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------------------------The Signwriter Drupal Module-------------------------
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The Signwriter module allows you to use custom fonts in headings. It does this
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by replacing html headings with an image generated from a TrueType font file
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which you provide. It also has a number of additional features:
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- Multiple profiles allow you to have different settings for different
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headings.
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- Profiles can provide input filters to replace text matching a regular
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expression.
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- Images generated can be transparent or opaque.
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- Text can be positioned within a background image.
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- Text can be left, right, or center aligned.
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- Font size can be automatically reduced to fit the text within a specified
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maximum width.
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- Images are cached to improve performance under high load.
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- Generated images can be gif, png, jpeg, or bmp.
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- Themes can use profiles configured by a user, or create their own.
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From 5.x-1.2:
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- Drop shadows can be added to the text.
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- Multiple lines of text can be made into an image.
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Signwriter is made for drupal 4.7, but it can be used by themes in earlier
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versions of drupal without needing to enable the module. Signwriter requires
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the GD library to work properly (read on for more info).
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---------------------------------Installation---------------------------------
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Installation is trivial, simply untar the module:
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cd /path/to/drupal/modules
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tar xzf /path/to/signwriter-4.7.0.tar.gz
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Next, enable the module under drupal under admin>>modules.
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-----------------------------The GD Image Library-----------------------------
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Signwriter uses the GD Image library (http://php.net/image). GD comes
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installed by default in php >= 4.3, but can be enabled at compile time in
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earlier versions. If your php installation is on windows, try uncommenting the
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line which reads 'extension=php_gd2.dll' in your php.ini.
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------------------------------------Usage-------------------------------------
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There are two main scenarios under which you may wish to use signwriter:
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1. As a filter to replace headings or custom tags in node text, and
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2. To generate headings in a theme.
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In the second scenario, you can use signwriter profiles administered under
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drupal, or you can create your own in php.
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------------------------Creating Profiles Under Drupal------------------------
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A signwriter profile is a collection of settings which can be used to create an
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image. To manage your profiles, go to admin>>settings>>signwriter. From here
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you can add, delete, or edit profiles. If you add or edit a profile, you will
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be taken to a profile settings page. On each profile settings page there are a
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number of options which may be set, each of which is explained on that page.
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--------------------------Scenario 1: Using Filters---------------------------
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If a signwriter profile has a pattern defined then it will be available as an
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input filter under admin>>input formats. After enabling the filter, any text
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matched by the pattern will be replaced with a signwriter image.
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-----Example: Replacing h2 headings in nodes-----
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1. Create a profile under admin>>settings>>signwriter called 'H2 Filter', making
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sure to enter /<h2>.*?<\/h2>/ under 'Pattern to Match When Used as
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a Filter'. There are some example patterns on the page.
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2. Go to admin>>input formats and edit your input format of choice. There
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should be an option to enable 'H2 Filter'.
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3. After enabling the filter, create a new page using your input format of
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choice. Make sure you put in at least one h2 heading:
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<h2>signwriter filter test</h2>.
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4. Your headings should be replaced by signwriter images in the submitted page.
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-------------------------Scenario 2: Theme Development------------------------
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To use signwriter in a theme you have two options to configure it. You can
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enable the module in drupal and configure it on the admin>>settings>>signwriter
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page by adding one or more profiles, or you can create profiles yourself using
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php.
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-----Creating and Loading Profiles in php-----
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If you are administering your profiles under drupal, then in your theme code
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you will want to load one like this:
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<?php $profile = signwriter_load_profile('Example Profile'); ?>
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Note that you can pass a profile name or id to signwriter_load_profile().
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As a php object, a signwriter profile has the following fields, most of which
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correspond to a setting on the edit profile form:
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<?php
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$profile->text //The text to display. Can contain html entities.
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//For example, & will be displayed as &
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$profile->fontfile
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$profile->fontsize
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$profile->foreground
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$profile->background
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$profile->width
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$profile->height
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$profile->maxwidth
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$profile->imagetype
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$profile->cachedir // defaults to <drupaldir>/signwriter-cache
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$profile->textalign
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$profile->transparent
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$profile->bgimage
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$profile->xoffset
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$profile->yoffset
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?>
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Any of these fields can be overridden in the theme after loading the profile.
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If you want to create a profile from scratch then you will at least need to
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define $profile->fontfile all other settings will revert to
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defaults if not set. An advantage to creating the profile from scratch is that
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the module doesn't need to be enabled, and meddlesome users can't ruin your
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nice headings.
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After you have loaded or created a profile you can use signwriter_title_convert
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or signwriter_text_convert to replace, for example, your $title in page.tpl.php
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(if you're using phptemplate).
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-----Example 1: Replacing the page title in your theme-----
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1. Create a signwriter profile in drupal called 'Theme Heading', and assign
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the other settings to your liking.
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2. In your phptemplate theme add the following code to your page.tpl.php where
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you want to print the page title:
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<?php
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if ($title != '') {
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$profile = signwriter_load_profile('Theme Heading');
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// at this point you could override any settings. for example:
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// $profile->fontsize = 43; // override the font size
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print signwriter_title_convert($title, $profile);
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}
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?>
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3. Refresh the page in drupal and your title should appear in your custom font.
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-----Example 2: Using signwriter without configuring it in drupal-----
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1. Add your custom font to your theme directory. In this example we'll use Arial.ttf.
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2. In your phptemplate theme add the following code to your page.tpl.php:
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<?php
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if ($title != '') {
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$profile->fontfile = 'Arial';
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$profile->fontsize = 15;
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$profile->foreground = 'ff0000'; // red
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$profile->background = 'ffffff'; // white. If your text is jagged then change this to your page background colour
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$profile->maxwidth = 600;
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$profile->transparent = true;
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print signwriter_title_convert($title, $profile);
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}
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?>
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3. Refresh the page in drupal and your title should appear in red Arial size 15 text.
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-------------------------------About Signwriter-------------------------------
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Signwriter was created by Agileware (http://www.agileware.net).
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And ported to Drupal6 by Catorg (http://www.catorg.co.uk) and Agileware.
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