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<HL1-Name>

MZ3-Tool3User Guide

Version: MZ3_Beginners_v2.1.2.75_en

Date: 4. November 2012

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Content

1. Tips 5

1.1 MZ3-Tool3 5

1.1.1 How to use MZ3-Tool3 5

1.1.2 How MZ3-Tool3 works 6

1.2 Hints for PDF Conversion 7

1.3 Hints for MAC users 7

1.4 Tips for Photo Books 8

1.4.1 Photo Books directly from Images 8

1.4.2 Photo Books prepared with Adobe Lightroom4 10

1.5 Adding Audio Files (sound\) 11

1.6 Adding Video Files (video\) 11

2. Basics 12

2.1 Documentation 12

2.2 Maintenance, Updates, Customization 12

2.2.1 Folders and Files 12

2.2.2 GUI Adjustments and Localization (language support) 13

2.3 Limitations and Restrictions 14

3. FAQ: Answers on common Questions 15

4. Checkliste 18

4.1 Parameters,Configuration 18

4.1.1 Modificationsofthe‚make‘or‚details‘configurationhavenoeffect 18

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Quicksteps

ConvertPDFfilesintoMZ3-Titles(Books,Catalogues,Brochures,...)1. Download MZ3-Tool3 from our MegaZine3 home page and extract into a new (base) folder.

Execute the MZ3-Tool3 program. In a first step all embedded standard folders and files will be created and this document (MZ3_Beginners) will be converted into an MZ3 Title as first example/demo.

2. Delete the PDF files (this manual), so it is not converted again with the next runs. Another copy is available in the folder _documentation\

3. Copy your own PDF file into the base folder, i.e. where the mz3_tool3.exe program is located4. Start MZ3-Tool3 again.

Convert single Photos into a Photo Book1. Download MZ3-Tool3 from our MegaZine3 home page and extract into a new (base) folder.

Execute the MZ3-Tool3 program. In a first step all embedded standard folders and files will be created and this document (MZ3_Beginners) will be converted into an MZ3 Title as first example/demo.

2. Delete the PDF files (this manual), so it is not converted again with the next runs. Another copy is available in the folder _documentation\

3. Copy your images into the folder my_photos\images\low\ 4. Copy both configuration files _examples\mz3_photo_make.xml and _examples\mz3_photo_details.xml into the

base folder.5. Start MZ3-Tool3 again.

All images will be scaled to make them fit on one page.Ifthe‘photo’configurationfilesarenotthefirstconfigurationfilesinalphabeticalorder,drag and drop the mz3_photo_make.xml fileovertheprogramfilemz3_tool3.exetostartMZ3-Tool3withthatconfiguration.

What to find where?/ The base folder, i.e. where you extracted the downloaded MZ3-Tool3 package, hold all subfold-

ers and the MZ3-Tool3 program mz3_tool3.exe as well as the configuration files mz3_tool3.xml and mz3.xml

export_online_fat/ Ready to use books of different type and title, located in their respective folders. export_offline_fat/ All needed files of an MZ3-Title are collected to be used as either an Online version to be export_online_std/ uploaded to your server, or to be copied on media like CD, DVD, memory stick forexport_online_stf/ use on a local PC as Offline version.my_PDFs/ Optional folder to hold your PDF files (can be deleted)my_photos/ Optional folder to prepare your photo books (can be deleted)my_mz3_titles/ This folder is kind of database for your MZ3Titles, where the MZ3 Title specific configuration

files and all your content are stored._documentation\ general documentation: manuals, version history, hand books (MZ3_tool3 and MegaZine3)

Can be deleted_examples\ Sample configuration files; actually for PDF conversion and photo books; can be deleted._log\ log files of MZ3-Tool3, temporary file like file lists_software\ under MZ3\ the MegaZine3 software is located; and some optional tools in parallel folders.

Any Problems?The last chapter might provide some answers and explain typical problems: „FAQ: Answers on common Questions“ on page 16

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Tips

1. Tips

1.1 MZ3-Tool3MZ3-Tool3 is offered for download at the download page http://megazine3.de. Unzipthedownloadedfileintoanewfolder,e.g.afoldermz3_titles\ on your desktop.There is no installation needed. It is important though that there are no special characters part of the path or folder name! MZ3-Tool3 is a batch command script that only can handle pure ASCII code.(see „No support of special characters“ on page 15). If your user name contains special characters like “ä,ü, è, ß, ...”, please use a folder at the root level of your drive, like c:\mz3_tool3\\

1.1.1 How to use MZ3-Tool3Everythingiscontrolledwithasetof2configurationfiles,the‘make’andthe‘details’configurationfiles.Defaultversionsareprovidedwiththefirstrunoftheprogram,named

• mz3x_default_make.xml and • mz3x_default_details.xml

ATTENTION:Ifanythinggoeswrong,pleaseverifythatyourconfigurationfilesmatchtheactualversion! Ifindoubt,pleasecompareagainsttheoriginalconfigurationfilesoftheactualMZ3-Tool3version!

Theparametersinthe‘make’configurationfiledefinethegeneraloptions,likeOffline/Onlinetitles.Theparametersinthe‘details’configurationfiledefinetitlespecificoptions;likepagecolors.There are several options to start MZ3-Tool3

• Without any configuration file with a direct call (double click) The alphabetically first configuration file in the base folder will be used. If not availble, internal default values will be used (identical to those in the default files)

• A make configuration file can be dragged and dropped over MZ3-Tool3. Then that ‘make’ file and the related ‘de-tails’ config file will be used.

• Start MZ3-Tool3 from the command line, you can provide the path and name of the desired make file in that com-mand line as first and only parameter

TheconfigurationfilesaresavedtogetherwiththeMZ3-Titlecontentinthesamefolder.Thishelpstolaterrunthesameconversionaslasttime;withthesamebook/versionspecificsettings.

