MACROMEDIA DIRECTOR MX 2004-USING DIRECTOR Use Manual page 44

To import files with Lingo or JavaScript syntax:
•
Use the
importFileInto
assign a new file to a linked cast member. For more information about this property, see the
Scripting Reference topics in the Director Help Panel.
About import file formats
Director can import files in all the formats listed in the following table. For information about
additional file formats Director might support, see the Director Support Center website at
www.macromedia.com/support/director.
Type of file
Animation and
multimedia
Image
Multiple-image file
Sound
Digital Video
Text
Palette
About linking to files
Director reimports media every time a movie runs when Link to External File is selected in the
Import dialog box (select File > Import). Linking makes it easy to use bulky media such as long
sounds and is especially useful for showing media from the Internet that changes frequently.
Linking also makes downloading movies faster; users can choose whether to view linked files, so
the files do not download unless they're needed.
When you link to an external file, Director creates a cast member that stores the name and
location of the file. Saving a movie saves only the link to the linked cast member. Keep linked files
in a folder that's close to the original movie file. Paths are restricted to 4096 characters by the
system. URLs can be as many as 260 characters. If you store a file too many folders away from the
movie or using a very long URL, it might not link correctly.
When distributing movies with linked media, use the following guidelines:
•
If you distribute a movie, you also must include all linked cast member files, and they must be
in their expected locations. In addition, the Xtra extensions that are used to import the media
must be present when the movie runs (either on the user's computer or included in your
movie). For more information, see
•
When you link to media on the Internet, the media must be present at the specified URL when
the movie runs. Provide for link failure because you can't guarantee that an Internet transaction
will be successful.
44 Chapter 2: Score, Stage, and Cast
method to import a file. Set the
Supported formats
Flash movies, animated GIF, PowerPoint presentations, Director movies,
Director external cast files
BMP, GIF, JPEG, LRG (xRes), Photoshop 3.0 (or later), MacPaint, PNG,
TIFF, PICT, Targa
Windows only: FLC, FLI
Macintosh only: PICS, Scrapbook
AIFF, WAV, MP3 audio, Shockwave Audio, Sun AU, uncompressed and
IMA compressed
DVD; Windows Media (WMV); QuickTime; AVI; RealMedia
RTF, HTML, ASCII (often called Text Only), Lingo, or JavaScript syntax
PAL, Photoshop CLUT
"Setting Xtra cast member properties" on page
cast member property to
fileName
49.