AutoCropper

Overview

This tool will automatically crop an image sequence based on how it differs from a reference image.

This file was originally hosted on the InvisibleThreads website until 2008. It has now been archived. The original layout and formatting for this document is missing from the archives — sorry!

Quick Links

• User Guide
• Cropping Modes

Requirements

• Macromedia Director 8.0 or later

This utility was written by Kendall Anderson, with a valuable portion of code by Werner Sharp, posted publicly on the lingo-l discussion list.

User Guide

This document describes how to install and use AutoCropper v1.2 within Macromedia Director 8.0 or greater.

Installing AutoCropper v1.2

1. Close Director if it is running.
2. Copy the source file (AutoCropper v1.2.dir) into your Macromedia Director XTRAS folder. For example, on a Windows machine, this might be located in: C:\Program Files\Macromedia\Director 8\Xtras\
3. Restart Director.

Starting AutoCropper v1.2

1. The installation step installs AutoCropper v1.2 as a MIAW Xtra. You should now see AutoCropper v1.2 listed in your Xtras menu. To start the program, select: Xtras -> AutoCropper v1.2.

Using AutoCropper v1.2

1. Define the reference image.
   • Make sure your reference image has been imported into a castlib.
   • Select the reference image in the castlib. The reference image must be a bitmap member!
   • In AutoCropper, select button 1 - "assign cast selection as reference image".
   • If successful, you should see your reference image appear in the thumbnail window.
2. Define the images to crop.
   • Make sure the images you wish to crop have been imported into a castlib.
   • In the castlib, select all the members you wish to crop.
   • In AutoCropper, select button 2 - "assign cast selection as sequence to crop".
   • If successful, you should see a list of your selections below button 2.
3. Choose the cropping method.
   • There are two cropping methods: normal crop and fast crop.
     Click here to see the difference between the two methods.
4. Begin the cropping process.
   • Select button 4 - "Crop Image Sequence".
   • As the cropping proceeds, you should see a mask displayed in the thumbnail window indicating the progress through the selected images.

Cropping Modes

There are two cropping modes: normal crop and fast crop. This document will illustrate the differences between them.

Normal Crop		Fast Crop
returns all pixels within a rectangular region defining the changing area from the reference image		returns an image containing only the pixels which have changed from the reference image
Pros & Cons		Pros & Cons
PRO: resultant image can be composited on the stage using the fastest ink mode, copy ink		PRO: resultant image typically is smaller (kb) than Normal Crop because only the differing pixels are contained PRO: cropping process is faster
CON: cropping process is slower than Fast Crop		CON: cannot use copy ink with resultant image
Given a reference image and an image to crop:
reference image		image to crop
The final cropped image for each cropping type is as follows:
cropped using Normal Crop method		cropped using Fast Crop method

If there are any questions about this document or how to use AutoCropper, please feel free to contact me.

Copyright © 2001 Kendall Anderson | Invisible Threads