PIM Team Case Study: Creating Text Effects With PHP and GD

See how you can create graphic effects on text with PHP and GD - drop shadows, arcs, fonts and colors.

Problem

A-tec Signs and Sraphics Inc. launched a web site with the idea to sell decals online. To achieve better customers ineterest the website had to integrate online decal builder. The company is offering also decals for vehicles which brought some specific requirements to the builder like having the decal text turning arround 4 types of arcs.

Goals

  • Provide users with preview area

  • Allow visitors to choose font and color

  • Allow adding drop shadow and selecting drop shadow color

  • Allow turning the text into arcs

  • Real Time calculating

Solution

Because of the need for increasing customers interest we had to think about not for perfect math formulas when showing the graphs in the preview area, but for the people who will look at them.

As we will reaveal below, there were few problems going arround human appreceptions for something 'perfectly smooth' and the matchematical perfect figures.

Methodology

We were going to extensively use PHP GD library for the text effects. It provided easy changing of fonts and colors, adding drop shawdows and rotating the texts.

We had also to create color palletes which to appear when user click and disappear when color is selected (You can personally try the decals creating here). Using hidden layers and javascript was supposed to do the work.

The main problem in this site was to create 4 types of arcs so when the user selects one of them the text is created arround imaginary arc (like in the vector graphical softwares). We were going to study Bezie's formulas and create these arcs with its help.

Implementation

PIM Team Bulgaria had the task to build the full functional online decals builder with the following features:

- Decal background

Some users were supposed to have their decals placed on colored background. We had to allow the preview area to be painted in a selected background. First we created the image in temp folder:

// the name of destination image

$dest='decals/'.time().'.jpg';

//the background

imagefilledrectangle ( $im, 0, 0, 590, 60, $colors[$_POST['bcolors']]);

$colors array contains the available color which are stored by the administrator in the database.

Thus, when the visitor selects a background it is passed as parametter to imagefilledrectangle function.

- Font selection

Users should be able to select fonts for their future decals. Knowing that we can't consider all the fonts will be available on all visitor's computers we had to upload them on the web server directory.

We allowed the admin to manage the fonts, adding their names and uploading files in admin area.

The fonts in the select box came from the database. Selected font was passed in the call to imagettftext funtion which is drawing on the previously created image.

- Color Selections

The color selections had to be a palettes which appear when user clicks and disappear when color is selected. The palette had to look as a table with colors and these colors are also defined in the

admin area so they had to come dynamicly. We had to seed a static javascript function with dynamic content.

We created a PHP cycle which was taking the colors from the database and then creating a string for HTML table. This table is then passed to a javascript function which creates the palletes with the help of hidden layers:

function showTable(table)

{

mouseX = window.event.x + document.body.scrollLeft+25;

if(table=='background')

{

var content="";

var y=460;

}

if(table=='fonts')

{

var content="";

var y=690;

}

if(table=='shadows')

{

var content="";

var y=810;

}

document.getElementById('tabler').style.pixelLeft=mouseX;

document.getEle mentById('tabler').style.pixelTop=y;

document.getElementById('tabler').style.visibility='visib le';

document.getElementById('tabler').innerHTML=content;

}

Of course, once the user select the desired color we had to hide the pallette:

function setColor(elid,color,fromid,shc)

{

document.getElementById(elid).value=color;

docum ent.getElementById('tabler').style.visibility='hidden';

}

Thus we created nice palettes which appear and disappear on a single click and don't take much space on the screen.

- Drop Shawdows

The decals offered has the ability to have a drop shadow added so we had to add this option to the online builder. PHP however didn't offered a nice function for that. We created a procedure which draws the texts twice - once the original 100% saturated text and once the shadow with a percentage of the color and appropriate displacement. Of course the shadow was drawn on the image before the main text.

@imagettftext($img, 20, $gr[$i], $x+$dx, $ys[$i]+$dy, $scolors[$shadowcolor], "fonts/".$_POST['fonts'],$word[$i]);

- Arcs

The main problem came when we had to 'rotate' the texts thru arcs. First we created perfect Bezie funtion which to draw the curves and adjust the letter above them. But what a surprise - the curves looked perfect alone, but when we adjusted the letters above them they seemed rough.

