MACROMEDIA DIRECTOR MX 2004-USING DIRECTOR, Use Manual, Page: 184 / 500

184 Chapter 9: Using Flash, Flash Components, and Other Interactive Media Types
About using Flash content in a Director movie
Once you have added Flash content to the Director cast, using it in your movie is as simple as
dragging it to the stage and positioning it where you want it. You can then use the Flash content
sprite in much the same way that you use other sprites.
When working with Flash content on the Stage, keep these points in mind:
•
Flash content animation plays only as long as the Flash content sprite is actually on the Stage.
(Flash content resembles digital video and sound sprites in this regard.)
•
Because Flash content uses a vector graphics format, you can stretch the application’s sprite
without loss of clarity.
•
You can rotate, skew, scale, or flip Flash content just as you would a vector shape or bitmap.
•
If the movie is set up to play direct-to-Stage, the movie always appears on top of other sprites,
regardless of the channel in which it is placed, and ink effects are ignored.
•
Only the Copy, Transparent, Background Transparent, and Blend ink effects work with Flash
content, and only when the sprite is not played Direct-to-Stage.
•
Blend and color settings are supported for Flash sprites just as they are for vector shapes.
Editing a Flash cast member
If you have Macromedia Flash MX or later installed, you can launch the Flash authoring tool
from within Director to edit your Flash cast members.
To edit a Flash cast member, do one of the following:
•
Double-click the Flash cast member in the cast or a Flash sprite in the Score or on the Stage.
•
Select Edit > Launch External Editor while a Flash cast member is selected.
If Flash MX or later is installed and the Flash source file (FLA) is specified in the Property
inspector, Flash starts with the source file open for editing, and changes are immediately reflected
in Director when the Flash file is saved in Flash. If the source file is not specified in the Property
inspector, a file dialog box appears so you can locate the source file. If Flash MX or later is not
installed, the Flash properties dialog box opens instead.
To specify a source file (FLA) path for a SWF cast member before initiating a launch and
edit session:
1
Select the SWF cast member in the cast.
2
Open the Property inspector.
3
Select the Flash tab.
4
Enter the path in the Filename field or Click the Browse button to browse to the file.
If you install Flash MX or later before installing Director, Flash is added automatically to the list
of external editors when you install Director. If you install Flash after installing Director, you can
enable Flash launch and edit by adding Flash to the list of external editors.