RE: [Flashcoders] CD ROM dimensions?
All of that would be true, if I hadn't mentioned changing the resolution via DirectDraw. When you change the resolution via DirectDraw, the actual screen resolution doesn't change, so it doesn't screw up desktop icons or your original settings. The only exception to this is with some dual screen setups. My dual-screen setup doesn't recover properly when returning from a changed resolution, whether it be DirectDraw or a temporary setting (other functionality available from SWF Studio that doesn't mess with desktop icons). But I'm used to that with any software that changes my resolution, like games. As for the jagged display, yes flat panels like to display at certain resolutions and get "fuzzy" at others. It's a give and take for this scenario, since you would get better performance but a fuzzyier image. And yes you do get better performance when you lower the screen res because the Flash Player, and the client system, has fewer pixels to push around. There's a reason why games change your screen resolution on you, and they do change it, via DirectDraw typically. Some games will let you set the screen resolution, and if you've got a kick-ass system you can play the game at very high res for even clearer display, but it does degrade performance. And when I mention games I don't mean Flash games, I mean PC games. As for the change res failing, when you attempt a res change in SWF Studio, via DirectDraw, and it fails, nothing happens, as in the call fails and the user's system doesn't change. DirectDraw doesn't change the refresh rate so cannot place the monitor in some messed up state. "Lucky for you, Flash can stretch to fill the screen. You just need to design for that by using vector art for the UI, although raster images look fine up to a point. Stretching Flash may cause a slight performance hit, but you can also code your application to dynamically resize itself based on the user's current resolution, which takes more finesse and planning." That's the point in changing the res - performance and keeping your SWF playing at the size you want while making it fullscreen. "Many users have flatscreen displays nowadays, which you can't or don't want to change resolutions on anyway." Really? I have not yet seen a flat panel display that won't let you change the resolution. While I don't claim to have seen all flat panels out there, I would bet this isn't true of most displays. "On others, it simply puts deadspace around the sides whilst making the visual area smaller" "800x600 is only 224x168 smaller than the average resolution these days. Try a nice border around the edge, black or a dark grey usually works best and after a few minutes most users won't even notice it anymore (much like the black bars at the top and bottom of widescreen movies)." That's rather contradictory. Yes, there is a setting for some screens (like laptops) that causes a res change to shrink the visual area, actually using the specified number of pixels rather than blowing up the image to fit the screen. What does that do? It's actually a great effect! It means you are playing your SWF at the smaller res, which means better performance, and the screen doesn't get fuzzy, and you get black borders for free! I don't see a downside here ... As Robin mentioned it's not a wise thing to do this for every project. It's only needed when you are looking for best performance in a project that demands it. And with proper planning you actually can account for special circumstances like screens that are not the typical 4:3 or dual displays. I don't think a blanket "don't do it" is particularly useful. Derek Vadneau -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Steven Sacks Sent: Friday, May 19, 2006 1:11 AM To: 'Flashcoders mailing list' Subject: RE: [Flashcoders] CD ROM dimensions? As a former Director programmer and desktop application developer, with 10 years experience in the industry, I have one thing to say to Flash developers who have little to no experience developing desktop applications. Changing a user's resolution without asking them first is a HUGE no-no. Don't do it. "Why shouldn't I change their resolution automatically?" I hear from the desktop application development neophytes. Such sweet innocence. Your incredulous cries shall be answered forthwith. First, many displays, laptop displays (read: flatscreens) in particular, only like to display at a specific resolution. Changing the resolution on these displays can result in unintended side effects. On some, everything gets extremely jagged, pixelated, blocky (i.e. crappy). On others, it simply puts deadspace around the sides w
RE: [Flashcoders] CD ROM dimensions?
>> Changing a user's resolution without asking them first is a HUGE
no-no.
Who was talking about this? There are defiantly scenarios (Such as
presentations for exhibitions or flash games provided on CD) where it
makes sense to change the screen resolution. I would not use this
feature for a desktop application. But I agree you should not do this
automatically..
Robin
-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Steven
Sacks
Sent: Friday, 19 May 2006 3:11 PM
To: 'Flashcoders mailing list'
Subject: RE: [Flashcoders] CD ROM dimensions?
As a former Director programmer and desktop application developer, with
10
years experience in the industry, I have one thing to say to Flash
developers who have little to no experience developing desktop
applications.
Changing a user's resolution without asking them first is a HUGE no-no.
Don't do it.
"Why shouldn't I change their resolution automatically?" I hear from the
desktop application development neophytes. Such sweet innocence. Your
incredulous cries shall be answered forthwith.
First, many displays, laptop displays (read: flatscreens) in particular,
only like to display at a specific resolution. Changing the resolution
on
these displays can result in unintended side effects. On some,
everything
gets extremely jagged, pixelated, blocky (i.e. crappy). On others, it
simply puts deadspace around the sides whilst making the visual area
smaller
(oh the irony). Either way, your goal of making things look bigger and
better for the user just got Punk'd ("Punk'd" used with express
permission
from Ashton Kutcher and MTV/Viacom, all rights reserved).
