Creating a bitmap copy of a TextFlow object without the caret [cursor]

Question

Hey all
I'm currently working on creating a bitmap copy of a TextFlow object and I am looking at hiding the caret. What would be the best way forward, using the focusmanager to 'unfocus' the TextFlow object, or is there some more direct approach available? I know there is a cursormanager in Flex, but this is an AS3 only project.
Cheers for your thoughts once again
emd

Answer 1

I think I've just done something similar to what you need (except I'm adjusting the width of the bitmap according to that of the text), and so far I have seen no cursor
Here's the code. You'll need to adjust it depending on how many containers (Sprites) you are drawing the TextFlow to.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<s:Application xmlns:fx="http://ns.adobe.com/mxml/2009"
               xmlns:s="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/spark"
               xmlns:mx="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/mx"
               applicationComplete="init()">
    <fx:Declarations>
        <!-- Place non-visual elements (e.g., services, value objects) here -->
    </fx:Declarations>
    <s:Group id="groupText" width="560" />
    <fx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            import flashx.textLayout.container.ContainerController;
            import flashx.textLayout.conversion.TextConverter;
            import flashx.textLayout.elements.TextFlow;
            import mx.core.UIComponent;
            private function init() : void
                var text : String = "Greek god gives mints.";
                var fontSize : int = 24;
                //We create a textflow with some text and set it's font size, just as an example.
                var flow : TextFlow = TextConverter.importToFlow(text, TextConverter.PLAIN_TEXT_FORMAT);
                flow.fontSize = 24;
                //We'll use a single container (and consecuently a single controller)
                var container : Sprite = new Sprite()
                var controller : ContainerController = new ContainerController(container);
                flow.flowComposer.addController(controller);
                //This is kind of weird, but I saw it in a TLF example, and it works.
                //It seems you have to "stretch" the container.
                controller.setCompositionSize(this.stage.stageWidth, this.stage.stageHeight);
                flow.flowComposer.compose();
                //Set the text's actual width and height as the composition size.
                controller.setCompositionSize(controller.getContentBounds().width,
                    controller.getContentBounds().height);
                //Redraw.
                flow.flowComposer.updateAllControllers();
                //As BitmapData's draw method takes an IBitmapDrawable,
                //we'll need to wrap the Sprite instance in an UIComponent.
                var tf : UIComponent = new UIComponent();
                tf.addChild(container);
                //Create an instance of BitmapData and "draw the container" into it.
                var bd : BitmapData = new BitmapData(controller.getContentBounds().width,
                    controller.getContentBounds().height + 2, true, 0x000000);
                bd.draw(tf);
                //Create a Bitmap with the text's data and add it to the application.
                var bmp : Bitmap = new Bitmap(bd);
                var ui : UIComponent = new UIComponent();
                ui.addChild(bmp);
                this.groupText.addElement(ui);           
        ]]>
    </fx:Script>
</s:Application>
Hope it helps,
Sebastián.