Release Notes - Microsoft DirectAnimation

Microsoft® DirectAnimation® is a Java API that enables different types of multimedia content to be tightly integrated and deployed, associating the media pieces with a timeline and user events. This topic provides late-breaking or other information that supplements the Microsoft® DirectAnimation® documentation and includes the following sections:

Overview
Requirements and Dependencies
Additional Information
Known Bugs
General Information
Graphics
Contact Information

Overview

DirectAnimation is released as an integrated component of the Microsoft® Internet Explorer 4.0 and later minimal install. This provides unprecedented animation and multimedia capabilities built into a major Internet browser (no special download is needed). Furthermore, DirectAnimation is integrated with Dynamic HTML (DHTML), and hence is especially suitable for adding compact and lightweight animation effects to Web pages.

DirectAnimation is the component of the Microsoft® DirectX® family of APIs that provides rich animation and integrated media support for Web pages, CD-ROM titles, and multimedia applications. DirectAnimation provides a unified and comprehensive support for the different media types, including: 2-D vector graphics, 3-D graphics, sprites, audio, video, and a rich time and event model that applies uniformly across the different media types. DirectAnimation is a COM API and an underlying engine/runtime whose functionally can be accessed in different ways by different user groups:

• HTML authors can integrate animation using the DirectAnimation controls.
  
  
• Microsoft® Visual Basic® Scripting Edition (VBScript), Microsoft® JScript® users, and Java applet writers can program animation for Web pages with DHTML integration.
  
  
• Finally, Java, Visual Basic, and C++ programmers can develop Microsoft® ActiveX® Controls or full applications with rich media and interactivity.

The supported media types are as follows:

• 2-D images (.bmp, .gif, .png, and .jpeg files)
  
  
• 3-D models (.x and VRML files)
  
  
• Sounds (.wav and .midi files)
  
  
• Movies (.avi, .mpeg, and .mov files)
  
  
• Text

In the case of movies and sounds, additional media formats can be supported by supplying Microsoft® DirectShow® CODECs for those formats.

One of the key DirectAnimation classes is the Behavior class. Different types of media are incorporated into the animation by encapsulating them as DirectAnimation Behavior objects. Behavior objects can be used interchangeably, and have a number of methods applied to them, independent of the media type they are encapsulating. Of course, you can still access methods that are specific to the different types of behaviors based on the type of media.

Requirements and Dependencies

The minimum requirements to run Microsoft® DirectAnimation® applications and content are as follows:

• Pentium-based computer.
  
  
• Microsoft® Windows® 95, Microsoft® Windows® 98, Microsoft® Windows NT® 4.0, or Microsoft® Windows® 2000.
  
  
• Microsoft® DirectX®, including Microsoft® Direct3D® (for Windows NT users, the latest service pack is recommended).
  
  
• Microsoft® Internet Explorer 4.0 or later (Netscape Navigator can also be used for Java applets; see Additional Information).

The DirectAnimation runtime comes as part of IE4 minimal install . DirectAnimation is also part of Windows 98 and future releases of Windows NT; the upcoming release will be called Microsoft® Windows® 2000.

The DirectAnimation SDK includes an extensive set of documents and samples that illustrate the breadth and depth of functionality. For more information, see http://www.microsoft.com/directx/dxm/ .

Additional Information

Significant enhancements since the prerelease version have been the addition of support for scripting languages (JScript and VBScript), as well as the integration of the multimedia controls (in Internet Explorer 4.0) with the DirectAnimation runtime. In addition to the multimedia controls, a windowed control is provided, which can be used with Microsoft® Internet Explorer 3.02 and with Visual Basic. With the addition of the multimedia controls, content developers can now access DirectAnimation functionality through different levels, from PARAM tags at the control level, to scripting, to raw COM.

The DirectAnimation Java classes are dependent on the version of the Microsoft virtual machine that ships with the Microsoft SDK for Java and Internet Explorer 4.0. Microsoft® Visual J++® 1.1 was used to author the Java samples.

Known Bugs

The following is a list of current known problems. Microsoft strongly encourages you to send mail if you find a problem (dxmbug@microsoft.com). There are newsgroups set up to allow DirectAnimation content developers to discuss issues and ideas. However, mailing a bug description is the only sure way to get a fix for a bug.

