Macromedia Training : Director 8.5: Advanced (Windows)

Director 8.5: Advanced (Windows)

Macromedia Training Overview

In the Director 8.5: Introduction course, you learned techniques for creating basic Director movies. In this course, you will add the power of Lingo�Director's scripting language. Using Lingo, you will explore the possibilities for creating a truly interactive experience for your movie's end user. You will create Lingo-based animation, use variables and lists to store data, and control how the movie responds to user interaction. To achieve these goals, you will learn programming skills so you can structure, test, and debug Lingo code effectively. Along the way, you will learn efficiency-building techniques such as importing PowerPoint files, branching to multiple movies, and creating a useful �stub� projector.

Target Student:

This course is designed for students who understand the Director techniques and concepts that were covered in the Director 8.5: Introduction course and who want to learn advanced options including the basics of Lingo programming.

Prerequisites

Students should have completed the course

Director 8.5: Introduction (Windows):

Delivery method

Director 8.5: Advanced (Windows) is a hands-on instruction book that teaches you to use Macromedia Director to develop Director movies.

Benefits:

Students will be introduced to the basics of Lingo programming. Students will create Lingo-based animation, use variables and lists to store data, and control how a movie responds to user interaction. To achieve these goals, students will learn programming skills so the student can structure, test, and debug Lingo code effectively. And along the way, students will learn efficiency-building techniques such as importing PowerPoint files, branching to multiple movies, and creating a useful �stub� projector

Hardware/Software Requirements

You will need

At least 64 megabytes (MB) of Random Access Memory (RAM).
At least 50 MB of free hard-disk space.
A 200 MHz or faster Intel Pentium processor.
Windows 95, 98, NT (version 4.0), or 2000.
A 256-color (or higher) monitor capable of at least 800 x 600 resolution.
A CD-ROM drive.
An Internet connection.
Macromedia Director 8.5.

Performance-Based Objectives

Lesson objectives help students become comfortable with the course, and also provide a means to evaluate learning. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Plan a Director movie and import PowerPoint presentations for use in Director.
Add navigation controls to a Director movie.
Utilize Director's scripting language�Lingo�to manipulate elements of a movie.
Write Lingo scripts that can control the motion of sprites.
Manage data collected by viewers who interact with a Director movie.
Prepare a movie for distribution to end users.

Course duration

1 Day

Macromedia Training Course outline

Lesson 1: Planning & Importing Media

Topic 1A: Planning the Movie
Topic 1B: Importing from PowerPoint
Topic 1C: Optimizing Images

Lesson 2: Adding Navigation

Topic 2A: The Tempo Channel's Playback Control
Topic 2B: Working with Images
Topic 2C: Using Behaviors for Navigation

Lesson 3: Lingo Scripting Concepts

Topic 3A: Lingo as a Language
Topic 3B: Mechanics
Topic 3C: Lingo Keywords and Vocabulary
Topic 3D: Putting It Together

Lesson 4: Real-world Lingo Scripting

Topic 4A: Planning Scripts Based on Objectives
Topic 4B: Navigation Scripts

Lesson 5: Data Management Using Lists

Topic 5A: Creating Radio Buttons and Checkboxes
Topic 5B: Lists, Symbols, and the onStartup Handler
Topic 5C: The Watcher, Message, and Debugger Windows
Topic 5D: Creating Loops and Calling Custom Handlers

Lesson 6: Preparing for Distribution

Topic 6A: Embedding Fonts for Distribution with a Movie
Topic 6B: Branching to Other Movies

Appendix A: Lingo Keywords

Reference Table of Lingo Keywords