Example Configuration FilesTwosetsof2configurationfileseachareavailableinthe_examples\ folder:

• mz3_PDF PDF files locaed in the folder my_PDFs will be converted into an MZ3 Title• mz3_photo A collection of photos in the my_photos\images\low\ folder will be converted into a Photo Book

Deleting FoldersTo get rid of folders that are not needed, those folders like e.g. _examples\ and _documentation\ as well as my_PDFs\ and my_photos\ canbepurged.Aslongasthefiledo-not-restore.txt is present in the base folder, those folders will not be restored. If you need them again, simply delete do-not-restore.txt, and they will be back after the next start of MZ3-Tool3.You also can delete the _export“ folder and all book-version folders in my_mz3_titles\ifnolongerneeded;but:Attention: such user data cannot be restored by MZ3-Tool3

Configuring the command windowWhen MZ3-Tool3 starts, a window pops up with status information and warning or error messages. For better readability the size of that window can be adjusted with a right click into the upper bar of that window and the following settings:Properties - Layout - window size - width: 120, and Properties - Layout - window size - height: 80

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Tips

1.1.2 How MZ3-Tool3 worksDuringthefirstrunofMZ3-Tool3allneededfoldersarecreatedinthebasefolder,togetherwithallfileslikethemanuals in the _documentation\ folder and this MZ3_Beginners manual in the base folder. MZ3-Tool3iscontrolledwithapairof‘make’and‘details’configurationfiles.AdefaultversionisavailableinthebasefolderafterthefirststartofMZ3-Tool3.This pair of mz3x_default_make.xml and mz3_default_details.xmlfilesisusedforthefirstconversionoftheMZ3_Beginners manual into an MZ3 Title.Theparametersofthe‘make’configurationdefinee.g.wherethePDFfilesarelocated.ThedefaultconfigurationexpectsthePDFfilesinthebasefolder.ThefilescreatedbyMZ3-Tool3,thatdefinetheMZ3_titles,arecollectedinthe‘export’folders.Thedefaultconfigu-rationfilesaveseverythinginthefolderexport_offine_fat\, where also the program can be found (FLASH projector with MegaZine3). Starting that program named megazine-fat.exe presents the MZ3 Title in a new window.AllfilessavedwithinthefoldernamedafterthePDF-File,formacompetepackage.thatcanbecopiedonCD,DVDor any other media. And than transferred to another computer. Theprogramtype(WindowsorMAC)canbeconfiguredinthe‘make’configurationfile..

Example IfthenameofaconvertedPDFfileiscatalogue_2012_en.pdf,thentheprojectorfile,thatwillpresentthefinalMZ3-Title, can be found here: export_offline_fat\catalogue_2012\catalogue\2012\megazine-fat.exe

AfterMZ3-Tool3didcompleteafirstrun,youcanconvertyourownfiles.SinceallPDFfilesfoundbyMZ3-Tool3willbeconverted,werecommendtodeletetheMZ3_BeginnersPDFfiles.Acopycanisavailableinthefolder _documentation\.IfyoumisstodeletethosePDFfiles,theywillbeconvertedagainwitheverynewstartofMZ3-Tool3.Aslongasyoueitherdeletethemorchangethe‘make’configurationfileandpointtoanotherfolder,whereyousavedyourPDFfiles.Thedefaultsettingis:convertallPDFfilesfoundinthebasefolder.

Parametrization of MZ3-Tool3:MZ3-Tool3 can be controlled with several parameters. Eachparameterconsistsofa‚start‘and‚end‘-tag,i.e.theparameter‘snameisenclosedinbrackets(‚<‘and‚>‘),Theendtagisspecifiedwithaslash‚/‘.infrontoftheparametername. The value of the parameter goes in between the start and end tag. Example <book_base_path>my_photo_books\</book_base_path>

Here for the <book_base_path> a value of my_photo_books is set, changing the folder for the content (images, swfpages,...)andconfigfilesfromthedefaultpathmy_mz3_titles\ to my_photo_books\

Some selected ‘make’ parameters:<UI-language> selection of the language (de or en) for error and info messages<licensekey> in case you purchased a full license, the license key can be provided here<PDF_XML_path> Definition of the path with the PDF files, relative to the base folder. By default this parameter is not set and files are searched in the base folder.<PDF_XML_name> Specification /selection of the PDF files, e.g. „*_en.pdf“ for all PDF files ending with ‚_en<PDF_XML_name> Specification /selection of the PDF files, e.g. „*_en.pdf“ for all PDF files ending with ‚_en<mz3_variant> Selection of the MZ3 variant: either Online (internet, browser) or Offline (local use)

Language selection:The language for the user interface of MZ3-Tool3 can be selected. This allows to switch to either en (English) or de (German) for all information, warning and error messagesExample: <UI-language>.en</UI-language>. selects to show messages in English

Use of folder my_photos\:This folder serves to collect all data needed for the next (photo book) project: all images (low, high, thumbs, js_fallback),audio/soundandvideofilescanbesavedintothepreparedfoldersandwillbecopiedintotheappropri-ateMZ3-Titlefolderswiththenextrunusinga‘params’configurationfileinsteadofaPDFfile.

