getting to grips with native.newTextField

[dax_trajero]

So haven’t used Corona in ages, came back to it, to build a small business app, and am “experiencing” native.newTextField for first time.

Is it really true it’s not fully compatible with the likes of composer, in terms of transitioning, etc…?

Also, assuming I write a multi-tab application, that I have to manually create / kill the object during the appropriate scene phases?

And is there still an apparent font scaling issue across the various platforms, or has this been eliminated in the recent builds?

If true, these issues amount to what is a pretty fundamental flaw in the whole SDK? I appreciate it’s focused on games but text input is basic surely ?

[nick_sherman]

As a workaround you could have the native.newTextField feed its input into a normal text object on top of a custom background, and give the native object an alpha of 0.01 (so you can still click on it to test in the Corona Simulator).

You’ll have to create a cursor manually which would just be a blinking newRect positioned according to the current width of the text.

The main drawback with this approach is the user can’t tap within the text to move the cursor.

You’ll still have to manually destroy the object before you move scenes, but at least your visible text elements will be easier to manage in terms of appearance, transitioning etc. 

[runewinse]

And is there still an apparent font scaling issue across the various platforms, or has this been eliminated in the recent builds?

If true, these issues amount to what is a pretty fundamental flaw in the whole SDK? I appreciate it’s focused on games but text input is basic surely ?

It’s a scandal actually. Corona should put a big sticker on the front of their web site: “We are unfortunately not able to deal with text inputs” instead of promoting their SDK as a “Business app solution”.

Why should paying customers keep struggling with all these half working “workarounds” year after year?

[dax_trajero]

@nick\_sherman

As a workaround you could have the native.newTextField feed its input into a normal text object on top of a custom background, and give the native object an alpha of 0.01 (so you can still click on it to test in the Corona Simulator).

You’ll have to create a cursor manually which would just be a blinking newRect positioned according to the current width of the text.

The main drawback with this approach is the user can’t tap within the text to move the cursor.

You’ll still have to manually destroy the object before you move scenes, but at least your visible text elements will be easier to manage in terms of appearance, transitioning etc. 

waste time with smoke and mirrors ? I’d rather have a fully functioning text input ?

@runewinse

It’s a scandal actually. Corona should put a big sticker on the front of their web site: “We are unfortunately not able to deal with text inputs” instead of promoting their SDK as a “Business app solution”.

Why should paying customers keep struggling with all these half working “workarounds” year after year?

I have to agree - it’s a fundamental feature.

I keep coming up against obstacles with Corona that should’ve been sorted a long time ago, but get cast aside with Corona’s insistance of introducing new features, before the old ones are fixed

[atanas]

Hi Dax, Give a try to newEditField from widgetstown.com, it fixes most ot the shortcomings in newTextField. Best Atanas

[nick_sherman]

As a workaround you could have the native.newTextField feed its input into a normal text object on top of a custom background, and give the native object an alpha of 0.01 (so you can still click on it to test in the Corona Simulator).

You’ll have to create a cursor manually which would just be a blinking newRect positioned according to the current width of the text.

The main drawback with this approach is the user can’t tap within the text to move the cursor.

You’ll still have to manually destroy the object before you move scenes, but at least your visible text elements will be easier to manage in terms of appearance, transitioning etc. 

[runewinse]

And is there still an apparent font scaling issue across the various platforms, or has this been eliminated in the recent builds?

If true, these issues amount to what is a pretty fundamental flaw in the whole SDK? I appreciate it’s focused on games but text input is basic surely ?

It’s a scandal actually. Corona should put a big sticker on the front of their web site: “We are unfortunately not able to deal with text inputs” instead of promoting their SDK as a “Business app solution”.

Why should paying customers keep struggling with all these half working “workarounds” year after year?

[dax_trajero]

@nick\_sherman

As a workaround you could have the native.newTextField feed its input into a normal text object on top of a custom background, and give the native object an alpha of 0.01 (so you can still click on it to test in the Corona Simulator).

You’ll have to create a cursor manually which would just be a blinking newRect positioned according to the current width of the text.

The main drawback with this approach is the user can’t tap within the text to move the cursor.

You’ll still have to manually destroy the object before you move scenes, but at least your visible text elements will be easier to manage in terms of appearance, transitioning etc. 

waste time with smoke and mirrors ? I’d rather have a fully functioning text input ?

@runewinse

It’s a scandal actually. Corona should put a big sticker on the front of their web site: “We are unfortunately not able to deal with text inputs” instead of promoting their SDK as a “Business app solution”.

Why should paying customers keep struggling with all these half working “workarounds” year after year?

I have to agree - it’s a fundamental feature.

I keep coming up against obstacles with Corona that should’ve been sorted a long time ago, but get cast aside with Corona’s insistance of introducing new features, before the old ones are fixed

[atanas]

Hi Dax, Give a try to newEditField from widgetstown.com, it fixes most ot the shortcomings in newTextField. Best Atanas