CD, if you have a removable drive (like Iomega ZIP). Microsoft has documented on its support web site how to enable the AutoPlay feature on such drives: see http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q136/2/14.asp

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