After studying this problem we realised that the rough screen resolution and the disability to antialise the images wouldn't allow us to create nice arcs. We were standing against insoluble problem.

We decided to create few arcs with a graphical software (CorelDraw) and to see what could be wrong.

We noticed that Corel's curves were looking great after they are manually adjusted. However you can't just leave the program to create perfect curves automaticly. A human eye was needed to judge when a curve looks right and when not.

We got a totally different direction. There wasn't an universal function to help us. The solution we found was to 'manually' adjust each letter. We created a procedure with cases which were adjusting each letter on the appropriate place and with appropriate rotation depending on how long was the text. It worked!

We created 2 arrays for each arc type - one array with the positions and one array with the rotations.

The rest was simple:

if($arctype)

{

$start=(35-$l)/2;

if($start%2) $start+=1;

$gr=array_slice($gr,$start,$l);

$ys=array_slice($ys,$start,$l);

}

if(!$arctype)

{

$ys=array();

$gr=array();

//making the arrays

for($i=0;$i

You can go on the atec's site and try the arcs we achieved (http://atecsigns.com/decal/step_1.php).

Results

Now A-tec Sings's web builder creates perfect decals with graphs, calculates the price and allows you to add the decals to your shopping cart and chgeckout (the shopping cart software is also created by PIM Team Bulgaria).

The builder allows the visitor to create the desired decals with any color, dropped shadow, background and shape, to preview it and to calculate the cost for different sizes and quantities.

The website and builder were promoted with massive radio advertising company. At that time it was the only decal builder which allowed creating texts arround arcs.

Conclusions

  • Use GD to create text effects

  • Do not forget that you can create you own functions for what GD does not offer

  • Do not always search for math perfect formulas. The graphical effects are intended to the human eye

  • Load fonts in the server

  • Use javascript and hidden layers to achieve great flexibility

About The Author

Bobby Handzhiev is a senior developer in PIM Team Bulgaria

http://atecsigns.com/decal/step_1.php

http://atecsigns.com/decal/step_1.php

efficient cleaning crew Highland Park ..
In The News:

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of protection to your accounts. Instead of relying only on a password, MFA requires you to verify your identity using two or more methods.
Scientists from Duke, Harvard, and the University of Otago have unveiled a game-changing tool called DunedinPACNI. It uses a single AI brain scan to reveal how fast a person is biologically aging.
A disturbing wave of fake agent phone scams is sweeping across the United States, catching people off guard and draining their savings.
Emojis aren't just playful add-ons; they're powerful tools for building stronger connections in our increasingly digital world.
Google has taken a major step toward the future of clean energy by partnering with Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), an MIT spin-out working to build one of the world’s first commercial fusion reactors.
If you create and share art online, you might have seen messages warning that Facebook's parent company, Meta, claims the right to use or even sell anything you post, whether it's pictures, poems, or artwork.
Cybercriminals hit Qantas in a major data breach that exposed information from up to six million customers.
Having reliable, loud, and timely emergency alerts on your phone or device is important because when severe weather strikes, every second counts.
Here's how your daily brew is becoming the foundation for greener buildings.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, are transforming how we learn. But what does this mean for AI and learning retention?
Modern AI data centers use much more electricity than traditional cloud servers. In many cases, the existing power grid cannot keep up. One innovative solution is gaining traction: repurposed EV batteries for AI data centers.
Microsoft 365 and Outlook users are being targeted by a tactic that injects fake billing alerts directly into their calendars.
Researchers are now showing us that old smartphones as data centers could be the next big thing in sustainable tech.
Scientists have created micro-robots for sinus infection treatment that can enter the nasal cavity, eliminate bacteria directly at the source, and exit without harming surrounding tissue.
Let's examine how your data is collected in everyday life, who is buying and selling it, what happens to it afterward, and, most importantly, what you can do to protect yourself.
Researchers at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. developed small robots called "Pipebots" that can travel inside water pipes to find and potentially repair leaks, all without any excavation.
A groundbreaking new study has uncovered disturbing AI blackmail behavior that many people are unaware of yet.
Four teams of autonomous humanoid robots competed in China's first AI soccer tournament, demonstrating advanced capabilities in ball detection and independent decision-making.
The ID. Buzz autonomous van features self-driving technology with 13 cameras, nine LiDAR units and five radars after Volkswagen partnered with Hamburg and Uber for 2026 deployments.
Social Security phishing scams use urgency and impersonation to steal personal data. Learn how to spot fake SSA emails and implement 10 protective measures.
French startup Pazzi Robotics created an AI-powered pizza robot that made pies in under five minutes without human help, but it closed in 2022 despite patents and expert partnerships.
Reclaim your time from big tech with effective screen time reduction strategies for iPhone and Android, featuring steps to limit app usage and create phone-free zones.
Amazon Prime Day shoppers face threats from 120,000-plus scam websites as cybercriminals prepare phishing traps and malware ahead of the July sales event.
Fox News' AI Newsletter brings you the latest on this rapidly evolving technology.
The AEON humanoid robot tackles labor challenges with Nvidia AI, Microsoft Azure cloud and advanced spatial awareness, working alongside industry leaders Schaeffler and Pilatus.

