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    How to install and launch DVdate,

    learn the many ways to load avi files,

    and get started with its interface


 

Download DVdate:
 DVdate


Help pages about DVdate: 

Install and launch
Information
Menu Display
Menu Video
Menu Rename
Menu Convert
Menu Inlay
Menu Scenes
Edit Scenes
Settings
Scripts



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Last update

on Saturday, April 19, 2008

 


My software free for personal use:

DVdate
CaptureFlux
ImageGrab
CassetteDV
Filmerit
GRFShow
ImagePrinz
BurnFX

 

     

 

    How to Install DVdate 7.0.x

    DVdate 7.0.x needs no installation. You should have downloaded a zip file, with a name like dvdate_70en.zip. It contains a Readme file and an executable file, to be launched directly, when copied to a folder on your hard disk. DVdate 7.0.x does not install any filter in your registry, nor copy any other file to the hard disk. All it's power is contained in the tiny single file.

    DVdate  is by the way a really kind program for your system and the Windows registry. It does only write to the registry if you ask it to save its Preferences in order to load them again at next start. You have nothing special to do for that: when you quit the application, it will ask you if you want to save the preferences and where. Just click on None if you want your registry to stay clean of any DVdate stuff.

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    How to uninstall DVdate

    Before uninstalling DVdate 7.0.x , you should first delete all preferences from the registry, if there are any:

    check01_green.gif Launch DVdate for a last time, type F10 to display the Settings panel and click on the tab Preferences, and select Do not save the Preferences. This will save the previously entries saved to the registry, or eventually to an ini file, in the same folder than the executable file.

    check01_green.gifWhen you are done, just delete the executable file, named like dvdate_70en.exe. It is the file that you unzipped and copied on the hard disk when you  used for the first time the 7.0 version.

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    How to launch DVdate and load avi files

    Launch DVdate by double-clicking on its icon or on a shortcut. You will get the Empty window of DVdate, which is displayed every time the program is launched with no file loaded in it.

    You may use many different ways to load files, some very classical for Windows users, some more sophisticated:

      Open files: Menu Files/Open or the button Open or CTRL+O at the keyboard or else the command Open in a popup menu with a right mouse click. It opens a dialog box where you may choose one or many files. You may include non AVI files (for instance typing CTRL+A to select all the files in the folder), but only AVI files will be proceeded. Others will be ignored.

      Paste files: menu Files/Paste or the button Paste or CTRL+V at the keyboard or the Command Paste in a popup menu with a right mouse click. This action is enabled only if you have copied files (in Windows) to the clipboard. These files will be loaded into DVdate, but only AVI files will be proceeded. Others will be ignored.

      Drag and Drop files: You may drag and drop files onto the window of DVdate starting from a folder in Windows. You may even directly drop the files on DVdate's icon, thus having a comfortable way to launch DVdate with files loaded in it in only one single operation.

      Open a folder: menu Files/Open a folder or CTRL+L: You may choose a folder and load automatically all AVI files contained in it and in all sub-folders. If the loading time is too long, you may Abort the operation with the key Esc.

      Open the preferred folder: In  the Settings panel (F10 or the button ) you may select a "Preferred Folder". It should be your work folder, where you may find the most often loaded files, for example it could be a folder where you capture movie clips from your camcorder. This folder may be opened quickly with the key F7  or the button . The command Open the preferred folder is also available in some menus.

      Open all AVI files: menu Files/ Open all or CTRL+F7: You may scan all your hard disks and open all AVI files present in your computer at once. Of course this may need some time, so remember the button Esc if you want to abort the operation. It is recommended to try this at least once. You may be amazed by all what DVdate finds.

      Open a playlist: menu Files/Open a playlist: consider  the list of all files opened in DVdate as a playlist. It may be saved in a text file, with a format compatible with the m3u playlists . If such a file is available on your computer, you may open it and load all AVI files included in the playlist,  of course only AVI files, and only if they are present on your computer. If some files don't satisfy these conditions, they will be ignored. You may also open a default playlist with Shift+F7 or a menu Files/Open the default playlist if one is defined: it is a text file called playlist.text and located in a folder you may indicate in the Settings panel.

      check01_green.gifOpen automatically the default playlist at start: If the box Save the playlist when quit is checked in the Preferences, then DVdate will reopen the list of video files contained in the default playlist at start. This option works only if the preferences  have been saved at least once with this option checked.

       

      check01_green.gifOpen files directly from the windows interface: if the box Shortcut in SendTo...is checked in the Settings panel (F10) under the tab Preferences,  then you may right-click on one or several files in the Windows Explorer interface, and open a popup menu. In this menu the submenu SendTo will contain a command to launch DVdate. This launches DVdate and opens the selected files in it, at least the avi files among them.

       

      check01_green.gifOpen one or several files with a script: you will learn in the help page about scripts how to  do it. The button or the shortcut Shift+CTRL+L launches a script. If it contains a command like +openfiles="xxx.avi", it opens the quoted videos in DVdate.

    Remember that in all cases, only AVI files will be processed, others will be ignored. Also that the key Esc permits to abort a loading operation if it is too long.

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    How to get started with the interface

    After loading files, the window of DVdate looks like this, that is the standard window of DVdate:

    Observe the three main parts in the window:

      blue11_next.gifThe playlist with all AVI files loaded in DVdate, at the bottom right. When you click on a file name or browse between them with the arrow keys you may select a file or, holding Shift, a set of files.

      blue11_next.gifThe information panel at the upper right gives some useful information about the selected AVI file. Did you observe the little gauge at the bottom of the information panel? It indicates the volume level of audio. It can be easily changed by typing + or - on the numeric key pad. Of course to put Sound On or Off, you type CTRL+M or click on the button .

      blue11_next.gifThe video panel at the left displays automatically the first frame of the selected video. You may play or pause it with the Space bar of the keyboard. If DVdate cannot play the video, usually because it does not find the directshow filters (or codecs) necessary to render the video, then it will display a message like below, indicating eventually if the audio is nevertheless playable:

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homepage of DVdate  pink05_back.gif  pink05_next.gif Information about avi files