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

[Mary Ann Ahearn]

Yup, it is a Flash issue - the nature of the beast I think.

Thanks so much for your help.

On Sun, Nov 28, 2010 at 5:02 PM, Julian Tenney <
Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk> wrote:

>  So this is a Flash issue, rather than Xerte specific? We have to embed
> fonts at runtime to use embedded fonts. I remember poking about with those
> settings and coming to a similar conclusion: I couldn't see what else the
> engine could do to help? Larger sizes look better: otherwise, I'd use system
> fonts at 10 / 12 - they look better as normal fonts when small, I think.
>
> J
>
>  ------------------------------
> *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:* 28 November 2010 17:02
>
> *To:* Xerte discussion list
> *Subject:* Re: [Xerte] Text anti-alias question - Xerte 2 desktop
>
>   A colleague poked around Xerte source code on Friday to try to make the
> text in Xerte match the crispness of text in our swfs. She learned that in
> Xerte, the antiAliasType property for text fields with embedded fonts is
> already set to "advanced". This is equivalent to 'anti-aliased for
> readability', which we use in ourswfs .
>
> The reason why text in some of our swfs may look crisper, is because at
> times we forgot to embed the fonts in our swf's text boxes. We need to
> update these so that they will match Xerte text.
>
> Unfortunately, embedding the fonts is what makes the text thicker/fuzzier.
> Setting the text to 'anti-aliased for animation' (which is the default in
> Flash and in ActionScript is equivalent to antiAliasType="normal") makes it
> even more fuzzy. Since we need embedded fonts in order for the content to
> look the same on every platform, we have to live with this trade-off.
>
>
> On Sat, Nov 27, 2010 at 5:53 PM, Mary Ann Ahearn <maryann at moberg.com>wrote:
>
>> Same here - plus it's a big holiday weekend in the states so we haven't
>> tried anything yet.
>>
>> On Thu, Nov 25, 2010 at 5:04 AM, Julian Tenney <
>> Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk> wrote:
>>
>>>  Did you get anywhere with this? Time has been in short supply for me
>>> this week…
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *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 17:04
>>>
>>> *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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>
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