ActionScript for Flash MX: The Definitive Guide, Second Edition

TextFormat.tabStops Property

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Alphabetical Language Reference

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To set the font size for a single character, apply the format with a single index argument:

theField_txt.setTextFormat(5, format); // Set the sixth character ("t") to 26 pt

To set the font size for a range of characters, apply the format with start and end index

arguments:

theField_txt.setTextFormat(19, 24, format); // Set size for

// characters 19-23 ("large")

The default size value (as contained in the TextFormat object returned by TextField.

getTextFormat()) for a text field that contains text is 12. For a text field without any text,

the

size value is null. For a completely new TextFormat object, it is also null, indicating

that

size will not be set when the format is applied to a text field:

trace(anyUnformattedField_txt.getTextFormat().size); // Displays: 12

var format = new TextFormat();

trace(format.size); // Displays: "null"

Note that when font embedding is enabled for a text field, that field’s text is always anti-

aliased. Therefore, using embedded fonts with sizes smaller than 10-point is not

recommended because antialiased text becomes unreadable below 10-point in most fonts.

To prevent a font from antialiasing, use device fonts (i.e., system fonts) by setting

TextField.

embedFonts to false. Device fonts are never ...