General Information

• There are some small memory leaks, most notably when using 3-D, sounds, or notifiers. To fix this in Java, implement public void cleanup( ) to the class that extends Model. In this method, call super.cleanup( ) and set all behaviors that are suspected of leaking memory to NULL. If you have other classes that contain DirectAnimation behaviors, implement public void cleanup( ) and only set suspect behaviors to NULL. Also, add the public void destroy( ) to the class that extends DXMApplet. In this method, call super.destroy( ) and set the model to null.
  
  
• For Java content, sometimes the LeftButtonPress events miss.
  
  
• The cursor is considered to be in the middle of the window when DirectAnimation first comes up.
  
  
• TextPath and TextImage are now obsolete. Use StringPath and StringImage instead.
  
  
• Notifiers can only be implemented in Java.
  
  
• AnimateControlPosition takes parameters in meters, even if you are using the pixel library.
  
  
• Only Microsoft® DirectDraw® surfaces created through DirectDrawEx can be imported.

Graphics

• Shearing movies and lines doesn't work properly.
  
  
• Color palette is not correct for 256-color displays under Windows NT.
  
  
• SubstituteTime does not work right when applied to Splines.
  
  
• FollowPathAngleUpright isn't doing the uprightness.
  
  
• Although class browsers or Visual Basic show the parameters to arc and roundedrect as radius, they are really the diameter.
  
  
• Using Java, time-varying opacity may cause the whole object to become solid after some time.
  
  
• TextMatte doesn't allow enough of the image to be drawn through.
  
  
• Knot duplicity for splines isn't handled.
  
  
• Bounding box of a sheared behavior is incorrect.
  
  
• Overlaying an image on a solidColorImage, cropping it, and then adding a rotation transform, results in the solidColorImage disappearing. To work around this problem, crop the solidColorImage into a matte.
  
  
• Underline and strikethrough don't work on Windows NT.

Audio

• Sound doesn't turn off all the time.
  
  
• SinSynth plays at 440Hz no matter what rate is specified.
  
  
• Dynamic phasing isn't enabled.
  
  
• Loop causes the leaf sounds to loop, not the combined sound behavior (this is the intended behavior).
  
  
• SinSynth mixed with static sound gives a choppy sin sound.
  
  
• Audio time substitutions do not accumulate.

3-D

• Textures do not propagate down the leaf geometries for 3-D objects that are based on .x files.

Movies

• To use a movie as a texture, use the following work-around (code snippet in JScript):

  movieImport = m.ImportMovie("http://movie.avi");
  movieImg = movieImport .Image;
  
  // This is the work-around.
  movieBBox = movieImg.BoundingBox;
  solidImg = m.SolidColorImage(m.White);
  solidImg = solidImg.Crop(movieBBox.Min,movieBBox.Max);
  
  movieImg = m.Overlay(movieImg,solidImg);
  

Controls

• When using the Sprite multimedia control, source .bmp images over 2048 pixels long have to be broken into arrays of images (rows and columns of images instead of just one long row or column).
  
  
• Under some video drivers, filtered transparent pixels render as black.
  
  
• For the Path control, TimeMarker persistence parameter -1 works like FALSE in JScript.

Contact Information

Microsoft has set public news groups on the msnews-gw NNTP server as a forum for the DirectAnimation user community. We encourage you to post all questions related to the use of DirectAnimation on the appropriate news group. To access the Microsoft.public newsgroups, go through the msnews.microsoft.com server. If you use Outlook Express as your news reader, add this server to your list from the Tools menu, and choose Accounts.

• microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.danimation.controls is for users of the DirectAnimation controls.
  
  
• microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.danimation.programming is for programmers of the DirectAnimation API.

  For reporting bugs against the preview version, send mail to dxmbug@microsoft.com. When you do so, make sure to be specific about the operating system, PC/graphics card, version of Microsoft® Internet Explorer, and the host language/control that you're using to access DirectAnimation.

  For other issues or comments that are not appropriate for the forums previously mentioned, send mail to dxmbeta@microsoft.com.