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iShell ImageLayer Plugin Questions
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| Q |
My project works fine on MacOS X but when I try my project on Windows XP the .xd file that contains an ImageLayer file quits iShell RunTime.
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| A |
It is the 32KBytes Region limitation issue:
ImageLayer automatically calculates the visual Region for each layer. This can be used for tracing mouse cursor changes so the take the exact shape of the visual part of your layer.
On Windows and MacOS 9 the maximum size of such a region is 32KBytes. (a little bit less). I 'm assuming that your round buttons in the demo you send me surpass those limitation. The solution to your problem is to remove the region that is being added automatically by the ImageLayer Tool.
Add the following to the Layer name in PhotoShop:
[NO_REGION ]
You can add it to the Layer or to the layer Set
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| Q |
If my designer adds a new layer after I have brought the PSD file into iShell and added commands to the ImageLayer elements, is it possible to update the ImageLayer element to the new PSD file (new layer) and not lose my iShell commands for the previous layers?
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| A |
Exactly that's the biggest benefit of ImageLayer, as long as you keep the layername in photoshop the same, it will relink itself automatically to the iShell Element and keeps the iShell commands. No need to go back to the Editor. Last minute changes can be done to your .psd files and just run the Runtime again with the new .mvo file and the changes will take effects. Also if you want to add layers you can easy press the Add Missing Layers button in the ImageLayer Box element. I recommend highly to go through all the tutorials they explain that very well.
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| Q |
Is there a version of ImageLayer Tool for Windows?
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| A |
Yes, this was not true in the beginning, but now there is a version of the ImageLayer Tool for windows that allows you to convert a .psd file to .mvo file. It has less fancy stuff then the MacOS version but allows to convert the Photoshop documents to .mvo.
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| Q |
Does it work with Photoshop 8?
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| A |
Yes our users, use a variety of Photoshop version starting from version 5 to the latest 8.
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| Q |
Does it work with iShell 4?
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| A |
Yes we run all of our test projects with iShell 4 and everything seems to be working fine.
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| Q |
Do I need to drag and drop my PSD files individually on the ImageLayer Tool to convert them?
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| A |
No you can also drop a folder on to the ImageLayer Tool. The Imagelayer Tool will then go recursively through the folders (also sub folders) and looks for .psd file and will convert that to .mvo file. In case there exist a .mvo file. It will only convert it to a .mvo file in case the modification date of the .psd file is newer. So my recommendation is to leave the .psd files in the media folder where you use them (for example "Main Screen" folder. Then drop the Media folder on to the ImageLayer Tool and then you are certain all your .mvo files are up to date. Also use .mvo files in your iShell documents don't use the .psd files.
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| Q |
Can I use PSD or photoshop document in my final distribution?
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| A |
We highly recommend not to do that because between different version of QuickTime results can be bizar under Windows 98, please transform your documents to .mvo files. Your files will be smaller and loads a lot faster.
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| Q |
I just bought an official license but when I try a project in iShell Runtime it still gives the 7 minute demo warning.
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| A |
Go back to the iShell Editor open the Project Settings document, by double clicking on the project name in the media palette. Then make a modification to the settings and save the document again. Now the correct license should be stored in the project file.
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| Q |
What's the easiest way to get a Photoshop document inside iShell
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| A |
Take the Photoshop document from the media palette and drag it in the layout window. You will notice that ImageLayer creates one special iShell element but this special iShell element contains for each layer another ImageLayer element that has the Layer data.
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| Q |
I have a layer in Photoshop that I like to keep in Photoshop but I want to remove it in iShell.
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| A |
When you drag and drop your Photoshop document inside iShell ImageLayer imports each layer as an iShell element. You can just remove the element from your iShell document and that particular layer wil not be displayed. Remark: if you want this to happen automatically, just turn the layer invisible in Photoshop and by default ImageLayer will ignore this layer. Also adding [IGNORE] at the end of the layername will not import the layer into iShell.
