MACROMEDIA DIRECTOR MX-USING DIRECTOR MX, Use Manual

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To remove all purgeable items from RAM, including all thumbnail images in the Cast window,
click Purge.
All cast members that have Unload (purge priority) set to a priority other than 0–Never (as
specified in the Property inspector’s Member tab) are removed from memory. This procedure is
useful for gaining as much memory as possible before importing a large file. Edited cast
members are not purged.
About using Xtra extensions to extend Director functionality
Xtra extensions are software components that extend Director functionality; some Xtra extensions
are installed with Director and others are available through third-party developers. Xtra
extensions provide capabilities such as importing filters and connecting to the Internet. You can
use preexisting Xtra extensions and, if you know the C programming language, you can create
custom Xtra extensions.
For information on creating Xtra extensions, download the Xtras Developer’s Kit from the
Director Support Center at www.macromedia.com/support/xtras/.
You must distribute any Xtra that a movie requires along with the movie. Xtra extensions can be
packaged with projectors, or your user can download your required Xtra extensions from the
Internet. See “Managing Xtra extensions for distributed movies” on page 574.
If your user is missing an Xtra that Director requires, an alert appears when the movie opens. For
missing Xtra transition cast members, the movie performs a simple cut transition instead. For
other missing Xtra cast members, Director displays a red X as a placeholder.
Types of Xtra extensions
The following types of Xtra extensions are supplied with Director:
•
Cast member Xtra extensions provide new media types to Director. They create or control a
wide range of objects for use as cast members.
Some of the cast member types built into Director, such as Shockwave Flash, Vector Shape,
and Animated GIF, are provided as Xtra extensions. Xtra extensions from third-party
developers can include databases, 3D graphics processors, special types of graphics, and so on.
Cast member Xtra extensions that are built into Director appear on the Insert > Media
Element menu. Other cast member Xtra extensions might not appear on this menu and might
require Lingo implementation.
When setting properties for an Xtra cast member, use the Property inspector, which provides
settings standard to all types of Xtra cast members. If there are settings that are unique to the
current Xtra, you must click Option to open a second Properties dialog box that lets you
change those settings.
Some cast member Xtra extensions have separate authoring and playback components. You
should include only the playback components when distributing movies.
•
Importing Xtra extensions provide the code that is required to import various types of media
into Director. When you link a movie to an external file, Director uses the importing Xtra to
import the media every time the movie runs. To distribute a movie with external linked media,
you must also include the Xtra that is required to import that type of media.
•
Scripting Xtra extensions add Lingo elements to predefined Lingo scripts. The NetLingo Xtra,
for example, provides special Lingo elements for controlling Internet functions.