Beginning Flash®, Flex®, and AIR® Development for Mobile Devices

5

Developing for Multiple Screen Sizes

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS CHAPTER:

• Understanding screen size and screen resolution
• Automatically scaling applications
• Adapting content to different stage sizes
• Handling changes in device orientation
• Utilizing MXML group containers
• Using states in a Flex mobile application

In this chapter you'll take a look at how to approach developing mobile applications that will adapt to more than one screen size.

In essence, the chapter focuses mainly on the design of the mobile application within the viewing window. For the majority of apps the logic and core should be the same, and so giving applications a consistent look is the order of the day.

First you'll get an understanding of screen resolution and the difference between measuring screen size by the number of pixels and measuring the screen size by physical distances.

Then you'll take a look at utilizing the stage to handle size changes in an application. You'll also examine how to determine the relative dimensions and sizes of assets, components, and fonts.

This chapter guides you through how to update an application when the device changes orientation between portrait and landscape. You'll then go through a series of techniques to position assets in the application using Flash Builder.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR MULTIPLE SCREEN SIZES

The screen size on a mobile handset is pretty much what determines the space available to you, and the viewing window for an application. Not all mobile devices have ...