BurnToDisc User Guide

1. Introduction
BurnToDisc is an Aperture Plug-In that simplifies the task of exporting your images and burning
them to recordable media, such as CDs and DVDs. While the default installation will have you
burning discs in just a few clicks, complex layouts of differing image formats, sizes and folder
hierarchies are also fully supported.

2. Export Sessions
When you select a collection of images from within Aperture and invoke BurnToDisc with the
Burn   Masters   To   Disc... or Burn   Versions   To   Disc... menu item, a new Export Session is
initiated. Export Sessions are responsible for converting and resizing images, creating the
appropriate on-disc folder hierarchies, generating disc and images names, and burning discs.
The configuration of an Export Session takes place in the Export Setup Panel:

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The Export Setup Panel provides the following information and configuration elements:

• A sample disc name, which is automatically generated from the current

Export Session parameters.

• An estimate of the total number of discs that will be required by the Export
Session. Estimates for different disc formats and capacities can be selected
with the popup menu. This information is available only when exporting
master images. When exporting a large number of images, this estimate
may not be calculated automatically. See the Disc Requirements Estimation
section of Appendix  B for setting the automatic disc estimate calculation
preferences.

• The total number of images to be burned to disc.

• The Export Configuration Template to be applied to the Export Session. This

is an advanced configuration setting that is described in Section 3.

• A project name that best suits the Export Session. The drop down menu for
this parameter is automatically populated with the set of project names
associated with the collection of images to be exported; however, you may
change the project name at any time, even if the menu has not yet been
populated. When exporting a large number of images, the automatic
population may not take place. See the Export Session Name Suggestions
section of Appendix  B for setting the automatic suggested Export Session
name preferences.

• The export date and time. While this parameter defaults to the creation time
of the Export Session, any date or time value can be assigned.

• The number assigned to the first disc to be burned by the Export Session.

• The minimum number of digits to be used when referencing the Export

Sessionʼs current disc number.

• The number assigned to the first image to be burned by the Export Session.

• The minimum number of digits to be used when referencing the Export

Sessionʼs current image number.

The default configuration will burn discs with all the images placed in the root of each disc, and
assign disc names based on the project name, disc number, image number and total image
count. To change this behavior, you must create or edit an Export Configuration Template.

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3. Export Configuration Templates
Export Configuration Templates provide you with fine-grain control over how your discs are
named, what types of images are exported, the dimensions of the images, the names of the
image files, and the folder hierarchy in which the images are placed on the disc. While this
section documents the Export Configuration Template configuration elements, Appendix A
provides some real world examples of how Export Configuration Templates can be used.

Each time you initiate a new Export Session, the last-selected Export Configuration Template will
automatically be applied. To apply a different Export Configuration Template to the current
Export Session, simply choose it from the Export Template popup menu:

To edit the current Export Configuration Template, click the button.

To delete the current Export Configuration Template, click the button. A confirmation will be
presented to you before actually deleting the entry.

To create a new Export Configuration Template, click the button. A new Export Configuration
Template based on the currently selected one will be presented for editing:

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Each Export Configuration Template must be given a unique name. It is recommended that you
provide a name that is descriptive of the templateʼs use.

Discs
To change the format of the auto-generated disc names, select the Discs section of the Export
Configuration Template:

The Disc Name Format field is a collection of static text and tokens that are resolved at the time
the disc is burned. Simply type text or select the desired tokens from the action button to
edit the disc name format. As you make changes, the Example Disc Name field is updated to
reflect the new format value. The list of available tokens is described in Appendix D.

To force the Export Configuration Template to define the First Disc Number parameter of the
Export Session, set the appropriate value and select the checkbox. Perform the same steps for
defining the First Image Number, Disc Number Padding and Image Number Padding parameters.

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Folders
By default, exported images are placed at the root of each disc. To place files in a different
location, you must first define an Export Folder. To do so, first select the Folders section of the
Export Configuration Template:

To add a new Export Folder, click the button.

To delete an existing Export Folder, select it from the list and click the button.

The Folder Format field defines the actual hierarchy of folders that is to be created on the disc.
Like the Disc Name Format field of the Discs section, this field is a collection of static text and
tokens that are resolved at the time the disc is burned.

