TitleFactory is software that will parse text files and create images with the bitmapped text. The resulting images are suitable for importing into Video Editing, DVD Authoring, and other video and graphic applications. The program is meant to eliminate the tedious task of manually building thousands of images of subtitles or captions.
This documentation provides details about TitleFactory. Please also read the tutorials as they provide some real world examples and additional and practical information on using TitleFactory.
TitleFactory provides lots of options to process the input, specify how to process that input, and specify the appearance of the resulting images. The program will automatically open and set default settings for all available settings. Default setting are stored in a file called 'titlepro_default.pr8' located in the Project directory. This default file can be overwritten as needed.
When starting TitleFactory the following window will appear. An explanation of the contents of this window follows.
Open existing project.
The Open Project button allows one to open a previously saved project or the default project file. A TitleFactory project can consists of the name of the project media file(s) file, the settings for the project, and any timecodes that have been captured thus far. Note that the File menu also contain a New Project option, which will close the current project and prompt for the media file(s).
The down arrow, when clicked, displays recently used project files which, when clicked, will be opened.
Save project
The Save Project button allows one to save all of the settings into a new project file. The button has a dull color
when the project does not need saving. A warning will be given if an attempt is made to overlay the default project file, however, it is only a warning. Note that the File menu also contain a Save Project As... option which should be used to copy a project.
Save As project
The Save As Project button should be used to copy a project..
Close project
The Close Project button allows one to close the current project.
Select Text File
The Input Text button allows the selection of an input text file. This button is used to sepcifiy the text file no matter what type of text file it is, that is, Timecoded, Exact, free formatted, etc.
Input Settings
The Input Settings button controls the preprocessing of text data.
Process Settings
The Process Settings button controls the overall processing of the text and images creates.
Output Image Folder
The Folder Button allows the specification of the output folder for image files that are created by TitleFactory.
Open audio file.
Associate an audio file with the current project.
Open Video File
Associate a video file with the current project.
The view button toggles the display (or hide) of the video file. It will use the video display method as set in the Video Preferences Window
Start Recording Timcodes.
Deletes all existing timecodes for the project and then plays the media file from the beginning. During the playing of the media file(s) file, a mouse button press will indicate a start timecode and a mouse button release will indicate an ending timecode. The recording is stopped by pressing another mouse button or any keyboard key. By default the controlling mouse button is the left mouse button. This can be changed in the Preferences Window - Buttons Tab, accessed under the Edit menu. To stop the recording, any key can be pressed with this main window in focus (selected). Note that the button clicks (press) should occur within a safe area of this window.
Resume (Record Timecodes).
This performs the same function as Start-Recording except that it starts playing the media file(s) file at the specified anchor point and it will overlay the timecodes beginning with the first selected timecode. The media file(s) file will begin playing at the specified Timecode Counter. If no timecode is selected then it will add timecodes at the end of the timecode list. To stop the recording, any key can be pressed.
Re-record over selected.
This will perform the same way as the Resume (Record Timecodes) except that only those timecodes that have been selected will be overlaid. The media file(s) file will begin playing at the specified Timecode Counter. This function requires that timecodes are selected. To stop the recording, any key can be pressed.
For all record operations there will be a pre-roll of several seconds so that you can get ready to start recording the timecodes. The pre-roll will be indicated in the Progress Bar and will look like this:
The number of seconds to use for pre-roll can be set in the Preferences Window - Media Tab.
Controlling Mouse Button for Recording Operations
By default the controlling mouse button is the left mouse button and the rest mouse button is button-2. These can be changed in the Preferences Window - Buttons Tab, accessed under the Edit menu. To stop the recording, any key can be pressed with this main window in focus (selected). Note that the button clicks (press) should occur within a safe area of this window.
Safe Area for Mouse Press and Mouse Release
Mouse presses and releases must occur with the cursor within the Main Window area on the screen. The best place to click is within the safe area which is highlighted when the pre-roll begins. The safe area is just to the left of the timeline counter and will look like this.