Second, if the display in question (laptops and desktops) cannot display
at
the resolution you switch it to, a possible side effect is no display
whatsoever. And since it wasn't done by the resolution control panel in
Windows, there is no 15 second timeout if you can't see it anymore.
This
might not be an issue on braille monitors, but those account for 0% of
your
target audience (ed: and they don't exist). "Your application just
broke my
computer!" exclaims Irate User. Which segues nicely to the next point.
Third, when you decrease a monitor's resolution, you completely screw up
any
icon arrangement on the desktop. If you're looking to completely
irritate
your userbase, congratulations you win! You've just caused the user to
associate negative emotions to whatever you were trying to convey.
Fourth, don't poop where you eat. People have their computers set up
the
way they like them. They like their resolution just how it is, thank
you.
Many users have flatscreen displays nowadays, which you can't or don't
want
to change resolutions on anyway.
Fifth, even if you ask permission, many users don't know that any of the
things I've mentioned will befall them should they agree to your
request,
and some users automatically click No to such things anyway.
Lucky for you, Flash can stretch to fill the screen. You just need to
design for that by using vector art for the UI, although raster images
look
fine up to a point. Stretching Flash may cause a slight performance
hit,
but you can also code your application to dynamically resize itself
based on
the user's current resolution, which takes more finesse and planning.
The only time you should change the resolution without asking is in a
kiosk
enviroment where you control the machine and you're not going to piss
anyone
off or break something by doing so.
800x600 is only 224x168 smaller than the average resolution these days.
Try
a nice border around the edge, black or a dark grey usually works best
and
after a few minutes most users won't even notice it anymore (much like
the
black bars at the top and bottom of widescreen movies).
Make a friend of your users, not an enemy. Just say no to resolution
changes.
This message paid for by the Special Treatment For Users group.
;)
___
Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com
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http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
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___
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To change your subscription options or search the archive:
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RE: [Flashcoders] CD ROM dimensions?
As a former Director programmer and desktop application developer, with 10
years experience in the industry, I have one thing to say to Flash
developers who have little to no experience developing desktop applications.
Changing a user's resolution without asking them first is a HUGE no-no.
Don't do it.
"Why shouldn't I change their resolution automatically?" I hear from the
desktop application development neophytes. Such sweet innocence. Your
incredulous cries shall be answered forthwith.
First, many displays, laptop displays (read: flatscreens) in particular,
only like to display at a specific resolution. Changing the resolution on
these displays can result in unintended side effects. On some, everything
gets extremely jagged, pixelated, blocky (i.e. crappy). On others, it
simply puts deadspace around the sides whilst making the visual area smaller
(oh the irony). Either way, your goal of making things look bigger and
better for the user just got Punk'd ("Punk'd" used with express permission
from Ashton Kutcher and MTV/Viacom, all rights reserved).
Second, if the display in question (laptops and desktops) cannot display at
the resolution you switch it to, a possible side effect is no display
whatsoever. And since it wasn't done by the resolution control panel in
Windows, there is no 15 second timeout if you can't see it anymore. This
might not be an issue on braille monitors, but those account for 0% of your
target audience (ed: and they don't exist). "Your application just broke my
computer!" exclaims Irate User. Which segues nicely to the next point.
Third, when you decrease a monitor's resolution, you completely screw up any
icon arrangement on the desktop. If you're looking to completely irritate
your userbase, congratulations you win! You've just caused the user to
associate negative emotions to whatever you were trying to convey.
Fourth, don't poop where you eat. People have their computers set up the
way they like them. They like their resolution just how it is, thank you.
Many users have flatscreen displays nowadays, which you can't or don't want
to change resolutions on anyway.
Fifth, even if you ask permission, many users don't know that any of the
things I've mentioned will befall them should they agree to your request,
and some users automatically click No to such things anyway.
Lucky for you, Flash can stretch to fill the screen. You just need to
design for that by using vector art for the UI, although raster images look
fine up to a point. Stretching Flash may cause a slight performance hit,
but you can also code your application to dynamically resize itself based on
the user's current resolution, which takes more finesse and planning.
The only time you should change the resolution without asking is in a kiosk
enviroment where you control the machine and you're not going to piss anyone
off or break something by doing so.
800x600 is only 224x168 smaller than the average resolution these days. Try
a nice border around the edge, black or a dark grey usually works best and
after a few minutes most users won't even notice it anymore (much like the
black bars at the top and bottom of widescreen movies).
Make a friend of your users, not an enemy. Just say no to resolution
changes.
This message paid for by the Special Treatment For Users group.
;)
___
Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com
To change your subscription options or search the archive:
http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software
Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training
http://www.figleaf.com
http://training.figleaf.com
RE: [Flashcoders] CD ROM dimensions?
