I had posted this earlier, but wanted to follow up.
I am creating a presentation DVD for the local chamber of commerce (DVD Studio Pro 5) and I am including a data portion on the disc that can be accessed via the desktop for more information, etc. In this Data section, there is an HTML file that allows for easier navigation of the DVD’s data content.
My problem/question:
I need a cross platform (autorun) that will launch the default (shell) browser to bring up this HTML file so that the viewer is not lost in a series of folders and files. I have tried a “ReadMe” HTML file, and that is of course self explanatory, but the the council that is reviewing this feels as if the person will not see this icon/file and will, in turn, get lost and such. That is the reasoning behind the autolaunch feature/code.
I have a question though - how would this affect a DVD? Reason, I still want the viewer (if they use their desktop as the DVD viewer) to still navigate and view the DVD as normal, but would the autolaunch be a problem with this? I assume that the autolaunch would just silently launch the browser in the background and when the viewer is finished viewing the DVD, they would close and the browser and it’s HMTL page would be waiting for them.
Again, this should be a cross-platform autolaunch.
Any help or guidance would be most appreciated!!
Thanks all
Keith
As far as I know there is no “autorun” feature for Mac OS X. Support for it was dropped some time ago, as it is considered a security risk. While DVD Player will launch when you put in a video DVD, I don’t know of any way to auto-launch a browser on a Mac just from putting in a CD/DVD.
Hey Kevin!
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I’m hearing that from some others too. Luckily, Mac folk are smart enough (well some) to click a file that says “Read Me” or “Click Here To Get Started”, whereas the PC people that I’ve talked to, completely ignored those types of indicators! We’ve successfully done an auto-run on the PC side, so I think I’ll pray to the Mac gods and hope they’ll see the icons!
Thanks for the response nonetheless!
Keith
Keith,
Yes, most every program we download has a “ReadMe” file and a lot of us have gotten in the habit of actually reading them, believe it or not! 
Good luck with your project, hope all goes well!
Since 87% of both platforms auto-launch the DVD-Player, why don’t you put an item in the DVD-Menu that links to the readme.html?
There is also a possibility of setting a background image on both mentioned platforms. Chances aren’t high, that the user will actually open the window so that the image shows, but hey, you can cover a few more % of the audience that way.
On the other hand: making it too simple doesn’t help educate the public. People don’t read the readme anymore because software has become so “self explanatory”, we can become stupid from all the comfort.