Compressing bitmaps

If you plan to distribute your movie over the Internet, you can compress your bitmap images to ensure faster downloading. Director lets you compress images at the movie level and for individual cast members. Bitmap compression set at the cast member level overrides compression settings at the movie level.

In addition to Director standard compression, you can use JPEG compression and specify a range of image quality. If you have Fireworks installed, you can use the Optimize in Fireworks button to start Fireworks and then dynamically apply compression settings while viewing how your image looks at those settings. When you determine the most suitable compression level, Director remembers the settings you established in Fireworks.

To compress a bitmap at the cast member level:

1. Select bitmap cast members or sprites, and click the Bitmap tab in the Property inspector.

   If you selected multiple cast members or sprites, the Property inspector displays the compression setting if it is the same for each selected object. If the compression settings are not the same, the Compression pop-up menu is blank.

2. Click the Compression pop-up menu, and do one of the following:
   • To compress selected bitmaps using the same settings as those established for movie-level compression, select Movie Setting. For more information about setting bitmaps at the movie level, see the information about the Compression tab under Changing Publish Settings.
   • To use the standard Director compression, select Standard.
   • To use JPEG compression, select JPEG, and move the slider bar to the desired level of compression. The higher the number you specify, the less your bitmap is compressed (that is, 100 indicates no compression).

Movie Setting is usually the default compression setting, except under certain conditions when the compression feature is disabled or when Director controls image-compression choices.

For example, when the image is a JPEG, the compression setting defaults to JPEG compression. You can't select another compression option.

Similarly, the Compression setting defaults to Standard compression, and you can't change this setting when the cast member is any of the following:

• An 8-bit cast member created in the Paint window
• A GIF imported as a bitmap with no alpha channel information
• An 8-bit PNG
• A linked cast member or a cast member created with script

Note: If you open a Director 7 movie in Director MX, bitmap cast members are assigned Movie Setting as the default, and compression settings at the movie level, set in the Publish Settings dialog box, default to the Standard compression setting. This ensures the movie plays as it did in Director 7.

To compress bitmaps at the movie level:

1. Select File > Publish Settings.

   The Publish Settings dialog box appears.

2. On the Compression tab, make a selection from the Image Compression pop-up menu, and click OK.
   • To use the standard Director compression, select Standard.
   • To use JPEG compression, select JPEG, and move the slider bar to the desired level of compression. The higher the number you specify, the less your bitmap is compressed (that is, 100 indicates no compression).

   Note: Director saves your publish settings when you save your movie.

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