Cross Platform Build - my first

[Ken Ray]

> > This may have to do with the path differences between OS X and 
> > Classic. You may need to check under Classic to see what paths it 
> > thinks it's supposed to use.
> 
> How does one find the Classic path it thinks it is using. I'm rather 
> new to REV.

Well, you could put in a button that when you click it answers "the
filename of img <imgName>" and see what it shows. Make sure you build in
the answer dialog in the Distribution Builder.
 
> I have been going back and checking each object on the background and 
> find that I know nothing about REV....
> It appears I thought that a group would override an object 
> and as such 
> have dozens of groups to 'simplify' my updating of object colors and 
> sizes and text. I guess I screwed it all up. BUT it did look 
> ok on OSX.

There's an inheritance at work in Rev... if you don't set a property for
an object, it inherits it from the group that owns it. If the group
doesn't have it, it inherits it from the card; if not on the card, it
inherits it from the stack. Perhaps if you sent the stack to me I could
look at it and give you some feedback.

> > First of all, you need to know that the buttons and fields 
> should look 
> > exactly as other buttons/fields in other Windows apps which 
> may look 
> > awful to you coming from development on the Mac, but are perfectly 
> > normal in Windows (that is, if you're using standard settings and 
> > haven't gone and set a bunch of border, etc. properties).
> 
> I had to laugh when I read this. But, No they didn't look 
> like regular 
> XP window buttons at all. I set all kinds of stupid border, 
> color, text 
> settings and then put them all in groups because I thought that would 
> help separate sections of the app. Boy, did I screw up.
> 
> One question: If I had left them alone would the standard 'unabused' 
> buttons change their look when in 2000 and then change their 
> look in XP 
> and still again look normal in OSX/Classic??????

Yes (mostly). Rev doesn't support the XP look and feel, so buttons "left
alone" would look like standard Win2000 buttons. But the rest of your
statement is true. If you create a standard button, it looks all 3-d and
shaded in OS X, a simple beveled roundrect in OS 9, and a beveled
rectangle in Windows. You can take a look at how it will look
(approximately) by changing the Look and Feel (View menu -> Look and
Feel) to another platform. 

> >> 	d. text with effects have lost their styles completely
> >> - size, font
> > If you used a Mac-specific font in development (like Lucida 
> Grande) it 
> > won't exist in Windows and it will default to a default 
> font like MS 
> > Sans Serif or Helvetica.
> 
> I used my favorite font - Arial - Is that not good for 
> Windows??? What fonts are good?? also I have group settings 
> for fonts and then 
> item settings for fonts etc. I screwed this up but good.

Arial should have been ok for both, so I'm not sure what to say here
without seeing it.
 
> Your suggestion for a good font??

Arial 
> 
> >> How can I make "NICE" looking buttons and fields that will 
> look good 
> >> on all platforms?(with out recreating from scratch)
> > Well, "Nice" is relative... :-) Look at other apps in 
> Windows and see
> > if
> > your app's buttons and fields look different... if so, let 
> us know and
> > someone on the list should be able to help out. Some screenshots of 
> > what
> > your app looks like in Mac and in Windows would help a lot.
> 
> How can I get you guys the screen shots - the list refuses them???

I don't think you can send 'em to the list. You'd have to send them to
me (or anyone else) personally.

Ken Ray
Sons of Thunder Software
Email: kray at sonsothunder.com
Web Site: http://www.sonsothunder.com/