Forum: Author Hangout

An exercise in using graphics

Zen Master 🚫
Updated:

I'm sure every writer here is anxiously following my experiments with graphics in "The Missile 1 v2". Okay, maybe not.
I have previously whined -at great length- about this site's adherence to 'minimal HTML' standards, which really limits text formatting. Basically, it removes all 'extra' spaces. No three spaces to start a paragraph, no two spaces between sentences, and CERTAINLY not extra spaces before a period.
Anyway, I want to use "ASCII Art" in my stories, where you draw a picture -something with visual meaning simply due to the spatial relationships between the characters- here on SOL. And, it's just not allowed. Any 'extra' spaces are removed. Any excessive repeating characters are truncated. It just doesn't work.
So, I've gone to all the trouble of running an experiment. For M1v2, I've taken a screen-shot picture of the text while it's still properly formatted on my screen, then uploaded that picture in the appropriate place instead of the butchered 'ASCII Art'.
It's working great, on my normal computer monitor. It's not working so great, on phones. This site provides a 'phone mode' which formats text in a way that works a lot better for small screens. And, some of my screen-print graphics are too large for them. Because, you know, it's a _picture_ and the site can't simply break a line of text and display the remainder on the next line the way it would if it was really text instead of a picture.
So, I'm gonna see if I can take my original PNG and shrink it down some, maybe to 80%, then take a picture of THAT and post it as an update to Chapter 4.

But, I'm more than willing to listen to ideas from other writers who've gone through this before.

Replies: Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster) Marc Nobbs

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@Zen Master

I fixed the support for the {pre}{/pre} tag.

You can now use it to wrap your scores and statuses. something like:

{pre}

Sam McGowan, Heavy Footman: Level 1(0/1000)
Title: N/A
Points: 2
Status: Blessed (^)
Strength: 8 (^+1=9)
	Force Multiplier: 1
Agility:7
Endurance: 8 (^+1=9)
Pain Resistance: 1 (^+1=2)
Speed: 6
Intelligence: 6
Health: 21
Mana: 0
Skills:
	Mace: Level 2 (^+1=3)
	Shield: Level 1 (^+1=2)
Equipment:
	Bonded Heavy War Mace
	Banded Wooden Shield
Money: 0
Inventory: 1/100
	1 brass machete

{/pre}

It may not work here on the forum, but it will work in your submitted text. Check the chapter posted today.

Replies: Zen Master

Zen Master 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

The current Chapter 4 (indented with a vertical line) looks good on my Android phone. The current Chapter 6 (left-justified) is great. That's what I want.
Actually, that fixes a lot of things here.
Is this automated, this 'pre' function, to turn the pre-processor off until it sees the /pre? I'd like to get to where we DON'T have to have the moderators massage every chapter.

Marc Nobbs 🚫

@Zen Master

Have you tried creating the ASCII art in, say, Notepad, then taking a screenshot and submitting it as a regular JPEG? If you're on Windows, then "Snipping Tool" is a great little underrated app for doing partial screenshots and it lets you save the result to a file.

Replies: Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@Marc Nobbs

It was not art.

It was preformatted text as I responded above.

Using images for text is bad. Some tools reported that nearly 4% of the site's visitors are blind and using screen readers.

To use images as replacement for text excludes these readers from your stories.

Replies: Marc Nobbs H. Malcom Walker

Marc Nobbs 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

I which case I misunderstood the original post.

Although he did mention making pictures with text, which I assumed was like the cat/lion we used to see in the Kristen Archives stories on the old ASSM website.

Replies: Zen Master

Zen Master 🚫

@Marc Nobbs

I think we're talking 'past' each other. Kristen's Archives are a good example of ASCII Art. Trying that here wouldn't come out well at all, because all that would get crammed up against the left margin.
I want to post text to a website that supports text files. Unfortunately there has been a problem with pre-formatted text here. I've been trying to get around that by taking a picture of the text and embedding that in the story, but as LJ points out that is really, really bad. Anyone using a text-only reader, or downloading the story as a text file, won't get those graphics. Far better to fix the site so that formatted text can be passed through unchanged.
I hadn't even thought of LJ's point, that those with impaired vision can only use this site with tools that convert text to speech. Those people also won't get the graphics. Fixing the 'pre' function is MUCH better!

LJ, I'll test the 'pre' function in M2, which should start posting tomorrow.

H. Malcom Walker 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Shouldn't there be a way for an author to have "alternate text" for an image that could be read out to those using screen readers?

Replies: Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)
Updated:

@H. Malcom Walker

Shouldn't there be a way for an author to have "alternate text" for an image that could be read out to those using screen readers?

There is. I guess I forgot to add it to the documentation. Tag like so:

[[ insert image_name.jpg here centered alt="image description here with no double quotes inside the double quotes"]]

Replies: solitude

solitude 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

If someone has opted out of having images shown, would it be possible to have the alt text shown instead, please?

Replies: Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@solitude

If someone has opted out of having images shown, would it be possible to have the alt text shown instead, please?

I'll have to work on it. We'll see.

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Forum: Author Hangout

An exercise in using graphics

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