Jul 29 2009
Drawing outlines on text glyphs can help to give the text emphasis, or simply make it more legible or visible. This type of text rendering is commonly seen in video subtitles.
When using the Aspire UI AS3 library, if you need to draw outlines on text glyphs in uiText instances, you can do so by defining the “outline” property when defining your text style(s). This feature works with both embedded as well as non-embedded fonts.
Jul 28 2009
If you often embed fonts for use in Flash/Flex and needs to specify “unicodeRange” in the [Embed] meta tag, the following site gives you the unicode tables for the various character glyphs:
Jul 24 2009
Breaking a large application down into modules allows the application to be loaded in more manageable chunks. A “module” is simply a term borrowed from Flex to refer to a child SWF that is loaded into a main (host) SWF – in our context, a “module” is just like any other SWF. But, if built correctly, it should be a “stripped down” SWF – it will not contain classes that already exist in the host SWF that it is going to be loaded into. This usually means that modules cannot run standalone (which is the desired outcome in most cases, considering that the modules are intended to be loaded into the main application).
When using FlashDevelop, building a Project (pressing F8 or CTRL-ENTER) compiles a single SWF using the AS class file that has been flagged as “Always Compile”. If you are building an application that consists of a host SWF and multiple module SWFs, FlashDevelop does not automate the job for you.
Jul 21 2009
In sliders where the track is small compared to the number of steps available in the range, it is often difficult for end-users to set the exact value they desire. This is because the value is derived from the thumb position on the track and sliding the thumb of a small slider, even minutely, can result in adjustment of a few steps.
In order to improve end-user experience, the uiSlider from the Aspire UI library (v1.1.5+) implements mouse wheel support. When a uiSlider instance has focus, the end-user may hover the mouse over the instance and use the mouse wheel to adjust the value up or down step-by-step (by moving the mouse wheel up or down). This is implemented on top of the usual keyboard support (UP and DOWN keys).
Jul 20 2009
An updated Trial Version of the Aspire UI library is now available for download at
http://ghostwire.com/aspireui/download/
* This trial version is strictly for evaluation purposes.
* You may not use the trial to develop and deploy applications.
* Compiled SWFs will stop working after a few minutes.
* This trial version is based off Aspire UI Standard Edition v1.2.1 (the previous trial was based off Aspire UI Lite Edition v1.0.9).
* The previous trial version limits execution to debug versions of the Flash Player; this is no longer the case with this updated version.
* Aspire UI is an ActionScript 3.0 library – compiled SWFs must target Flash Player 9+.
Jul 16 2009
To improve end-user experience, I would think that multiple non-contiguous selections in lists should be made possible by left-clicking while pressing down CTRL+SHIFT (ie, holding down both modifier keys while clicking).
Jul 14 2009
Here is how to apply embossed (and engraved) text effect during run-time easily using ActionScript. This works only when the TextField instance is using embedded font and its antiAliasType property is set to AntiAliasType.ADVANCED.
Jul 10 2009
Yesterday, the Aspire UI library was updated to version 1.2.0. Among other changes, we have also implemented support for faux bold weights for embedded fonts.
Faux bold is “fake” bold. It is an efficient way to display text in the same typeface but with different weights (bolder, thinner, etc.). It can be used as an alternative to the real bold font, or used in combination with the real thing.
Sometimes, the bold version of a font simply doesn’t exist so this is also where faux boldness comes in. Or, you can use this feature to make the typeface thinner (rather than bolder).
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