You can incorporate Flash vector-based animation in your Director movies and projectors simply by importing Flash content into Director and using it like any other cast member. Effects that once required multiple versions of a bitmap cast member--such as blending one shape into another--can now be accomplished with a single, small Flash file.
Director can import Flash 2 files or later. Director supports the new features of Macromedia Flash MX and Flash MX 2004, including access to Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX.
In Director, you can control nearly every Flash property--including playing, rewinding, and stepping forward and backward through all Flash content, adjusting quality settings, and turning sound on or off--using Lingo or JavaScript syntax.
In Flash, you can create cross-platform Windows and Macintosh movies and then play or manipulate them in Director. You can create Flash content that communicates with your Director movie by sending events that Director scripts can capture and process. You can store entire Flash files in the Director cast file, or you can link to external Flash content. Director automatically loads the Flash content it encounters in the Score into memory from disk, from a network drive, or from anywhere on the Internet.
Flash content is particularly effective for use in Macromedia Shockwave content because, as vector-based media, they are extremely small and therefore load much more quickly than most other media types. Because Flash content is vector-based, you can scale and rotate them while still maintaining their sharpness. For example, you can create splash screens for your Shockwave content that loads quickly and entertains your users while the rest of the Director movie streams into memory, or you can create interactive maps in Flash that users can pan across or zoom in on to reveal details with vector-based precision.
Director MX 2004 uses the Flash asset commonPlayer. The commonPlayer is a property that applies to all Flash assets, Vector shapes, and Flash components. It lets you load multiple Flash sprites into one instance of the Flash Player rather than requiring one Flash Player for each Flash sprite on the Stage. The commonPlayer feature is designed to provide better Flash playback performance in Director projects that use large numbers of Flash assets.