How to draw a string in PVRX2?

[alibert]

Hi,

I'm just trying to get my tv listings plugin ported to v1.0, but now it seems that I'm stuck at getting the programme titles drawn into the grid. What should be the preferred way to draw strings without having a composite image defined explicitly in the skin.xml file?

Thanks,
-alibert

[sub]

In the default TV Guide, I have create a GBPVRUiImage object that represents the tv listing grid, then I just use GDI+ calls to draw listing out lines and text etc onto it's 'image'. This object is added to the list during the GetRenderList() call. You can still use the skinhelper2.getNamedFont() call to dynamically scaled fonts for drawing into the grid.

[psycik]

Ahh good, was meaning to ask this...
ta

[herrmannj]

sorry asking, did you mean GBPVRUiImage or GBPVRUiElement.image.
If the second - how do you use the gdi+ methods on the *.image ?

btw
I found that if I call skinHelper2.getNamedImage(view.image, "Element", args) several time to reflect dynamic updates in args, the view.mage will not be replaced, instead the existing image will be mixed with the new one. So I do it:
view.image = new Bitmap(view.image.Width, view.image.Height, view.image.PixelFormat);
skinHelper2.getNamedImage(view.image, "Element", args);
view.forceRefresh = true; (this copy image to texture)?

Is there a better way ?

Joerg

[sub]

sorry asking, did you mean GBPVRUiImage or GBPVRUiElement.image.

Sorry, yes I did mean GBPVRUiElement.

If the second - how do you use the gdi+ methods on the *.image ?

Just the same as you'd normally operator on an image:

Graphics g = Graphics.FromImage(uiElement.image);
g.Clear(Color.Red);
g.DrawText(....) etc

I found that if I call skinHelper2.getNamedImage(view.image, "Element", args) several time to reflect dynamic updates in args, the view.mage will not be replaced, instead the existing image will be mixed with the new one. So I do it:
view.image = new Bitmap(view.image.Width, view.image.Height, view.image.PixelFormat);
skinHelper2.getNamedImage(view.image, "Element", args);
view.forceRefresh = true; (this copy image to texture)?

Just do a Graphics.FromImage(view.image).Clear(Color.Transparent);

I'll add an addition getNamedImage() override that lets you request the image is cleared before getNamedImage does its thing.

[alibert]

Hi and thanks,

I already tried something similar, but with each single visible programme instead of creating a bitmap for the whole guide - and this took some time...

One more question: Which size should one use to create the bitmap? I saw that there is something like getcurrentresolution(), but this wouldn't always reflect the current size of the gbpvr window?
And is there a new call of getrenderlist() each time the size of the gbpvr window changes?

-alibert

[sub]

The internal rendering is always done at the resolution of the monitor its created on. When you skrink it to a smaller window, then direct3d is just resizing the textures as appropriate. (this why text looks perfect at fullscreen, and less than perfect in a smaller window)

I already tried something similar, but with each single visible programme instead of creating a bitmap for the whole guide - and this took some time...

I wouldnt recommend going that way. It'd be much more straight forward to have one image holding the listing grid like I've done.

[alibert]

Hi,

I think I got it now using one bitmap object per channel row. I was a bit unfamiliar with the relative sizes and when to use the absolute ones.

One more question: Which "TextRenderingHint" should be chosen for the graphics object?

-alibert

[sub]

I'm using AntiAliasGridFit.