Saving Your iDVD Project

When you’re done working on an iDVD project and have burned it to a disc you’ll want to store your project in case you ever want to burn another copy.

iDVD gives you several options to store your iDVD project. You can save your project as an archive: this process collects all the necessary files in one place so you can make changes and burn another disc at a later date. Or, once your DVD is final, you can save it as a disc image, which will let you burn more copies whenever you want.

Tips

Burning your project on another Mac

If your Mac doesn’t have a drive capable of burning a DVD (a SuperDrive) you can still use iDVD to create your project. Once the project is finished, save it as a project archive or disc image, then transfer the archive or image to a machine with a DVD burner, and burn your DVD. You can also attach a compatible third-party DVD burner to your Mac when you’re ready to burn it to DVD.

Creating a project archive

When you save your iDVD project, you save a small file to your hard drive that references all the movies and photos included in your DVD. This saves space, but makes it difficult to copy your entire DVD project to another computer, whether for backup or for follow-on work. To address this, you can create a project archive file that includes all the necessary files to build your DVD, then move this single file to your other machine or save it as a backup. To create a project archive, select Archive Project from the File menu. Be aware that the size of your new file will be as large as all the movies and photos that make up your project combined.

Creating a disc image of your project

Saving a disc image of your project means creating a file that is formatted just like a finished DVD, except it is stored on your hard disk instead of on a DVD. Having a disc image allows you to easily burn DVDs of your DVD project. You can even use a disc image to play your DVD on your Mac. If you have access to high-speed networking, you can send the disc image to a friend to review your DVD before you burn it.

Adding files to your DVD

In addition to storing and playing video, DVDs serve as vehicles for transferring large files from one computer to another. Storyboards of your movie, ancillary files referenced in your movie, or full-resolution photos from your slideshows can be included on your DVD. To add these files to your DVD, go to the Advanced menu and choose Edit DVD-ROM Contents. Click Add Files to browse your hard disk for the files you want to add, then click Open to add the files you've chosen.

Steps

Save your iDVD project as a project archive or disc image

From the File menu, choose Save. This will save the latest changes to your project file.
To create an archive of your project, choose Archive Project from the File menu.
Give the archive a name, and choose a location on your hard disk to save it.
Keep the default settings for "Include themes" and "Include encoded files". Notice the size of your archive once it’s saved.
Click Save to create the project archive.
To create a disc image of your project, choose "Save as Disc Image" from the File menu.
Give the disc image a name and choose a location on your hard disk to save it.
Click Save to create the disc image.