http://www.lingoworkshop.com/News for Director Developers.en-auhttp://www.lingoworkshop.com/rss.xml Here is a script for extending the MUI Xtra. The purpose of this script is to allow you to specify a callback target for the MUI Xtra (it is a bit of a frankenstein hack). Now, by popular demand, with some sort of explanation of how the script works. http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Testzone/mui.php http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Testzone/mui.php#article272 Although 'device independence' is completely possible using lingo alone (you need that initial mouseClick to give Shockwave focus), once Shockwave has focus, you can use the following script to manage keyboard control over your interface. http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Codelib/FocusMgr.php http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Codelib/FocusMgr.php#article273 A simple utility for exporting scripts, as well as externalising/internalising scripts. http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Codelib/XScripts.php http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Codelib/XScripts.php#article271 Xlib Xtra is a MIAW utility (a director movie you add to Director's Xtras folder and access via the Xtras menu) that provides a GUI for installing and updating Lingoworkshop's XLib scripts. http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Codelib/miawutility.php http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Codelib/miawutility.php#article270 Flight Check: Xtras is a 'MIAW Utility Xtra'. Its function is to trawl through all your scripts looking for occurances of 'global functions' that require an Xtra, as well as all 'named' Xtras. All the required Xtras are listed in a tree widget. Clicking on the Xtra shows which scripts use the Xtra. http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Codelib/flightcheck_xtras.php http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Codelib/flightcheck_xtras.php#article268 Flight Check: CastCleaner is a 'MIAW Utility Xtra' that lists all the cast members that it thinks are not being used. Clicking on a list item will open the cast window and select the relevant cast members. http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Codelib/flightcheck_castmembers.php http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Codelib/flightcheck_castmembers.php#article267 ScriptSearch is a 'MIAW Utility Xtra' (a director movie you add to Director's Xtras folder and access via the Xtras menu). It provides an alternative interface to searching scripts. It has the options to search words only and to be case sensitive (like the built in search interface) and to use regular expressions (unlike the built in search interface). Clicking the resulting member will open the script editor window to the matching line. If there are more than one matches in the member, then repeated clicking will cycle through all the matches in that script. http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Codelib/flscript_search.php http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Codelib/flscript_search.php#article269 Even if you're not comfortable developing your Director projects with Javascript, the Javascript engine provides a few useful built-in objects and functions and can be used in Lingo. http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/using_javascript_more.php http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/using_javascript_more.php#article265 'Interactivity' is often limited to the user moving their cursor to an appropriate place, clicking their mouse, then something happens. Choice follows a tree structure with limited branches and is limited to a series of predetermined outcomes, nothing new or unplanned for originally can develop, emerge or challenge the original script. This article argues that 'interaction' is a recursive process: a complex back-and forth, a dialectical process, an act of unfolding, a feedback loop between the user and the computer. http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/papers/interaction_design.php http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/papers/interaction_design.php#article263 Ever got to the end of a job, sat down to make the some projectors and wondered what Lingo Xtras you have ended up using (and need to include)? Or even taken over someone elses project or revisited an old project or your own, and seen some vaguely familiar 'global functions' but can't remember which Xtra provides them? If so, this script might be of use to you. It has two main functions: GetUsedXtras and WhoUsesXtra(xtraName). http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/flightcheck_xtras.php http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/flightcheck_xtras.php#article262 In Authoring and Projectors, it is possible to download files using the downloadNetthing Lingo function (this is not available in Shockwave). It works much like the other network lingo functions discussed earlier. However, there are a few 'gotchas' - especially when dealing with firewalls. http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/downloading_files.php http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/downloading_files.php#article261 In case you haven't heard, Microsoft is changing the way Internet Explorer handles plugins (in response to the Eolas Patent Ruling). Basically, updated Internet Explorer browsers will block content embedded in HTML pages with APPLET, EMBED, or OBJECT elements, generating an annoying dialog that the user must click to 'activate' the content and load the relavant ActiveX control. Even more annoyingly, if a page uses these elements to load multiple controls, each interactive control must be individually activated. http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/activecontent.php http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/activecontent.php#article260 The OBJECT and EMBED tags used to embed Shockwave have 9 optional parameters called "sw1" through to "sw9". When shockwave starts, we can read theres parameters using the externalParamValue lingo function. For dynamic communication, once the page is loaded and Shockwave is playing, we need to get Shockwave talking directly to Javascript. http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/browsers.php http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/browsers.php#article259 1984 was the year Director was born, and like the Orwell story, it has some strange ideas of equality. Here are some notes on idiosyncrasies when comparing things depending on what type those things are. http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/comparisons.php http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/comparisons.php#article258 Lists, like most other lingo 'Objects', are passed by reference, not by value. This means when you 'set a variable to a list', you are actually assigning a pointer to the list. Here's some tips and tricks on using lists. http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/lists.php http://www.lingoworkshop.com/Articles/lists.php#article257