The purpose of AutoRun Typhoon is to give your audience access to your CD/DVD content. Any program can launch a file from your CD, but only AutoRun Typhoon gives you complete control over how the file is launched, and makes sure your end users can view your files.

For example, what happens when you are launching a PDF file and your user doesn't have Acrobat installed? What if you want to give the user a Menu with a choice of several files to launch or actions to perform? What if you want to add some flair, like a background image over the desktop, splash screen, background music, slideshow or Flash animation? AutoRun Typhoon makes all of this possible.

Additionally AutoRun Typhoon can protect your CD content from unauthorized users and keep your files hidden from Windows Explorer.

When you insert your CD Windows receives a message that a new disc has been inserted. If your Autoplay setting is enabled (which it is by default) then Windows will search the CD for a file named autorun.inf. This file lets Windows know what should be launched from the CD. In our case this is AutoRun Typhoon. AutoRun Typhoon then begins loading and displaying your project.

Without AutoRun Typhoon you would only be able to launch 1 file from the CD, and you would have no control over how that file is launched.

As you can see from the screenshot, AutoRun Typhoon is made up of 4 main areas, the project Workspace, the project Controls, the Settings Area and the Help section.
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The project Controls consist of 11 buttons (which are used to add Viewers to your project), as well as buttons to Publish, Test Project and view your project folder. If you want your CD to open a Menu, click on the Menu Viewer button, if you would like to display a Splash Screen click on that button, and so on. The Publish button will copy your files into your project folder and configure AutoRun Typhoon. The Test Project button will simulate running your CD.

The project Workspace will contain the content of your project, the viewers you want to open, and the order you want them opened. Click on an item from the workspace and you can alter its properties in the Settings area below. You can also re-order the Viewers by dragging them to a new position. Your overall project settings and security settings are found here as well.

The project Settings Area will change depending on which Viewer is selected from the workspace. You can adjust the settings for each Viewer and test out the changes as you go.

Throughout AutoRun Typhoon you will notice Help icons. Click on these icons to get more information about a particular item. You can also right click on buttons in the project controls for information on what they do.

Once you start AutoRun Typhoon you are given the option to create a New Project or Load an existing one. Since you are just starting out, select New Project.
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	The New Project Wizard will open up. Give your project a name. This name will be displayed for your CD-ROM icon when explored through 'My Computer'.
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You then need to decide how you want AutoRun Typhoon to handle your Project Folder. You have 2 choices:

1)	Have AutoRun Typhoon create your Project Folder for you, and copy all of your project files into the folder automatically.
	or
2)	Provide AutoRun Typhoon with a folder you have already created and filled with your project files.

For most projects you'll want to choose the first option.

The second option is mainly used for projects that open an HTML files, or another types of files that link to many other files. The reason being that it is easier for you to just copy your entire web site into a folder than to specify all of these files to AutoRun Typhoon. The second option will also be more familiar to those who have worked with AutoRun in the past (v 2.9.x).

When you are finished you can either press the Done button to return to AutoRun, or the Start Wizard button to go on to the next Wizard screen which will help you create your first Viewer.

In AutoRun Typhoon everything revolves around Viewers. A Viewer is basically a wrapper placed around your files. The Viewer allows you to control most aspects of how your file is opened and displayed. For example the File Viewer allows you to open any type of file (usually used for EXE, PDF, PPS, etc), but with added functionality such as opening the file maximized and using a Failsafe program.

The Video Viewer allows you to open a playlist of video files, specify the video size, and decide which controls (play, volume, etc) are displayed.

The Menu Viewer lets you design your custom Menus and add buttons which can open any type of Viewer (eg. SlideShows, PDF files, Videos, etc).

Adding a Viewer is easy, simply click on the Viewer you want and AutoRun Typhoon will add it to your workspace. The table below shows the Viewer buttons as well as an explanation of their use.

File Viewer Most commonly used Viewer. Can be used to open any file of any type (most often PPS, PPT, EXE, PDF, HTM). Includes Failsafe Program option. Splash Screen Viewer Used for displaying company logos, introduction screens, etc. This Viewer displays your image, while (optionally) playing music. Folder Viewer Open a folder from your CD, or the root folder of the CD. Web Viewer Used to open web pages while controlling almost every aspect of the browser (including size, position, handling of links, and more). SlideShow Viewer Display a multimedia slide show of your images accompanied by music. Music Viewer Play a CD full of MP3s, or give your project a selection of background music tracks. Video Viewer Create a playlist of your videos. Set video size, and decide what controls to display. Flash Viewer Play your SWF files, even if Flash isn't installed on the user's computer. Menu Viewer Create a custom menu or choose from a template. Add buttons to launch Viewers and other actions. Zip Viewer Extract your zip files to the user's computer. Create shortcuts, launch files and more. Failsafe Viewer Used to set a project-wide Failsafe Program (instead of individually setting for each File Viewer). The Failsafe Program (usually the installer for a program such as Acrobat, MS PowerPoint Viewer, etc), is launched if the user doesn't have a program set up to open the given file type (eg. PDF, PPS, etc).

This image shows a workspace where several Viewers have been added. The order of the Viewers (left to right) indicates what order they are launched. To change the order of the Viewers, click on the Viewer and drag-and-drop it to a new location. When you click on a Viewer, its properties will be shown in the Settings area. Each Viewer has its own unique settings, and all Viewers share the Advanced Settings tab.

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You may also test each Viewer individually after making changes by pressing the Test button. Don't confuse this with the 'Test Project' button located at the top right of the AutoRun window. To remove a Viewer from your project simply press the Delete button.

You can also adjust your overall Project Settings by clicking on the icon in the top right of the workspace.

Once you have added the Viewers you want to your project it's time to Publish your project. Pressing the Publish button accomplished the following:

1)	Copies your project files into the Project Folder
2)	Copies and configures the files AutoRun needs to run
3)	Clears any saved security settings associated with this project

Any time you make changes to your project remember to press the Publish button in order to update the files.

You can simulate running your CD by pressing the Test Project button. This will launch your project the same way it would be launched from your CD.

Once everything is running the way you like then burn the contents of your Project Folder to CD. Remember to burn only the contents of your Project Folder and not the folder itself. You can open your Project Folder by pressing this button.

You also have the option of compressing your project into a single EXE file. You can access this by selecting Actions from the menubar.