How to run a file: documents, movie, songs (run: and save:)
Placing links to any kind of file (PDF, PPS, DOC, MPEG, AVI, WMV, MP3, exe programs, audio and video, etc.) is very simple.
When the user clicks the link, the program runs the file by passing it to the MSWindows program registered for its file extension.
To be professional you should also include on your CD the self-extracting viewer programs for your kind of file (such as the
Adobe Acrobat Reader for PDF files); usually these programs can be distributed free of charge.
This is the simplest way to run a file.
Embedded (inserted, included) means that the file is going to be embedded within the CD FrontEnd document / presentation: this means that when you will
create the CD/DVD, the original file(s) won't have to be placed on the CD (it is CD FrontEnd that cares about these files, you have to do nothing). Embedded links work also in the editor.
To insert a link to an embedded file, highlight a text block or a picture, and use "Insert >Link to embedded file", then browse the Hard Drive for the file you want to link.
Normally, a click on an embedded file link will prompt a "Save / Execute" dialog window: you can disable this with "run this file without asking for user confirmation".
Please notice that with this kind of link the selected file will be permanently inserted into the internal album. The menu "Hypertext >Images - files - link archive and erase" is the only way to remove the file from the album.
This is the professional versatile way to run a file; you should use this way to run / link big files.
External means that the file is external to the CD FrontEnd document/presentation: this means that when you will
create the CD/DVD, the original file(s) will have to be manually placed on the CD (you must expressly care about this). External links don't work in the editor - to test them you should burn a CDRW or use a USB key drive.
To insert a link to an embedded file, highlight a text block or a picture, and use "Insert >Link to external file", then press the "Add +" button, then type something like
run:a_nice_folder_name\a_nice_file_name.pdf
In the picture below we added a link to "mydocument.pdf", a PDF file that we want to show, and to "ar405eng.exe", the self installing Acrobat Reader (the Viewer for the PDF files)
the syntax run:data\mydocument.pdf means that with Nero, Roxio, WinOnCD or whatever burner software you have, you will create a folder called "data" that will contain "mydocument.pdf".
Another example: run:abc\mydog.doc means that with the burner software, you will create a folder called "abc" that will contain the file "mydog.doc".
You can do the same thing for multiple PDF files, and also for DOC, ZIP, PP (Power Point) or any other file and Viewer.
Another acceptable syntax is
run:afoldername\theXYZviewerprogramname.exe afoldername\thedocument.XYZ
You may use also the syntax save: instead of run:
This will prompt a "Save as..." dialog to the end user, instead of running the file.
Example:
save:foldername\filename.pdf
or (if the file filename.pdf is within the root of the CD):
save:filename.pdf
IMPORTANT: Please notice that the external files (run: save: ) links won’t work within the editor and/or in test mode - you should actually burn a CD (maybe a CDRW) and you should place the external files correctly, e.g. if you use run:nicfolder\file.abc, then the file file.abc should actually be present within the folder nicfolder of the CD (this means that with Nero, EasyCD, WinOnCD or whatever, you should burn on the CD both the CDFrontEnd files and the external files to which you are linking).
Other easy software from Visual Vision:
