02-21-2003, 08:14 AM -
Expanding on Mark's post, SkinText=1 forces the plugin to use an image file for the numbers instead of standard fonts. To use this, you also have to define the digits file (i.e. digits=digits.png) in the [general] section of the skin. They don't necesarily have to be tiny (as the defaults tend to be), they can be any size. The image must be a single row of numbers and symbols, all with the same width and height, using the format "0123456789+-." The plugin takes the width of the image and divides it by 13 (the number of characters required) to determine the width of the individual digits. The height is taken from the height of the image. The advantage of this method: platform independant appearance, greater control of margin sizes surrounding font, and easier to read fonts at very small sizes. (Yes, the defaults, particularly in the 3 lines inside 22 pixels versions, are hard to read, but if you use a standard font in those configurations they are completely illegible). Fixed width also make it easier to determine how big the dataslot's rectangle needs to be. Drawbacks: slightly bigger resource impact, more time to develop skin, more difficult to change font.