Orientation Not Recognized

[townsend]

I'm using Ctl-F11 and Ctl-F12 to change the Simulator back and forth between Landscape and Portrait orientations. The Simulator changes orientation, but my app doesn't. I always stays in Portrait.

I checked the Android Lessons, and Release Notes. Nothing there about Orientation.

Actually, I want my app to be locked in Landscape orientation.
So when I do have the Simulator does go to Portrait, its should stay in Landscape--
and the the text appears sideways. (Left or Right? Can that be controlled?)

Anyone else have this problem? Or know what to do?

[BarrySumpter]

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[townsend]

Here's a simple 480x320, Hello World stack. Inside the button, I have:

Code: Select all

on orientationChanged
     answer mobileDeviceOrientation
end orientationChanged

As you see, even when in landscape, LiveCode is reporting portrait.
The LiveCode stack is in fact in Portrait mode. It just doesn't know what the device is doing.

Also, I have this code in the Stack script, which never gets triggered.

Code: Select all

on orientationChanged
     answer mobileDeviceOrientation()
end orientationChanged

There isn't much to this stack. And-- I've tried it with different Simulator configurations.

[BarrySumpter]

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[townsend]

Thanks Barry! Sometimes just asking the right questions is enough to point me in the right direction.
I've made some progress.

I'm uploading my Hello Word Testing program with all the Mobile commands behind buttons.

I spent few hours trying to figure out where and how to place all these Mobile Orientation commands with no success. Should they be in On PreOpenStack or in On Open Stack? I know the mobileSetAllowedOrientations("landscape right") is absolutely necessary, but I'm still unsure about the mobileLockOrientation and mobileUnlockOrientation commands. I've read through the Android Release notes on this many times. The nesting of lock and unlock commands is totally confusing.

My best guess, (does not work):

Code: Select all

on openstack
     if the environment is "mobile" then
          mobileUnlockOrientation
          mobileAllowedOrientations("landscape right")
          mobileLockOrientation
     end if
end openstack

Using the Android 2.3.3 API Level 10 with WQVGA400 resolution, my Get Current Orientation Button reports the wrong orientation in landscape. This Simulator never gets to proper landscape mode.

Using the Android 2.2 Simulator with WQVGA432 resolution, I have a glimmer of luck, but no where near a solution. After pressing the my Set Landscape button once, and repeatively doing a Ctl-F12, to toggle landscape mode in the Simulator, it eventually shows up in correct landscape mode. How to translate this into code, remains a mystery.

Note the Ctl-F11 Portrait and Crl-F12 Lanscape key combinations only work after you release both keys.

[BarrySumpter]

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[BarrySumpter]

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[BarrySumpter]

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[jacque]

Be careful of trying to use the orientationChanged message to determine the current orientation. That message is sent before any change occurs. If you are in portrait and you check orientation in an orientationChanged handler, it will return "portrait". The message you get after the display has changed is "resizeStack". If you check the orientation in that handler, it should reflect the post-changed (i.e., the current) orientation.

Orientation is typically set at preOpenStack, which is where you'd put the allowedOrientation command. I don't believe you need to lock the orientation at all if you are only allowing landscape orientations during preOpenStack.

That said, there may still be bugs in the implementation. I haven't tested it recently.

[BarrySumpter]

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[townsend]

I looked through your AndroidOrientationTest.livecode. It was a 432x544 portrait stack, pretty much similar to my Testing.livecode 230x432, landscape stack, except for the On PreOpenStack line for mobileAllowedOrientations. Barry-- I appreciate you looking into this for me. I've made some progress.

This is NO way, in LiveCode for Android, to force Landscape if in Portriat.

I kinda got that working but there is a LiveCode bug.

It works fine with the 2.2 Simulator, but NOT with any of the 2.3.1, 2.3.3 or 3.1 Simulators.

I could have sworn we had landscape working on the emulator with the Summer Academy example but I can't get it to work.

Yeah-- Elanor must have been using the 2.2 Simulator.

Orientation is typically set at preOpenStack, which is where you'd put the allowedOrientation command. I don't believe you need to lock the orientation at all if you are only allowing landscape orientations during preOpenStack.

Thanks Jacque-- that's exactly what I needed to know. Also-- good tip there about the orientationChanged message.

I still haven't gotten Windows 7 to recognize my Android phone, so I don't know how this will or won't work in actual use.

[BarrySumpter]

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[BarrySumpter]

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[townsend]

Just tried it again. Still works fine in 2.2 with the Skin setting to WQVGA432.

I have the mobileSetAllowedOrientations("landscape right") statement in On preOpenStack.

When the app starts the device is in landscape, but the app is in portrait, not good.
One click on Ctl-F12 and the device is in portrait, and the app is in landscape, not good.
One more click on Ctl-F12 and both device and app appear in landscape, good, after a couple of seconds.
The 3rd click on Ctl-F12 put the device in portrait, and the app still in landscape, the way it should be.

Clicking to the Home icon closes the app on the Simulator.
Then when I click the app, "TestingOrientation" icon from the Simulator's app list, the orientation remains where I last left it, which is good. So, it seems that the orientation problem only occurs after installation. Once it is set right, it stays that way.

I'm unable to test this on my device, so I have no idea how it run there. Either way, if the 2.3 and higher version don't work right, then it's problematic to release. And since we just got LiveCode 4.6.2, it will be another 3 months before the next update.

[BarrySumpter]

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