Topless Text Ain't Sexy

[Kilmatead]

Ok, I've been modifying the player part of MacMaster's Ultimate skin so the seekbar more conveniently extends the length of the screen.

Resizable=1,1,1,0
Pos=0,0
Size=800,70 (I had to change this from the original, as MacMaster's just seems in error [he had it at 300]. I use 800 so it adjusts to the smallest screen possible. Personally I use it at 1920. The screenshot is from 1280-ish, just for display size.)



Obviously, at one end I'm using the %I mask (Pos=352,14 / Size=70,11), and at the other the %J (Pos=697,14 / Size=70,11), with an alignment of 1 to right-justify). The %R and %L are centred at Pos=375,19.

The trouble, as the screenshot shows, is that %J seems to think it "owns" the space from the middle of the bar to it's end... thus cutting off the top of "Byrne The Knee Plays", though "David" is fine. I can solve this by just placing %R and %L two pixels lower at 21 (from 19), but that still means I can't use anything else in the middle of the top line (it gets overwritten). Why is this happening? By my reckoning %J Pos=697,14 Size=70 (Resizable=1,0,1,0) is necessary to place it at the far right... if I go further than that, it's misplaced. Surely Size=70 shouldn't create a field large enough to overwrite the Artist/Album text?

Do I have the Resizable wrong for that placement, or what?

[rovingcowboy]

i remember helping MacMaster with that size thing.
he put it to a lower size so he could have it stretch to where it was needed.

by making it longer you told it to over ride the text area.

you need to make it the size he had and then put the resize code to all 1's it should then stretch to the end of the empty space and the start of the text area.

from what i remember he had made the skin to a size that was smaller then 800, so the skin would fit on that screen and look nice at any size when stretched, what it does is count the number of pixels in the length it is told to be. and the pixels that is the part of the skin that is set to be the middle section of the background for the player, that the bar goes over are then ignored, so when it stretches it if there is 20 pixels of the bar on the left section, it stops counting at 20 then it starts with 20.0 to 20.??? until it gets to the right section of the skin where it starts with 21. and goes to the end of the bar's limit in pixels.
thats not exactly correct but is the best way to explain what the stretching does,

so when you made it 800 you added 500 pixels to the right side of the bar which overlapped everything until it gets to the 800th pixel on the screen, you can of course if there is room under the text area move it down in the position in the ini file. pos = horz. number, vertical number, so pos = 15,54 is 15 horz. and 54 down from top.
so moving the text area down can fix it. if you just have the top cut off. but if the seek bar goes off the side of the screen then you have to cut that back down in pixel length. which is your 800,70 length, width(height).

this is the reason it is best to make the skins have a limit on the smallest screen size they are viewed on that works.
when i made the concert skin i made it for a 1600 x 1200 screen size which made it un usable with anything smaller as it was all cut off the right if the screen was not that size. some had wanted it cut in half or smaller so i cut it down in size to make it work on smaller screens.

if you wish to do that or make the skin you like larger for your screen you have to completely redo the original skin and either multiply or subtract so much percentage of the size of all the measurements that the original skinner made them.
then re compile the skin, and that is more work then you know because as skinners we can do and i do cover up some errors in measurements with certain things and if you don't know what they are you get a messed up skin.
what i cover up does not effect the complete look of the skin but just some minor out of alignment for buttons.
they are easy to see when you check the measurements. but it is always better to make a new one by using the ones made to figure out what you can do or what you need to do.

[Kilmatead]

you need to make it the size he had and then put the resize code to all 1's it should then stretch to the end of the empty space and the start of the text area.

No and no and more no. (This is like the Terrible Two's, I'm a complaining child.) On another thread, in a universe not too far away, you did some proctoring on the 'resize' feature, in relation to my having absurd positional numbers (for 1920 resolutions) all over the place. In particular I had a trackbar difficulty which was unhappy - after all the 'resize' adjustments in the world, it just refused to work, when everything else did.

The solution was to modify the original Size=300,70 to 800 because it for some reason just blocked the trackbar length. At the time I actually berated myself for that messed-up setting, but as you say, he set it that way intentionally. The 800 solved my problem because it allowed more "breathing space" for things to expand out to 1920, whilst retaining the ability to resize down to smaller screens.

