DXRs are read by Mac & PC projectors!

Date: Sat Dec  5 20:09:59 MST 1998
From: Al Shilling <AlS@lee.k12.fl.us>
Subject: DXRs are read by Mac & PC projectors!

Cross Platform Authoring Mac-PC

I just completed my first commercial CD-ROM project for a local hospital. The client is distributing the CD to local schools so the finished project had to be able to play on both Mac and PC. I authored on a Mac G3-266 using Director 6.0 and then went to a multimedia company in Naples, FL called 4What Interactive to find out how to transfer to PC... Well, they were at a loss too but this is what I found out (through a lot of trial and a lot more errors)

After authoring is complete, covert all of the movies to DXRs (duh-but some people like me don't do this) and save all of the videos and quick time goodies to a folder called "movies" (or whatever). Create a Mac projector for the opening movie. Then, save the opening movie director file onto a zip disk and open it up on a PC with director. Save this out as a PC projector to (if it will fit) the same zip disk. You should now have a PC projector for the opening movie and a Mac projector for the opening movie. These should link to the other segments which need to be done in separate movies.

I found that you do not have to re-save the other DXR files for either projector to access them. Just make sure you use a windows (yecch!) color palette for all of your graphics just to be safe. Authored my final CD on my Mac (yey!!!) after numerous attempts using PCs to do all of the work... I found that the PC rom burner I was using translates the files into some other information (can you tell I am not a programmer?) that a Mac cannot recognize BUT the Mac (yey!) doesnt affect the PC files at all, so what you end up with is a truly cross platform Director CD.

Big picture, open up your introduction or opening dir movie on the PC and save out as a projector... Open the same file on the mac and save out a projector... convert the rest of the dir movies into DXRs, keep all of your movies in one folder and burn it onto a CD and VIOLA! Cross platform!

Now I hope this helps someone else out, becuase if I knew this or if the folks at Macromedia's Tech support would have been so nice as to tell me and not blow me off, I would have saved a fortune in time and gas money... Good luck with your productions... Man is this stuff cool or what!!!