ADOBE DIRECTOR 11.0
User Guide
297
Requirements for animated color cursors
All cast members used for an animated color cursor must meet the following criteria:
•
They must be bitmap cast members.
•
They must have a color depth of 8 bits (256 colors).
•
They must use only the first eight or the last eight colors that are in the standard System - Win palette. These
colors provide the most predictable results when playing back across platforms. Other colors might not appear
correctly.
The cast members don’t need to be in sequence in the cast, and they don’t need to be in the same cast.
A cursor’s maximum size depends on the computer:
•
With Microsoft
®
Windows® 98, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, you can create cursors of either 16 x 16 pixels
or 32 x 32 pixels (almost always 32 x 32 pixels, but some video cards might support only 16 x 16 pixels).
•
With Mac OS® X, you can create cursors of 16 x 16 pixels.
When you create cursors in the Cursor Properties Editor, Director dims any size option that is not available on your
computer.
The 16 x 16 and 32 x 32 pixel sizes are the maximum sizes at which Director can display a cursor on the screen. The
actual cast members you specify for the cursor can be larger than the maximum, and Director scales the cast
members to the appropriate size, maintaining the aspect ratio as it scales them. If you specify a cast member smaller
than the maximum size, Director displays the cast member at its original size, without scaling. For example, if you
select a maximum size of 16 x 16 pixels and specify a cursor that is 12 x 14 pixels, Director displays the cursor at 12
x 14 pixels.
Creating an animated color cursor cast member
Before creating an animated color cursor cast member, make sure that the cast members you want to use in the
cursor are stored in a cast that is linked to the movie. For more information, see
Managing external casts
.
1
Select Insert > Media Element > Cursor to open the Cursor Properties Editor.
2
From the Cast menu, select the cast that contains the cast member you want to add as a frame in your cursor.
The cast members used for a single cursor can be stored in different casts.
3
Use the < and > buttons to find the cast member you want.
As you click the buttons, the preview shows a thumbnail of the selected cast member. If you don’t see the cast
member you want, the cast member probably isn’t a bitmap or has a color depth greater than 8 bits (256 colors).
The Cursor Properties Editor shows only bitmaps that can be used in an animated color cursor.
Windows
PowerPC
Purpose
Cursor Options.x32
Cursor Options
This file supports the creation of cursors while you author movies in
Director. Do not distribute this file with projectors; it is not licensed for
redistribution.
Cursor Asset.x32
Cursor Asset
Distribute this file with any movies or projectors that you create by using
the animated color cursors.
