Not that it helps you a whole lot but native.newText() does work in OS X CoronaSDK apps. OS X is an entirely different world graphics-wise and supports putting OS controls on top of OpenGL surfaces.
@ubj3d.android & @waldemar.krampetz
I have a solution which is in beta (works well for me and one other). If you’re willing to use a beta product and give feedback, I’ll give you a free copy. Just e-mail me here:
Beta Now Closed - Follow the testing Progress here: https://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/58141-nativenewtextfield-for-windows/
** ADDED NEW VIDEO SHOWING placeholder AND isSecure SETTINGS WORKING **
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkDse2Pnac4&feature=youtu.be
Before you ask, this solution detects which system it is on and uses the real-deal if it is available. i.e. It fakes it on Windows, but you get actual native.newTextField() objects on all other systems. Code once in other words.
Great!
Hello,
Where can I download the lib?
Thank you
This is not available to anyone but a few beta testers yet.
If you want to follow the progress on this lib check this post occasionally:
https://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/58141-nativenewtextfield-for-windows/
Will you please email me the beta textfield. This is a feature that we need right away for a business app. I tried to message you but it said you cannot receive messages.
It’s funny that this thread has popped up when it did, as I just last week started working on a module to add “faked” support for native.newTextField() and native.newTextBox() in the Windows simulator. Ed and I have corresponded on this, and it seems like he and I are taking slightly different approaches to the problem, so with his blessing (I didn’t want to steal anybody’s thunder or step on toes), I’m going to make my own solution available here, and on my website later this week, once I have time to compose a blog post around it.
There is a sample project that shows off the various methods and parameters you can apply or adjust to native text inputs attached to this post. You can load that up in the simulator to check it out, or if you want, just copy “windowsText.lua” from that sample project folder and require it into your own project.
The module is only lightly commented, but there is a “how to” section at the top of it. I’ve copied that text at the bottom of this post. The module is set up to overwrite the default native.newTextField() and native.newTextBox() APIs, so you don’t need to change any of your code to use it. If you are running in the Windows simulator, it’ll use the faked APIs - if you are running it on any other platform, it’ll use the native versions. But you can override this behavior by calling windowsText.enable() to force the faked versions on a non-Windows platform, and windowsText.disable() to revert back to the native APIs. The faked text input objects dispatch “userInput” events identical to those put out by their native counterparts, so if you have event listeners for your input fields, they’ll work just fine.
I probably won’t be doing too much support for this module, as it’s not something that would be used in a released app (it’s just a tool to enable text input in the simulator, after all), but if you find any bugs please let me know and I’ll do my best to fix them. In my testing, it works pretty much as advertised, though. Hope some of you find it useful!
-Jason
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPIiMMSb_9E
\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* windowsText module for Corona SDK Copyright (c) 2015 Jason Schroeder http://www.jasonschroeder.com http://www.twitter.com/schroederapps \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* ABOUT THE MODULE: This module was created to "fake" native text input on the Corona Simulator for Windows, which as of July 2015 does not support the native.newTextBox() and native.newTextField() APIs. You are welcome to modify it as needed, but it is set up to "just work" by requiring it into your Corona project. Once required, the module will check to see if the project is running in the Windows simulator, and if it is, it will overwrite native.newTextBox() and native.newTextField() with these non-native Windows simulator-compatible functions. These modified functions are fully compatible with all syntax and methods of their native counterparts, so you will not need to alter your code at all to support them. \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* HOW TO USE THE MODULE: 1.) Place windowsText.lua (this file) in your project's root directory (where your main.lua resides) 2.) Require the module by placing the following code in your main.lua: local windowsText = require("windowsText") 3.) That's it! Calling native.newTextField() or native.newTextBox() will now work in the Windows Simulator just like it does on-device or in OS X. 4.) If you want to use these non-native textFields or textBoxes outside the Windows simulator, you can optionally call windowsText.enable() to overwrite the native functions. You can revert back to the native APIs by calling windowsText.disable() if you wish. \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*
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This is so awesome… I made one quite similar last night. The only thing different that I am trying to implement is to slide the text to stay in view when it goes near the end for a single line textbox.
This is very interesting, but I’m missing something. Running in build 2689 on windows, I can see the text field and textbox in your example, adjust them, but can’t type into them.
Hi Conor, I was running build # 2689 in the demo video, so I know it works in that version of the Windows simulator. I know this sounds silly, but you are clicking on the textfield itself before trying to type, right? Just like native text fields and boxes on OS X, you have to click the text field prior to typing into it. A light blue border will appear around it when it is “clicked into.”
Also, are you using a US English keyboard? One limitation of this method of collecting input is that different keyboards would need to be accounted for, and by default, I only included support for a US English keyboard. You can add your own by creating a table of input values for a non-English keyboard (if you are using one). Just look at the structure of the “US_English” table in the module and use it as a template.
Let me know if any of the above helps you out. Thanks!
In your example, no light blue box appears. But when I implement it in my project, that box appears when I click it. But there’s no text input. I’m using a default text for the box, so it’s not empty at the start. Would that effect it?
I’m not using US_English, but I’m guessing that would only result in some different input results?
Another thought. Does using composer complicate things?
Hi Conor,
Composer shouldn’t complicate things, at least in theory, but I haven’t tried using it inside of a composer scene, so I couldn’t say with absolute authority. I would suspect that the keyboard issue might be the likelier suspect (though I would not expect it to cause a complete lack of input - but I couldn’t say for sure).
It sounds like you dropped the plugin into an existing project. Have you tried running the sample project in the Simulator? Does that work for you? Just trying to get to the bottom of it…
I’m running your example straight out of the .zip. One correction, your example did have the blue box when clicking in.
I also tried changing my keyboard to US, and no different.
Your controls on text size work, so the textfield is being addressed.
Running windows 7.
Hi Conor,
Here’s a way to check if it’s the keyboard issue. Starting at line 631 of windowsText.lua, you’ll see a function that listens for keyboard input and dispatches events only if there is a table entry in the keyboard table that matches the “keyName” that your keyboard puts out.
Update that “keyListener” function (lines 631 - 658) to the below. This modified function will print two lines to the terminal window every time you press a key on the keyboard. It’ll tell you the “keyName” of the key for your particular keyboard, and also if there is a corresponding entry in the keyboard table. If that second line says “Exists in keyboard table: false”, then you know that it’s a localization problem, and you’ll need to recreate a keyboard table sort of like the “US_English” one.
Here’s the updated code to replace the old keyListener function (paste in place of lines 631 - 658):
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- LISTEN FOR KEYSTROKES AND DISPATCH CHARACTER ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ function keyListener(event) local phase = event.phase local keyName = event.keyName local output if phase == "down" then print("Key pressed: " .. keyName) print("Exists in keyboard table: ".. tostring(keyboard[keyName] ~= nil)) end if keyboard[keyName] and phase == "down" and not pressed[keyName] then local default = keyboard[keyName].default local shift = keyboard[keyName].shift if not default == "backspace" then pressed[keyName] = true end if event.isShiftDown then output = shift else output = default end elseif phase == "up" then pressed[keyName] = false end if output then Runtime:dispatchEvent({name = "windowsText", character = output}) return true end endLooks like function keyListener(event) is not being called when i press keys.
function windowsText.enable() is being called. Some form of disconnect on keylistener? Unfortunately I don’t have another windows machine to test on.
OH! I think I know what this is. Are you using an Android skin in the simulator? For whatever reason, if you’re using an iPhone or iPad skin in the Windows simulator, key events don’t work. Could that be it?
That’s it, thanks.
But I’m getting double letters, numbers etc.