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Director Xtra Development Kit: Multimedia Developer's Guide

Multimedia Xtras Overview


Using the Multimedia Xtra API, you can develop four types of Xtras, all supported by Director:

Transition Xtras are a type of asset that provide ways to customize the changes from one part of a presentation to another. Transition Xtras are presented to the author through the standard UI of the host application. Transitions can combine visual change elements with sounds and other media. "Asset Xtras" describes the Transition Xtra API.

Sprite Xtras are a type of asset that provide customized interactive behavior in multimedia presentations. In Director, sprites can represent themselves in both the cast and score of a movie. Sprite Xtras can display themselves in a multimedia piece, interact with user actions such as mouse clicks and key presses, and respond to both standard and custom properties and functions in the application's native scripting language. "Asset Xtras" describes the Sprite Xtra API.

Scripting Xtras provide ways to extend the capabilities of Lingo in Director to include new functionality. Scripting Xtras are a cross-product extension of the Lingo Xtras supported in Director 5.0. Using the Director services API, Scripting Xtras can control presentations and manipulate their content. In Director, Scripting Xtras can be combined with movies in a window to provide complete custom behavior and user interfaces. "Scripting Xtras" describes the Scripting Xtra API.

Tool Xtras provide a way to display arbitrary windows presenting tools fo manipulating Director features at author time. Like Scripting Xtras, Tools can use the Director API to control the features of a presentation. Tool Xtras are displayed in the Xtras menu, and are supported in the Director authoring applications, not in players. "Tool Xtras" describes the Tool Xtra API.

"Tips, Guidelines, and Gotchas" describes some useful details to be aware of when coding Xtras for Director.


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