Playback.
This will play the media file(s) file from the beginning and, if timecodes exist, will highlight the image text when its specified timecode is reached. The process will end when any key or button is pressed.
Resume Playback.
Perform the same function as Playback but will begin the playback at the timecode specified in the Timecode Counter. The process will end when any key or button is pressed.
The
allows one to view or modify the input timecoded subtitle file definitions. The timecoded file definitions are specified in the Input Settings window which is used by the 'Load Text' process.
The
Style Definitions button allows one to view or modify the Style Definitions. The Style Definitions are used by TitleFactory to specify the format and style for created images.
Creates and displays a report.
(Hide Hints) button hides the hints and status bar at the bottom of the window. The
(Show Hints) button is then displayed to toggle it back on. Note that the program will remember this setting the next time that it starts.
(Preferences) The preferences settings apply to all projects and contain start-up, view size, and display preferences.
The help button launches the TitleFactory documentation.
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There
are two list boxes on the main window. The first contains the
information that is imported from the input text file. It includes
image text information. The text for each image is separate by a
narrow band, shown above in red. The background colors below the text
indicate that a set of text images were created from a single paragraph by
TitleFactory. This usually means that it one person is speaking
continuously and that the timecodes should be coelesced, that is, the ending
timecode from one entry should equal the starting timecode of the next
entry.
The Image Text Box can be scrolled to the right. This reveals two additional columns. The Style column refers to the Style Definition as defined on the Style Definitions Window. The Image File Name refers to the name of the image file that was created for this image using the CREATE IMAGES button. When the text for the image is selected, its timecode (if available) in the timecode list is also selected, and the image number that contains the text is displayed underneath the list. If the link toggle is set to 'link mode' then the Timecode Counter and the Timeline slider is changed to the starting timecode for the selected entry. Selecting text is needed for resume, re-record/replace timecodes, and resume play operations. Note that the vertical bar (not shown in this picture) on the right of the Image Text box can be used to adjust the size of the box.
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The Timecode Box contains all of the timecodes that has
been generated thus far for this project. When the timecode for an image is selected, its image text in the image text list is also selected, and the image number that contains the text is displayed underneath the image text list. If the link toggle is set to 'link mode' then the Timecode Counter and the Timeline slider is changed to the starting timecode for the selected entry.
Selecting timecodes is needed for the same reasons as noted above, that is, for resume, resume/replace timecodes, and resume play operations.
Double-Clicking an entry in the Timecode Box will pop up a dialog that can be used to edit the timecode entry.
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The Timecode
Counter area of the main window, displays timecodes associated with
actions in the Image Text Box, the Timecode Box, or the
Timeline. It also allows the manual specification of timecodes.
The Timecode Counter is needed
for resume (record) and re-record operations. If set it is also used for play resume operations
as well.
The left arrow button
The link/unlink toggle button,
The 'unlink mode' should be used in resume operations to specify when the media file(s) file should begin playing. The timecode can also be set or updated using the 'up' and 'down' arrows. Changes to the Timecode counter will always change the Timeline slider. In 'link mode' changes to the Timecode Counter will change selected entries in the Timecode Box and the Image Text Box, if Timecodes exist in the Timecode Box |
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The Timeline
consists of a slider and a scale with tick marks indicating hours/minutes/seconds.
The total Timeline length is the maximum length of the selected media files.
In the case where the project has no media files, then the timeline length
is the default length which can be changed using the media length button.
 Hovering the cursor over the timeline scale will display the time at that position in several different formats. The Timeline slider will change when the media file(s) are playing during record or play operations. The Timeline slider will change when the Timecode Counter is changed. The Timeline slider will change, in 'link mode' when entries in the Image Text box or Timecode Box entries are selected (if Timecode Box entries exist). The Timeline slider can also be changed manually by clicking on the slider and dragging it left or right. In this case the image text and the timecodes will be highlighted when the associated time in the timeline is slid over. Ok, this is pretty hard to explain so just try it out. Changes to the Timeline slider will always change the Timecode Counter. In 'link mode' changes to the Timeline slider will change selected entries in the Timecode Box and the Image Text Box, if Timecodes exist in the Timecode Box |
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The buttons to the right of the timecode list box apply only to the timecode list box. The operations that they perform are:
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The buttons to the right of the timecode list box apply only to the timecode list box. The operations that they perform are:
The adjust timecodes button will open the adjust timecodes dialog shown below.
