Mapping screen for mouse

[mdijkens]

A method that I've used, which is relatively simple to implement, is use screen masking.

You draw your menu or whatever on the first screen like normal.

Then you create an image the same size as your target screen. This will be the hidden overlay.

Code: (Select All)

hiddenScreen = _NEWIMAGE(_WIDTH(0), _HEIGHT(0), 32)

 
On the second screen (the hidden screen) you mask off the areas that you want the mouse to be sensitive to, and you assign specific colors to those areas.

Code: (Select All)

myButton_1 = 1 ' Assign Numbers to masked off areas (colors)
myButton_2 = 2

_DEST hiddenScreen
LINE(10, 10) - (30 ,20), myButton_1, BF
LINE(50, 10) - (80 ,20), myButton_2, BF
_DEST 0

And when you want check your mouse.

Code: (Select All)

DO WHILE _MOUSEINPUT '      Check the mouse status
  mx = _MOUSEX
  my = _MOUSEY
LOOP

_SOURCE hiddenScreen
buttonTouched = POINT(mx ,my)
_SOURCE 0

I find this easier than making a large number of conditionals for my mouse position.

(Forgive me, I haven't tested this code, but it conveys the general idea.)

I've used this technique for a graphic representation of a complex machine interface.
Copied the full-screen graphic showing the whole system and in picture-editor created colored area's to click on.
Using different colors per area and even using R,G,B for sub-areas.
Then this image was used as a hidden screen to retrieve clicked area.
Works excellent and even with very odd-shaped click-areas