Displaying pixel fonts in dynamic text ??

[mentaleruptions]

Ok im having a few probs here. Im using a pixel font and all is well apart from the fact that when i use it within a dynamic text field its all messed up. Basicly ive got a clock that obviously is all done with actionscript and im using a pixel font within the text field. now all is good when i view it but when others view it they get a normal looking font and not the pixel font whys this ?? I have seen other sites with clocks that are with pixel fonts and all is good for them but i cant get round why its doing this for me. Anyone got any ideas what the problem could be here ??

Thanks in advance:
Mental

[jmdesigns]

Make sure you are embedding the font in your swf. In MX, (5 should be similar) you need to click on the 'character' button to the right of the VAR field and select 'All Characters'. Or, if you are only using numbers or certain characters, you can keep the keep the size down by using some of the more specialized options.. (For example you can only embed numbers or symbols, etc..)

If the font is not embedded and a user views your movie they will get a default font unless they happen to have the pixel font installed.

Let us know if this works out for you!
-John

[mentaleruptions]

Yeah hi there i have tried what you sujested but when i do the font then goes all blury when i test the movie and its the same even when i view the html file. Ive gone back and made sure all the text boxes are perfectly alligned to the X and Y but it still does the same thing. Is there something else im doing wrong here as this is really begining to bug me now. Im also gonna be using dynamic text boxes that gets the text from external text files and im wanting to use this pixel font within that also so im needing to get around this problem. Anymore help you can give me or even if anyone else can help me ill be greatfully appreciated.

Thanks again:
Mental

[jmdesigns]

Okay, I'm assuming that now your users can view the font correctly now that it is embedded?

Here are a few things to double check now that you are still getting blurry pixel fonts..

First, and you have checked this, is to make sure the Text Field is on a whole pixel. But if this text field is in a Movie Clip, you not only need to make sure the text field is on a whole pixel, you must make sure the movie clip in your scene is on a whole pixel as well!

Also, Pixel Fonts dont work too well if your justification is set to 'center'. Try to use Left or Right justification instead.

Have you 'stretched' your text box by accident? If you make a text box and then use the Transform tool or even if you change the Width and Height by accident, this can warp the text and you will not get the font aligned to the pixels.

Make sure that when you are publishing your movie you are setting your HTML dimensions to 'Match Movie'. Open your HTML and make sure the size fields in there do match your movie.

Lastly (or firstly if you want to rule out the possibility of having a bad font) just open a new flash movie. Create a simple static text field (static fields always embed fonts - dynamic doesn't) and type out a test of your font. Make sure the points above are followed and you should be able to get good legible text.

If not, you may have a font that just isnt perfect for Flash.

If still unsuccessful, you can provide a link to a sample FLA and the font file (if it is freeware) and i'll take a look at it for you.

-John

[mentaleruptions]

Hi there i think it would be best to send u a fla and the font. The font is a freeware one that i got from minimil i think the sites called. The font does actualy work and its a very nice one indeed check out http://www.myevilhand.com its on the bottom off that splash page. Would it be ok to send you the files or a link to them tomorrow in the morning as i will be out all night and dont really have time to stick it on my server right now. If you can leave a reply to what u want me to do ill do it first thing cause as i said i really wanna solve this problem im having.

Thanks again:
Mental

[jmdesigns]

Preferred method is to put them on a server and post the link, this way if I get hit by a beer truck tonight someone else might be able to pick up where we left off.

But, if you are feeling confident of my 'look both ways before I cross the street' skills, you may send them to johnmillekerjr@despammed.com.

When I see the link or get the E-Mail I will take a look and see whats happening.

-John

[technophiliac]

I'm sorry. But i may sound stupid... but can you tell me what "whole pixel" means? Can't seem to figure that out for the past 2 hours.

I do sound stupid, don't I?

[wcoleman]

The x and y coordinates of the text alignment point must be integers (such as 100, 45) and not fractions (such as 13.7 and 3.1).

Cheers,

Flick

[jmdesigns]

Naah, no such thing as a stupid question..

A whole pixel means the text fobject's X and Y coordinates are for example set to 14.0 (or 14) instead of 14.3. Or 190.0 instead of 189.5. You can set the coordinates of your Text object by selecting the text object, then opening the properties panel.

Having the text field on this whole pixel will perfectly align your pixel font to the pixels in the movie which leads to crisp, clear text.

Hope this helps, let me know if you need more help, sometimes my explanations aren't the clearest..

-John

[technophiliac]

oh.

thanks a lot guys.

[technewbie]

I have the same problem. Been encountering problems with embedding pixel fonts (in my case "BitDust One.ttf"). I have tried following your instructions to the letter... simply won't work.


I have uploaded the files:

http://support.php4us.com/sparrow/main2.html
http://support.php4us.com/sparrow/main2.swf (swf file)
http://support.php4us.com/sparrow/main2.fla (flash file)
http://support.php4us.com/sparrow/BitDustOne.ttf (font file)

Can you please look this up for me?

Thanks in advance.

[wcoleman]

Technewbie,

The font you are using does not appear to be a well-behaved pixel font. I would suggest another font. Try the Commodore 64 font in this thread http://board.flashkit.com/board/show...hreadid=360662 or a trial version of one at http://www.fontsforflash.com (perhaps FFF Galaxy of FFF reaction) or something from http://www.orgdot.com/aliasfonts/ (for example, something in the swfit series).

The fault, in this case, lies with the font and not your use of it.

Cheers,

Flick

[mentaleruptions]

Originally posted by jmdesigns
Preferred method is to put them on a server and post the link, this way if I get hit by a beer truck tonight someone else might be able to pick up where we left off.

But, if you are feeling confident of my 'look both ways before I cross the street' skills, you may send them to johnmillekerjr@despammed.com.

When I see the link or get the E-Mail I will take a look and see whats happening.

-John

Ok ill put up on my server a fla and the font im using in a zip file. Ive also left instruction on the fla off what to edit but u will probably work that out.

Thanks for anything you can tell me to help me out with this.

Mental

http://www.myevilhand.com/Clock.zip

[jmdesigns]

TechNewbie: WColeman is right, that font isnt behaving very well. I have also looked at your source and found some other tidbits that would have caused blurry text as well (if the font was a true flash-compatible pixel font). Check your E-Mail as I have replied to your message.

Mental: I have downloaded your files and the font looks good, and when I add text to the text field everything still looks good.. I have noticed that the actual text field, even though Dynamic is not set to embed the font. This would cause the SWF to look good on your computer, but funky on other peoples' computers.. Perhaps this is the resolution?

If not, could you post an SWF that shows the problem?

-John