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Tips Tips

1.2 Hints for PDF ConversionManaging many PDF Files:WerecommendtokeepPDFfilesseparatefromotherdatalikeconfigurationfiles.Forthatpurposethe‘my_PDFs’folderalreadywascreated.Thelocationisspecifiedwiththe<PDF_XML_path> parameterinthe‘make’configura-tionfile:<PDF_XML_path>my_PDFs</PDF_XML_path> pathtothefolderholdingthePDFfiles<PDF_XML_name>*.pdf</PDF_XML_name> Afullorapartialnamecanbespecified

Placeholdercharacters(‚wildcards‘like* and ? ) are allowed.:

Examples: test*.pdf AllPDFfilesstartingwith‘test’inthename *.pdf AllPDFfilesintheselectedfolder catalogue_2012_*.pdf Alllaguageversionsof‘catalogue_2012’

Name conventions for PDF Files:TomakebestuseofallfeaturesofMZ3-Tool3andtoavoidsurprises,thefollowingnameconventionsforPDFfilesshould be followed:PDFfilenamesshouldbeformedwith3blocks:bookandversionname,terminatedwithalanguagecode

1. Book name: all characters until the first underscore build the book name2. Version name all characters following the first underscore until the last underscore3. Language code: the exactly 2 characters after the last underscore

Example for a PDF-Name compliant with this rule:catalogue_2012_en.pdf Book: catalogue, Version: 2012, language: en(glish)catalogue_2012.pdf Book: catalogue, Version: 2012, language: en (as per default)catalogue_de.pdf Book: catalogue, Version: 1 (default), language: de(utsch)

Configuration files provided as example for PDF conversions:The folder _examples\holdstwoconfigurationfilesthatarepre-configuredforaPDF-conversion,supportingthe.my_PDFs\ folder:

mz3_PDF_make.xml a customized mz3_tool3.xml configurationfile,and mz3_PDF_details.xml a customized mz3.xmlfileTomakeuseofthese2PDFconfigurationfiles,copy them from the folder _examples\ into the base folder, and:

• Either start MZ3-Tool3 directly, if they are the first ones in alphabetical order (the default configuration files start with mz3x_ and will always be last)

• Or start mz3_tool3.exe using Drag&Drop, i.e. dropping the mz3_PDF_make.xml. file on the program.

1.3 Hints for MAC usersTheprojectorfilesforthe‘std‘and‘fat’versionarenomoreincludedinthedownloadpackage.IncaseyoubuildanOfflineversionforaMAC,awarningwillbeissuediftherespectivefileisnotfound.Inthatcasedothefollowing:

• Set the make@customization_path parameter to <customization_path>software/my_gui</customization_path>; or any other path.

• Run MZ3-Tool3 again, if that path does not exist; MZ3-Tool3 will create that path and the megazine/ subfolders for you, and also copy some files like the source version of the asul files into the megazine/gui/ folder

• Download the respective ‘MAC std’ or ‘MAC fat’ available on our Download page• unzip and copy everything into the software/my_gui/megazine/ folder• Run MZ3-Tool3 again. This time the MAC version will be built without further warnings.

Remark: MegaZine3runsonaMACasOfflineversion(projectorfile)aswellasOnlineversion(inabrowserwithFlashsup-port).ButMZ3-Tool3ascomfortablehelpforcreatingthemegazine.mz3configurationfileonlyrunsonWindows.OnaMACthemegazine.mz3configurationfilecanbemodifiedandcreatedusinganyeditor.

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Tips

1.4 Tips for Photo Books

1.4.1 Photo Books directly from Images

Short instruction:• Copy all photos that should go into the photo book into the folder my_photos/images/low/ for low resolution

images and optionallly my_photos/images/high/ for images with high resolution..• Thencopythepreparedconfiguraitonfiles

_examples\mz3_photo_make.xml and _examples\mz3_photo_details.xml intothebasefolder.Ifthephotoconifgfilesaretheonlyonesorthefirstinalphabeticalorder,yousimplycanstartMZ3-Tool3andtheseconfigfileswillbeused.Otherwisedragthephotoconfigfile(preferablythemakefile,butthedetailsfileisacceptedalso)overxmlovertostartitusingthesefiles.

Explanation of the photo book presets:Thepre-configuredfilesmz3_photo_make.xml and mz3_photo_details.xmldefineeverythingneededtocreateafirst‘OK’photobook;withoutanyfurtherchangesofsettings.Thedefaultsforthephotobookexampleare:

<PDF_XML_path> my_photos Prepared folder for photo book content, including a ‚params‘ file<PDF_XML_name>

Nutzung der alühabetisch ersten ‚params‘ Datei

<index_bgcolor> #222222 Color of the book ‚container‘; background color: dark grey<book_bgcolor> #0110011 Page background color of the book: very dark green<img_width> -10 At least 10 pixel distance to the left and right page border<img_height> -10 At least 10 pixel distance to the upper and bottom page border<printpdf> low.zip Name of a file presented for download with the ‚printpdf‘ button, e.g.

all low quality images zipped<searchindex> (leer): no search<gallery> true Making use of the gallery feature, so every image can be viewed in

full resolution in full screen mode<bground_img> * Use the default page background image

Background information:The mz3_photo_param.xmlfilehasthesamestructureanddataasthe‘param’ file,which,incaseofaPDFcon-version,iscreatedautomaticallyandfilledwithdataextractedfromthePDFfiles;likebookandversionname,aswellaspagesizeandpagecount.Thisfileissavedinthebook\version\folderandnamedafterthebook_name.Incaseofphotobooks,suchinformationisnotavailableandmustbeprovidedasafilewiththesamestructure,containingsomebasicinfromationaboutthepotobooktocreate.Thenameofthatfilecanbefreelychosen.Theexamplefileiscalledmz3_photo_param.xml and is located in the folder <my_photos>.

Folder for ImagesAll images found in my_photos/images/low/, my_photos/images/high/ and my_photos/ js_fallback will be copied into the respective subfolders of the photo book. In case the destination folder is not empty, you can force to over-writetheexistingfileswiththosefromthemy_photos\ folder.More details will be provided regularly in the mz3_tool3 blog

Page background imagesIfaborderisdefinedwith<img_width> and <img_height>, either the page background color is visible or a special imagewhichususedaspagebackground.Inthefoldersoftware\pg_bground_img\threesamplefilesareprovided.Oneforleft,rightandspreadpageseach.Thosewillbeused,if<bground_img> is set to “*”.Ownimagesalsocan be used. In that case the “base name” and extension of those images must be provided as parameter. Example: If <bground_img>test.jpgisdefinedas‘details’parameter,andthefilestest_pr_1.jpg, test_pl_1.jpg and test_s_1.jpg are provided in the folder software\pg_bground\, then those images will be used.Thecoverpagesarealwayswithoutbackgroundimage.Ifnofilenameor‘*’isset,nobackgroundimagewillbeused and the background color is visible.