The Add/Subtract/Multiply timecodes button will open the adjust timecodes dialog shown below. Here you can choose to change Selected or all timecodes, staring and or ending timecodes. You can add or subtract timecode values or seconds or multiply the timecodes by a factor. The .999 preset is useful for changing timecodes from 30 FPS to 29.97 FPS for those DVD authoring packages (such as Adobe Encore DVD Release 1) that do not to handle absolute timecode values correctly.
The convert timecode function will convert from X frames per second to Y frame per second
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Under boxes buttons
Deselect Button. Deselects all selected entries from the
Image Text Box as well as the Timecode box.
Delete Button
. Deletes the selected
entries from the Image Text and Timecode Boxes.
Shift Down Button . The
Shift Down button will shift all text entries and timecodes from the first selected
entry (to the last timecode) down one (1).
Merge Timecodes and
Text
Button . This will merge the first selected entry with the last
selected entry for both text and timecodes. The first entry's ending timecode will equal the last
entry's ending timecode. The second through last entry will be
deleted.
Split Timecode
and Text Button. Splits the timecodes by using the generate timecode
window for timecodes and the split text window for seclected timecode and text
entries..
The file list sections of the main window, display the files and folder that are associated with this project. Note that when a project is saved, only the association to these files is saved. The contents of these files are not saved with the project.
The button on the left are the same as those that are on the toolbar and perform the same function.
The topmost entry is the input text file.
The second entry is the video file.
The third entry is the audio file.
The last entry is the image output folder.
Besides using the buttons to select the files, one can also drag an entry from a Windows Explorer Window to the associated bar.
The trash
button removes sthe elected file from the project. Any file can be
selected by left mouse clicking on the file name or the associated bar.
The Media Length Button
allos the length of the media to
be specified. This determines the scale for the timeline, if neither the
audio file or video file are specified.
Note that the length of the bar corresponds to the media length relative to the timeline. Hovering the mouse cursor over an audio or video file bar, displays its length as noted below.
The 'LOAD TEXT' button starts the parsing of the input text file and moves the text into the Image Text Box and possibly into the Timecode Box as well. You will be presented with one of the two following dialogs when loading text.
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The Dialog on the left is displayed when the input text file
is timecoded.
Here you can chose to:
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When you load a non-timecoded text file into TitleFactory, you will be presented with the Dialog to the left. Press the 'Yes' button to proceed with the operation or press the 'No' button to cancel the operation. |
When text is initially loaded the default style (as indicated in the Process Settings Window) will be associated with each Image Text Box entry.
The 'CREATE IMAGES' button starts the creation of the images from the beginning. The images will be created using the Style associated with each Image Text entry.
The 'RE-CREATE IMAGES' button allows for a range of images to be recreated using the text in the image text window and their associated Styles. If a range of entries in the Image Text Box are selected then the range on the Re-Create Images Dialog will correspond to the selected range. (Note that in Demo mode, recreation is limited to 2 images).
Note: A '$' in the to image field indicates that the process should continue until the end (until the last image is created).
A 'STOP PROCESS / RESUME PROCESS' button on the main window will become active after the process has begun the 'image creation' phase. The image creation process can be stopped and subsequently resumed by pressing this button toggle. Changing the input text file or the input settings, when in a pause state will not effect the resumption of the process since the entire input text file has already been read and parsed by TitleFactory when the process is stopped. Changing any of the process settings or image output settings will take effect when the process resumes. Note that when the Prototype function is used (in the Output Image Settings window), immediately after a 'STOP' action from the main window, the 'RESUME' button will be disabled and the entire process will need to be restarted from the beginning using the 'CREATE IMAGES' button or the 'RECREATE' button from the main window.
