For Discs with Dash (Indigo Rose AutoPlay Menu Studio3.0)

Member Name: robinlawrie

Product:	Indigo Rose AutoPlay Menu Studio3.0
Date:	21/10/01 (211 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: read op

Disadvantages: read op

How many of us now own CD Recorders? I suspect that with most new computers being fitted with them as standard, the number will be growing all the time. They are an important part of the computing world as files become larger and impossible to fit onto floppies. Digital pictures, MP3’s and entire programmes are demanding more and more space, hence the need for a medium that enables them to be stored safely and with ease of recovery.

There are many excellent programmes that enable one to copy these files from hard drive to disk and this will be fine for the majority of users. There is however an alternative to simply dragging and dropping these files in the same manner that you do with a floppy.

Purchase any CD that contains a programme and it is taken for granted that once inserted into your drive, would automatically start and “talk” you through the installation or take you to an interface that allows access to the disk. This has always been assumed to be a process that is in the hands of companies who design the CD’s and far beyond the capabilities of us mere mortals. This is no longer the case.

Let me tell you about a programme called AutoPlay Studio. It has been developed by a company called Indigo Rose, the current edition being 3.0, and is only one of several excellent products. Their address is www.indigorose.com and well worth a visit, if only to see their products.

Before I get shouted down for not telling you of all the “functions” let me say that this is a one-function programme. Its entire existence is dedicated to allowing you to auto start your copied CD’s with an interactive interface that you have designed.

From the beginning you are helped through the process of designing and publishing with a user-friendly desktop and loads of help menus. It is possible to start with a project template and customize it from there. It is then a s
imple matter to assign actions to various events; you can easily execute installation programs, start presentations, jump to web sites, play video and music, and send email. It is possible (if unlikely) to build an interface with 1000 pages. It is very similar to designing a web site without the heartache of actually publishing it on the web.

I find it most useful when compiling MP3 lists. With AutoStart I can make an interface that contains 12 Collections of music. Each collection has a picture which when clicked on initiates a media player (Winamp in my case) and starts a play list of that collection. The entire process gives your finished masterpieces a very professional appearance.

I have also seen this used to make enormous collections of photographs, each collection linked to a button on the desktop and played with a built in slide show.

The price of this is steep at the moment $295 to be exact, but I suggest you take a look at their site where you will find a perfectly good demo that you can download for free. Some of the functions are withheld, but it is possible to get excellent results and not spend a penny.

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