^{Setting advanced options}

The Advanced tab lets you set the default options for advanced settings and options in Windows Movie Maker. By using this dialog box, you can customize and configure some settings in Windows Movie Maker to fit your own needs.

In this tab of the Options dialog box, the following options appear.

Picture duration

Specifies the default amount of time you want pictures to display in your project when added to the Video track of the timeline or to the storyboard. The default duration is determined by the current setting when the clip is added to the storyboard/timeline. For example, if you imported several pictures and then added them to the storyboard/timeline with the Picture duration option set to five seconds, the pictures added to the Video track would display for five seconds. However, if you changed the default duration to 10 seconds and then added pictures to the storyboard/timeline, the newly added pictures would display for 10 seconds.

Transition duration

Specifies the default amount of time you want video transitions to display in your project and final saved movie when added to the Transition track of the timeline or to a video transition cell on the storyboard. The default duration for video transitions is also determined by the current setting when the clip is added to the storyboard/timeline. For more information about working with video transitions, see Working with video transitions.

Video format

Specifies the video format that is used when recording a movie back to tape. The format you choose determines the video format used by your DV camera, which varies by country or region. The selected video format is used when the movie is sent to tape in your DV camera if Windows Movie Maker cannot automatically detect the video format for your DV camera. This setting is automatically set based on the Regional and Language Option settings in Control Panel.

The current video format also determines whether either the NTSC or PAL settings are displayed when capturing video or saving movies after selecting the Other settings option for either task. For more information about the video format used by your DV camera, consult the documentation provided with your DV camera.

Aspect ratio

Specifies the aspect ratio for your saved movies. The setting you choose determines the aspect ratio, which is the relation of the width to the height, of the video display for your final saved movie.

If you select 16:9, the settings you can choose from when saving a movie include settings that have a width to height ratio of 16:9. If you select 4:3 as the aspect ratio, the settings you can choose from include profiles that have a width to height ratio of 4:3. Video converted between the two aspect ratios may cause the final saved movie to appear distorted during playback.

Maximum file size for sending a movie as an attachment in an e-mail message

Specifies the maximum file size for sending a movie as an attachment in an e-mail message. You can set this option according to any attachment file size limits that may be set by your e-mail provider. Windows Movie Maker then automatically selects the best movie setting based on the duration and content on the storyboard/timeline and the file size limit you enter.

Because many e-mail providers have attachment file size limits, you can set this value to the file size limit of your e-mail provider. Windows Movie Maker displays a warning if the movie you are saving exceeds the file size limit that is set when you choose the E-mail saving option in the Save Movie Wizard.

Restore All Defaults

Click this button to return Windows Movie Maker to the default settings for options and settings displayed on the Advanced tab. For example, if you selected a new default duration for pictures and video transitions, and later decided that you wanted to change these setting back to the defaults, along with other options displayed on the Advanced tab, you can click this button to return to the default settings for this tab.

Related topics

• To specify default durations
• To set the video format
• To set the aspect ratio
• To set the maximum movie file size for sending movies by e-mail
• To restore default advanced settings
• Configuring options