Flash CS5: The Missing Manual

Choosing TLF or Classic Text

Click the text tool—it looks like a big capital T in the Tools panel (Figure 6-1). The Properties panel changes to show all the different text properties available to you, the designer. Starting at the top, the first drop-down menu gives you a choice between two text engines—TLF Text and Classic Text. These text-handling routines are called engines because they're the mechanisms used to display text in Flash Player—the tool your audience uses to watch your Flash animation. In previous versions of Flash, the text options were much more limited than those provided by programs like InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop. TLF text goes a long way toward closing that gap. Classic text is still an option for a number of reasons, including compatibility.

Choose TLF text if:

• You're new to Flash. It's the text engine of the future, so you may as well start learning it. It gives you the most control over your text. In spite of the many options, it's fairly easy to use.

• You want to animate your text in three dimensions. It's much easier to spin and rotate TLF text fields.

  

  Figure 6-1. After you choose the Text tool, you need to use the drop-down menus to choose the text engine and the text type. Your choices determine how the text functions in your animation. The menu shown here lists the text types available when you've chosen the TLF text engine.

• You want to use fancy ...