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| Q |
I have designed my iShell screen with a Photoshop document. Do I have to redo all the work again if I want to change it to an MVO document? |
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No not at all! There is in fact a very easy trick to have all the URL's replaced for all the layers at once. First of all make the .mvo file with the ImageLayer Tool. Then Open up the attributes of the ImageLayer Box element. Drag the .mvo media on top of the URL attribute. You will notice that immediately all the URL's of the sub elements of the layers are being updated as well! |
| Q |
How much memory does ImageLayer uses compared to standard Image element. |
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The same or less: If you don't use flipbooks the memory use will be the same. But in case of flipbooks the memory will be less in case you use ImageLayer. Flipbooks in standard iShell are equal sized areas of one large bitmap. In ImageLayer each cell of the flipbook is cut out exactly in the area where it contains real pictures!. So less unnecessary memory is being used. Especialy in Alpha channeled sprite animations. |
| Q |
I noticed that my title loads much faster after using Imagelayer, how come? |
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Before you had several different files to display the onscreen graphics. Now with Imagelayer they are packed together as one file so it makes them download much faster from the CD-ROM or the internet. |
| Q |
I just moved my layer in Photoshop and it doesn't move it inside iShell Editor. How come? |
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If the photoshop file is currently open inside iShell, iShell doesn't reload it automatically. So in case you are not in test mode, just go to the URL attribute and click on the round Bullet in front of the URL but press at the same time the OPTION-key on MacOS and ALT key on Windows. This will do a force reload. Of course just closing all the windows and reopening the document works also. |
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Can I use the same Layer more the once? How much memory does it uses? |
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Yes you can, just like any standard image element, the bitmap will only be once in memory. |
| Q |
Can I place the Image Layer element out of the standard Image Layer box element? |
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When you drag a PSD document inside iShell it will create a special Image Layer Box element that acts like a container for all the layer elements. You are free to move those elements outside of this container and place them anywhere in your iShell document. |
| Q |
Should I store all my graphics of my project in one document or is it better that I use several Photoshop documents. |
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It is allowed to store all your graphics in one document, but this makes only sens in case all your graphics are visually necessary on screen. If that is not case it is better for memory effecient reasons to split up your photoshop document in different logical seperated documents. For example all your general navigation buttons could be in one document, the graphics for your main screen is another, etc... After a while you will notice that the way you will split up your graphics in Photoshop is very similar in the way you split up your iShell documents. |
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Photoshop Questions
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| Q |
Certain Layers are not displayed correctly (Photoshop Layer Effects). |
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Photoshop Layer effects are only supported in a very limited way. It is to time consuming for us to support them directly but there is a very easy way to get them work properly!
- Duplicate the Layer with effects
- Create a new layer just behind the new duplicated layer
- Now select the duplicated layer with the effect.
- and do Merge Down (in Layer Menu) or Command-E, now you have created "Burned" or bitmap rendered version of your effect layer. So turn the original layer invisible so it will be ignored by iShell ImageLayer plugin, and keep it in your Photoshop file in case you want to make changes.
Please go to the Photshop Tips area for more detail.
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| Q |
How long can a Photoshop name be? |
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The length of the Photoshop name can be 64 characters maximum. In case you have a long of in structions behind the name: My Enabled [Toggle_Enabled, Toggle_Rollover] you can always use the short cuts look in to the documentations for the complete list but for the given sample you can shorten it to: My Enabled [TE, TR] |
| Q |
What happens with the ImageLayer element when the layer is being deleted in Photoshop? |
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The Layer will still be there but just won't display anything, it is like you have an Image element with no URL specified. |
| Q |
I just converted my Photoshop files to an .mvo file, but they are still quiet big how can I make them smaller? |
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Assume you have a a layer with the name My Button. By default the layers are compressed in PNG 32 bits If you want to have them compressed in let's say 60 % JPG then just change the following to the layer name: My Button [JPG60]
From now everytime you convert the psd file to an .mvo file it know it needs to use jpg 60% compresssion. We support all kind of PNG compression to like PNG 24- bit, PNG 8-bit, 4-bit, 2-bit and even black and white. Look into the documentation for more information. |
| Q |
I changed the order in the Photoshop document, but it doesn't seem to synchronize it in iShell. |
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This is done on purpose, because certain iShell designers can for example use the same layer twice or want to change the order of the graphics in iShell. So we don't synchronize it in iShell. |
| Q |
The colors are all weird when I convert it to .mvo file |
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Make sure that your document is in RGB and not in CMYK. |