It is important to understand that creating a new Export Folder definition does not directly cause
a folder hierarchy to be created on the burned disc — it is only a named definition of a folder
hierarchy that will be created when it is associated with an exported image. The association of
folders with export images is performed in the Images section of the Export Configuration
Template.

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Images
If you want to export image formats and/or sizes other than the Export Sessionʼs selected image
preset, or place the images in some location other than the root of the disc, select the Images
section of the Export Configuration Template:

Control of where the export preset gets placed on the burned disc is handled by the Export
Preset   Selection   to   Folder popup menu. Simply select the name of the appropriate Export
Folder. If you do not wish to include the export preset image on the disc, deselect the
Export Preset Selection to Folder checkbox.

To export image formats based on the Export Sessionʼs selected image preset, add a new item
to the Additional Images list by clicking the button.

To delete an existing Additional Images item, select it from the list and click the button.

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With each item in the Additional Images list you have control over the image type, image size,
image name and on-disc folder location:

• The type of image to export. This can be a JPEG, TIFF or PNG.

• The maximum size of the image, in width and height respectively. A resizing
of the image will only take place if the parameters are smaller than the
export preset imageʼs. There are four permutations to this setting:
! Leaving both the width and height blank will export an image exactly
the same size as the export preset image.
! Defining only a width will export an image with the same aspect ratio
as the export preset image, but whose width is exactly equal to the
requested size.
! Defining only a height will export an image with the same aspect ratio
as the export preset image, but whose height is exactly equal to the
requested size.

! Defining both a width and a height will export an image with the same
aspect ration as the export preset image, but whose actual size is
scaled down to fit within the requested size.

• The name of folder on disc into which the exported image is placed. The
actual path of the folder as it exists on disc is defined in the Folder section of
the Export Configuration Template.

• The base name of the exported image (i.e., the name of the file without the
image typeʼs extension). This field is a collection of static text and tokens
that are resolved at the time the disc is burned. Also note that an extension
(e.g., .jpg, .tiff, .png) based on the exported imageʼs type will always
be automatically added to the exported fileʼs name.

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4. Burning Discs
Once the desired Export Configuration Template has been selected and the Export Session
parameters set to your liking, the disc burning process can be started by clicking the Export
button. BurnToDisc will then wait for you to insert a recordable disc for burning your images:

Once a usable disc is inserted into your burner, set the desired options and click the Burn
button. BurnToDisc will repeat the process of filling and burning recordable discs until all the
images are exported or the Export Session is canceled.

This process can be monitored or interrupted with Apertureʼs Activity Monitor:

Or with the Burn Progress Window (if the window is allowed to be shown based on your
preference setting):

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If a burn failure occurs, then the disc is ejected and you are given an opportunity to attempt the
disc burn again:

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Appendix A — Export Configuration Template Examples
Below are some example use cases that showcase the flexibility and power of Export
Configuration Templates:

• Organized By Project: The user wants to archive master images, placing

them into folders with names that correspond to the Aperture Project with
which they are associated.

• Thumbnails: A photographer is required to submit to his client a disc with

both high-resolution TIFFs and 300 x 300 pixel JPEGs of each image. The
large images must be in a folder called images, while the small images
must be in a folder called thumbs.

• One Of Everything: The user wants a JPEG, TIFF and PNG for each
exported image, and place them in folders named jpeg, tiff and png,
respectively.

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Organized By Project
First, select the images to archive and select the Burn   Masters   to   Disc... menu item. Then
create a new Export Configuration Template based on the Default template and name it
Organized by image project name. The user is happy with the Disc Name Format, so no
changes are made to it:

Next, one export folder must be defined. Select the Folders tab and add one entry to the list with
a label Project and a name format Image Project :

Third, the exported images need to be placed in the Project folder instead of the disc root.
Select the Images tab and change the Export Preset Selection Image to Folder pop-up menu
from Disc Root to Project:

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Finally, save the Export Configuration Template:

Thumbnails
First, select the images to deliver to the client and select the Burn Versions to Disc... menu item.
Then create a new Export Configuration Template based on the Default template and name it
High-res TIFFs and lo-res JPEG thumbs. The Disc Name Format is acceptable to both the client
and the photographer, so no changes are made to it:

Next, the two export folders must be defined. Select the Folders tab and add two entries to the
list. The first item is labeled Images with a name format images, and the second item is labeled
Thumbnails with a name format thumbs:

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Third, the image formats and sizes must be defined and assigned to the appropriate folders.
Select the Images tab and add two entries to the list.

