Fonts
Flash
supports both system
fonts and embedded
fonts. If you use one of the three default
fonts—"_sans",
"_serif", or
"_typewriter"—the Flash
Player finds the closest font on the user's system
at runtime. The "_sans" font
(equivalent to sans-serif in HTML/CSS) typically corresponds to Arial
on Windows and Helvetica on the Mac. For the
"_serif" and
"_typewriter" default fonts
(equivalent to serif and mono in HTML/CSS), Flash uses Times and
Courier or other closely matched fonts.
Font
outline information can be embedded in the
SWF to allow you to perform text effects
[Hack #48], such as rotating text.
You don't have to embed default fonts in the SWF,
but system fonts don't include vector information,
so Flash cannot treat text formatted with a system font as graphics.
Thus, text that uses system fonts typically disappears from the Stage
if you rotate or scale the clip containing the text. If you try to
embed one of the default fonts
("_sans",
"_serif", or
"_typewriter"), Flash embeds the
closest font it finds on your development system at compile time. At
runtime, the text can be rotated, scaled, and animated because Flash
uses the embedded font information, not the system font from the end
user's computer.
This chapter presents hacks for keeping text legible, implementing
autocomplete text fields, importing text with complicated formatting,
using CSS text, and using accessibility text as tool tips. Other
text-related hacks, which discuss techniques such as transition
effects created with text and masks [Hack #2], are sprinkled throughout the
book.
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