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Tips Tips

Gallery

For photos the gallery plugin is an interesting feature, although the book can be zoomed. All photos of a chap-ter can be combined in a gallery and viewed in fullscreen mode in high quality. Even resolutions bigger than 2048*2048, a limitation of FLASH for versions before 11.3, are supported.

To make use of the gallery, the mz3.xml parameter <gallery> should be set to true.

If a spy glass symbol is requested to make te user aware of this feature, this can be enabled in using a character code of 1 or 2 characters.

Summary of the codes:• a automatic positioning: bottom left or right, depending on where the image is located thepositionisclosetothegutter/foldofthebooktoavoidconflictswiththedragarea.

• l left.• r right. • c center (horizontally)• t top• b bottom• m middle (vertically)

Examples:

tl positions the spy glassin the top, left corner of the image bc positions the spy glass in the middle of the bottom border of the image.

Pre configured configurationThe mz3_photo_param.xml configurationfileisavailableinthefoldermy_photos/ and provides all parameters that usuallyareextractedoutofaPDFfile;likebookandversionname(e.g.photo_book),pagesize(e.g.600*600pixel) and a scale factor of 1.5

Example:With the zoom factor set to 1.5, images will be used from the images/low/ folder, until zoom becomes higher than that zoom factor of 1.5 For zoom levels higher than that, images from the images/high/.folderwillbeused;withtypicallyhigherresolutionthan those in the low/ folder.Both single and spread pages are possible (parameter <page_kind>).Theimagesareautomaticallyscaledtofitonapage.Althoughtherewillbesomefinetuningofthemegazine.mz3fileneeded,aworkingphotobookcanbebuilt very fast and easily.

Additional hints will be published regularly in the mz3_tool3 blog

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Tips

1.4.2 Photo Books prepared with Adobe Lightroom4ThelatestversionofAdobe’sLightroom(Version4,March2012)supportsthecreationofphotobooks.Althoughthefeature to order printed books with Blurb will not work outside US, the option to output a designed photo book as PDFfileisveryhelpful!SinceMZ3-Tool3easilycanconvertsuchaPDFfileintoadigitalphotobook,andincombinationwithLightroom4and the new book feature nice digital photo books can be created in minutes.Wetapedavideothatshowsthegeneralworkflow,whichlookslikethis:

ThevideoshowthecreationofaPDFfileoutofacollectionofphotosandtheconversionofthatPDFfileintoadigital photo book with MZ3-Tool3 and MegaZine3.

Thefinalphotobookcanbeviewedhere.

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Tips Tips

1.5 Adding Audio Files (sound\)Since version 2.1.2.64 of MZ3-Tool3 it is very easy to add sound or music to pages..Thosefilesmustbeinmp3formatandlocatedinthefoldersound\.The positioning on a page is achieved in adding the page number in front of the original name, separated by the specialcharactersequence‚_x_‘:nnn_x_my_music.mp3 thecharacters‚_x_‘separatepagenumber‚nnn‘andname.

Example: 3soundsshouldbeaddedtopages5,23and112;thefilenamesthenmustbecorrectedasfollows:

Old Name Page Number New Namemisery.mp3 5 5_x_misery.mp3graceland.mp3 23 23_x_graceland.mp3tragedy.mp3 112 112_x_tragedy.mp3

After the next run of MZ3-Tool3 the tunes will play on the respective pages.

1.6 Adding Video Files (video\)Since version 2.1.2.64 of MZ3-Tool3 adding videos to pages is very simple.Thevideosmustcomplywithoneofthesupportedfileformats,like.mp4,.flvor.f4v.Datei.Itisveryusefultohavepreviewimagesforeachvideo.Theimagedimensionwilldefinewidthandheightofthevideo.Theimageshouldbea.jpgimagessothedimensioncanbereadasEXIFdataoutofthepreviewfile.Beforethevideostarts,thepreviewimagewillbepresentedatthevideo’sposition.Theassignmentofpagenumberandvideotitleisrealizedinthesamewayasexplainedabovefortheaudiofiles.Thefirstcharactersofthefilenamecanbecodedwiththepagenumber,followedby‘_x_’astheseparatorbe-tweenpagenumberandfilename.nnn_x_videotitle.mp4 Thecharacters‚_x_‘separatepagenumbernnnfromvideoname.

Example: 3 videos should be placed on pages 10, 11 and 13. :

Old Name Page Number New Name Name of Preview ImageBatman.mp4 10 10_x_Batman.mp4 10_x_Batman.jpgSuperman.f4v 11 11_x_Superman.f4v 11_x_Superman.jpgKingKong.mp4 13 13_x_KingKong.mp4 13_x_KingKong.jpg

AfterthenextrunofMZ3-Tool3thePreviewsareshownonthespecifiedpages,andwithaclickthevideowillstart

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Tips

Now the following syntax for the size of videos (parameters video_width and video-height) or image size (parameters img_width and img_height) is supported:(empty) If now value is provided, no scaling takes place. The original size of the element (video or image) is used.0 Automatic mode. Widthandheightareadjustedtobestfitthepagesizewhilekeepingtheaspectratio. Onesidefitsthepagesize,theotheroneisscaleddowntokeeptheaspectration-nnn Ifthevalueisnegative,itdefinesamargin(inpixel). Theelement’s(imageorvideo)sideisdecreasedbytwicethisvaluetoachievealeftandrightmarginnnn Apositivevaluedefinesthesizeinpixel(widthorheight)rr.ppp Two values combined and separated by a decimal point

