Pen Write Block with Alignment

[wdstudios_llc121]

Could you change the way the write block works? I've seen the code through the "SpriteMorph" class but I would like to change something, generally. The old code was:

SpriteMorph.prototype.write = function (text, size) {
    // thanks to Michael Ball for contributing this code!
    if (typeof text !== 'string' && typeof text !== 'number') {
        throw new Error(
            'LABEL can only draw text or numbers, not a ' +
            typeof text
        );
    }

    var stage = this.parentThatIsA(StageMorph),
        context = stage.penTrails().getContext('2d'),
        rotation = radians(this.direction() - 90),
        trans = new Point(
            this.rotationCenter().x - stage.left(),
            this.rotationCenter().y - stage.top()
        ),
        len,
        pos;

    context.save();
    context.font = size + 'px monospace';
    context.textAlign = 'left';
    context.textBaseline = 'alphabetic';
    context.fillStyle = this.color.toString();
    len = context.measureText(text).width;
    trans = trans.multiplyBy(1 / stage.scale);
    context.translate(trans.x, trans.y);
    context.rotate(rotation);
    context.fillText(text, 0, 0);
    context.translate(-trans.x, -trans.y);
    context.restore();
    pos = new Point(
        len * Math.sin(radians(this.direction())),
        len * Math.cos(radians(this.direction()))
    );
    pos = pos.add(new Point(this.xPosition(), this.yPosition()));
    this.gotoXY(pos.x, pos.y, false);
    this.changed();
    stage.changed();
};

My tiny change is

SpriteMorph.prototype.write = function (text, size, alignment) {
    // thanks to Michael Ball for contributing this code!
    if (typeof text !== 'string' && typeof text !== 'number') {
        throw new Error(
            'LABEL can only draw text or numbers, not a ' +
            typeof text
        );
    }

    var stage = this.parentThatIsA(StageMorph),
        context = stage.penTrails().getContext('2d'),
        rotation = radians(this.direction() - 90),
        trans = new Point(
            this.rotationCenter().x - stage.left(),
            this.rotationCenter().y - stage.top()
        ),
        len,
        pos;

    context.save();
    context.font = size + 'px monospace';
    context.textAlign = alignment || 'left';
    context.textBaseline = 'alphabetic';
    context.fillStyle = this.color.toString();
    len = context.measureText(text).width;
    trans = trans.multiplyBy(1 / stage.scale);
    context.translate(trans.x, trans.y);
    context.rotate(rotation);
    context.fillText(text, 0, 0);
    context.translate(-trans.x, -trans.y);
    context.restore();
    pos = new Point(
        len * Math.sin(radians(this.direction())),
        len * Math.cos(radians(this.direction()))
    );
    pos = pos.add(new Point(this.xPosition(), this.yPosition()));
    this.gotoXY(pos.x, pos.y, false);
    this.changed();
    stage.changed();
};

you can make the dropdown menus if you like.

[bh]

I think Jens is unlikely to go for this, based on past conversations. He worries, with some justice, that you want alignment, someone else wants font and style, then someone wants fitting text around a curve, and so on. He designed WRITE to be the absolute minimum possible capability for labelling graphs.

Someday, though, we'll have fully editable text boxes. No promises about when.