Using Director > Cast members and Cast windows > Importing cast members > About linking to files |  |

About linking to files

Director re-imports media every time a movie runs when Link to External File is selected in the Import dialog box (Choose File > Import). Linking makes it easier to use bulky media such as long sounds and is especially useful for showing media from the Internet that change 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. Pathnames are restricted to 4096 characters by the system. URLs can be up to 260 characters. If you store a file too many folders away from the movie or using a very long URL, it may fail to link correctly.

When distributing movies with linked media, follow these 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 Xtras 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 Setting Xtra cast member properties.
| 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.
| To retrieve media from the Internet during playback, Director requires that the projector include certain Xtras. To include these Xtras automatically, click Add Network in the Movie Xtras dialog box. (Movies playing in Web browsers do not require these Xtras.)

Note: Use File > Preferences > Network to define standard network settings for the Director authoring environment; see the Network Preferences topic in Director Help.