still photos and text scroll box

[ftrippie]

Here we are again...
I am getting close, I promise :-)
More questions, I will put them together if I may:

1. In http://flashpanoramas.com/forum/showthread.php?t=890 (http://flashpanoramas.com/forum/showthread.php?t=890), Zleifr was talking about making a plugin (comercial) to show a textbox. Any news on that? I would be really interested in reading text (about 600 words) from the XML file in a 'scrollbox' text window... I know I can make an image from the text box, but first of all 600 words is quite a lot, and secondly, I want to read it standard from the XML file.

2. I asked before to show normal photos in the same viewer window. I got a helpful answer, to show the photos as a hotspot with scaling, which works perfectly. But I would really still like to show them in the same way/viewer as the panos. Without rotating of course. The same way DEVAL does it for instance ('areal image', with fixed rotating, basically zero). I tried to create a MOV file of a single image (easy), but FPP tries to make a pano out of that. I would really like to show my photos this way, so I can make the XML file standard for as well panos as for still photos.

3. And adding another question; I am now using MOV files for the panos (around a 1000), because I feel that gives the best option for compression and as well availability to use other plugins (Quicktime, Deval). Would you agree? Or would it be better to use cubefaces, strips, in JPG?


Cheers,
FTrippie

[cheathamlane]

1. In http://flashpanoramas.com/forum/showthread.php?t=890 (http://flashpanoramas.com/forum/showthread.php?t=890), Zleifr was talking about making a plugin (comercial) to show a textbox. Any news on that? I would be really interested in reading text (about 600 words) from the XML file in a 'scrollbox' text window... I know I can make an image from the text box, but first of all 600 words is quite a lot, and secondly, I want to read it standard from the XML file.

I believe it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to edit the source for the free tooltip (http://flashpanos.com/plugins/zephyr/extensible-tooltips), such that your "tooltip" was visible all the time.

2. I asked before to show normal photos in the same viewer window. I got a helpful answer, to show the photos as a hotspot with scaling, which works perfectly. But I would really still like to show them in the same way/viewer as the panos. Without rotating of course. The same way DEVAL does it for instance ('areal image', with fixed rotating, basically zero). I tried to create a MOV file of a single image (easy), but FPP tries to make a pano out of that. I would really like to show my photos this way, so I can make the XML file standard for as well panos as for still photos.

I've never seen a DevalVR presentation (I'm on Mac), so am not quite sure what sort of effect you want. Do you mean to "pin" a photo to a certain pan/tilt location on your panorama? This can be easily done using a <box/> instead of a <spot/>.

Also: http://flashpanos.com/content/rotating-nadir-image-bottom-cap

3. And adding another question; I am now using MOV files for the panos (around a 1000), because I feel that gives the best option for compression and as well availability to use other plugins (Quicktime, Deval). Would you agree? Or would it be better to use cubefaces, strips, in JPG?

Seems to me you answer your own question. ;) Less different files to track = good. If MOVs work for you, stay with 'em.

[ftrippie]

Thanks for responding!

1. I will have a look at the FLA right now, but I wonder if it is possible to direct that tooltip to a fixed place on the screen, show it in a box and have it scrolling (around 600 words) ?

2. I think we are talking about a different way of showing fixed photos. I basically want to show a normal photo in the same window/viewer as the panos come up. With stretching to the screen the same way as the panos do. So basically a limited pano with no movement. As far as I understand you are talking about the 'add some life to panoramas example' http://flashpanoramas.com/blog/2007/05/23/add-some-life-to-panoramas/
but those photos have a fixed size of showing and might not show well on small sized screens.

3. Basically my question was if there is any dis-advantage in using MOVs?

Cheers,
FTrippie

[ftrippie]

a1; Mmmm, had a look at the FLA and it doesn't look very easy to me. Don't let me stop you if you are eager to have a go at it :-)
(btw, as far as I checked, the tooltips also has a limit and never reached 600 words...).

Cheers,
FTrippie

[cheathamlane]

Hey there:

1) Sure -- you'll need to edit the FLA to create your scrolling functionality. Then for placement, treat it like any other hotspot in the FPP XML (easiest) or script the FLA to check StageWidth/Height and place itself (harder).

2) Still not sure what you're looking to do -- but it will probably involve ActionScripting in a hotspot SWF or your own plugin. If you're looking to cover the screen with an image as sort of a transition-type thing, then maybe you should look to the FLA example from FPP (GlassMeter). You could change this around a bit so it shows a photo instead of or under your loading indicator, and resize your still image to fill the viewerr window a la StageWidth/Height.

#) There's a discussion going on right now (http://flashpanoramas.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5210#post5210) in another thread; CylConverter is a bit buggy, but if your PROs above outweigh any inherent disadvantage to using MOVs, then stick with 'em. Aaron Spence and others started a very long thread regarding use of MOVs elsewhere in the forum (forget the link right now).

[ftrippie]

thanks again Patrick, for responding.

continuing:
ad.1: I can copy, delete and change things in Flash, but adding functionality is not my greatest asset. Would you have an example of how to add scrolling funcionality?

ad.2: I think you are getting the point, though it's not really a transition. Just imagine a pano, which doesn't move or rotate. That screen-cap is just what a still image I would like to place. Until, (like the panos), I am selecting another one from a hotspot.

ad.3: Mmmm, thanks for the tip, I will follow that thread.

Cheers,
FTrippie