Scripting in DVD Studio, Part 1: How Scripts Work

Scripts behave like other assets in DVD Studio Pro: you create them, then link them up to other assets. Just like any other asset, you can set a script as the target for a button or an end jump. Scripts can also have a special role in the DVD's flow: you can assign a "Pre-Script" to a normal asset, and it will run before the normal asset plays.

Normally, just like any other asset, a script will make some decision about where to go before it finishes running. Most scripts will handle this with a "Jump" command, which is exactly the same kind of "Jump" as an "End Jump" in your normal workflow. And, again like any other asset, if a script finishes without jumping somewhere, your user will be left staring at a black screen. There's one exception: if you only use a script as a Pre-Script, you can finish the script with a "Nop" - shorthand for "do nothing" (or "No OPeration") - and the DVD player will return to playing the track it had started.

Once you create a new script asset, double-click to open it. DVD Studio shows the Script Editor in the bottom of the screen, and the Script Inspector at the bottom right.

Use the + and - buttons to add or remove commands, and use the up and down arrows to reorder commands.

To edit a command, click on it, then look over to the Script Inspector.

Commands tend to take the form of [verb] [noun] [noun] - you'll use the Script Inspector to set those verbs and nouns. What exactly do they mean? We'll go over that in the next part.