TechNote (Archived)

Updating, protecting and converting movies to Shockwave

This TechNote discuses the Update Movies feature of Director.

The "Update Movies" feature in the "Xtras" menu has 3 actions, Update, Protect and Convert to Shockwave Movie(s) as seen in the graphic below. The Update action is used to convert earlier versions of Director movies and casts to the version of Director being used. Protect strips editing information from movies and casts. Convert to Shockwave rewrites movies and casts to in the compressed Shockwave file format. This TechNote covers all three actions in depth including step by step instructions.

The "Update Movies Options" dialogue box as it appears in Director.

Each of the actions assigns an extension to the file(s). The following list describes the different file extensions.

File extensions and what they mean

DIR: Director authoring file which can be opened and edited in Director Shockwave Studio. Must be opened in the same version of Director it was created, or a newer version.
DXR: Protected Director movie. Cannot be opened or edited in Director, but can be played externally from a projector.
DCR: Shockwave movie which can be played in a browser via the Shockwave player, or externally from a projector. Cannot be opened or edited in Director.
CST: Standard Director cast file which can be opened and edited in Director Shockwave Studio. Must be opened in the same version of Director it was created, or a newer version.
CXT: Protected Director cast. Cannot be opened or edited in Director but can be used by a Director movie or projector.
CCT: Shockwave compressed cast. Cannot be opened or edited in Director but can be used by a Director movie, Shockwave movie or projector.

Update

"Update" converts movies from Director 5 or later versions to the latest file format. As it updates movies, Director consolidates and removes fragmented data, just as when you use Save As. (To update movies from versions older than 5, you must first convert them to the Director 5 file format.)

Always update older movies before opening or playing movies in a new version of Director. Likewise, movies should be updated before playing them in a newer version projector. Attempting to edit, author, play or save movies that have not been updated properly is not recommended. It can result in low memory errors, syntax and script errors, performance issues and, in some cases, movie corruption.

Typically, Director can update movies created by Director one or two versions back. To update movies created with Director 4 - 4.0.4, either update the movie using the Update Movie feature in Director 5 - 6.5, or recreate the movie from scratch in a newer version of Director.

In the case of movies that navigate to other movies, update all of the movies before playing them in Director itself or via a Director projector. In the case of movies that contain linked casts, it is very important to update the movie and all of its external cast libraries all at one time (in one batch). Otherwise, Director may not be able to resolve cast and cast member references correctly. Once a movie is updated, there is no way to it to open it in previous version of Director as Director files are not backwards compatible - so be sure to keep the original DIR file.

Protect

"Protect" removes all the data required to edit the movie, but it does not compress the movies further. It adds the DXR extension to movies, and CXT to casts. Protect also flags the movie so it can't be opened in the authoring environment. DXR files can be useful in a project that has a stub movie with external Director movies. More than one file can be protected at one time. Once a movie is protected, there is no way to recover it as an editable file, so be sure to keep the original DIR file. This feature can be useful when external Director movies will be distributed with a projector, but the movie data needs to be protected.

Convert to Shockwave Movie(s)

Convert to Shockwave Movie(s) rewrites movies and casts in the compressed Shockwave file format and adds the DCR extension to movies and CCT to casts. This option also prevents users from opening the movie or cast and making changes. Once a movie is compressed, there is no way to it to recover as an editable file, so be sure to keep the original DIR file. This feature can be useful when many DIR files need to be converted to Shockwave movies at once.

How to Update, Protect, or convert DIR file

Back up any files to disk, another drive, or a location that is safe.
Go to Xtras>Update Movies.
Choose "Update", "Protect", or "Convert to Shockwave Movie(s)".
If you want to keep the DIR files, choose "Back Up Into Folder" and go to step 5. If you want to delete the DIR files, choose "Delete" and go to step 8.
Note: When "Delete" is chosen the original files will be permanently deleted. Be sure to make backup copies of all files before going further.
Click on the "Browse" button.
Browse to the folder of your choice and open that folder.
Click on the "Select Folder" button (see the graphic below). The path to the folder will now show up in the dialogue box.
Click on the OK button.
Click on the file you want to update, protect or convert, then click on the add button. That file will be added to the File List box below. Do this for each file until all of the files that are to be converted are in the list.
Click on the "Update" or "Proceed" button that appears.
Click on the "Continue" button. You are done.

This dialogue box appears if the "Back Up Into Folder" option is chosen.

Additional Information

Director can not save or export movies to a previous Director version format. For example, Director 7 movies can not be saved or exported to a Director 6 format.
Director movies are not backwards compatible. For example, a movie created in Director 8.5 can not be opened or edited in Director 8 or below.

For more information on updating, protecting and converting, refer to Director's documentation and Help.