Using Director > Vector Shapes and Bitmaps > Compressing bitmaps |  |

Compressing bitmaps

If you plan to distribute your movie over the Internet, you can compress your bitmap images to ensure faster downloading. Director lets you compress images at the movie level and for individual cast members. Bitmap compression set at the cast member level overrides compression settings at the movie level.

In addition to Director standard compression, you can use JPEG compression and specify a range of image quality. If you have Fireworks installed, you can use the Optimize in Fireworks button to launch Fireworks, then dynamically apply compression settings while viewing how your image will look at those settings. When you determine the most suitable compression level, Director will remember the settings you established in Fireworks. For more information, see Optimizing Bitmaps in Fireworks in the Director Support Center Web site.

To compress a bitmap at the cast member level:

1 | Select bitmap cast members or sprites and click the Bitmap tab of the Property Inspector.
| If you've selected multiple cast members or sprites, the Property Inspector displays the compression setting if it is the same for each selected object.
2 | Click the Compression pop-up window.
| To compress selected bitmaps using the same settings as those established for movie-level compression, select Movie Setting. For more information on setting bitmaps at the movie level, see the information on the Compression tab under Changing Publish settings.
| To use the standard Director compression, select Standard.
| To use JPEG compression, select JPEG and move the slider bar to the desired level of compression. Note that the higher the number you specify, the less your bitmap will be compressed (e.g., 100 indicates no compression).

Movie Setting is usually the default compression setting, except under certain conditions when the compression feature is disabled, or when Director controls image compression choices.

For example, when the image is a JPEG, the compression setting defaults to JPEG compression. You cannot select another compression option.

Similarly, the Compression setting defaults to Standard compression, and you cannot change this, when the cast member is any of the following:

| An 8-bit cast member created in the Paint window
| A GIF imported as a bitmap with no alpha channel information
| An 8-bit PNG
| A linked cast member or a cast member created with Lingo

If you open a Director 7 movie in Director 8, bitmap cast members are assigned Movie Setting as the default, and compression settings at the movie level, set in the Publish Settings dialog box, default to the Standard compression setting. This ensures the movie will continue to play as it did in Director 7.

To compress bitmaps at the movie level:

1 | Choose File > Publish Settings.
| The Publish Settings dialog box appears.
2 | On the Compression tab, make a selection from the Image Compression pop-up menu and click OK.
| To use the standard Director compression, select Standard.
| To use JPEG compression, select JPEG and move the slider bar to the desired level of compression. Note that the higher the number you specify, the less your bitmap will be compressed (e.g., 100 indicates no compression).

Note: Director saves your publish settings when you save your movie.