www.1001TopWords.com |
PIM Team Case Study: Creating Text Effects With PHP and GD
See how you can create graphic effects on text with PHP and GD - drop shadows, arcs, fonts and colors. Problem A-tec Signs and Sraphics Inc. launched a web site with the idea to sell decals online. To achieve better customers ineterest the website had to integrate online decal builder. The company is offering also decals for vehicles which brought some specific requirements to the builder like having the decal text turning arround 4 types of arcs. Goals
Solution Because of the need for increasing customers interest we had to think about not for perfect math formulas when showing the graphs in the preview area, but for the people who will look at them. As we will reaveal below, there were few problems going arround human appreceptions for something 'perfectly smooth' and the matchematical perfect figures. Methodology We were going to extensively use PHP GD library for the text effects. It provided easy changing of fonts and colors, adding drop shawdows and rotating the texts. We had also to create color palletes which to appear when user click and disappear when color is selected (You can personally try the decals creating here). Using hidden layers and javascript was supposed to do the work. The main problem in this site was to create 4 types of arcs so when the user selects one of them the text is created arround imaginary arc (like in the vector graphical softwares). We were going to study Bezie's formulas and create these arcs with its help. Implementation PIM Team Bulgaria had the task to build the full functional online decals builder with the following features: - Decal background Some users were supposed to have their decals placed on colored background. We had to allow the preview area to be painted in a selected background. First we created the image in temp folder: // the name of destination image $dest='decals/'.time().'.jpg'; //the background imagefilledrectangle ( $im, 0, 0, 590, 60, $colors[$_POST['bcolors']]); $colors array contains the available color which are stored by the administrator in the database. Thus, when the visitor selects a background it is passed as parametter to imagefilledrectangle function. - Font selection Users should be able to select fonts for their future decals. Knowing that we can't consider all the fonts will be available on all visitor's computers we had to upload them on the web server directory. We allowed the admin to manage the fonts, adding their names and uploading files in admin area. The fonts in the select box came from the database. Selected font was passed in the call to imagettftext funtion which is drawing on the previously created image. - Color Selections The color selections had to be a palettes which appear when user clicks and disappear when color is selected. The palette had to look as a table with colors and these colors are also defined in the admin area so they had to come dynamicly. We had to seed a static javascript function with dynamic content. We created a PHP cycle which was taking the colors from the database and then creating a string for HTML table. This table is then passed to a javascript function which creates the palletes with the help of hidden layers: function showTable(table) { mouseX = window.event.x + document.body.scrollLeft+25; if(table=='background') { var content=""; var y=460; } if(table=='fonts') { var content=""; var y=690; } if(table=='shadows') { var content=""; var y=810; } document.getElementById('tabler').style.pixelLeft=mouseX; document.getElementById('tabler').style.pixelTop=y; document.getElementById('tabler').style.visibility='visible'; document.getElementById('tabler').innerHTML=content; } Of course, once the user select the desired color we had to hide the pallette: function setColor(elid,color,fromid,shc) { document.getElementById(elid).value=color; document.getElementById('tabler').style.visibility='hidden'; } Thus we created nice palettes which appear and disappear on a single click and don't take much space on the screen. - Drop Shawdows The decals offered has the ability to have a drop shadow added so we had to add this option to the online builder. PHP however didn't offered a nice function for that. We created a procedure which draws the texts twice - once the original 100% saturated text and once the shadow with a percentage of the color and appropriate displacement. Of course the shadow was drawn on the image before the main text. @imagettftext($img, 20, $gr[$i], $x+$dx, $ys[$i]+$dy, $scolors[$shadowcolor], "fonts/".$_POST['fonts'],$word[$i]); - Arcs The main problem came when we had to 'rotate' the texts thru arcs. First we created perfect Bezie funtion which to draw the curves and adjust the letter above them. But what a surprise - the curves looked perfect alone, but when we adjusted the letters above them they seemed rough. After studying this problem we realised that the rough screen resolution and the disability to antialise the images wouldn't allow us to create nice arcs. We were standing against insoluble problem. We decided to create few arcs with a graphical software (CorelDraw) and to see what could be wrong. We noticed that Corel's curves were looking great after they are manually adjusted. However you can't just leave the program to create perfect curves automaticly. A human eye was needed to judge when a curve looks right and when not. We got a totally different direction. There wasn't an universal function to help us. The solution we found was to 'manually' adjust each letter. We created a procedure with cases which were adjusting each letter on the appropriate place and with appropriate rotation depending on how long was the text. It worked! We created 2 arrays for each arc type - one array with the positions and one array with the rotations. The rest was simple: if($arctype) { $start=(35-$l)/2; if($start%2) $start+=1; $gr=array_slice($gr,$start,$l); $ys=array_slice($ys,$start,$l); } if(!$arctype) { $ys=array(); $gr=array(); //making the arrays for($i=0;$i You can go on the atec's site and try the arcs we achieved (http://atecsigns.com/decal/step_1.php). Results Now A-tec Sings's web builder creates perfect decals with graphs, calculates the price and allows you to add the decals to your shopping cart and chgeckout (the shopping cart software is also created by PIM Team Bulgaria). The builder allows the visitor to create the desired decals with any color, dropped shadow, background and shape, to preview it and to calculate the cost for different sizes and quantities. The website and builder were promoted with massive radio advertising company. At that time it was the only decal builder which allowed creating texts arround arcs. Conclusions
