Director 7 and Lingo Authorized (2nd Edition) [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Phil Gross (Author), Frank Elley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 1999 | Series: Authorized

Developed by Macromedia's staff and user-tested in Macromedia's authorized training centers, this large-format book includes the complete curricula from training centers' 5-day hands-on courses. Presented in manageable step-by-step work sessions, users can work through the course at their own pace. The cross-platform CD-ROM contains practice files for both these Macromedia programs.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With a wide array of hands-on lessons and the Macromedia seal of approval, Director 7 and Lingo Authorized is a reliable, insightful guide for any aspiring multimedia author. You start off with an introduction to Director and its interface and toolset. You move on to do the following:

• Create animated bulleted lists and reversing animations
• Add transitions, sounds, video, and interactivity
• Set movie properties and animate with real-time recording
• Work with keyframes and layers
• Create film loops and buttons
• Add built-in behaviors and custom cursors
• Work with alpha channels
• Change sprite properties and set palette options
• Insert markers and fine-tune navigational elements
• Work with color cycling and blends
• Use Shockwave to create Web-based movies.

By lesson 16, you're ready to tackle Lingo. You get a simple introduction to scripting and learn the basics of events and handlers. Next you learn how to add navigation via Lingo, create visual and audio feedback, synchronize with digital video, control sprites with Lingo, and optimize scripts. More advanced tasks involve working with key codes, using lists and multiple casts, creating databases and lists, using a list database, and using Lingo on the Web. The companion CD-ROM has all the project files you need to get through the book's lessons. --Kathleen Caster

From the Back Cover

Learn to use Macromedia Director 7 and its built-in scripting language, Lingo, the powerful, cross-platform application that helps you create dynamic interactive movies for multimedia and Internet productions. Presented in manageable step-by-step sessions, this book helps you learn to use Director 7 and Lingo at your own pace. The enclosed cross-platform CD-ROM contains all the files you need to work through the lessons, plus completed versions with which you can compare your own results.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 771 pages
• Publisher: Addison Wesley Longman (February 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201354160
• ISBN-13: 978-0201354164
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,178,481 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Authorized by not the best, December 14, 1999

By 

Andrew Otwell "heyotwell" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Director 7 and Lingo Authorized (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

macromedia's Authorized series of books are fine if you must learn by being hand-held through a series of steps throughout. Unfortunately, you miss out on the context of what you're doing if you just follow steps. A much better book, especially for the beginner, is Roberts/Gross's Director X Demystified. That book assumes that you want to learn the whys and not just the by-the-numbers hows of multimedia development. Demystified also covers Lingo in much more depth.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Director For Dummies, December 9, 1999

By 

Sean O'Neil (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Director 7 and Lingo Authorized (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

If you're developing a Dummy library then this book is a must have. D7 & Lingo Authorized isn't a bad bood but it's hard to figure who the target audience is...If you're a client working w/ multimedia and want a surface knowledge of this programme, then it makes sense. But if you really want to learn D7, you might as well start w/ the infinitely superior D7 Demystified. Oddly enough, though Phil Gross worked on both books, they are polar opposites. D7D is not only informative and definitive, it's also an engaging read. D7 Authorized is not very engaging, incredibly simplistic and not exactly error-free. The writing itself is so void of personality and pedantic, one will find themselves paging ahead to relieve the tedium. Even if you know absolutely nothing about D7, Demystified is a better start.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New to Director 7 ?, November 24, 1999

By 

"opmindcrime" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Director 7 and Lingo Authorized (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

BUY this book. - Explanations are a little rough - and sometimes seem a little "cut-off". Probably a problem with me because I have no prior multimedia editing experience. General knowledge of multimedia programs similiar to this program is helpful. GOOD, easy to follow tutorials are explained. A problem I sometimes had was when I did NOT get the result that The TUTORIAL SAID i WAS SUPPOSED TO GET. Me, being such a premie, I didn't know how to trouble-shoot it. This book is still one of the best out of the 4 DIRECTOR 7 books I purchased. DO NOT BUY THE DIRECTOR 7 QUICK START guide BY PEACH-PIT IF YOU ARE NEW to director 7 ! I SPENT TOO MUCH TIME reading entire book and - LEARNED NOTHING THAT THIS BOOK DIDN'T TEACH ME IN THE FIRST few CHAPTERS!