And now you tell me I just scruffed-up his original scruff-up (to use the vernacular), which is in turn now scruffing me up the wrong way again. There's no polite word for that.

And when the resize codes are all set to 1's, by the way, absolutely everything just goes bonkers. You explained what the different relations (1,1,00 - 1,0,1,1 - etc) meant before, so I sort of muddled through it and found a happy medium where all the warring parties found peace. But at 1,1,1,1 there was no peace, just very bad ju ju.

I understand what you say, I just don't like it. I think my original solution of just knocking the line down 2 pixels will have to suffice, though compromise is not generally in the vocabulary of a 2 year old. Bugger.

And is it just me, or are your posts getting longer recently Cowboy? We'll have you writing a book in no time, never mind reading one.

Who is this absentee MacMaster fella anyway, and in what direction do I point my Winchester Rifle to vent my frustration? (Though Johnny Cash had a song ["I Hung My Head"] about shooting someone on a horse, which had a very negative end for the feller doin' the shootin'. Maybe I'll just gesticulate rudely, though I do like his designs.)

[rovingcowboy]

yes i did say different things before and they still stand, but what i was reading here in your post was that the seek bar was going off the right side of the screen and messing with your players skin and covering the text.?

so i told you to put the resize back to all one's because that last number one lets the object or item stretch to the right. which i thought you needed with that huge screen.

the space alotted for the seek bar has to be no more then there is blank space between its right site and the left side of any item to the right side of the seekbar. you can in fact make the seek bar only 10 pixels long but only if the height of it is not more then 8. if both are the same size it wont move at all.
but if it is higher then wider that makes it go vertical on you. which is the same thing the volume bar and balance bar do.

but the seek bar will go either behind or in front of the other items depending on where you have placed it in the ini file. so you can either see it cut off the buttons or text or see it go over the buttons or text.
you DON'T want it over the buttons or text, cause you will only see the button but can't click on them, and the text is only visable if it is not exactly covered by the seek bar. so it is best to move text down or above the seek bar. if you do not want to stop the seek bar short of the text and let the text be the last item on the right.

the resize code also depends on where the item is loacated on the skin as to what it does.. which is why there are locking codes on the wiki site to lock the items to that exact location.
if you put the items left side pixel over the middle or right sections of the stretching skin. then that item can move with that section when streteched which makes for some messed up things. which is why its better to make them start over the left side if you don't want messed up skins. this will of course make huge screens have lots of space over the center and right that is not used. unless the skin is made for the huge size of screen.

if the locking code is used to keep the items in that postion then they will never move like i did with the esthetic hi fi skin, it stretches vertical and horzontal but the controls never leave the center of the player image.

making the seek bar go to the far right end of the player will indeed need you to have to code the size to the very pixel in the width that you want on the smallest size screen you want. but then you have to juggle all the other stuff around to fit below or above the seek bar so all can be seen or used. this then makes one need a wider skin which is why morten made the default skin wider he needed more room to make it fit all the stuff in and look better on the huge screens.

as for writting bigger messages these are medium sized compaired to my older ones before you got on the forum, i only write lots anymore when lots is needed to be said. one line telegram style can't get everything said thats needed.


but i'll try again with one line for you?

if you want the seek bar longer make it the longer number but move the other items lower or higher on the skin if you can.?

[Kilmatead]

...but what i was reading here in your post was that the seek bar was going off the right side of the screen and messing with your players skin and covering the text?

This partially explains why I was confused. My question is not about the seekbar - by extending the original size of the skin to 800, that solved my problem, and it behaves perfectly, not over-writing anything.

The field that is over-writing the text is the right-justified (Time Remaining) %J Pos=697,14 Size=70 (Resizable=1,0,1,0). It seems to be extending far further in to the left than it should be, though the text itself is positioned fine. Does resize multiply the size of the "field" itself? It's only 70. Making it smaller only cuts out the time-text itself, which defeats the purpose.

(This does not make your last two posts useless, actually I found them quite informative, especially the bit about "buttons you see but can't use"... that explains a lot about another problem I was having, which saves a lot of trouble.)