But My Business Doesnt Need A Website!

Revenues are often lost because many business owners don't see... Read More

Creating Websites that Cater to Exam Preparations

One of the things that Internet excels is disseminating information... Read More

Pick Up Your Own Domain Name

Think up a name and check if yourname.com is available.... Read More

Building a Web Store on Shoestring Budget in less than Four Hours

Starting a business online is no longer as difficult as... Read More

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) & Web Accessibility

There's been widespread speculation about the new legislation being introduced... Read More

Better Web Site ROI: Efficient Online Business with SEO, PPC, Split Testing, and Forums

If you're looking for better web site ROI, chances are,... Read More

The Secret Benefit Of Accessibility: Part 2 - A Higher Search Engine Ranking

An additional benefit of website accessibility is an improved performance... Read More

Having a Portfolio on the Internet Can Help you Infiltate the Workforce

If you're an up and coming graphic/web designer just out... Read More

What is Blogger.com?

In the late 1990's three San Francisco based web developers... Read More

7 Killer Ways To Increase Your Online Sales

Every online entrepreneur I talk to is asking the same... Read More

Get a Website!, Register Your Domain!: To Website or Not to Website?

If you're fairly new to the Internet scene, you may... Read More

What Business Owners MUST Know BEFORE They Commit To Having A Web Site

Q1.Why would I need a web site? A1.- Improve my... Read More

12 Essential Tips to a Professional Business Website

1. Choose a big enough font size. A size 12... Read More

What is SQL?

What is SQL? SQL stands for Structured Query Language and... Read More

Why A Simple Counter is Never Enough for Your Website

A simple website stats counter is not enough if you... Read More

Are Web Graphics Stealing Your Money?

They might not be wearing a mask and carrying a... Read More

Are You Losing Sales Because of These 4 Simple Website Mistakes?

Losing website sales and traffic is sometimes simply a case... Read More

Database Driven Web Site - Do You Need It?

Many of site owners still don't realize all advantages of... Read More

Tips for Building a Great Business Website

A website is lifeline of internet home business. In order... Read More

Make Your Web Site User-Friendly!

Making a web site is easy. Making a good web... Read More

The Number 1 Reason Most Websites Fail

Failure, just like success, is measured differently by each and... Read More

Content Management

More and more businesses are recognizing the importance of content... Read More

The Internet Road Map

1) Data CaptureOne easy way to collect e-mail addresses and... Read More

How Does Your Website Make Me Feel?

When people think about the Internet, they think about technology.... Read More

Server Side Includes (SSI) with ASP

Server Side Includes (SSI) with ASP People often... Read More

scheduled maid service Park Ridge ..