The first image should be a TIFF with no change in size and assigned to the Images folder, while
the second image should be a JPEG that is scaled to fit within a 300  x  300 pixel image and
assigned to the Thumbnails folder. Both files will use the default Base Name token for
their file name format.

Since the photographer chose to always explicitly create a TIFF with this Export Configuration
Template, there is no need to export the preset selection image:

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Finally, save the Export Configuration Template:

One Of Everything
First, select the images to deliver to the client and select the Burn Versions to Disc... menu item.
Then create a new Export Configuration Template based on the Default template and name it
One of everything:

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Next, select the Folders tab and add one entry to the list, labeling it Format and assign the
Image Format token as the folder format:

Third, select the Images tab and add three entries to the list. Deselect the
Export Preset Selection Image to Folder checkbox, assign a unique image format to each entry,
leave the size fields empty, select the Format folder and keep the Base Name default
image name. The Export Preset Selection Image to Folder checkbox is unchecked.

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Finally, save the Export Configuration Template:

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Appendix B — Preferences
BurnToDisc preferences can be accessed by clicking the button on the Export Setup Panel:

Product Updates
BurnToDisc will occasionally communicate with Blue Room Software to check for product
updates. To modify this behavior, select the desired frequency from the Check   For   Updates
popup menu, or deselect the checkbox to disable the automatic update check:

Burn Progress Window

The status of the disc burning operation is always available in the BurnToDisc task entry of
Apertureʼs Activity Window. If you wish to also have a disc burning status window shown while
the burning operation is in progress, the Show Burn Progress Window should be enabled.

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Disc Requirements Estimation
When exporting master images, BurnToDisc can automatically calculate the estimated number
of discs required for the Export Session by selecting the Automatically Estimate Disc
Requirements checkbox. If the Export Session contains a large number of images, the
automatic calculation can be a very lengthy and processor intensive operation. To control at
what point the automatic calculation is bypassed, select a limiting value of 100, 250, 500, 1000
or No Limit:

When the automatic calculation does not take place, a disc estimation button  will be
displayed next to the Disc Estimate menu:

Clicking this button will initiate the disc estimate calculation.

Export Session Name Suggestions

BurnToDisc can suggest names for the Export Session by evaluating the Aperture Project names
of the images. While all Project names will be made available, the most relevant one will be
automatically chosen for you, unless you manually type something in the Session Name field. If
the Export Session contains a large number of images, the automatic gathering of suggested
names can be a very lengthy and processor intensive operation. To control at what point the
gathering is bypassed, select a limiting value of 100, 250, 500, 1000 or No Limit:

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When the automatic Export Session name suggestion does not take place, a suggestion
button  will be displayed in the Session Name field:

Clicking this button will initiate the gathering of suggested Export Session names.

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Appendix C — Troubleshooting and Error Reporting
If you encounter any strange or unexpected behaviors while using BurnToDisc, please report
them to Blue Room Software via email at support@blueroomsoftware.com.

In some circumstances, the Blue Room Software support staff may need some additional
information to aid them in diagnosing your issue. BurnToDisc provides some debugging features
that can be invoked to aid in the collection of troubleshooting information. To access these
features, hold down the option key while clicking on the button:

Set the appropriate debugging options, as recommended by the BurnToDisc support staff, then
click the Close button. Just like the other preference items, these changes will be maintained
until they are explicitly disabled.

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When the Enable   Tracing option is checked, BurnToDisc will create a special file on your
Desktop named BurnToDiscTraceLog. After reproducing your issue, this file should be sent
to Blue Room Software. Because this file can grow to be very large, we recommend that you
first compress the file before emailing it to us. To do so, simply select the file in the Finder, then
choose the Compress “BurnToDiscTraceLog” item from the File menu.

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Appendix D — Dynamic Name Formatting Tokens
The following table describes the data that is represented by each disc name and folder
placement token:
A single space character.

/ The folder hierarchy separator character.

