Adobe AIR Development

[gpatton]

Hey guys,

So I've read posts on this forum about the screen size. One thing that is confusing me is that the simulator screen size is 27cm X 16cm on my screen.

I'm guessing that isn't really the real screen size. Is there any way to actually simulate or "scale down" the size to the actual size.

Mind you, I have a 23 inch monitor set to 1920X1080 resolution....if anybody needs that information to respond to this question.

Thanks!

P.S. HAPPY NEW YEARS TO EVERYONE! 6hrs 45min left on the east coast.

[jtegen]

It is not the physical size of the screen, but the pixel size of 1024 x 600 is correct.  The pixels on the final device is smaller (more dense), so the physical size of the PB will appear to be smaller.

[tensioncore]

The actual screen size is 7 inches. You could scale up the DPI on your monitor to get a better idea/ closer match to actual size.

[LoganSix]

Interesting point.

I checked mine and it would make for a 11" x 6" tablet screen (useable area, not including the menu bar at the top).   I think that might affect layouts a little bit. I haven't had to worry about this before, but having something that requires a finger to control items makes things a little different. 

An attempt to change the DPI didn't work.  According to the DPI setting (9 point Segoe UI at 96 pixel per inch), at 100% it is slightly longer than the tape measurer and you apparently can't change the DPI to 99%, you can only go upward.

I guess we'll just have to hope we don't overlap controls on the screen or something.

[peter9477]

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LoganSix wrote:

I checked mine and it would make for a 11" x 6" tablet screen (useable area, not including the menu bar at the top).   I think that might affect layouts a little bit. I haven't had to worry about this before, but having something that requires a finger to control items makes things a little different. 

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You could save a screenshot of the simulator window, and with some trial-and-error find the right scaling factor to print it at so it comes out to exactly 153.6mm by 90mm (about 6" by 3.5").  I'm finding this approach pretty effective, partly because I can then draw notes and tweaks on the paper and then go back and change the code appropriately.

Of course, you could do the same thing on-screen.  Personally, I don't really like getting fingerprints all over my monitor...

[LoganSix]

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peter9477 wrote:

Of course, you could do the same thing on-screen.  Personally, I don't really like getting fingerprints all over my monitor...

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LOL

Yeah, my first test of the picker was to put my finger up to the monitor to see how small it could be and still be useful.

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peter9477 wrote:

so it comes out to exactly 153.6mm by 90mm (about 6" by 3.5").  I'm finding this approach pretty effective, partly because I can then draw notes and tweaks on the paper and then go back and change the code appropriately.

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I'll keep that in mind after I get everything working.  I think I am going to try to do something with the Containers feature.  I will show the control features and when everything is set, just hide that container.  Hopefully that works.

BTW, with my screen, it comes to 55% of the visual size.  I did the screen capture in paint and then resized to 55%.  It came out a little distored, but it does measure 6" x 3.5".   Thanks for the tip!

[ectar]

Check this thread, here is some useful info we already discussed

http://supportforums.blackberry.com/t5/Tablet-OS-SDK-for-Adobe-AIR/Physical-dimension-of-the-PB-Scre...

[PBDev]

I resized this picture so when I printed it the screen was exactly 7 inches diagonally. Then I glued it to a piece of wood I cut to the right size. lol I know weird but I wanted to get a feel for using an actual device. On the back side I glued a screen shot of the keyboard from the simulator.

[peter9477]

I've been using an old Rand McNally atlas that was the perfect size, with some aluminum sheets on top and bottom to add weight.  It's precisely 400g though at 18mm a fair bit thicker than the real thing. 

It's very nice to manipulate and get a feel for how it will be in real use.  I'm quite happy with the weight... the PlayBook will make a very nice eBook reader!  (As will probably any similar or lighter 7" tablet.)  Definitely it's not something you'll have to lay on a table all the time as with the iPad.

I covered it in black construction paper, with a thin sheet of plastic over the screen area.  This way I can slip printouts underneath to get a fairly precise picture of how the thing will look, right down to the glare.   Unfortunately I have no colour printer handy (so I guess all my apps will be black and white! ;-) ).

[jtegen]

You two are way too funny.  What kind of battery life are you getting on those devices?  How hard is it to get an app installed or do you use flip pages of paper to simulate applications?