First / left part: as above either a margin (if negative) or the size in pixel (if positive) Second / right part: scaling factor to reduce the size of the element. The value is interpreted as 0.ppp

Example:video_width 0 Automatic scaling, iIf both width and height are set to “0” the maximum size keeping thevideo_height 0 Aspect ratio is used

video_width -10 Ontheleftandrighta10pixelmarginisusedvideo_height -50 A margin of 50 pixel at the top and bottom is used. If the resulting aspect ratio is different than the original one, the height or width (whichever is too big) will be reduced to achieve the original aspect ratio.

video_width -10.90 10 pixel left and right margin, the resulting size will be decreased to 90% video_height -10.80 20 pixel margin at top and bottom, the resulting size will be decreased to 80%

video_width 400 The absolute width is set to 400 pixel, but no more than the page width

video_height 300 The absolute height is set to 300 Pixel, but not bigger than the page height

Special case Video preview image: If a JPG image with the same page number as the video is located in the video\ folder, the size of that JPG image dictatesthesizeofthevideo;allsettings(video_width,video_height)areignored!This only works for JPG images. The size of a PNG cannot be extracted. Therefore all parameter settings of video_width and video_height will be used in case of a preview image in PNG format.

Attention:If a vidgui parameter is provided, i.e. a video navigation bar is used to operate the video player functions, that bar will be inserted below the video. This should be taken into consideration calculating the size of the video. The height of that video navigation bar is about 35 Pixel in height.

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Tips Basics

2. Basics

2.1 Documentation• MZ3_Advanced

Details about Online and Offline specifics, server uploads, video integration, use of plugins, localization / multi lingual support, use of Google Analytics and JS-Fallback for iPad support, ... This document is not updated yet! It may contain helpful information, but keep in mind that some information is outdated and might even be wrong. We’ll update those documents soon

• MZ3_Cookbook How to make best use of MZ3-Tool3 and MegaZine3 will be shown in a special document, presenting most param-eters with use cases. This is planned and be built out of articles published as blog

• MZ3_Master Details about the internal logic of MegaZine3 and MZ3-Tool3. Not available yet

• MZ3_History Details about version changesVersions with some interesting details

All documents are or will be available in the folder _documentationForthosewholookforfirstdetails:seebelow!Please check the Support page ofourwebsite;therewillbealinktoaseriesofvideossoon,startingfromthefirstdownload,explainingMZ3-Tool3andMegaZine3parametersandpresentingseveralusecasesandworkflows.

2.2 Maintenance, Updates, Customization2.2.1 Folders and FilesWiththefirstrunofMZ3-Tool3manyfoldersandfilesareinstalled.WitheverynewMZ3-Titlenewfilesandfoldersarecreatedandsavedinthefoldermy_mz3_titles\(thisnamecanbedefinedas< book_base_path> parameter in mz3x_default_make.xml.Since version 2.1.2.60 it is much easier to maintain those folders:

• Folders and files can be deleted now and will not be restored automatically with the next start of MZ3-Tool3 The file do-not-restore.txt controls, if files and folders are restored by MZ3-Tool3 or not. If the file exists, folders are not restored. If this file is deleted, everything is restored; an easy way to reset everything to standard values. Actually following folders and files can be deleted:• documentation\• examples\• my_PDF_files\• my_Photos\• mz3x_default_*.xml Attention: If the file do-not-restore.txt is deleted, to tell MZ3-Tool3 to restore all

files, also the mz3x_default configuration files will be overwritten! Please save your changes before under new names first!

Mandatory folders, that cannot be deleted and will be restored automatically with the next start of MZ3-Tool3::• software\ subfolder MZ3\ for the MegaZine3 software

pg_bground_img\ for the bachground image files others like clean_up\ for supporting programs

• logs\ although this can be deleted to get rid of outdated log files, the folder will be created again with the next start of MZ3-Tool3

• Very reduced number of redundant files. Before a copy of the MegaZine3 software was kept for every MZ3-Title. Now only the content (images, swf files) and the configuration files are saved.

• Folders now can be named more flexibly. The following folder names can be defined with ‘make’ parameters :• <PDF_XML_path> default: my_PDFs\• <book_base_path> default: my_mz3_files\• <customization_path> default: no folder; was my_titles\megazine_c\ in former versions.

If customization is needed, a folder software\my_gui\ could be an option

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Basics

Clean-Up ToolIf you already built several MZ3-Titles with the former versions, a new tool to clean the mz3_titles\ folder from re-dundantfilescouldbeofhelp.You’llfinditinthefoldersoftware\clean_up\Thisbatchcommandfiledeletesallredundantfilesinthemz3_titles\folder(orthefolderyoudraganddropoverthe clean_up program.AdescriptioncanbefoundintheREADMEfileinthatfolder.Besidesacompiledversionofthatprogram,alsothecommentedsourcecode(batchcommandfile)isavailable.Thisprovidestheoptiontocheckbeforemakinguseofit or to modify and adjust it to your needs. It should be safe, but this is offered without any liabilities. Better you test itfirstwithacopyofyourfiles....

2.2.2 GUI Adjustments and Localization (language support)MegaZine3 offers several options for customization, especially the GUI (user interface, „skin“) can be customized to yourneeds.ThefastestandeasiestwayistoadjustthesocalledASULfiles;configurationfilesinXMLthatdefinee.g. positions, color, size, behavior, ... of buttons and other control elements.Thesefilesarelocatedinthesoftware\MZ3\megazine\gui\ folder,butcannotbemodifieddirectlybecausetheyarecompressed and also will be overwritten by MZ3-Tool3.

