Fixing Dynamic TextField Cut-Off in Actionscript 3
Recently I was working with the TextFormat class and dynamic TextField instances in Actionscript 3 and was noticing a slight rendering error. It seemed as if some of the beginning and ending characters in the text field were being slightly cut-off. After doing some research I found the culprit and the solution as well. I found that the TextFormat object I was using to format the text of the TextField object(s) wasn’t being fully utilized.
The TextFormat object has two properties which can be used to fix this “cut-off” of text. They are the rightMargin and leftMargin properties and setting them will help to reduce and/or remove this “cut-off” effect (depending on the value set).
In my solution I used a value of 1 pixel for each property and ended up with my desired results. The value you use will be dependent on the placement of the TextField instance in accordance with other content as well as the font being used. This find was a simple yet effective solution. Simply setting the leftMargin and/or rightMargin properties of the TextFormat object that is formatting your TextField(s) instances will do the trick. Just ask yourself which side the “cut-off” is occurring and set a value to the correct property (trial and error the values until desired result is achieved).
To create an interactive web-based tool proof-of-concept where the user/stat keeper can record the location of shots in a game (ex. Hockey, Basketball, Soccer, etc.)
I have been having problems in Flex 3 with respect to connecting to the Debugger for a while now and through much trial and error with no results I have found the solution that worked. This solution came as a result of viewing comments on a post regarding the Debugger issue topic in Flex. The post by Juha is found below…
I know it’s about Silverlight, but the fix on that page also fixed my Flex debugger.
It seems that an update by Windows Defender (Vista) caused the issue…
On March 9, a signature update to Windows Defender and Microsoft Forefront Security was released that modified your system’s hosts file to address a vulnerability. One of the side effects of this update was that an entry for localhost may have been removed from your hosts file.
I made the small modification suggested on the link and my debugger connected instantly in Flex 3 when I selected Debug.
Hope this may help some of you out there running into the same issue.
Design Patterns – Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software
I just finished Design Patterns – Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software by Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, and John Vlissides aka “The Gang of Four” and it was extremely informative. I have seen numerous posts about it being a “must read” for programmers and I finally made it happen. It is great for a few reasons, namely its content, structure, and organization.
If the examples were in Actionscript, I would have been in heaven, but that is kind of defeating the purpose of this book. Its purpose is to create a catalog naming, explaining, and organizing the most used design patterns in object-oriented software. It does just that.
Data Structures and Algorithms for Game Developers
I recently read Data Structures and Algorithms for Game Developer’s by Allen Sherrod which is a great introductory book for those interested in game development. Though the title at first seemed a bit threatening, I found myself comfortable reading it shortly after opening the book. At first Data Structures and Algorithms can seem intimidating, but each can be explained in a simpler manner.
Data Structure – defines how data is arranged in memory
Ex. arrays, link lists, queues, graphs, trees, and hash tables
Algorithm – code that manipulates data in a data structure(s)
I recently read the book Inside Game Design by Iain Simmons which takes a look at 15 different game development studios and interviews programmers, creatives, and managers within them. Such interviews are conducted with employees of Valve, Harmonix, and Media Molecule which created the games Half-Life, Guitar Hero, and Little Big Planet respectively. Inside looks into workflows, technologies, processes, and personal thoughts about the game industry and related topics are discussed throughout the book.
The book is a fun and visually stimulating read where studio strategies vary and concept art, map structures, and artist sketches showcase what is often unseen by the public eye. I recommend the book to anyone interested in gaming and how games are created at a base level, but more importantly to those who want an inside look at the game studio culture.
How to interact with a .DAE object in Papervision3D
Notes
I assume the reader has a moderate understanding of Actionscript 3, PV3D, and OOP.
I have found Nabble.com to be a great source for PV3D information. PV3D team members make comments here as well, which helped result in the solution below. The changing materials at runtime code was found here.I have only tested this with the ColorMaterial object, let me know if you get it to work with other materials, or shaders for that matter.
Introduction
I’ve seen many questions with respect to interacting with .DAE files using Papervision3D and have been searching for an answer myself for quite some time now. I have found a solution and have clarified a few things I was unsure of along the way.
1) You don’t interact with the .DAE itself, but the material(s) of the .DAE file.
Brainstorming is the process in which an individual or group invokes, connects, and/or produces concepts and ideas. These concepts and ideas often pertain to a goal or general theme, but is not always the case. Brainstorming is the ultimate tool for any creative, and when this tool is utilized in a group setting the diversity of ideas may expand greatly. This can be a good or bad thing, but since the very essence of brainstorming is reliant on the concept that no idea is a bad idea I believe it positive, at least in the initial stages. Group brainstorming helps initiate and inspire new thoughts and ideas as a result of others thoughts and ideas. New thoughts and ideas are a direct result of brainstorming, they are also the very reason you brainstorm in the first place. Below are five methods of brainstorming that I have found very useful.
I have recently read A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young (a well respected man in and contributor of, the advertising world). In the short read he explains personal involvement and experience with respect to advertising. One day he was confronted with the blunt question, “How do you get ideas?”. Upon pondering the question he set out to break apart the process and to find an answer. His answer consists of five steps. He makes a point that many people are aware of these steps but many do not actually utilize them. And even less use them in order.
Embedding Font in the Flash CS3 List Component using AS3
Notes
“Right-click” on a PC is equivalent to ctrl-click on a Mac, the idea is to simply bring up the contextual menu.
I assume the reader has a moderate understanding of Actionscript 3 and OOP.
Introduction
I’ve seen many tutorials for embedding font within components and none seem to work. I found the solution. Many tutorials utilized the setStyle property when the setRendererStyle property needed to be utilized instead. Also, embedFonts (with the s) as opposed to embedFont (without the s) makes the difference. I don’t usually use components but the List component is great for displaying data from external XML files, this tutorial simply informs how to embed fonts in components using the setRendererStyle property. The result of the tutorial is found here…
I just took my Photoshop CS3 ACE re-certification exam and passed!
The test, in comparison to the Photoshop CS2 Full Ace Exam seemed to be a little bit more difficult for the following reasons.
1) The questions seemed to be a little more technical in terms of presets and settings for the print as well as painting tools
2) For my test specifically, it seemed a majority of questions dealt with the Animation Palette and its various options and settings for both the Timeline mode and the Frame animation mode. Maybe this was so simply because I am less familiar with this area in relation to other areas of Photoshop.
I would highly recommend the Photoshop CS3 Exam Aid, though there seem to be some errors and a few contradictory statements it is beyond worth it. It really helps you get in the mode of taking a test with similarly phrased questions. I feel they could really improve the program if they enabled a greater variety in questions to propagate when taking the preset mock quizzes. You should go into study mode and go through the 500+ questions (which are categorized) because many of these do not show up in the practice mode of the exam and are very informative.
Recently I was working with the TextFormat class and dynamic TextField instances in Actionscript 3 and was noticing a slight rendering error. It seemed as if some of the beginning and ending characters in the text field were being slightly cut-off. After doing some research I found the culprit and the solution as well. I found that the TextFormat object I was using to format the text of the TextField object(s) wasn’t being fully utilized.
Notes
Introduction
I just took my Photoshop CS3 ACE re-certification exam and passed!
