MACROMEDIA DIRECTOR MX 2004-USING DIRECTOR, Use Manual, Page: 309 / 500

Using rendering methods 309
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The Director Light area lets you select one of ten lighting positions to apply to a single
directional light. You can also adjust the color for the ambient light. (Directional light comes
from a particular, recognizable direction; ambient light is diffuse light that illuminates the
entire scene.) Finally, you can adjust the background color of the scene.
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The Shader Texture area lets you work with shaders and textures. A shader determines the
method used to render the surface of a model; a texture is an image that is applied to the shader
and drawn on the surface of the model. All new models use the default shader until you apply
a different shader. Using the Property inspector, you can assign a texture to the default shader.
You can also control the default shader’s specular (highlight) color, its diffuse (overall) color,
and its reflectivity. For more information, see
“The 3D world” on page 313 and Chapter 16,
“Working with Models and Model Resources,” on page 335 .
Using rendering methods
The rendering method refers to the specific way Director displays 3D images on the Stage.
The methods available depend on the type of hardware you have. The rendering methods
include the following:
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#auto
: Director selects the best method based on the client computer’s specific hardware
and drivers.
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#openGL
: OpenGL drivers for a 3D hardware accelerator are used. OpenGL is available for the
Macintosh and Windows platforms.
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#directX7_0
: DirectX7_0 drivers for a 3D hardware accelerator are used. This option is
available for Windows only.
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#directX5_2
: DirectX5_2 drivers for a 3D hardware accelerator are used. This option is
available for Windows only.
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#software
: The Director built-in software renderer is used. This option is available on the
Macintosh and Windows platforms.
The rendering method can have a dramatic effect on performance. If your hardware permits you
to select different methods, you can do so using the following procedure.