Macromedia introduces Director MX

Dax Data, local Macromedia distributor and Web-enablement specialist, has announced Macromedia Director MX, a multimedia authoring environment for building high-end, rich, interactive content and applications deployed on CD/DVD-ROM, kiosks, and the Web via Macromedia Shockwave Player.

"The new version of Macromedia Director enables developers to deliver maximum interactive experiences on fixed-media such as CD-ROM and DVD-ROM, as well as on the Internet," says Jeremy Matthews, managing director, Dax Data.

Macromedia Director MX, expected to ship in December, includes many new features including comprehensive integration with the Macromedia Flash MX product family, adoption of the streamlined Macromedia MX user interface, Mac OS X support and the ability to create accessible content.

"Director MX enables users to author content once and deliver it anywhere, whether it is online or offline. It supports most major video, audio, bitmap, 3D and vector formats to give developers the broadest content palette from which to deliver sophisticated, compelling user experiences," he notes.

Extensive video capabilities within Director MX allow developers to stream video files that are minutes or hours in length and natively supported with QuickTime, RealVideo, and AVI.

New users will benefit from the ability to create content using drag-and-drop behaviours, while experienced users can use Lingo, the powerful, object-oriented scripting language in Director. Lingo syntax is easy to learn for programmers who are familiar with languages such as ActionScript, JavaScript, or Visual Basic.

"In addition, the integration with Flash MX and consistency with other products in the MX family is a substantial benefit for Director developers, most of who are already using other MX products," says Matthews.

Director MX enables users to launch and edit Flash from within Director to make quick content changes, and also gives developers direct control over Flash MX content through Lingo.

"Director now includes advanced debugging features such as an Object Inspector with data browser functionality and colour-coding of recently changed variables," says Matthews. "A unified script and debugging window, split-pane message window, and script window buttons dramatically reduce development time."