[Xerte] Text anti-alias question - Xerte 2 desktop

[Mary Ann Ahearn]

We'll check it out - have looked at the code before and am very grateful it
was all in one place.

Thanks
ma

On Mon, Nov 22, 2010 at 4:33 PM, Julian Tenney <
Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk> wrote:

>  A global 'font anti alias' option ought to be doable. How hard it is
> depends on where it needs to apply: the Text icon, obviously, but elsewhere
> too. Maybe set TextField.prototype.antAliasType once if a condition (i.e.
> your option) is met? That would take only a few minutes, but not sure it it
> would work. I'll look tomorrow.
>
> You are more than capable of taking XMLEngine.fla and trying some stuff
> yourself: just compile it over your XMLEngine.swf. To go back, just take
> your old one back again. In XMLEngine.fla are two (count 'em) frames of
> code. The first contains all the icon classes, other useful or startup
> stuff, the second the XML (.rlo) parser: it dives the xml and initalises the
> icon classes in frame 1 in its main loop.
>
> There is voodoo in places, embedding fonts at runtime being amongst the
> darkest of the arts. You can always get the most recent XMLEngine.fla from
> the .svn.
>
>  ------------------------------
> *From:* xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk [
> xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Mary Ann Ahearn [
> maryann at moberg.com]
> *Sent:* 22 November 2010 17:03
>
> *To:* Xerte discussion list
> *Subject:* Re: [Xerte] Text anti-alias question - Xerte 2 desktop
>
>  Just checked with a colleague who used:
>
> TextField.antiAliasType = "advanced"
>
> This made the text more crisp via Action Script in a past project.  We had
> to publish for Flash 8 player for this to work.
>
> It would be very cool if something like this could be an optional  property
> of the LO, similar to the embedFonts property, but which could also be
> overridden for an individual text field just as embedFonts can be.
>
> We probably could alter the source code but hate to touch it and haven't
> had to yet.
>
> Thanks!
> ma
>
>
> On Mon, Nov 22, 2010 at 10:59 AM, Julian Tenney <
> Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk> wrote:
>
>>  So you can set myIcon.txt.antiAliasType but I’m not sure what you need
>> to set it with? That is confusing…
>>
>>
>>
>> Probably the property inspector settings are applied at compile time, and
>> at runtime there are less options available?
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk [mailto:
>> xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] *On Behalf Of *Mary Ann Ahearn
>> *Sent:* 22 November 2010 13:50
>> *To:* Xerte discussion list
>> *Subject:* Re: [Xerte] Text anti-alias question - Xerte 2 desktop
>>
>>
>>
>> It's a property of text fields.
>>
>> So I thought I'd consult Flash 8 help to see what it has to say.  Now I'm
>> very confused because the property panel seems to offer different options
>> than those available via action script.
>> *
>> >From Flash 8 Professional help file - *
>>
>> public *antiAliasType*:  string     The type of anti-aliasing used for
>> this TextField instance.
>>
>> (TextField.antiAliasType property)
>>
>> Help goes on to say the following:
>>
>> The type of anti-aliasing used for this TextField instance. Advanced
>> anti-aliasing is available only in Flash Player 8 and later. You can control
>> this setting only if the font is embedded (with the embedFonts property
>> set to true). For Flash Player 8, the default setting is "advanced".
>>
>> To set values for this property, use the following string values:
>>
>> "normal"
>>
>> Applies the regular text anti-aliasing. This matches the type of
>> anti-aliasing that Flash Player used in version 7 and earlier.
>>
>>
>>
>> "advanced"
>>
>> Applies advanced anti-aliasing, which makes text more legible. (This
>> feature is available as of Flash Player 8.) Advanced anti-aliasing allows
>> for high-quality rendering of font faces at small sizes. It is best used
>> with applications that have a lot of small text. Advanced anti-aliasing is
>> not recommended for fonts that are larger than 48 points.
>>
>>
>>
>> Help for the properties panel for text gives the following options:
>>
>> ·         In the Property inspector, choose one of the following options
>> from the Anti-Aliasing pop-up menu:
>>
>> *Use Device Fonts *specifies that the SWF file use the fonts installed on
>> the local computer to display the fonts. Although this option has the least
>> impact on the size of the SWF file, it also forces you to rely on the fonts
>> installed on the user's computer for font display. For example, if you
>> specify the font Times Roman as a device font, the Times Roman font must be
>> installed on the computer playing back the content for the text to display.
>> For this reason, when using device fonts, choose only commonly installed
>> font families.
>>
>> *Bitmap Text (No Anti-Alias) *turns off anti-aliasing and provides no
>> text smoothing. The text is displayed using sharp edges, and the resulting
>> SWF file size is increased because the font outlines are embedded in the
>> SWF. Bitmap text is sharp at the exported size, but scales poorly.
>>
>> *Anti-Alias for Animation* creates a smoother animation. This is possible
>> in part because Flash ignores alignment and kerning information. Specifying
>> Anti-Alias for Animation creates a larger SWF file, because font outlines
>> are embedded.
>>
>> *NOTE*
>>
>> Fonts rendered using Anti-Alias for Animation are less legible at smaller
>> font sizes. for this reason, it is recommended that you use 10 point or
>> larger type when specifying Anti-Alias for Animation.
>>
>> *Anti-Alias for Readability* uses a new anti-aliasing engine that
>> improves the readability of fonts, particularly at small sizes. Specifying
>> Anti-Alias for Readability creates a larger SWF file, because font outlines
>> are embedded. In order to use the Anti-Alias for Readability setting you
>> must publish to Flash Player 8.
>>
>> *NOTE*
>>
>> Anti-Alias for Readability creates a highly legible typeface even at small
>> sizes. However, it animates poorly, and may cause performance problems. If
>> you intend to animate text, use Anti-Alias for Animation.
>>
>> *Custom Anti-Alias (Flash Professional only) *lets you modify the font's
>> properties as you see fit. The custom anti-aliasing properties are Sharpness
>> and Thickness.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Nov 22, 2010 at 5:45 AM, Julian Tenney <
>> Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk> wrote:
>>
>> Not sure: how do you do it in Flash?
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk [mailto:
>> xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] *On Behalf Of *Mary Ann Ahearn
>> *Sent:* 19 November 2010 22:35
>> *To:* Xerte discussion list
>> *Subject:* [Xerte] Text anti-alias question - Xerte 2 desktop
>>
>>
>>
>> Is there a way to set Xerte text to Anti-alias for readability?
>>
>> We're using embedded fonts with style sheets for formatting and all is
>> well but it could be a little crisper.  Looks like it's the flash default -
>> anti-alias for animation.
>>
>> Couldn't find much in the archives.
>>
>> Thanks!
>> ma
>>
>>
>>
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