About The Author Bobby Handzhiev is a senior developer in PIM Team Bulgaria
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Building eCommerce Websites that Work - Part 2 Succeeding with an eCommerce website is a dream for many these days. It may seem nearly impossible at times, but it can be done. This series covers some of the basic success factors - things you must consider in creating, implementing, managing and developing a quality eCommerce web site. There are many ways to do business on the internet - and, not surprisingly, a lot of ways to both make and lose money. Mainly, I'm focusing on eCommerce sites intended to sell products of various kinds. Not every factor is going to apply to every site, but since a major failing of many internet entrepreneurs is the lack of multiple income streams, you'd do well to carefully consider all factors and apply them as needed in developing alternate revenue streams. What Business Owners MUST Know BEFORE They Commit To Having A Web Site Q1.Why would I need a web site?A1. MySQL Database Handling in PHP Most interactive websites nowadays require data to be presented dynamically and interactively based on input from the user. For example, a customer may need to log into a retail website to check his purchasing history. In this instance, the website would have stored two types of data in order for the customer to perform the check ? the customer's personal login details; and the customer's purchased items. This data can be stored in two types of storage ? flat files or databases. Top 7 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Website A website provides invaluable advantages for businesses who have one. Setting Up A CGI Script On Your Web Site Before you set up any scripts you will need some information about your server. You can get this by e-mailing your web hosting provider. It's good to have these on hand before you try to set up a script. You may not need all of the information for each script, but some of the larger scripts demand more information to work. The information you may need is: How to Create Sizzling Sales online "Don't Sell the Steak, Sell the Sizzle." Are You Overlooking the Benefits of Using Sub-Domains within Your Web-hosting account? One of the most useful features offered by some web hosting companies, is the option of creating sub-domains in the same web hosting account. The problem is, most website owners are not aware of why and how to create sub-domains. Streamline your Business Website with a Content Management System I talk with so many people who have small businesses and would like to have a web presence but don't know the first thing about how to even get started. Some of the reasons I hear are: 10 Simple Steps: Its Magic If You can E-Mail You can Update Your Web Page Dynamically Dynamically Update Your Web Pages Via E-Mail How To Keep Your Website Sticky Developing a website with content that entices visitors to return over and over again is something that takes time and effort to put together. This checklist can give you a great start on creating a popular website that entices readers to hang around on your site. If Its Done Its Done for: Make Your Website Part of Your Business before You Build Web sites are an Ongoing Part of Business. 50 Ways To Use Your Website A website is the most versatile and cost-effective marketing tool on the market. It is also an investment. After all, you are building a shopfront. In a nutshell, you can use your website to: Enhance your professional image 1. Look professional and as BIG as large corporations. 2. Pre-sell yourself to new clients even before you meet them. 3. Supply a meaningful and intuitive address related to your type of service. It is easier to remember www.marketingcues.com rather than a long ISP email address such as www.yourInternetServiceProvidername.com/~marketingcues. 4. Provide a permanent address with up-to-date contact details and opening hours. You can change Internet Service Provider or move physical premises and your customers will always find you and your marketing efforts are not lost. Improve Conversion Rates ? Effective Content Your site is fast and getting traffic, but conversion rates are disappointing. You may have problems with the tone of your content 4 Rock Solid Reasons For Building Your Own Website What is the point of having a website, you may ask, when the affiliate programme you have joined has provided you with your own web page to promote? This is a fair question. The answer has to be that with your own site - and of course your own domain name - you will have a lot more control over your business. Here are four reasons why you should be grabbing your piece of internet real estate - right now. Search Engines and Customers Want Focused Web Site Content How do you decide on the content, products and or services you will promote on your Web site. How To Get Your Customers To Trust Your Website Research reveals three important facts: Planning Your Website for Success Most people know they need a website in order to publicise and promote their business but very few people know what they want in their website. Fewer still are those who can actually sit down and plan their websites well. Successful Web Development: 10 Key Elements There are many elements that are key to successful web development. There is no arguing that elements of talent such as graphic design, writing, and technical expertise are important. In the long run, however, it is the elements that are not directly associated with web development that determine a website's success. For the beginner, it is important to have a broader view of success Guide to Internet Business - Website Setup After planning the design and content of your website, it's time to actually physically set up your website. This is the step where you put all your designs and plans into action, creating a website that will attract visitors and earn income. Benefits Of An Accessible Website: Part 2 - The Business Case The DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) states that service providers must not discriminate against disabled people. A website is regarded as a service and therefore falls under this law, and as such must be made accessible to everyone. |
© Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |