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Manual
CD Splash - Make a splash

 

 

How does it work?

CD Splash package actually consists in two applications: The Splash and the IniEditor.

Splash.exe is the application that starts every time you autorun the CD. It will display the picture, will play the sound, will show a text, etc.

 

The Splash.exe is controlled by a INI file. Because most users don't have the knowledge to edit that INI file we have included a nice (and VERY EASY TO USE) graphical interface for you. This interface is the INI-Editor.exe
Through this editor you can instruct the Splash which picture or sound or movie file to display/play file to play.


INIEditor.exe will generate two files:
   -a file to instruct the Splash how to behave
   -a file to instruct the computer to autorun your CD

 

If is too complicated for you just copy all these files on your CD image and run the INI-Editor once the burn the CD. Everything will be ok :)

 

 

Details

1. Copy the CD Splash (Splash.exe), the INI Editor (SplashEditor.exe) and the rest of the files in the root of your image CD.
2. Fill all the fields with the required data/info. All the fields must be green because the 'save' button will be enabled only when all fields will be filled/greened.
If you don't want to fill a field (for example you don't want to use an icon for your CD or a sound) don't leave that field empty: fill it with this keyword: none
3. Press the 'Save' buttons.
4. Transfer all your files (from inside of the CD image) to your preferred burning application and burn your CD.


Main interface

CD splash main interface

 

Field number:
Description
This field is mandatory
1
How long the splash will remain on screen. In our example, after 4 seconds, the splash will auto close. You also can double click on splash (at run time) to instantly close it.
yes
2
Enter here the path of your CD image. You must complete this field first, in order to activate the rest of the fields.
yes
3
Use this button to insert the image that will be used as background for your splash.
yes
4
Use this button to insert a sound. The sound will be played when the splash will start. A nice effect will be to use a short sound but at very very high volume. For example a single shotgun sound
no
5
Use this button to indicate the application that will start additionally with your splash. For example, if you want to burn a CD with mp3 files you can make Winamp to start. Even better: you can indicate here not the Winamp.exe but your play list. So when Winamp will be started, it will start to play the mp3 files from that CD. Great! Isn't it?
no
6
Use this button to insert an icon file. The icon will be displayed in Windows Explorer when the CD is in the CDROM unit (the icon will be associated with the CD) .
no
7
Enter the text that will be displayed in the middle of the splash. Use the X, Y and Size boxes to adjust the appearance of this text. In our example, the text is: "DEMO" written with red.
no

At the end press the 'Save' button to save your settings.



What is an 'CD image' ?

The "CD image" (for the ones who still don't know) is the folder on your hard disk where you gather all you files (700MB) before you burn the CD.
For example, right in this moment I want to burn a CD. First I will make a folder that will keep my "CD image" (doesn't matter the name) named "futureCD" somewhere on my HDD and I will move my data there.
So, the "CD image" will look like this:

C:\futureCD
|
+---[design web]
+---[docs]
+---[drivers]
+---[electronics]
+---[my pictures]
+---autorun.inf
+---fedra.ini
+---INIEditor.exe
+---logo.jpg
+---splash.exe

There are 3 critical files you need for CD Splash to work:
- autorun.inf
- fedra.ini
- splash.exe
You must put these file directly in "futureCD" folder and NOT in other external folders or in a sub folder of "futureCD".
Important: the "splash.exe" must be in the root of the CD in order to work.

Also you MAY need a picture file, a sound file and a icon file. But this file might be stored in other folders. Mines are in "multimedia" folder. Is very easy. Right?

Note: Some people make a BIG mistake when they drag their files from Explorer into the burning application (Nero).
They click the "CD image" folder and drag it in Nero. WRONG!!!
The right way is to select all your file in that folder and drag them in Nero. YES! Drag only file from inside the folder, not the whole folder.

After burning your CD should look like this:
z:\
|
+---[design web]
+---[docs]
+---[drivers]
+---[electronics]
+---[my pictures]
+---autorun.inf
+---fedra.ini
+---INIEditor.exe
+---logo.jpg
+---splash.exe

and not like:

Z:\futureCD
|
+---[design web]
+---[docs]
+---[drivers]
+---[electronics]
+---[my pictures]
+---autorun.inf
+---fedra.ini
+---INIEditor.exe
+---logo.jpg
+---splash.exe

*where z: is the letter of my CD drive. In your computer, your CD drive might have other letter.

 

 

How many files do I need to put on the CD?


You need to write 3 files on the CD to make CD Splash to work. You must copy in your CD image the following files:
  "splash.exe"
  "fedra.ini"
  "Autorun.inf"
The INI-Editor will generate the "Autorun.inf" and "fedra.ini" file for you.

 

Tips and tricks

Don't be fooled by the small size of CD Splash! CD Splash is very powerful. You can auto-start a program additional with the splash.
More precisely you can start NOT ONLY an exe file (application) but any kind of files as long as in the system there is a player/codec capable to play that file.
For example, you can design a web page and make that web page to be 'splashed' every time the CD will autorun. The web page will be started in the default web browser in that system (Mozilla, Internet Explorer or Netscape...).
Just make your web page (HTML) and put it in your "CD image" folder. Now, the trick to do that is to make the INI Editor to open the file you want:
Open your INI Editor. Try to insert your web page in the field number 5 (the field that require the EXE application name).
It will appear that you are permitted to use only EXE, COM and BAT files but is not like this. Just type *.* and it will allow you to insert any type of file you want. Use the same trick if you want to splash a gif, jpg, png, tga image or a midi, mp3, ogg, avi, mpg file. The default multimedia player will start and will play your file. In the next version, CD Splash will recognize all kinds of file types without this trick.

 


How to make an Autorun CD

 

Autorun is a feature of the Microsoft Windows operating system. The Autorun feature detects when a CD is inserted into the CD-ROM drive and runs an application based on the contents of the Autorun.inf file located on the CD.

Autorun is enabled by the new 32-bit, protected-mode driver architecture in Microsoft Windows. 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.

When a CD is inserted into the CD-ROM drive, the operating system checks for a file named Autorun.inf in the root directory of the CD. This file contains a pointer to an executable file.


To create an Autorun-enabled CD-ROM, proceed as follows:

  • Create an Autorun.inf File
    Autorun.inf is a text file that is located in the root folder of your application CD-ROM. It provides to the computer the name and the location of the startup program for your application that is installed when the CD-ROM is inserted. The Autorun.inf file can also contain optional information including the following:
  • The name of a file that contains an icon that represents your application's CD-ROM drive. This icon appears in Windows Explorer instead of the standard drive icon.
  • Additional commands for the shortcut menu that appears when the user right-clicks the CD-ROM icon. You can also specify the default command that runs when the user double-clicks the icon. Autorun.inf files are similar to .ini files.
  • The [autorun] section contains the default Autorun commands. All Autorun.inf files must have an [autorun] section.
  • icon: Specifies the path and the file name of an application-specific icon for the CD-ROM drive.
  • open: Specifies the path and the file name of the startup application.

 

Autorun.inf

The following is an example of a simple Autorun.inf file. It specifies Filename.exe as the startup application. The second icon represents the CD-ROM drive instead of the standard drive icon.

[autorun]
open=Filename.exe
icon=Filename.ico


Tips for Writing Autorun Startup Applications

 

Essentially, there are no constraints on how to write an Autorun startup application. You can implement it to do whatever you require to install, remove, configure, or run your application. However, the following tips provide some guidelines for implementing an effective Autorun startup application:

  • Users should receive feedback as soon as possible after they insert an Autorun CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive. Therefore, startup applications should be small programs that load quickly. They should clearly identify the application and provide an easy way to cancel the operation.
  • Typically, the initial part of the startup application presents users with a user interface (such as a dialog box) that prompts them for how they would like to proceed.

 

User-friendly CD


Take advantage of this autorun feature to create a professional start for your CD. Offer your users a clear and concise menu interface that provides information about what the CD is about, what's on the CD and copyright details, as well as presenting a wide range of clear actions.

 

 

is delivered in a package to together with several other graphics programs. Once unpacked, it does not require being installed. Just double click the program to run it.

 

NOTE:

  • Our software doesn't install any (DLLs, ActiveX, DirectX, .Net, Java, Windows services packs, IE updates, etc) crapware in your computer!
  • Our software is monolithic and portable - which means that you can copy it on a flash stick and run it on any computer without installing it.
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