![]() ![]() The Paint window The Paint window has some truly impressive features (intelligent lasso's/ink effects), but in terms of sheer flexibility, it's not in the same league as standalone applications such as Photoshop or Corel Draw. You can use it to create original artwork, but depending on your desired level of sophistication, you may find yourself choosing to create graphics elsewhere and then importing them. ![]() One really convenient feature of Director is that it lets you specify an external application (i.e. Photoshop) to edit a bitmap, digital video, or sound cast member. From the File menu, choose Preferences and then Editors to specify your choice for each cast member type. When you double-click a cast member, the chosen program will now automatically be launched. |
The Vector Shape window
To understand the difference between bitmapped graphics and vector shape graphics, imagine a simple line: You can either physically draw the line on a piece of paper (bitmaps), or you can jot down the coordinates of point A (the starting point) and point B (the ending point). Vectors take the latter approach, juggling the mathematical representation of a line rather than the line itself. Although the computer screen will display an actual line in either case, the vector format is a lot more versatile. ![]() A vector's mathematical description isn't just length and shape; it also includes fill color and thickness of the line. This makes it possible to resize them without introducing any distortion. Moreover, they require a lot less disk and memory space and will download and animate much faster when used on the Web. |
The Text window
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The Field window
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The Tool Palette
![]() The tool Palette's other strength is its button-creation function. if you want to create buttons with built-in animations that underscore their 'button-ness' this is the source. But keep in mind, that anything residing on the Stage can be turned into a button. |
The Color Palettes window
You can edit the colors of a palette in two ways. the first is by selecting the color and then using the hue, saturation and brightness arrows to modify the color. This doesn't let you see the results of your actions, so here's a better method. It's easier to import a piece of artwork with the color values you want to use. You can then import not only the artwork but its palette, which Director will display in the Color Palettes window. |
The Digital Video window
Director movies can incorporate QuickTime movies and AVI movies, and you can even export a Director movie as a digital movie in either format. When you import a digital video file into Director it takes up residence in the Cast window and can be viewed in the QuickTime or Avi Video window. The logistics of a movie within a movie can get pretty thorny, especially since both can have independent playback rates. |
The Script window
For scripting I would like to refer to the advanced pages. |
The Library Palette
Director 7 has several features designed to encourage you to use readymade behaviours whenever possible, and one way this shows up in the interface is the Library Palette, which lets you drag behaviours right onto your sprites or into a frame in the behaviour channel. ![]() Director will walk you through the process of supplying any required extra information for the behaviour. you can now include some pretty impressive behaviours for creating animation, navigation, user interfaces... even an analogical clock. |