Director in a Nutshell

This is a well-organized book--progressing from developing your understanding of how Director works, which should enrich your productivity, to showing you how to best handle audio and video. In particular, you learn how to use the Score and create animations tools as well as work with Cast members, libraries, and the Stage. You get to set up coordinates, alignment, and registration points; tackle cross-platform delivery issues; and create projectors and runtime files. Those out to optimize their system performance will find sections on managing memory.

You get plenty of help using Lingo and Director's scripting tool, as well as in working with limitations in the various versions of Director. (The book covers versions 6, 6.5, and 7 for both Windows and Macintosh.) Users of every level should be able to glean a lot of useful tips from this book, though most parts are of a technical level best suited to proficient users rather than newcomers to the program. --Kathleen Caster

Book Description
Macromedia Director 7 is the premier authoring tool for delivering interactive content on both the Internet and the desktop. It is the dominant multimedia package for both Windows and the Macintosh. A quarter million developers use Director(R) to incorporate animation and audio into dynamic Web pages and to create engaging interactive corporate presentations, multimedia advertising, entertainment CD-ROMs, Enhanced music CDs, and even DVDs. Director 7 is a complete multimedia authoring environment that integrates graphics, video, sound, and 3D images into compelling interactive products.

Director in a Nutshell, the companion to the popular Lingo in a Nutshell, is the most concise, complete, and indispensable guide available for Director. It condenses hundreds of Director tips and techniques into a desktop quick-reference format that is a must-have addition to every Director developer's library. The book begins with an overview of Director's core components and user interface shortcuts. It covers the use of video, audio, graphics, text, buttons, and menus in Director. It highlights cross-platform differences for developers under both Windows 3.1/95/98/NT and the Macintosh. It also detailed chapters on optimizing runtime performance and memory usage.

Director in a Nutshell is the only book to integrate Director's multiple facets into a comprehensive discussion of each topic. Each chapter is devoted to topics such as palettes, sound, or digital video. The reader gets both the nitty-gritty details and the bigger context in which to use them.

Director in a Nutshell also covers:

• All commands and options in the Score, Cast, Paint, Text, Palette
• Vector Shape, and Video Windows
• Animation techniques and shortcuts
• Lists of all supported file formats and media types for both import and export.
• Lists of palettes, transitions, cursors, ink effects, and window types
• Video playback and manipulation, including QuickTime, Video for Windows, and QTVR
• Creating runtime Projectors and optimizing playback on all platforms
• Comprehensive command summaries by topic
• Comprehensive list of all sprite and member properties
• Hundreds of Director shortcuts
• Shockwave and Internet-enabled Projectors
• Sound playback, including Shockwave audio and cue points
• Browser scripting, media control, and performance optimization
• Analyzing the Score and Cast, the runtime environment

This book will benefit all Director users. Beginners will value the concise and complete coverage of every topic and function. Intermediate users will appreciate the explanations that illuminate the big picture surrounding every operation. Advanced users will find the book an indispensable reference tool to remind them of the proper syntax, commands, and shortcuts in Director. This book will even help content-providers understand how proper graphics, audio, and video preparation can eliminate repetitious revisions and save programming time.

Director in a Nutshell is a high-end handbook, at a low-end price -- the indispensable desktop reference for every Director user.
Synopsis
"Director in a Nutshell" is the most concise and complete guide available for Director and its powerful scripting language: Lingo. The readers gets both the nitty-gritty details and the bigger context on which to see the multiple facets of Director. It is an indispensable desk reference that every Director user wants and needs. .

The author, Bruce A. Epstein (bruce@zeusprod.com) , March 8, 1999
The most advanced Director book ever. Covers D6, D6.5 & D7.
Director in a Nutshell is not just another introductory book that rehashes the user manuals and GUI. It covers the behind-the-scenes issues that affect every aspect of Director development, including cross-platform issues, differences between the authoring, runtime, and Shockwave environments, media preparation and optimization, memory and performance, MIAWs, sound and digital video issues, coordinate systems, Xtras, Text and Fonts, Vector Shapes, menus, cursors, buttons, palettes and color models. It is completely updated for Director 7 and includes tons of Lingo (including all the sprite and member properties for each media type). It is packed with Lingo examples, like how to analyze the user's environment at runtime, how to analyze the Score for corruption, and much more. If you think you know a lot about Director and don't need another Director book, be prepared to be enlightened. This is not an introductory book, but it does summarize Director's UI components, and covers every shortcut possible in Director (and there are hundreds). It will easily be the best money you've ever spent on a Director book, and will pay for itself the first day you own it. I guarantee it will make using Director more productive (and profitable) than you ever imagined. Trust me.