• The folder with the MegaZine3 software (software\MZ3\) is removed and immediately restored again after every start of MegaZine3; to assure consistency

• If a path is defined with the (new) ‚make‘ configuration parameter <customization_path>, a copy of the sourcecodeversionoftheASULfilesiscopiedintothatfolder.TomakethenewMZ3-Tool3version2.1.2.60behave like the old version, you could set the path to my_titles\megazine_c\;assumingthe <book_base_path> is set to my_titles\. ButforabetterseparationofyourGUImodificationsandyourMZ3Titleswesuggesttouseanotherlocationand name for this folder. Something like software\my_gui\ could be an option. Onlyifapathisdefined,themegazine\guifolderandallASULfileswillbecopiedthere.

• Youthencanmakeallmodificationsneededinfilesofthatfolder.Thefilenamesmustnotbechanged,butthedatacanbecompletelyadjusted.Existingfileswillnotbeoverwritteninfuture,butdeletedoneswillberestored the next time MZ3-Tool3 is started,

• WItheverystartofMZ3-Tool3yourmodifiedASULfileswillbecopiedovertheoriginalMegaZine3software.With this strategy your changes are safe, even with a new MZ3-Tool3 version (update safe). And it is very easy to restoreadefault/originalfileincaseyoumessedsomethingup:simplydeleteitanditwillberestored.Incaseofa‘fat’versionMZ3-Tool3sinceversion2.1.2.69alsosupportscustomizedfilesautomatically.Youcanaddnewlanguagestothe<customization_path>megazine/langs/folderormodifyASULfilesinthe <customization_path>megazine/gui/ folder. Actual language packages can be found in the Wiki:http://www.megazine3.de/doc/TranslationsIncaseyoudefinedapathfor<customization_path>,MZ3-Tool3willaddthedefinitionsfor‚guipath‘ and ‚langpath‘ inthemegazine.mz3fileandsetthevalues(foldernames)to‚gui_c/and‚langs_c‘respectively. Thetwofolderswillbeaddedtothemegazine/folderofthefinalpackageandthecontentofthese2special <customization_path> folders will copied.

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Basics Basics

2.3 Limitations and Restrictions• Windows <-> MAC

MZ3-Tool3 is not supported under OSx. MAC users could created and adjust the megazine.mz3 configuration file that defines the books and is interpreted by MegaZine3 directly with an editor. The megazine.mz3 configuration file is a standard XML file. Therefore an XML capable editor will be of big help, since elements are color coded, which makes it easy to distinguish between parameters, values and comments. The MAC versions of the FLASH projector files needed for the Offline variant, are since version 2.1.2.71 no longer part of the MZ3-Tool3 package and must be downloaded separately, in case a MAC Offline version is built.

• Performance The mz3_tool3 program is a batch command script; with all it‘s limitations like a pretty poor performance. Espe-cially reading and parsing XMLfiles takes some time. There are also implemented many plausibility checks, which again slow down the system. But in turn this will save significant time if problems arise due to incorrect parameter settings. And those will happen ;-)!

• No support of special characters Don‘t use them, you‘ll end up in trouble! Special characters are all language specific characters, usually coded with UTF codes. But also characters like the ‚+‘ or ‚-‘ sign must be avoided. Only accepted special character is the under-score ‚_‘ (no spaces). These limitations also apply on path names. If e.g. the base folder is located on your desktop, the user name is part of the path to the desktop. And if you have a funny name like Müller or Groß, and insisted to that name as your user name... you‘ll have a problem. Placing the base folder at the root level of your system disk or a separate disk will help in such case.

• PDF versions and features Most PDF files will convert just fine. But sometimes a page is problematic, e.g. if transparency layers are used or fonts are not embedded. In that case please work with the designer of the document. He will know how to create a PDF file that complies with older PDF versions or avoids such features. A standard technique is e.g. to „flatten“ transparency layers with Preflight, a tool integrated in Adobe Acrobat Pro.

• Support of Internet/Browsers (Online use) MegaZine3 uses ActionScript3 from Adobe. Therefor FLASH is requested for use over the internet in a browser. MegaZine3 does not work in Safari on iPads or iPhones. To nevertheless provide basic support for such devices, MegaZine3 supports some basic features with Javascript und HTML5. This so called „JS Fallback“ solution allows to “wipe” through content that is available as JPG images or as h264 video format. mp3 sound also works. But many features are not supported, and the comfort level is low. Features not supported are e.g.: page flips, search, automatically converted links.

• Local / Offline use Two options are available for local use; besides using a browser, which also might (!) work under certain condi-tions: as FLASH-ProjectororAIRApplication(‚App“) AIR in general also supports iPad and Android tablet computers

• Numbering of SWF files During a PDF conversion each PDF page is converted into a SWF file. These files are named automatically following this schema:

page_nnnn0.swf with ‚nnnn‘aspagenumber

The‚0‘insertedafterthepagenumberresultsinstepsof10andallowsaneasyinsertionofpagesinbetweentwoexistingpages.Newpageswillbeconsideredwiththenextrun;allpagesareinsertedinalphabeticalorder..

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FAQ: Answers on common Questions

3. FAQ: Answers on common Questions1. WhatheppenedtotheMACfiles/folders?

The megazine.app and megazine-fat.app are since version v2.1.2.71 no longer part of the MZ3-Tool3 package tosavedownloadtimeandspaceformostusers.ThosefilesnowmustbedownloadedseparatelyfromourDownload web page. Thedownloadedzipfilemustthenbeunzippedandthecontentcopiedtothesoftware/MZ3/megazinefolder.IncasetheMACsoftwareismissingwhileaMACOfflineversionisbuilt,awarningwillbeissued.

