In this tutorial I'll create a common project. I'd like my CD to launch an Adobe PDF file, and I want to make sure my user can view this PDF file, even if they don't have Acrobat installed.

The first step is to create a new project by pressing the 'New Project' button. Give the project an appropriate name, in this case I'll call the project 'PDF Catalog'.

Since I'd like to open a PDF file I'll use the File Viewer. I'll add this Viewer to my project. As you can see the Viewer is now in my project workspace and I can adjust the settings now.

The first thing I'll do is select my PDF file. I can select my file from any local folder, and AutoRun will take care of copying the file to my project folder for me. I'll start adjusting the settings now. First I'd like to make sure the window is maximized when it is opened.

The next area is for adding 'Additional Files Needed' by your original file. Let's say your PDF file has links to other PDF files or other content. You need to let AutoRun know about them by specifying these files under 'Additional Files Needed'. Simply press the + button and select your files. AutoRun will now include these files in your project. My PDF file is very simple and doesn't link to any other files so I don't need to include any.

Under 'Advanced Settings' you can specify even more options. A useful option is keeping your Viewers' files in a separate folder. This keeps your project folder more organized. I'll place this Viewers' files in a folder called 'PDF'. The 'Advanced Settings' tab is available to all Viewers, and you can read up on the rest of the features using the Help icons. I'll cover File Security in another tutorial.

The last tab is for the Failsafe Program. A Failsafe Program is usually the installer for software that is needed to view your file. In this case the Failsafe Program would be the installer for Acrobat Reader. AutoRun will detect if the user can open your files (in this case a PDF file). If the user cannot open your file the Failsafe Program is launched. When this program is done running (in this case after Acrobat is installed) AutoRun will then try to open your file again.

You can specify any type of file as a Failsafe Program and even provide up to 3 different Failsafe Programs depending on the user's Operating System. For this example I will choose to use the installer for Acrobat Version 7 as the Failsafe Program. The installer works on all Operating Systems, so I'll choose that option and select the file. You may want to check out the Adobe Reader Distribution Agreement for legal purposes. Links to this and the Acrobat download are listed on the Tutorials page. 

You can also use URLs for the Failsafe and just provide a link to the Adobe Reader download page instead.

You have several options with the Failsafe Program. By default the Failsafe Program is run only if your file cannot be launched. You can also run the Failsafe Program depending on the version of the installed software. For example, my PDF file may have features that only work when Acrobat version 7.0 is installed. If I use this feature AutoRun will run the Failsafe Program if either no version of Acrobat is installed or a version less than 7.0 is present. Since my PDF file is very simple I don't need this check. You can also specify the text displayed to the user before the Failsafe Program is launched. Make sure you inform the user what is going on and what software is about to be installed.

Now that my File Viewer is set up I'll adjust my overall Project Settings. I'll set my CD Title and Company name. These appear in the loading window while AutoRun is initializing. I can also set a custom icon that will be displayed for the CD-ROM, hide the Task Bar, or have my project Repeat (which is useful for kiosks).

Now I'll create my project by pressing the Create button. This will copy my project files into my Project Folder and configure AutoRun. I can simulate running the CD by pressing the Test button. You can go back at any time and make changes to your project. Just press the Create button to update your project files when you are done. 

The final step is to burn your CD. The files you want to burn are in your Project Folder. Press this button to open the folder. These are the files you'll want to burn to CD. Remember to burn only the files and not the Project Folder itself.

The other Viewers are just as easy to use and set up, check out our other tutorials for more AutoRun projects and features.