Easy Mac OS X Lion - Kate Binder [51]
When your magnum opus is complete—or at least when you’re ready to share it with the outside world—you’ll need to export it to a real movie format. This is an easy process, with only a few options to set.
Choose Share, Export Movie.
Choose a size for the movie, based on what you want to do with it.
Enter a name for the file.
Choose a location for the file and click Export.
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Tip: Saving Your Work
When you quit iMovie, your project is saved in iMovie’s special project format, and when you start iMovie again, you’ll see everything right where you left it. You don’t need to export the movie until you’re done working on it.
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Creating a New iDVD Project
Like iMovie, iDVD always opens the last project you worked on. You can open another project by choosing File, Open, or you can begin a new project from scratch. Here’s how to do that.
On the iDVD opening screen, click Create a New Project.
Enter a name for your DVD project.
Navigate to the location where you want to save the project and click Create.
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Note: Where to Stash Projects
Using the folders that Mac OS X creates for certain purposes makes remembering where you put things much easier. In the case of iDVD, the default folder in which to save your projects is the Documents folder within your home folder.
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Previewing a DVD
It’s a well-known fact that creative projects don’t always turn out the way they’re envisioned. It’s far better to catch mistakes and make tweaks before you’ve burned a DVD than after. That’s where iDVD’s Preview function comes in handy. Always preview your projects before burning them to disc.
Click Preview to play the DVD.
Click buttons on the remote control to test the way the DVD will work on a TV.
Click Exit to leave preview mode.
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Tip: Playing It Safe
To be sure the DVD’s elements won’t extend off the edge of the screen, choose Advanced, Show TV Safe Area before you click Preview. This command places a rectangle on the screen that defines the boundaries of older TV screens.
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Burning a DVD
After your DVD project is set up the way you want it and you’ve confirmed this by using the Preview feature, it’s time to burn an actual DVD disc. You must have a Mac with a built-in SuperDrive to accomplish this with iDVD.
In iDVD, click the Burn button twice.
Insert a blank DVD disc. The process starts automatically and alerts you when it’s finished.
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Note: Make Way for DVDs
You should quit all other programs while you’re burning a DVD. This ensures that no other program will take over the computer while the DVD is being created, which might cause an error in the DVD.
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Note: iDVD Without the Burn
Previously, iDVD wouldn’t even install if your Mac was SuperDrive-less, but with iDVD 3.0.1 and later versions, you can create iDVD projects on a Mac that doesn’t have a SuperDrive. To burn a project, copy it to a SuperDrive-equipped Mac.
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Chapter 11: Sharing Your Mac with Multiple Users
Mac OS X is designed to be a multiuser operating system, meaning each user of a single Mac has his or her own account. Each user is either a standard user or an admin user. Admin users can change preferences, install programs, and modify files—in other words, they can make changes that affect all users rather than just the user who implements them. Standard users can only read and modify their own files, and they can only change their own settings.
Your account can be customized with your choice of name, password, and login picture (used both in the login dialog box and for instant messaging with iChat). You also get your very own home folder, named with the short version of your login name. Your home folder is where you can put all your documents, music, pictures, and so on, and you can keep other users from reading, moving, or even seeing what files are in your home folder. When you do want to share files, you can put them in specific places where other users have access to them. Because