[rovingcowboy]

oh not the seek bar, okay you have the answer in your face for that time one.

its the resize code. change it to; 0,1,1,0 that will make it slide back and forth and not stretch.
in resize the number are the same as in coding. 1 on 0 off. in the resize code 1 locks the pixel at that location. 0 unlockes it. so the above code unlocks the left pixel and locks the leftside's right pixel and locks the rightside's left pixel but unlocks the rightside's right pixel.
giving both the ends the effect of sliding because they are not on a set pixel number.

the far left pixel of that item is on a set number but that number is giving a random slide rule by having the 0 in the resize code. with the 1's holding their location there is no option for the thing but to slide.
does that help now in seeing what is going on.?

try that and see if you get what you want. the 70 is needed it is for the room added by the - or the hour markers 00:00:00 you might even need to make it longer depending on the size of the fonts used. if you need it longer then you might try placing it in a different location.

now some will say I'm wrong and I'll admit i did take some liberty's with the explanation. the two ones in the above code are really for vertical sets. but when dealing with a fixed height skin that does not go vertical they seem to act like they split the item in two which is the way i described it.

[Kilmatead]

...does that help now in seeing what is going on?

I can see! I can see! Hallelujah. "The future's so bright I gotta wear shades."

Thanks Cowboy. I owe you a pint.

P.S. The Wiki's a bit vague on this point, to say the least.

[rovingcowboy]

yep the wiki is lacking in its information of what does what.

Morten was making a highly detailed page of how to skin but he stopped on it.
more then likely it was due to school demanding more of his time.

so asking in the forum is the best thing if to do. as my walkthoughs on the wiki
are not complete in these area's either, i consider the ini settings more of and advanced
skinners needs not an beginner's, which is why i made them just a overlay instruction
walkthrough, just to get the newbies in the door.

i figured all that out is by trail and error, moving the numbers around where i wanted to try and
get what effect i wanted. lots of work but i found it fun and rewarding.

[drjboulder]

Thanks Cowboy. I owe you a pint.

The Cowboy Don't Drink
Or even type the word N*ked!
Kinda surprised that he is involved in a thread with S%xy in the title!

{Not makin' fun of you Kieth!}

[Kilmatead]

Re: Inserting Spaces for Clarity...

Post by rovingcowboy on Fri Jul 04, 2008 12:37 am

oh so its my fault now is it. well lets meet at the pub and after a few we'll settle it like the drunken men we had become, with fist to fist,

Just as well, pints are expensive in this neck of the hemisphere. As a point of trivia, legally speaking, "the pint" was one of a very few things to gain an exemption from the legal "everybody switch to metric" thing the European Union is so anal about. Something the Americans get to look forward to, sooner or later.

I guess "I owe you 568.2 ml" just wouldn't have the same ring to it.

And, just in case the glass is half full or half empty, I never specified what was actually in the glass.

(And yes, I gather there's an in-joke here that I'm not privy to, but I thought I'd toss a few pennies in the fountain anyway.)

[rovingcowboy]

no drjboulder i don't drink as it seems to appear i said i did.
yes there is an inside joke here and you should see it.

i was going on the thought that Kilmatead drank beer. the drunken men we had become statement was not really
referring to me as drunk. it was playing on the word that you would see two of me when you were drunk.

the whole statement was just said in jest.

but as for America going to metric system one has to say to you in reply. " IN YOUR DREAMS " we don't follow we either lead or do what we want. they already tried that switch to metric crap over here, there are now states that are removing the metric signs and putting back the standard USA measurement signs.
we ain't changing a foot is 12 inches and a mile is a mile. and a hood is on the car and a bonnet is worn by women and baby's not part of a car body.
and a boot is worn by most every one here and not the trunk of the car.

now most of us don't like the fact that everyone else can't see why we require the right to be different.
but we don't understand why they all want to be just like everyone else?

most of us Americans will in fact do something you don't want us to do or think we can't do, just to spite you.
its an old joke here that the fastest way to get us Americans to do something is to tell us we can't do it.
everyone said we could not get on the moon in such a short time and we got there faster then they thought and
faster then the limit the president had said he wanted on the moon.
that also goes for small things too just tell a bronc buster he can't break a certain hoss and then watch him do it.

as for the word in the title of the thread my email rule keeps tossing the notices for this in the delete folder.