Making custom message boxes

BlitzMax Forums/BlitzMax Programming/Making custom message boxes

Ryan Burnside (Posted 2006) [#1]

I'm looking for some help or some ideas on how to impliment a scrollable messagebox into my game. My problem is making the text scroll and fit within the message box area. If you have done this in the past or could show me a good way to do it I would greatly appreciate it. Perhaps this can explain better.

PantsOn (Posted 2006) [#2]

pseudo code.... message = "hello from me" newmessage = "" y = 0 *** search for next [space] in message if there isnt one word = message message = "" else word = everything before space in message remove word+[space] from message endif if fontwidth(newmessage+[space]+word) > xlimit print newmessage at yth line newmessage = word add 1 line to y else add [space] + word to newmessage endif repeat *** until nothing in message I think.

tonyg (Posted 2006) [#3]

It's in BB but this might help.

CS_TBL (Posted 2006) [#4]

I've done something like that some weeks ago, works like a charm using maxGUI, but that's not going to stop a potential graphics-mode version.. but first diner :P

CS_TBL (Posted 2006) [#5]

So, exactly how should it work? Since you're doing a game, I assume you're not using GUI I guess? But perhaps you do have the gui module for its events/eventhooks? (events so totally rock!) Secondly, where does the text come from? From a string? From an incbin'ed textfile?

Ryan Burnside (Posted 2006) [#6]

Sorry I have been at work. It will take a string parameter.

CS_TBL (Posted 2006) [#7]

The string-format function is an easy one.. if you want me to make a displayer, I need to know whether or not I can use events (thus having MaxGUI)..

SculptureOfSoul (Posted 2006) [#8]

Unless I'm misunderstanding something about your approach CS_TBL, I don't know why you are concerned about MaxGUI. You don't need MaxGUI to utilize events or eventhooks in your code.

CS_TBL (Posted 2006) [#9]

uhm.. ok, not sure, I didn't have any Max until MaxGUI was released... does the standard bmax have the full eventsystem? (minus the GUI events naturally)

SculptureOfSoul (Posted 2006) [#10]

Yup. At least, I don't think MaxGUI added anything besides GUI events. I've got a basic event system set up in one of my programs now, and don't have MaxGUI (...yet).

CS_TBL (Posted 2006) [#11]

I don't dare go into displayers as they're way too game-dependent, but the way I've solved the text-issue means you can use a typical 2d-mapviewer to display this text. So, the only thing this does it put a string into a bank, wordwrapped. Note that tabs, newlines and such can be *stored* in a bank, but not *processed*. In these cases I recommend against them, just use spaces. ;P SuperStrict Type TSimpleformattedtext Rem TSimpleformattedtext by CS_TBL Formats a given string into a bank, with wordwrap. EndRem Field columns:Int Field rows:Int Field bank:TBank=CreateBank() Method Cleanup(s$ Var) s=Replace(s,Chr(10),"") s=Replace(s,Chr(13),"") s=Replace(s,Chr(9),"") End Method Method Convert:TBank(s$,col:Int=16,clean:Int=1) columns=Max(col,1) s:+" " If clean Cleanup s' <- optional! Local word$ Local wordlen:Int Local l:Int=Len(s) Local pointer:Int=0 Local char$ Local bankx:Int Local banky:Int Local adres:Int Local t:Int Local tt:Int ResizeBank bank,columns While pointer<l ' do all chars.. char=Mid(s,pointer+1,1) If char<>" " word:+char pointer:+1 Else If word<>"" ' word found! wordlen=Len(word) If wordlen<=columns If (bankx+wordlen)>columns ' word doesn't fit line anymore? ' wrap For tt=bankx To columns-1 PokeByte bank,tt+(banky*columns),32 Next ResizeBank bank,BankSize(bank)+columns ' add new line bankx=0 banky:+1 ' add word For t=0 To wordlen-1 adres=bankx+(columns*banky) PokeByte bank,adres,Asc( Mid(word,t+1,1) ) bankx:+1 Next If bankx<columns-1 PokeByte bank,bankx+(columns*banky),Asc(" ") bankx:+1 EndIf Else ' add word For t=0 To wordlen-1 adres=bankx+(columns*banky) PokeByte bank,adres,Asc( Mid(word,t+1,1) ) bankx:+1 Next If bankx<columns-1 PokeByte bank,bankx+(columns*banky),Asc(" ") bankx:+1 EndIf EndIf EndIf EndIf word="" pointer:+1 EndIf rows=banky Wend If bankx<columns And bankx>0 For tt=bankx To columns-1 PokeByte bank,tt+(banky*columns),Asc(" ") Next EndIf If bankx=0'-1 For tt=bankx To columns-1 PokeByte bank,tt+(banky*columns),Asc(" ") Next EndIf rows=(BankSize(bank)/columns) Return bank End Method End Type Local b:TSimpleformattedtext=New TSimpleformattedtext b.Convert "Hi, let's parse some text hmkay? If everything's well, this ~ntext will be wordwrapped"+.. " at a given length, And the result will go into a type with a rows field, a columns field and a bank"+.. ". From all this, it's easy to make a simple map-displayer like the ones we use in games, only this time it"+.. " displays text! The size of the bank is .rows * .columns! Big words that don't fit, like these: "+.. "123456789abcdef12345678 are cancelled out",20 DebugLog b.rows DebugLog b.columns Showformattedtext b b.Convert "We can use the same instance for more text!" Showformattedtext b End ' here's how to read out this text of ours.., transform it into your own typical 2D-mapdisplayer for scrolling/showing.. Function Showformattedtext(sft:TSimpleformattedtext) Local x:Int,y:Int Local s$=Chr(10)+Chr(10) For y=0 To sft.rows-1 For x=0 To sft.columns-1 s:+Chr( PeekByte(sft.bank,x+y*sft.columns) ) Next s:+Chr(10) Next DebugLog s End Function

Ryan Burnside (Posted 2006) [#12]

Hey, that's really cool thanks! I think I can work with this.