What can you find in the Library?
The Library contains the following media and content categories:
• Project Bins — Project bins are virtual folders for your assets. They are created automatically during import and you can create them manually to organize your assets according to your needs (for example, by project). For more information, see
“Project Bins” on page 18.
• Projects — A virtual folder that automatically lists your Pinnacle movie and disc projects. For more information, see
“Projects” on page 18.
• Collections — Fully flexible virtual folders that you can create for any reason. Unlike project bins, collections are not created automatically, so you have full control of collections. For more information, see
“Collections” on page 18.
• Effects — ‘Effects’ is an umbrella term taking in a wide range of software tools for manipulating your media. Effects range from the practical (
Brightness and contrast) to the theatrical (
Fractal fire). They provide innumerable ways to add creative interest to your productions. For more information, see
“Effects” on page 121.
• Transitions — A transition is a specialized animated effect for easing – or emphasizing – the passage from one clip to the next. Fades, wipes and dissolves are common types of transition. For more information, see
“Transitions” on page 68.
• Sound Effects — From slamming doors, crashing cars, and barking dogs, Sound Effects provides you with a wide range of sounds for your creative projects. For more information, see
“Sound and music” on page 185.
• Titles — Titles let you add text and more to your projects. From a creative, animated opening title in 2D or 3D, to a rolling list of credits at the end, titles can entertain and inform your audience. For more information, see
“The Title Editor” on page 159.
• Montages and Templates — Numerous professionally designed sequences are available to give your productions instant impact. For more information, see
“Montages and Templates” on page 147.
• Triple Scoop Music — A collection of premium music for soundtracks that you can purchase for your projects.
• Disc Menus — These disc menu templates can be used only if you enable the legacy
Author tab for disc projects. For more information, see
“Disc projects” on page 201.
Assets are displayed either as icons or text records within collapsible and expandable sections. Folders may correspond either to real directories in your computer’s file system, or to virtual groupings based on ratings, file type, creation date, or membership in a user-defined Collection.
You can also use watchfolders to automatically monitor and import media files that are added to the folders you choose to “watch”. For information about activating watchfolders, see
“Watchfolders” on page 256. When you use watchfolders, a
Library Media branch is added to the Asset Tree in the Library. You will also see a
Library Media branch if Pinnacle Studio detects a library from a previous version of Pinnacle Studio (you must enable watchfolders if you want to continue populating this branch).
To open the Library
1 From the Edit tab, do one of the following:
• Click Library (under the menu bar), and use the Navigation bar to choose a media or content category that you want to browse.
• On the Navigation bar, click a category that you want to browse. This automatically switches focus to the Library panel.