What is AutoLaunch Pro?

AutoLaunch Pro is a screen saver engine which runs Macromedia Director projectors.  With it, you can easily distribute your Director projector as a custom screen saver, complete with your own logo and artwork in the AutoLaunch Pro control panel.

AutoLaunch Pro takes care of all the details of making your projector run as a screen saver, including providing user controls for the screen saver delay, hot corners for immediate or delayed activation, and an on/off switch.  It even quits your projector when the user touches a key or moves the mouse.  All you have to take care of is the creative part!

Because AutoLaunch Pro runs your projector without modifications, you are free to use shared cast members, external files, and any XObjects you choose.  AutoLaunch Pro will run your projector just as if it had been double-clicked in the Finder.

NOTE:  While this documentation is targeted specifically at Macromedia Director authors, AutoLaunch Pro can actually run any application, including demo software, AppleScript applets, or "player" applications created by other multimedia authoring environments.  All references to Director projectors apply equally to these other applications.

Installation

AutoLaunch Pro will run on any Performa, Macintosh, Power Macintosh, or compatible computer running System 7.0 or higher.   

In order to use AutoLaunch Pro, you must first configure it using the AutoLaunch Pro Setup application.  This application lets you choose the Director projector to be run as a screen saver, and allows you to customize the display of the AutoLaunch Pro control panel.  Details are supplied in the next section.

After using AutoLaunch Pro Setup, simply drop the configured AutoLaunch Pro control panel in the Control Panels folder in your System folder and restart.  AutoLaunch Pro will find the screen saver application on the hard disk or CD-ROM drive and launch it when necessary.

NOTE:  AutoLaunch Pro does not make a copy of your projector.  When you distribute your screen saver, you must provide users with both the configured AutoLaunch Pro control panel and your screen saver projector.