Using Director > Cast members and Cast windows > Setting Cast window preferences

 

Setting Cast window preferences

You use the Cast window preferences settings to control the appearance of the current Cast window or, if desired, all Cast windows. You can set different preferences for each Cast window. The title bar of the dialog box displays the name of the Cast window preferences you are changing.

To set Cast window preferences:

1

Select a Cast window to change.

2

Choose File > Preferences > Cast.

3

To set the Cast window to display in either List or Thumbnail view, select the appropriate Cast View option.

4

If you want your preferences to apply to all Cast windows, select Apply to All Casts.

5

To select the columns that appear in Cast List view, select the desired Columns in List options. See Using Cast List view.

6

To specify the maximum number of cast members displayed in the Cast window, choose a value from the Thumbnails Visible pop-up menu.

Note that this option does not limit the actual number of cast members that can exist in the cast. If you have a small number of cast members, you can hide the remaining unused cast positions to make better use of the vertical scroll bar. The default is 1000.

7

To specify the number of thumbnails in each row of the Cast window, choose an option from the Row Width pop-up menu.

The options for 8 Thumbnails, 10 Thumbnails, and 20 Thumbnails specify fixed-row widths that are independent of the window size; if the Cast window is smaller horizontally than the width of the cast row, you must use the horizontal scroll bar to reveal the rest of the cast. The Fit to Window option automatically adjusts the number of cast members per row to fit the current width of the Cast window. In this mode, the horizontal scroll bar is disabled since the entire width of the cast is always in view. The default is Fit to Window.

8

To set the size of each cast thumbnail image displayed in the Cast window, choose an option from the Thumbnail Size pop-up menu:

Small 44 x 33 pixels

Medium 56 x 42 pixels (default)

Large 80 x 60 pixels

Thumbnails always maintain the standard 4:3 aspect ratio.

If the thumbnails appear fuzzy, they are probably displaying larger than their original size. To correct this, change the Cast window preferences thumbnail setting to a smaller size. Click OK when the alert message asks if thumbnails should be regenerated.

9

To select the display format of the cast member ID displayed below each cast thumbnail image in the Cast window, choose an option from the Label pop-up menu:

Number displays the cast number.

Name displays the cast name, if one exists; otherwise, this option displays the cast number in decimal format.

Number:Name displays the cast number (in decimal format) and cast name, separated by a colon: for example, 340:Dancing Potato. If no name exists, this setting displays just the cast number in decimal format.

The chosen format is also used in other windows, including the Score, whenever a cast ID is displayed.

10

To specify whether Director displays an icon in the lower right corner of each cast member indicating the cast member's type, choose one of the following from the Media Type Icons pop-up menu: All Types, All but Text and Bitmap, or None.

11

To display a script indicator icon in the lower left corner of each cast member that has a script attached, select Script.

12

To make your preference settings the default settings, click Save as Default.

13

When you finish selecting your preferences, click OK.