How can I make a DVD of photos and text?

September 1, 2008 5:21 PM

I would like to make a CD/DVD of family photographs in a format which could be read by standard web browsers. This would enable me to link the photographs to text, scans of birth certificates etc. just as one does on a web page. [This is a Windows computer and I can (re)learn HTML if necessary.] If this is a rational thought could somebody please point me towards appropriate software?
posted by speug to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

There is no established format for a web-browser-read photo album (as far as I've ever heard), but what you're describing is essentially a single HTML document for each photo, with relevant links coded in alongside the embedded images. Any HTML editor or basic text editor would allow you to build such documents.

I would start by making a template page with the arrangement of photos and links you want, and then you can quickly create a new page for each photo by changing the links and IMG tags. An index page with links (and maybe thumbnails) to each photo would probably be appreciated by your audience.

If HTML or page design isn't your cup of tea, I can make a template for you based on your specifications.

When you burn it to a CD, you can set auto-run options to make a browser load automatically on some systems, or you could put a prominent shortcut to the main "page" in the root of the disk, or both.
posted by chudmonkey at 5:42 PM on September 1, 2008

Any WYSIWYG html editor can do what you want. All you need is an organized directory of your files. HTML will work fine for this.

I've done it.

I then created a shortcut of the index file in the directory, put it at the same level as the directory on the CD, and call it "click me." Or tell people to drop it on their browser, and you're golden.
posted by cjorgensen at 5:45 PM on September 1, 2008

Photoshop, and Photoshop Elements all have built-in web gallery creators. You could then edit the resulting HTML to add additional text and links.

Also, look into SimpleViewer. It creates galleries in Flash like this. Using it with Google's Picasa software might be a good way to go. SimpleViewer is intended for just image galleries, but it creates an XML sheet which you can customize with text, HTML links, etc., although that part would be a manual process.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 6:00 PM on September 1, 2008

Response by poster: I have a very decent editor for HTML and now that you have supplied the missing pieces in the puzzle it's off to the races!
Thank you for your help.
posted by speug at 9:13 PM on September 1, 2008