Using Director 7 (Special Edition)

For readers of Gary Rosenzweig's earlier books on Director versions 5 and 6, Special Edition Using Director 7 holds no surprises: it is a big, competent, extensive volume on the latest version of Macromedia's flexible multimedia engine.

The book quickly ploughs through the beginner-level material (Director's interface, using cast members, basic controls, and animation) in an effort to dig into the finer points of the entire application: using bitmap art vs. vector art, digital video, sound, new paint and layering effects, and more. And this is all in the first 150 pages!

All the usual chapters are here: getting up to speed on the interface, using Lingo, preparing artwork, and so on, but of all the various sections and chapters, Section 8 is arguably the most useful. "Using Director to Create Professional Applications" takes you through six application categories (educational, business, graphics, sound, Shockwave, and games) using a variety of real-world examples.

The last section, "Finishing a Project," is also of vital interest. Whole chapters on debugging your application as well as tweaking for maximum performance are critical points when delivering professional-level work, and the author draws from his experience and passes on many useful tips.

Special Edition Using Director 7 is probably one of the more useful books on this software, suitable for beginning, intermediate, and somewhat advanced users. --Mike Caputo