TechNote

Techniques for packaging and loading Xtras in Director Projectors

Most Director projectors require Xtras in order to function correctly. For general information about Xtras and how they work, see Using Xtras in Director: An overview. This TechNote covers how to package Xtras with a projector, and how the Xtras will behave depending on the packaging method used.

Xtras can be packaged either inside or outside of a projector. The method you choose will depend on your project.

Note: An error may occur if Xtras are included both inside and outside of a projector. Only package Xtras in one location, insideor outside of a projector.

Packaging Xtras inside a projector
Packaging Xtras within a projector is convenient because many Xtras are automatically included. Default Xtras are automatically included in any new Director movie. To see which Xtras are included by default, open a new Director movie and go to the Movie Xtras dialog box (see image below).

Asset Xtras, such as the Flash Asset Xtra are also automatically added to the movie Xtras list when the associated type of media are imported or added into Director. For example, when a Flash movie is imported into Director the Flash Asset Xtra gets added to the Xtras list automatically. Therefore, in many cases, no extra steps are needed to package the Xtras within a projector.

Some Xtras, such as scripting Xtras like the XML parser, are not automatically included . Be sure that all necessary Xtras are included before distributing a project. For a list of Xtras and what they do, see Director Xtras Functionality. (TechNote 16076). If an Xtra is missing an error message will generally appear when a project is run. This can be helpful when troubleshooting missing Xtras errors.

The movie Xtras dialog box below displays which Xtras are needed to run the Director movie that is currently open. This dialog box can be found by going to Modify>Movie> Xtras. When each individual Xtras is selected, two check boxes may be available, "include in projector" and "download if needed". The "include in projector" checkbox is checked by default for each Xtra in the list. This ensures that the Xtra will be packaged within the projector. To package Xtras within a projector, just make sure all needed Xtras are included in this list. Because the 'include in projector" box is checked by default, no further action is needed.

The"download if needed" option only pertains to Director movies that will be published as Shockwave movies. For more information about Xtras in Shockwave, see Shockwave Xtras downloading overview (TechNote 14726).

How Xtras are loaded when packaged internally
If Xtras are packaged within a projector, the projector will need to write to a temp directory in order to access the Xtras. A new folder is created in this location. Once a projector has closed the folder that was created is automatically erased. High restrictions to a user profile (for example Windows NT or 2000) that prevent writing to the temp folder may prevent a projector from playing correctly.

Stub Projector
Xtras for all movies internal and linked must be included in the movie that will become the stub projector. This is because Xtras will only load from a projector, not from an external Director file. For more information about stub projectors are and how they work, see What is a stub projector? (TechNote 13530).

For example, if there are three movies in a project, but the first movie will be the main projector and the others will be linked, the first movie must contain all the Xtra information needed for all three movies.

Example
A project consists of Main.dir, Movie1.dir and Movie2.dir. Main.dir will be a projector and the other two movies will be linked externally. In this case, it is necessary to go into the Movie Xtras dialogue box (while Main.dir is open) and add all required Xtras for all three movies before creating the projector from Main.dir.

How to Manually add Xtras to a movie as described in the example above.

1	Open Movie1.dir.
2	Go to the Modify>Movie>Xtras.
3	Make a note of the Xtras in the list.
4	Close Movie1.dir.
5	Follow steps 1 through 4 for Movie2.dir.
6	Open Main.dir.
7	Go to the Modify>Movie>Xtras.
8	Add all Xtras that are needed for Movie1.dir and Movie2.dir if they are not already in the list.
9	Create a projector from Main.dir.

Packaging Xtras in an Xtras folder next to a projector
Xtras may be packaged in a folder named Xtras located next to a projector. A projector that has externally packaged Xtras will launch more quickly than a projector with internally packaged Xtras. This method can be useful when a projector must launch as quickly as possible. When Xtras are packaged outside of a projector they mustnot be included within a projector. Because Xtras are automatically included in a projector they must be intentionally omitted by unchecking the "include in projector" option in the movie Xtras dialogue box.

Xtras folder located next to a projector gives the projector full "as needed" access to the xtras within the folder. Xtras within the"Xtras" folder can be nested up to two folders deep. A common method utilizes a "stub" projector, this projector contains no Xtras. The "stub" projector contains a 'go to movie "myName" ' command. This method lets the developer test the projects, without having to compile a new projector every time.

To package Xtras outside of a projector, follow the steps below.

1	Go to the Modify>Movie>Xtras.
2	Click on each Xtra in the list and uncheck the "include in projector" checkbox. Note: If this step is omitted, Xtras will be included in a the projector and an error will occur when the projector starts
3	Make a note of the Xtras in the list.
4	Close the Movie Xtras dialogue box.
5	Follow steps 1 though 4 for each movie in your project.
6	Create a folder named "Xtras".
7	From the Xtras folder (within the Director program folder), copy all needed Xtras (from step 3) and paste them into the new Xtras folder. Be sure to copy the Xtras rather than moving them.
8	Place the new Xtras folder next the projector when it runs.

How Xtras are loaded when packaged externally
A projector will first check for an Xtras folder that exists locally. If the above method is used, the Xtras folder will be found and the Xtras contained within that folder will be loaded. Therefore, there is no need for the projector to write to a temp directory and issues with writing permissions and restrictions can be avoided.