Learning HollyWood (~Tutorial) Vol. 1

Hi,

One little question about fonts in hollywood 3.1. I have downloaded some nice truetype fonts on the net but I don't manage to have them working with SetFont function. The fonts have .ttf extension whereas for the moment the only extension hollywood seems to accept are .font extension.
Has anyone got a solution for this problem?

@Seblam

Use TypeManager (SYS:System/TypeManager) to install the fonts to your system, then you will find them with the .font extension.

@PEB

Great it works perfect! Thanks!

Oh now again a little problem when trying to use my hollywood program compiled for windows. The win32 compiling is ok but when I want to start the exe I have an error message "cannot open font...". I only use true type font in this program and they are in the fonts directory inside my program directory. I also copy the fonts into the fonts directory of windows but still no success! Have you got an idea?

@Seblam

The font being in your program directory will not help; but if it is installed properly on the window side, then it should work. It may be a problem with how you are calling it. Use the name of the font, not the font file with the .ttf extention.
For example, this should work:
SetFont("Times New Roman Bold", 12)


With the next release of Hollywood, Andreas has said that there will be the option of embedding fonts into the executable file (as can already be done with graphics using the preprocessor commands).

@PEB

Unfortunately it doesn't work for me. On windows side, I think the fonts are well installed because I can use them with openoffice for example. With hollywood script, I tried without extension and with .ttf extension but it doesn't work either.
I hope hollywood update with embedded fonts isn't so far away...

@any hollywood expert

As my own "secret ambitious project" is going forward, I have some new questions:

- Basically, even if my program is not a slideshow utility, it works in the same way as I need to control a sort of slideshow, automatic playing, hand click page by page playing, music on, music off... I am doing this with graphical buttons (MakeButton function) but it seems this function and the associated events aren't permanently active when the program is already running functions or loops. I would like to know how it would be possible to have them permanently active so that is possible to cut off music for example at anytime during the "slideshow".
- Is it possible to generate borders all around a brush. I know it is possible to do it around a font for example with #EDGE argument.

That's all for the moment...

@Seblam

Hello! :)

It seems as if we are working on similar projects using Hollywood. However, I'm using a newer version of Hollywood and Designer to make my project. Have you tried Designer? - it is very advanced and you are able to make buttons and navigation very easy!

here is a direct link to a small demo of my program :

www.ferrule-media.no/dental-info-demo.exe (windows executable)

Also, more screenshots of our two commercial products on the following site :

www.ferrule-media.no

best regards

Torgeir Vee :)

@fuskoSCN

Yes, I know Designer but in my thinking it was more to make powerpoint style presentations. Do you work only with designer?
Your multimedia applications are very impressive and show the full potential of hollywood for multimedia.
For my project, that is a "multimedia entertaining "project, I use some effects on texts and images and I had to program special functions for this, that's why I prefer to work directly on hollywood script instead of designer.

@Seblam

Yes, I work only using Designer :) I don't really know anything about coding myself (i used to be a demoscene graphician).

However, using Designer it is very easy to make nice products by using the options available.

I'm looking forward to hear more about your project - are you on the Hollywood mailinglist ?

Torgeir :)

@fuskoSCN

I think I should be able to unveil my secret project in a not too far future
I'm not on the hollywood mailing-list, I didn't know there was one, I went on airsoft website but nothing to find about that, for sure I would be interesting to be part of it!

@Seblam

Quote:

Buttons are attached to the BGPic on which they were installed; so if you switch to a new BGPic, you will loose the buttons from the previous one (until you switch back).

@Seblam

Hi there! To join the mailinglist you should send an email to Andreas. In the mailinglist you will be able to ask questions about coding and discussing new features and stuff.

The best thing about the mailinglist is that Andreas himself answers questions whenever asked - it is a really amazing customer-support!

Best regards
Torgeir

@PEB

Yes, all my buttons are attached to BGPic1 and I don't switch to any other BGPic. The problem is for example to cut off music, I use MakeButton with OnMouseUp event. This OnMouseUp event is associated to a function that stops music (StopMusic() function). But when the "slideshow" is running (with calls to other functions and loops), the fact to click on the button has a delayed effect. It is only when the "slideshow" and all the assiociated running functions are finished that the music is cutting off. What I would like is to have the OnMouseUp event permanently active as a task so to have an immediate effect.

Other question, when creating a text object, I would like to have the possibility to go to a new line without having to create as many text objects as lines. I think it's possible as in the hollywood help, there is the possibility to insert a newline character but what is this character?

@Seblam

The button you created will not respond if Hollywood is in the middle of running other functions that use Wait commands. Try to find a way to call the functions that you need using SetInterval() or SetTimeout(), and avoid using any Wait commands.

Check out the documentation under "Script timing".

Also if you want your button to respond while a transition effect is being performed, you will need to use AsyncDrawFrame().

The way to add a new line in the middle of a string of text is to insert "/n" (without the quotation marks).

@PEB

Thanks, I will give a try to the functions you told me. Concerning Asyncframe(), I don't have this function in the hollywood index (I am working with hollywood 3.1). Is it a hollywood 4 new function?

@Seblam

Yes, it was introduced in version 4.0.