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When trying to type the Euro
character () into a text member or field during
authoring or playback on an English version of
Windows (using CTRL+ALT+E) the does not display
correctly . The Euro character may also be lost
when moving a Director movie from one operating
system to another (for example; Macintosh to
Windows). This TechNote discusses how to include
the Euro character in text members on Windows and
how to handle using it in cross platform
applications.
Reason
Due to font mapping
issues in Director MX, the Euro () character is
not maintained, even when used with embedded
fonts.
Solution
Developers making use of the
Euro () character should update
the 'TextXtra' Xtra and 'fontMap.txt'
file. Developers that want their
end users to receive the updated
'TextXtra' file should use The
"Download if needed" option found
in the Xtras menu in Director.
For more information see Xtras
and fontMap.txt updates for Director
MX (TechNote 16830).
Note: The 'fontMap.txt'
file is not cross platform compatible. Do not use
the Macintosh version of the 'fontMap.txt' file on
a Windows operating system. Do not use the Windows
version of the 'fontMap.txt' file on a Macintosh
operating system. The Euro and user input
One workaround for adding
the Euro character () to a Windows text member is
to cut and paste the character from another
application. For example:
| 1. |
Open a text editor and type
the Euro character.
(CTRL+ALT+E). |
| 2. |
Copy and paste the
character directly into a Director text member
or a field. |
| 3. |
Select the Euro and edit it
in Director. |
Keep in mind that this issue
prevents users from being able to input the Euro
character into text fields on English versions of
Windows. If the end-user is running on a non
English OS then this issue should not occur.
Cross platform
movies
When using the Euro character
for movies that will be deployed for cross
platform follow the steps below.
Using the Euro character in a
script or text
member
When the Euro character is needed in a
script, for example: member("text").text="some
text ". You will need to use a reference to the
text of a member containing the Euro. This is
necessary in order to maintain the correct
character. In this example, there is a text member
that will have the the Euro character dynamically
generated by a script. The text member will only
contain the Euro character which can then be
accessed via Lingo when needed.
First, create a handler to
test the operating system. This is an important
step because the the Euro character value is
different on each operating system. For a more
detailed example on how to check what the current
operating system is, please see the example file
Testing
for the operating system on the end-user's
computer (TechNote 15939).
The example code below uses a
simplified version of the operating system test to
determine which operating system is running. The
script then sets the global variable
euroText to the character number specific
to the designated operating system.
global euroText
on startMovie
testOS()
end startMovie
on testOS
myOs = getaProp(the environment, #osVersion)
if (myOs contains "Windows") then
put "running Windows"
euroText=numToChar(128)
else
put "running Mac"
euroText=numToChar(219)
end if
end testOS
Use numToChar(128)
for Windows and numToChar(219) for
Macintosh. This will guarantee that the right
character is set regardless of the operating
system the file is running on.
From then on use the global
euroText wherever the character is
needed. For example, use the following script to
set the Euro in any text sprite:
global euroText
on beginSprite me
sprite (the currentSpriteNum).member.text=euroText
end
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