Finally a usable version for creating metric text in the directx renderers.

Works now relatively fast with bigger texts. Supports different fonts per slice and lot of other features.

Also includes an overworked fontmapbuilder patch (by woei and west) which both generates the fontmap and a file with the metrics.

Download here:
Text (EX9 Metrics) & FontMap builder v2.1 13.Aug.07.zip (3.64 Kb)

Features:

• Supports Carriage Returns
• Everything is fully spreadable
• Multiple Fonts Support
• Alignment: Left Justified, Centered, Right Justified
• Easy positioning and scaling of whole textblocks via transform in
• Access to transform each character separately for special fx.
• Create Fontmaps & Metrics easy with one click with the included fontmapbuilder patch.

Bugs

v2.1

• You saved your module with 5 spreads to the Spacing X.
• In the patch where it says: <- select the right metrics data for each fontmap, there is a * sign with 1768 (!!!!) slices. Meaning I always end up with at least 11768 quads.
• The naming of the Helpfile is missing 1 space.
• Think you need to bang the Reader and Filetexture on OPENING cozz when I only open the Text thing, the reader keeps on showing no output. I manual switched the load pin, or I changed the Font a few times (to trigger the change) not sure, but initial you don't get font-widths.

To Do:

• Automatic Linespearation (could be tricky)
• Better Textquality for small fonts (tonfilms bicubic shader or special fontmaps for small fonts.
• more inlets for controlling each character independently (like color alpha, spacing (for doing kerning)
• Tags (maybe HTML for doing Sizechanges, colorchanges, fonchanges within one slice)
• Text along Pathes
• Embedded metrics in the fontmap .png file (Woei?)
• any other suggestions?
• cleaner patch :)