How does the effort of Adobe to keep Director going compare to the effort in writing a book? Is Director really dead? I can understand the financial reward may appear to be uncertain and reading past authors' experiences would justify that hesitatation but what if Adobe paid someone to write this book? Am I completely wrong in daring to hope that Director has a future? The way forward would now be clear to Adobe. If Director 12 ushers in new life would this not require support with lots of learning materials? I still have faith in this program. It cannot survive the way it is but it can change and meet the new criteria. Yes the ball is in Adobe's court and even Adobe has the opportunity of learning from its mistakes.

I have often heard how people Love this program. Is there not someone out there who will help Director make that change and work with Adobe? Perhaps Adobe needs to make friends with the people that gave many years of their life working and creating with Director. If there are no books and no learning materials the learning becomes extremely difficult. I sense that there has been a change of attitude and Adobe has seen the light. I would buy the book and I would upgrade to 12 if it had Adobe's support. We only need Adobe to do what has seemed impossible before. So will somebody write a comprehensive book on the new version? I would even be happy with a comprehensive book on Director 11.5. Elated, euphoric and overjoyed would begin to describe my reaction to such a possibility. Paying for a book even a premium price is a small cost.

Thank you Sean and Nairkat. Yes you are right but I would like a book to happen and this is why.

I already own a lot of books on Director. They cover versions 5 to MX 2004 and I have counted eleven without trying too hard. The Director Help Documents - Using Director and Scripting had too little detail at the begining and lots of typos. I do not know whether update to 11.5.9 has corrected the errors.

I would be happy working my way through the Director documentation but at the back of my mind is how wonderful and useful it would be if the authors of those books updated them so that they would work on Lion. If they would remove the Xtras that are no longer supported and use the ones that are. I am a Macintosh user so the number of Xtras are small compared to the Windows platform. I value those authors. It took me a lot of work before I realised how little had changed from MX 2004.

The same can be said of the Director web-sites; The ones that are left that is. Most of the references in those books are now gone, the links just do not work. Dean Utians site is wonderful and is still going but I wish it would be more up to date. If there was only a web-site that collated all the comments and solutions and put it in one Instruction Manual: Director for Lion, Director for Windows 7. And what happens when Mountain Lion comes out? Will it handle non 64 bit programs? Will Director ever be rewritten to run on Mountain Lion?

And so I come to my most important point. If I struggle and learn all the things I can from what exists will there be a future for Director. Version 12 should tell us where things are going. Is Adobe going to meet the challenge or just a little window-dressing? A platform for CD roms DVDs and modern computer operating systems including just a little on mobile devices (or a lot if that is possible) would be fine with me. It is Adobe's vision of the future that I need to know. Is it worth learning Director or should I face up to what many have already done and chosen another way. I own Director, I have the books albeit old ones, I have spent time trying to learn the program and I LIKE THE PROGRAM. There is no program that is like Director that I know of. A book on Director 12 would be a water-shed it would discard the old and promote the new.

The Director Future discussions on this site were devastating and demolishing for me. They stopped me learning the program. I have now recovered, realised that Death is a possibility but what is this? A DIRECTOR THAT CAN EXPORT TO MOBILE DEVICES. Is this a rescue?

A book that takes us back to the begining with all the new things that Director now has like 3-D for instance. A book would give me hope that Director has a future and it would help me learn the program as it is and not how it was. I understand that it is Adobe's vision that counts. And of course the future of Flash would be resolved as well.

It is important that the book be sponsored by Adobe because they know what they are doing, we do not. It would signal that Adobe has recognised the potential for Director and is going to support it. Which direction in the end does not matter but that Adobe is supporting it does.

And now we come to the magic of this post. What is it that makes a good book on Director? What should be in it. If Adobe does not come to the party can we put together a Masterpiece of a work on Learning Director and a Director Reference?

Perhaps I have shown my ignorance and naivety but I bet you, there are a lot of people out there that would like Director to make the change and LIVE. I think a book would help. Experienced, knowledgeable Director people who do not live in a dream world will hopefully take this to where it needs to go.

Thank you OpenSpark. You have highlighted a problem I was not aware of. I do have the files but they are not showing up in the Help Menu so I forgot I had them. I cannot access the Director Support Centre from the Help Menu (I get helpx.adobe.com/director.html but it does not connect) although the check for updates does seem to access the internet.

I updated my program 11.5 with 11.5.8-en_US_Adobe update dmg and also with 11.5.9-en_US_Adobe update dmg. The put version shows 11.5.9. In the Director Network Preferences I have checked Proxies.

It seems I have two problems 1) How to connect to the support centre  from the Help Menu and 2) How to get the new help files to show up in the Help Menu.

I would appreciate help with this. I think it is still all about how to get the best Director Instruction Manual.

3 June 2012, 11:08 pm (local time AEST) Like a miracle, problem 1) has mysteriously dissapeared. I have even been able to upgrade my Flash Player. I can now work on problem 2).

I have to thank the invisible people that helped me or was it a setting on my computer?

My attention now goes back to a book on Director 12. The best thing I did to learn Director (apart from buying it, doing a multi-media course at a local college (Director 5 and 6), buying Director books and following this Forum for a number of years) was making a post on this Forum just one day ago. I have been able to see the interest that does exist for this topic. Whether the interest is the 'soon' to be released Director 12 and the truth it will reveal or the problem getting current learning materials only replies will show. No matter what, I have been inspired and I hope to reach those who are now the true champions of this program (even if they are past disillusioned Masters pretending to be interested in other programs and now lost in the shadows or those actually working for Adobe or the quiet people that just get on with the work). I look forward to your ideas.

Message was edited by: Withhope

4 June 2012, 12:44 am (local time AEST) Getting that 'Director Support Centre link working has fixed the updating of the Help Menu, so probem 2) is now fixed. All I need to do now is read the link you very kindly gave me OpenSpark. The Director Support Centre page is fantastic (first impression)! I see that Dean Utian's site has some Adobe recognition.

Message was edited by: Withhope

Hi Dean,

I am glad that you agree that a book on Director 12 would be valuable. I have a lot of difficulty understanding the documentation and especially the absence of it. The recent  iOS  feature in Director 12 seems to illustrate that point very well. Credit must be given to OpenSpark (James Newton) for the work he has done, but those of us who are trying to learn the program and those who have been using the program for many years still have lots of questions and really would like (need) more.

Since most of us do not know what Adobe is doing and those that do cannot say, I can only imagine that at this moment in time some excellent documentation is about to be released. It is silly for a person who is a beginner to write such a book. It would take a long time and there would have to be input from the experts and really it would be almost impossible.

Here is a compromise, instead of writing a complete book what about individual chapters? The new iOS feature would deserve a book on its own, but a few chapters would be nice. A few chapters on current Xtras would be more than wonderful. Would there be anybody more knowledgeable than Valentin? There are so many subjects that an encyclopaedia would be more appropriate than a book. Well what about a Directorpaedia on the internet?

Now everybody has had these thoughts, I am sure. So how do we persuade those that have the skill, knowledge and experience to write it? Perhaps Adobe is fed up of the bad press and has secretly commissioned some of the best people to do the job?  Is there a retiring expert who now has a little time and would enjoy doing such a work?

I think we can start with a Newsletter written by Adobe. Published just once a month. The recent Director 12 release and some details about iOS on mobile devices would be a good first issue.

There still is a Director Community and some people just will not let it die.  We need the support of the experts and we need Adobe.

Well, will somebody write a book about Director 12?

Withhope.

16 March 2013, 7:36 pm