2. Whyiseverythingthatcomplicated? MegaZine3offersahugefunctionality,isopenandveryflexible.Thishelpstoaddressabroadbandwidthofusescases,butalsorequestsrespectiveconfigurations.MZ3-Tool3willhelptomakethatprocessaloteasier.Inmanycasesthereisnoconfigurationneededatall.Someruleshavetobefollowedthough:toman-age a big amount of different titles and versions, a standardized folder structure is requested (MZ3-Tool3 will take care about that). And although MZ3-Tool3 is very tolerant, it is advised to follow our naming suggestion/convention.Hopefullyyou‘llseethatthingsbecamemucheasierwithMZ3-Tool3,butstill:itisacompromisebetweenflexibility,easiness,effortandmore.

3. DoIhavetousetheproposednamesforthefolders? No, you can use your own folder instead of e.g. the proposed my_mz3_titles/ folder. Thepathtoyourfoldercanbedefinedwiththe‘make’parameter<PDF_XML_path>. Thename(s)ofthefilestobeconvertedcanbespecifiedwiththeparameter<PDF_XML_name>.

4. Whatparametersexist?Howdotheywork? Therearetwomainconfigurationfilesthatworktogetherandareusedtosetparameters:the‘make’andthe‘details’files. The ‘make’ parameterscontroltheprogramflowofMZ3-Tool3,liketheparameters<PDF_XML_path> and probably <PDF_XML_name> The ‘details’ files,whichmustbenamedliketherelated‘make’file,definetheparametersfortheMZ3Titles,like background color. Athirdfile,the‘params’file,iscreatedautomaticallyincaseofaPDFconversionandmustbeprovidedincaseofphotobooks.Variabledatalikepagesizeandbookandversionnamearedefinedwiththisfile.

5. HowcanIaddvideoandaudiofilestopages? Video and other „elements“ as sound, area, text can be added manually on individual pages. Since the plugin batchpages does not support individual pages, the conversion should be done with the parameter <page_content> set to images.Todefineifsinglerdoublepages(spreadpages)shouldbebuilt,thepa-rameter <page_kind> must be set to either p (single pages) or s (spreadpages). MZ3-Tool3supportstheaddingofVideoandAudiofiles(page 11). The video and ausio “tags” can also be included manually in the megazine.mz3 file.

Example:<!-- spreadpage 29 --> <spreadpage> <imgwidth=‘1750‘keepar=‘true‘position=‘center middle‘gallery=‘chapter-1‘> <srclang=‘de‘>../test/2012/de/images/low/page_0029.swf</src> <srcscale=‘0.6‘lang=‘de‘>../test/2012/de/images/high/page_0029.swf</src> </img> <vid width=‘960‘height=‘560‘left=‘765‘top=“405“ preview=“../test/2012/de/video/pv.jpg“ onlywhenactive=“true“ restart=“true“ loop=“false“ gui=“elements/SkinUnderAll.swf“> <src>../test/2012/de/video/my_video.f4v</src> </vid> </spreadpage>

Details about the video tag and other elements can be found in the Wiki.

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FAQ: Answers on common Questions FAQ: Answers on common Questions

6. HowcanIadjusttheGUIofMegaZine3? Most GUI adjustments like different positions and sizes of the navigation elements or different icons for but-tonscanbemadewithmodificationsintheappropriate*.asul files.Thosefilesareavailableinthe„standard“version of MegaZine3. This „standard“ version will be used, if the mz3_tool3 parameter <mz3_kind> is set to std (instead of fat). *.asulfilesarepluginrelatedandlocatedinthemegazine/gui/ folder. To ease Updates and Upgrades of MegaZine3, it is recommended to make changes in the *.asul filesoffoldermegazine_c/. Thefilesoffoldermegazine_c/. are copied into the appropriate folders located in the book base path (by de-fault mz3_files/)andwiththisoverwritetheoriginalfileswiththecustomizedones. How to use .asulfilesisexplainedintheWiki.

7. HowcanIadjusttheform(icons)andshape/sizeofthebuttons? Iconsaresavedinspecificfoldersbyplugin,namedaftertheplugin,e.g. gui/navigationbar/ for icons of the navigationbar.Ifthenewiconshavethesamesizeandformat,itissufficienttoexchangetheminthefileslocated in the <customization_path>

8. HowcanIre-positionthenavigationbarorelementslikesearchandzoom? Thisisconfiguredinthepluginspecific.asul files,alsolocatedinthe megazine/gui/ folder in <customization_path>.Inthesefilesthepositionofelementscanbedefinedwiththe<anchor>tag.Containerslike<box>or<hflow>)canbeindividuallypositionedusingabsolutepixelvalues,orrelativelytothe parent container: With pw: page width of the parent container, and pw: page height of the parent container.Example:<hflowanchor(20,pw-20,30,ph-30)...>The box Element starts at x=20, y=30 pixel offset from the upper left corner of the parent container. And the right low corner spans to the low right corner, again with a distance of 20 or 20 pixel respectively.

9. HowtousedifferentGUIsfordifferentMZ3titles? Create a new folder, copy MZ3-Tool3 and run it. This will create a complete, parallel structure and you can modify everything.

10. HowtodealwithproblematicPDFfiles? Thefilelog/*_pdf2swf.log contains all messages, the program pdf2swf creates. The level of details can be adjusted with the parameter <log_pdf2swf>(min,med,max).Becareful;alreadysettominwillresultinamany lines of messages. The number of lines depends on the number of pages. YoualsocananalyzethePDFfilewiththeprogramswfdump(seeswftools.org);itmustbestartedformthecommand line. WithcertainPDFfilesyou‘llruninto„transparencylayer“problems.notyetsupportedbypdf2exe.AsolutioncanbetosavethePDFfilewithaPDFtoollikeAdobeAcrobatasolderversion.YoualsocouldtrytoconvincethedesignertocreateamorecompatiblePDFfilefordigitalpublishing.

