When you are done creating your animations, the character and images must be compiled into a special format that Microsoft Agent uses to load this data. To build a character, select the Build Character command on the File menu or from the toolbar. If you have unsaved edits in your character definition file, the Editor saves the definition file before displaying the Build Character dialog box.
Figure 8: The Build Character dialog box
The Agent Character Editor will automatically propose a filename based on your character definition filename. The Build Character dialog box also includes a drop-down list so you can choose between building the character as a single storage file (.ACS) or as multiple files. If you choose the latter, the Editor builds an .ACF file that includes character's data and an .AAF file for each animation you created. If you plan to install and access a character stored on the same machine as your client application, you would typically choose the single structured file format. This format provides easy and efficient installation of and access to the character. However, if the character will be accessed from a Web server using the HTTP protocol, build your character using the .ACF (individual) file format. This latter file structure allows a Web page script to load individual animation files, storing the data in the user's browser file cache. It provides more efficient access over the Web because animation data can be downloaded as needed rather than requiring the user to wait for the entire set of animations to download at one time. In addition, because the character's data is stored in the browser cache, the file space can be automatically reclaimed.
Although you can also download character data (either as a single structured file or multiple files) from a Web server and install elsewhere on a user's machine, such a method requires security provisions for downloading and installation. As a result, Microsoft Agent does not include support for downloadable installation of a character except to the browser's cache. However, you can still support this scenario by creating your own installation control and distribute it following appropriate security conventions. For more information, see the Microsoft Internet Client Software Development Kit.
The Compress option enables you to set whether the character data is compressed. Typically, you will want to set this option to compact your character data, although building a character with the compacted data takes longer.
Once you build a character, subsequent builds will be faster if you build the character to the same directory location. The character editor automatically verifies and copies those files that have not changed, and recompiles any data that has been edited.