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Director MX 2004 sneak peek

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By: Jon Gales
January 5th, 2004

Macromedia Director MX Box Director has long been the de facto tool for multimedia gurus. It has actually been around since the 80's, but has obviously added a lot more power in the years since. Once Shockwave was installed on most internet connected computers, Director became really powerful because its applications were able to be deployed over the internet, in the browser.

Today Director is being used to power enhanced Enhanced CDs, such as on the popular release by Kelly Clarkson, the first American Idol winner. Enhanced CDs help drive sales, as you don't get access to the content without buying the actual CD (sorry iTunes Music Store!). Another popular use is prototyping. Because development in Director is rapid, companies can test out new designs for products like slot machines in just days instead of the weeks it takes with more conventional methods.

What's new

If you're going to shell out cash for an update, you better know what's new. Here it goes.

Ever since the MX family was announced, every release has brought the applications more tightly integrated. I'm happy to report that Director MX 2004 does not change this fact.

  • Flash integration - You can now import .fla files directly, and take advantage of all the optimizations the latest version of flash has to offer. According to Macromedia, you should notice a 15-70% performance increase.
  • Components - One of the more handy features of Flash is now in Director. There are components for common interface elements:
    • Button
    • Check Box
    • Date Chooser
    • Label
    • List
    • Numeric Stepper
    • Radio Button
    • Scroll Pane
    • Text Area
    • Text Input
    • Tree
  • Docking - The stage can now be docked. One of the best features of the MX interface is the ability to dock windows, especially when you consider that docked windows can be minimized by clicking the carrot to the left of the name.
  • Display template - You can now control the elements of your projectors in one easy MX like pallet. Complex tasks, such as creating windows and drag masks are now as simple as selecting a cast member in a pop down list.
That's about it for the integration with the rest of the MX suite, on the next page we'll take a look at some of the new features that aren't seen in the rest of the MX family.

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