Changing the resolution is an excellent way to make your application run full screen - it dose not increase the performance though. And if need a higher screen resolution (e.g. to show large screenshots) such as 1024 * 768, it's not a solution either. Robin -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Derek Vadneau Sent: Friday, 19 May 2006 12:48 PM To: flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com Subject: RE: [Flashcoders] CD ROM dimensions? Just to clarify the performance hit with 3rd party projectors compared to the Adobe standalone player. It's due to the fact that the 3rd party tools use the ActiveX player, which as we know does not run as high as the other players with regards to framerate. Of course nothing stops you from changing the framerate to compensate. With a tool like SWF Studio you can actually increase the performance by using it's ability to change the screen resolution using DirectDraw to run your app at an even lower resolution while keeping the app fullscreen. Derek Vadneau -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Robin Burrer Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2006 7:19 PM To: Flashcoders mailing list Subject: RE: [Flashcoders] CD ROM dimensions? I'd say pretty much everybody runs at least a 1024 X 768 resolution these days. Most of the times I use 800x600 though, because of performance issues. It all depends on the kind of application you want to build. Also keep in mind that your performance can decrease up to 20% if you use a wrapper such as SWF studio or zinc (compared to the adobe projector). Robin ___ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com ___ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com
RE: [Flashcoders] CD ROM dimensions?
Just to clarify the performance hit with 3rd party projectors compared to the Adobe standalone player. It's due to the fact that the 3rd party tools use the ActiveX player, which as we know does not run as high as the other players with regards to framerate. Of course nothing stops you from changing the framerate to compensate. With a tool like SWF Studio you can actually increase the performance by using it's ability to change the screen resolution using DirectDraw to run your app at an even lower resolution while keeping the app fullscreen. Derek Vadneau -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Robin Burrer Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2006 7:19 PM To: Flashcoders mailing list Subject: RE: [Flashcoders] CD ROM dimensions? I'd say pretty much everybody runs at least a 1024 X 768 resolution these days. Most of the times I use 800x600 though, because of performance issues. It all depends on the kind of application you want to build. Also keep in mind that your performance can decrease up to 20% if you use a wrapper such as SWF studio or zinc (compared to the adobe projector). Robin ___ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com
Re: [Flashcoders] CD ROM dimensions?
I think target audience is more about the type of users (eg. some corporations still have a % of 800x600, or older age groups). On stats of a few sites I run, there is still a 15% 800x600 audience (one of these sites is a gaming site). On the flipside - the new yahoo.com is by default 1024x768 (but you can change this is the page options). On 5/19/06, Flashgrrl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I'm sure a majority of your audience is in N. America so 1024 x 768 would work fine. If you are sending the cd's overseas I'd stick to 800x600 as there is alot of variety out there. :-) Cheers, Flashgrrl --- Robin Burrer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I'd say pretty much everybody runs at least a 1024 X > 768 resolution > these days. Most of the times I use 800x600 though, > because of > performance issues. > It all depends on the kind of application you want > to build. > > Also keep in mind that your performance can decrease > up to 20% if you > use a wrapper such as SWF studio or zinc (compared > to the adobe > projector). > > Robin > > > -Original Message- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > On Behalf Of Fernando > Castillo > Sent: Friday, 19 May 2006 5:18 AM > To: 'Flashcoders mailing list' > Subject: RE: [Flashcoders] CD ROM dimensions? > > Sure and 800x600 in some cases yet, all depends on > the target users. > > -Mensaje original- > > > Anyone building interactive cd roms at 1024 x 768 > yet? > ___ > Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com > To change your subscription options or search the > archive: > http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders > > Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software > Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training > http://www.figleaf.com > http://training.figleaf.com > > > ___ > Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com > To change your subscription options or search the > archive: > http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders > > Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software > Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training > http://www.figleaf.com > http://training.figleaf.com > ___ > Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com > To change your subscription options or search the > archive: > http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders > > Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software > Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training > http://www.figleaf.com > http://training.figleaf.com > Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com ___ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com ___ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com
RE: [Flashcoders] CD ROM dimensions?
I'd say pretty much everybody runs at least a 1024 X 768 resolution these days. Most of the times I use 800x600 though, because of performance issues. It all depends on the kind of application you want to build. Also keep in mind that your performance can decrease up to 20% if you use a wrapper such as SWF studio or zinc (compared to the adobe projector). Robin -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Fernando Castillo Sent: Friday, 19 May 2006 5:18 AM To: 'Flashcoders mailing list' Subject: RE: [Flashcoders] CD ROM dimensions? Sure and 800x600 in some cases yet, all depends on the target users. -Mensaje original- Anyone building interactive cd roms at 1024 x 768 yet? ___ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com ___ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com ___ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com
RE: [Flashcoders] CD ROM dimensions?
Sure and 800x600 in some cases yet, all depends on the target users. -Mensaje original- Anyone building interactive cd roms at 1024 x 768 yet? ___ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com ___ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com