Session Name The automatically assigned (or user-defined) name

Image Count
First Image Number
Last Image Number
Image Count (Zero-Padded)
First Image Number (Zero-Padded)
Last Image Number (Zero-Padded)
Session Year
Session Month
Session Month Name
Session Short Month Name
Session Day
associated with the export session. The list of
predefined session names is based on the album and/or
event membership of all the exported images.
The total number of images being burned in the export
session.
The number of the first image of the export session.
Normally, this is 1, but can be overridden in the Export
dialog.
The number of the last image of the export session.
First Image Number
This is always equal to +
Image Count
.
Image Count
The same value as the token, but left-
padded with zeros to meet the image number padding
configuration value.
First Image Number
The same value as the token, but
left-padded with zeros to meet the image number
padding configuration value.
Last Image Number
The same value as the token, but
left-padded with zeros to meet the image number
padding configuration value.
The year of the export session date. This value will
always be presented as four digits.
The zero-padded month number of the export session
date, where 01 is representative of January. This value
will always be presented as two digits.
The localized, full month name of the export session
date (e.g., January, February).
The localized, abbreviated month name of the export
session date (e.g., Jan, Feb).
The zero-padded day of month number of the export
session date. This value will always be presented as
two digits.

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Session Weekday The localized, full weekday name of the export session
date (e.g., Sunday, Monday).
Session Short Weekday The localized, abbreviated weekday name of the export
session date (e.g., Sun, Mon).
Session Hour The zero-padded hour of the day of the export session
date, where 12 is representative of both noon and
midnight. This value will always be presented as two
digits.
Session Hour (24) The zero-padded hour of day of the export session date,
where 12 is representative of noon and 00 is
representative of midnight. This value will always be
presented as two digits.
Session Minute The zero-padded minute of the hour of the export
session date. This value will always be presented as
two digits.
Disc Number The current disc number of the export session.

Disc Number (Zero-Padded) Disc Number

Disc Image Count
Disc First Image Number
Disc Last Image Number
Disc Image Count (Zero-Padded)
Disc First Image Number (Zero-Padded)
Disc Last Image Number (Zero-Padded)
Image Number
Image Number (Zero-Padded)
Image Album Name
The same value as the token, but left-
padded with zeros to meet the image number padding
configuration value.
The total number of images being burned to the current
disc.
The image number of the first image placed on the
current disc.
The image number of the last image placed on the
current disc.
Disc Image Count
The same value as the token, but
left-padded with zeros to meet the image number
padding configuration value.
Disc First Image Number
The same value as the token,
but left-padded with zeros to meet the image number
padding configuration value.
Disc Last Image Number
The same value as the token,
but left-padded with zeros to meet the image number
padding configuration value.
The export session number of the image being placed
on the current disc.
Image Number
The same value as the token, but left-
padded with zeros to meet the image number padding
configuration value.

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Image Year The year of the image digitization date. This value will
always be presented as four digits.
Image Month The zero-padded month number of the image
digitization date, where 01 is representative of January.
This value will always be presented as two digits.
Image Month Name The localized, full month name of the image digitization
date (e.g., January, February).
Image Short Month Name The localized, abbreviated month name of the image
digitization date (e.g., Jan, Feb).
Image Day The zero-padded day of month number of the image
digitization date. This value will always be presented as
two digits.
Image Weekday The localized, full weekday name of the image
digitization date (e.g., Sunday, Monday).
Image Short Weekday The localized, abbreviated weekday name of the image
digitization date (e.g., Sun, Mon).
Image Hour The zero-padded hour of the day of the image
digitization date, where 12 is representative of both
noon and midnight. This value will always be presented
as two digits.
Image Hour (24) The zero-padded hour of day of the image digitization
date, where 12 is representative of noon and 00 is
representative of midnight. This value will always be
presented as two digits.
Image Minute The zero-padded minute of the hour of the image
digitization date. This value will always be presented as
two digits.
Export Base Name The file name (without a format-indicating extension) of
the image that is placed on the disc.
Export Extension The file name extension of the image that is placed on
the disc. This is usually a three- or four-letter lowercase
code, such as jpg or tiff.
Export Format The format name of the image that is placed on the disc.
This is usually an uppercase acronym, such as JPEG or
TIFF.
Export Width The width (in pixels) of the image that is placed on the
disc.
Export Height The height (in pixels) of the image that is placed on the
disc.

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