11. IhaveaMAC,howcanIuseMegaZine3andMZ3-Tool3? MZ3-Tool3actuallyonlyrunsonWindowscomputers;orinaWindowsVM(virtualmachine)anaMAC Itispossibletocreatethemegazine.mz3configurationfileneededforMegaZine3withasimpletexteditor.Thereisalsoapdf2swfversionavailableforOSx(seeswftools.org). A compromise is to create some tem-plates once on a WIndows machine and the copy and modify those templates on a MAC.

12. HowmanypagesofaMZ3titlearesupported? Ingeneralthereisnolimit.Customerscreatedcatalogueswithseveralthousandpages;withsurprisinglygoodperformance.MZ3-Tool3supportsupto5000pagesperPDFfile/MZ3Title.

13. Whyonly3PDFfilesareconvertedinabatchrun,andnomorethan30pages? TheDEMOversionofMZ3-Tool3doesnotsupportmorethan3conversionsinasinglebatchrun. TheBASICVersion(bundledwiththeMZ3-BASIClicense)supportsupto5,thePROversionupto100PDFfileconversionsperrun. TheDEMOversionisfreeforMZ3Titleswithupto30pages.Althoughbookswithmorepagescanbecreatededitingthemegazine.mz3configuration,awatermarkwillbeinsertedonleftpagesanyhow.

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FAQ: Answers on common Questions

14. HowtoupdateaMegaZine3orMZ3-Tool3version? NewversionsofMegaZine3willbeprovidedaspartofMZ3-Tool3.OnceanewVersionofMZ3-Tool3is copied to the base folder and started, the new MegaZine3 Software will be available in the folder software\MZ3\ and used for new MZ3 Titles. Customizations made in the <customization_path> are not changed and will be used with the new ver-sionalso.YouneverthelessshouldcheckifanewversionofthemodifiedASULfileisavailable. Todosorenameyourmodifiedversionandcompareitwiththeupdatedoriginalversionthatwillbeinstalledin<customization_path> the next time MZ3-Tool3 is started.

15. HowcanIcreateanOfflineversion(alsocalledCDversion)? ToviewaMZ3-Titelinofflinemode,i.e.withoutbrowserornetwork/internet,anofflineversionmustbebuilt.Inthis case the megazine.swf program is substituted by a megazine.exe or megazine.app. These are executa-bles (stand alone programs) with the FLASH player included. Therefore it can be copied onto a CD or memory sticktogetherwithallcontentlikeSWFfiles,jpg,pngorgifimages,videos,...andthenbedistributed. AllfilesandfoldersneededarepreparedbyMZ3-Tool3andavailableintherespectivefolders export_offline_std\ or export_offline_fat\

16. WhatistheJavascriptFallback? EveryMegaZine3softwarecontainsajs/folderwithsomeJavascriptfiles.TheseareusedtoshowMZ3con-tent in a browser with HTML5 only in cases where FLASH support is not possible or accepted. Like with Safari onaniPad.Tomakeuseofthis,thecontentmustbemadeavailableasjpgimages.Thosejpgfilescanbelocated within the suggested folder js_fallback/, or in either images/low/ or images/high/ . MZ3-Tool3 supports this, if the parameter <support_js_fallback> of the mz3.xml fileissettotrue. PleasewatchthemessagesoutputbyMZ3-Tool3carefully;and/orreadthelog/mz3_tool3.logfile.ThereyouwillfindhintsiftheJavascriptFallbackcouldnotbeenabled.

17. HowandwhatcanbetrackedwithGoogleAnalytics? ToenablethetrackingofaMZ3Title,itissufficienttoaddtheGoogleUACodeas<ga_UA> parameter-Example: <ga_UA>UA-23099664-1</ga_UA>

Such a code can be obtained from Google free of charge. Also all reports are free. For data security reasons MZ3-Tool3 did the setup to delete the last digits of the IP adresses.With the next creation of the MZ3 title with the <ga_UA> set correctly in the related mz3.xmlfile,thegoogle-analyticsjsPluginwillbeaddedtothelistofplugins,thegatrackeventparameterinthemegazine.mz3filewillbe set to the book and version name of the MZ3 Title and the Google Javascript Code will be added to the index.html.OncetheMZ3Titleispublishedontheservereverypagevisit(localpagesoftheMZ3titleaswellas links to another URL) will be tracked.

18. WhyismyOfflineMZ3TitelnotshownonmyMAC? If the red FLASH-“F“ continues to „jump“ in the is docking bar and FLASH does not start, most probably ther permissions are not set correctly. You can change that in opening the Console and entering these commands to set read-write-execute permissions for all for the respective folder::

• cd path/to/folder• ls –lisa• chmod -R 777

19. CanIdeletefoldersandfilesthatMZ3-Tool3installed? Yes,somefolderandfilescanbedeleted.like_examples\,_documentation\,my_PDFs,my_photosandthePDFfilesinthebbasefolder(theBeginner’smanuals). Aslongasthefiledo-not-restore.txtisnotalsodeleted,thosefolderswillnotbecreatedautomaticallyagain. BÙT:ifyouneedthemback,simplydeletethedo-not-restore.txtfile,andeverythingwillappearagain. Agoodpracticeincaseofproblemsorupdatesistodeleteallfoldersnotcontainingcustomizeddata;afterabackup somewhere else. And then to run MZ3-Tool3 again.

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FAQ: Answers on common Questions Checkliste

4. ChecklisteIfsomethingdoesn‘twork,thisgrowingchecklisthopefullycanprovidesomehintsandanswers.:

4.1 Parameters,Configuration4.1.1 Modificationsofthe‚make‘or‚details‘configurationhavenoeffect

• Did you use the correct files? • Did you drag and drop the modified files?• Is your file the first one in alphabetical order?• Did you save your changes?• Are you working in the correct folder?

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Checkliste