I know this is basic stuff for most of you, but I thought I would add it for anybody who may have a similar problem. I got the item renderer to work by adding the following code:
override public function set data(value:Object):void{
super.data = value;
width = AppVars.appWidth * .4;
multiline = false;
lineBreak = LineBreak.EXPLICIT;
truncateToFit("...");
}
Apparently, it is important to wait until the "data" has changed before you take the actions to truncate the text, but you also have to set a width for the StyleableTextField that is the basis of the itemrenderer for the truncateToFit method to work properly. The thing that I cannot figure out is why I have to calculate a width the way that I have done above instead of getting it from the MobileGrid that the itemrenderer works on. I would think width=this.width, or width = parent.width, or width = owner.width or something along these lines would work, but I was sadly disappointed. In other words, I have to write a different itemrenderer for every column that I want to truncate because I cannot get the width of the column from within the itemrenderer.
Any thoughts on how I might effectively get the width of the column from within the itemrenderer so that I can apply it to the width of the StyleableTextField so that it will truncate at the appropriate place in the string???