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Anti Aliasing of Text
Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 9:49 am
by tellboy
Hi,
I am currently evaluating LiveCode to see if I should purchase.
I have just noticed that text in LiveCode is not anti aliased as smoothly as in OSX.
I have attached two images to show the issue.
The first image is that produced by LiveCode

- LiveCode.png (7.62 KiB) Viewed 6943 times
The second image is that produced by Xcode and is the same as that produced by the system.

- XCode.png (9.37 KiB) Viewed 6943 times
If you look closely the smoothness of the LiveCode text is inferior to the other. It is clearly visible in the dividing lines of the date.
Is there a setting that will correct this or is it an issue that cannot be resolved.
The third image is of a highlighted DataGrid. The whiteness of the highlighted text is very poor visually.
Is there a solution to this.

- LiveCode highlighted.png (7.71 KiB) Viewed 6943 times
All the best
Tellboy
Re: Anti Aliasing of Text
Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:23 am
by Mag
I also noticed this
Re: Anti Aliasing of Text
Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:28 am
by Klaus
Hi all,
if Livecode does not do this "out of the box", there is nothing we can do about it, sorry.
@Tellboy
1. welcome to the forum!
2. it would be quite helpful if you end a question with a question mark -> ?
Best
Klaus
Re: Anti Aliasing of Text
Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 8:29 pm
by shaosean
The difference might be due to the fact that LiveCode is still a Carbon app whereas Xcode is a Cocoa app..
http://lists.apple.com/archives/carbon- ... 01645.html
Re: Anti Aliasing of Text
Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:39 am
by tellboy
shaosean wrote:The difference might be due to the fact that LiveCode is still a Carbon app whereas Xcode is a Cocoa app..
I read the thread you referred to and one of the posts refers to:
QD does not use CG to do anti-aliasing. The only way to get Cocoa-style AA at present is to use either the Appearance DrawThemeText APIs (which is what most people use for short labels, etc.) or to use MLTE, pointing it at a CG context.
This may be the case with LiveCode, however I have used SuperCard and this is a Carbon App and it's anti-aliasing is normal just like OSX.
Having given it a little thought I think the issue here is to do with how colour is applied. It seems that "blending" is used all the time in LiveCode and this affects the clarity of text.
This issue does not appear in SuperCard until you apply blending.
I am not sure of either implementation but SC uses the WASTE text engine, not sure how LiveCode does it.
Out of interest, the LiveCode people need to get a move on as both Carbon and QuickDraw have been deprecated by Apple.
All the best
Tellboy
Re: Anti Aliasing of Text
Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 5:19 pm
by dunbarx
TellBoy.
Anti aliasing aside, if you are a SuperCard fan, you simply must get LiveCode. You already know, mostly, how to use it.
Craig Newman
Re: Anti Aliasing of Text
Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 5:39 pm
by FourthWorld
tellboy wrote:Out of interest, the LiveCode people need to get a move on as both Carbon and QuickDraw have been deprecated by Apple.
They're well aware, and thanks to your Kickstarter contribution the stretch goal of completing the migration to Cocoa is funded and scheduled:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/175 ... code/posts
Re: Anti Aliasing of Text
Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 5:45 am
by shaosean
March is almost over and they were supposed to release an "as-is" version by the end of the month..