Using Director > Packaging Movies for Distribution > Processing movies with Update Movies

 

Processing movies with Update Movies

Use the Update Movies command on the Xtras menu to do the following:

Update movies and casts from older version of Director to the latest file format.

Compress movies for faster downloading from the Internet.

Remove redundant and fragmented data in movie and cast files. The Save and Compact and Save As commands do this as well.

Prevent users from opening movie and cast files.

Batch-process movie and cast files in large projects.

When beginning a project, use Update Movies to convert Director 6 and 7 files to the latest file format.

At the end of a project, use Update Movies to compress all your movies and casts at once.

To update and compress movies and casts:

1

Choose Xtras > Update Movies.

The Update Movies dialog box appears.

2

Select one of the Action options:

Update converts movies from Director 5 or later versions to the latest file format. As it updates movies, Director consolidates and removes fragmented data, just as when you use Save As. (To update movies from older versions, you must first convert them to the Director 5 file format.)

Protect removes all the data required to edit the movie, but it does not compress the movies further. It adds the DXR extension to movies, and CXT to casts. Protect also flags the movie so it can't be opened in the authoring environment.

Convert to Shockwave Movie(s) rewrites movies and casts in the compressed Shockwave file format and adds the DCR extension to movies and CCT to casts. This options also prevents users from opening the movie or cast and making changes. Once a movie is compressed, there is no way to it to recover an editable file, so be sure to keep the original movie.

3

Select one of the Original Files options:

Back Up into Folder specifies that the original files go in a selected folder. Click Browse to select the folder for the original files. To avoid overwriting old backups, you should choose a new folder each time you run Update Movies.

Delete specifies that the newly updated files overwrite the original files. Be very careful when using this option. Once a file is protected or compressed, you cannot open it again in Director.

4

Click OK.

A dialog box appears from which you select the files to change.

5

Select the movies and casts you want to change and click Add.

Click Add All to add all the movies in the current folder. The items you select appear in the file list at the bottom of the dialog box. You can update movies in different folders at the same time.

Select Add All Includes Folders before you click the Add All button to include any movies or casts inside folders appearing in the upper list. This option is useful for updating large projects with several levels of folders.

6

Click Update.

Director saves new versions of the selected movies with the same names and locations as the original movies. This ensures that all links and references to other files continue to work properly. Director copies the original movies to the folder you specified, re-creating their original folder structure. If you didn't specify a folder for the original movies, Director prompts you to select one.

Director adds the DCR extension to Shockwave movies and the CCT extension to external casts in the Shockwave format. Protected movies have the DXR extension, and protected casts have the CXT extension.