The 'VIEW IMAGES' button displays the images that were created with the 'CREATE IMAGES' process.
The WRITE button
writes the timecodes to a timecode text
file in the format specified.
This allows the writing of the timecode text file in an appropriate format. The formats
supported along with samples of the formats are listed in the
Format Supported documentation.
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The status bar provides balloon help for buttons, helpful hints, and status information about tasks. |
The 'VIEW IMAGES' button opens up TitleFactory's Picture Viewer window which allows one to view certain images (of certain types) that were created with TitleFactory. One can quickly open files sequentially or jump to an image that may be suspect. TitleFactory currently only supports bmp, jpeg, and gif files (transparent and non-transparent) with the image viewer. It is suggested that, while in a test mode, that images are create in the gif format as these are the smallest that can be viewed with the Picture Viewer.
You can also open the Picture Viewer by selecting an Image Text Box entry and pressing the Vue button.
Use the tool buttons to zoom in 
or
zoom out 
and the Hand Tool
to scroll images when you zoom into them.
The Image Information section displays the image size, the position of the
cursor and the color values of the image pixel under the cursor. Use the
PREV, NEXT, and JUMP TO buttons to display the next, previous, or any image,
respectively. Use the 'title safe' checkbox to turn the title safe rectangles on
or off.
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Copyright © 2002-2007 Riverslime Productions. All rights reserved. |
(on the left) sets the the
timecode to zero. 
,
, will link or unlink the actions
in the Image Text Box and Timecode Box from actions in the
Timecode Counter and Timeline actions. In link mode,
whenever any box selection/Timecode Counter entry/Timeline
slider change is performed, the selection in the boxes, Timeline
slider, and Timecode Counter value are changed. In unlink mode,
the changes in the boxes will not change the Timeline slider or
Timecode Counter entry and changes to the Timecode Counter entry
and Timeline slider will not effect the selected entries in the
boxes.
Text
Button. The text button will open the Update Text dialog shown below. Here you can
update the text that you want displayed if different that that shown in the
Image Text Window. 
Style Button.
Displays a list of Style Definitions. The selected entries will have
their style changed to the Style Definition that is selected.
Global Change Button. Changes all Styles in the Image Text Window matching X from X to Y. 
View Button. Displays the image file that
matches the selected Image Text Box entry,
Merge Text Button.
Merges the text in selected adjacent text
entries.
Convert Text Button.
This button will allow for the automatic
splitting and merging of text across entries. It allows for the
conversion from X number of entries to Y number of entries, and will
automatically parse the text across those entries.
Search Replace Button.
Search and replace text in the image text entry
box.
Undo Button. TitleFactory allows many
editing options against the Image Text Box list. These can often be done
incorrectly. However, with the Undo button, TitleFactory will undo
the previous edit performed against the Image Text Box listing. Unlimited Undo's are supported.
Redo Button. The Redo
button reverts a previous undo operation.
Generate
Timecode Button. Creates or fills in timecodes automatically with
several different computation methods. It can evenly split the
timecodes, or compute the timecode splits based on associated text entry
word or character counts.
Adjust timecodes
Button. Allows for mathematical adjustment of selected timecodes,
the coalescing of timecodes, or the converting of timecodes.
Coelesce Button. Makes the
ending timecode of one timecode be tuned to the starting timecode of the
next timecode. 
Clear selected timecodes from the list box. This does not delete
the item but will set their timecodes to zeros. Timecodes with zeros
will not be written to the timecode file when the WRITE
Audit Ttimecodes
Button . The audit function checks all timecodes for
consistency. Timecodes in zero are highlighted in yellow.
Timecodes where the starting timecodes is less than the ending timecode of
the previous image are highlighted in red. Press the audit button a
second time to remove the audit colors.
