First off, I don't "do" flash. Keep that in mind. (when I want/need flash, I hire somebody else)

So, I've got this great design with a flash header made by somebody else. I had him change the font used for the text, to achieve a certain look, and everything was great. Then, my brother went to view it and the text did not look right because the font had changed to a default type font.

So here is my confusion....

I thought that the flash movie was like a regular gif/jpg file, in the sense that it was a saved object, meaning that it did not require the viewer to have any certain font installed because it was an 'image', not live text.

Obviously I was wrong, and this is not always the case.

So how would the flash movie be saved, in a way that the text is an image, and doesn't require the person viewing it to have the same fonts installed on their machine to see it the way it's intended to be seen?

It depends (I think) on whether the way the text was inputted in Flash was either Static or Dynamic. But I'm not entirely sure, I haven't had the problem you are having yet it sounds like that could be the problem.

I am with you Gen-T - I thought that was the purpose. I mean, I created a a small flash header once in Flash because he wanted it in a weird font. Never had any complaints from anyone.

Yeah, you both understand what I'm saying.

Now I just need to figure out the details.

Hi Gen-T! Firstly, if i've understood correctly, what you've said is just not possible. Correct me if I'm wrong. Are you saying that, you had exported the Swf through Flash from a computer which had all the required fonts? And on opening the Swf you find certain fonts not showing up? If that's the case, I'm sure there's a mix-up. Here's where something must have gone wrong. You must've opened the FLA on a computer which did not have the required fonts installed on that pc, which then alerted you to use default fonts. And on clicking 'ok', you then exported the Swf from Flash which resulted in certain fonts not showing up!

Make sure the fonts are installed on the pc and re-export the swf and it should work like a charm.

If you export as a .swf, typically yes, everything should be there, fonts, effects, and images. But if while creating the text, you changed its properties or didn't make it static and it is listed dynamic, then that text is editable/scalable no matter who views. Was the file looked at through a browser or was it the .fla file? This could clear the question P3RPL3XITY has asked and would greatly help in figuring out this oddity! lol

Azn_Chic, once I get back home to that machine I will confirm your question. I'm not sure. :blush:

Sheldon (P3RPL3XITY), nice to see you again. :) The main point is, that I don't want users to be required to have the font installed on their system in order to view it correctly (the way I intended it to look).

So if we are using the terms "static" and "dynamic" to describe this, then I want it to be static. I want the user to see the text the way I intended, regardless if they have that font on their computer. The same way users will see a gif/jpg, because it is 'set' or 'static'. It is an 'image'. It will not change.

Well, I do hope that we can fix this little problem. The culprit I do still suspect is the Static/Dynamic properties.

Originally posted by Gen-T
...
Sheldon (P3RPL3XITY), nice to see you again. :) The main point is, that I don't want users to be required to have the font installed on their system in order to view it correctly (the way I intended it to look).
....

The users will not need to have the fonts on their respective computers if the swf was exported the right way. Like I said previously, "Make sure the fonts are installed on the pc(Your actual pc) and re-export the swf, it should work like a charm!"

for the .fla files you will need the fonts on any computer that deals with that file. the final swf file carries the fonts for the viewer. to avoid this problem, once you've made the text you are happy with, highlight the static text, go to modify>break apart. do that twice and the text will be considered a vector shape. it works for logos and phrases but i wouldn't do it with a paragraph of text. the file size would be dramatic.

True, you can try exactly what "oahu_surfa" suggested, however thats not a practical way of doing it. It would not only increase the filesize but would also make the animation on stage slower.

Sheldon, yes that makes sense now. Thank you! I don't do flash myself, so I was not sure how exactly this worked. The person who made the flash movie for me is out of town on vacation, and that's the reason I started this thread to begin with. As soon as he gets back in town, I will have him re-save the file so that this little problem is taken care of.

Thanks to Sheldon (P3RPL3XITY), Azn_Chic, coreybryant, and oahu_surfa for you feedback and help. :)

Hm you could always bundle the font and embed it ; )

The font now shows but now its anti-aliased again (some lines are some are not) anyone knows:

1) Keep the original font while the user doesn't need to have the font installed.
2) Turn anti-aliasing OFF

I can do 2 i can do 1, but for some reason it simply doesn't work when i try both of them at the same time.


I just see when saving as low quality, the jpg's look about the same and the fonts aren't aliased, i'll dive into that before getting alternatives :P

Ladies and gentlemen, my pal Dave/ic3d ^^

Dave, feel free to post any of our pm's that were sent back and forth, if necessary. Maybe others can learn from our little adventure. Just don't post the one where I'm crying like a schoolgirl. :bawling:

Also, check out that whole embedded thing that the Macromedia site suggested.

By the way, I'm not sure I like the sound of "low quality" jpegs. :eek2:

lo all :D

I think i might have solved the problem Tim, without losing jpg quality, the arrows even look better imho :)
Well iam gonne cross my thumbs and wait till i know if it's working for your brother or not.

Anyone could explain me a bit about embedding fonts in macromedia flash? The helpfile in the program itself is not really helping me out.

Select device fonts When you use a font installed on your system in a Flash document, Flash embeds the font information in the Flash SWF file to ensure that the font is displayed properly. In addition to embedding fonts, you can use the device fonts option. This option finds the fonts on a viewer's computer that most closely resemble the specified device font. You can use device fonts only with static text.

Tim is getting dizzy... stomach starting to ache... :puke:

Select device fonts When you use a font installed on your system in a Flash document, Flash embeds the font information in the Flash SWF file to ensure that the font is displayed properly. In addition to embedding fonts, you can use the device fonts option. This option finds the fonts on a viewer's computer that most closely resemble the specified device font. You can use device fonts only with static text.


My English is not all that so a little question. I have Static text and i HAD device fonts checked in the font properties for that textarea, the font now is replaced by another font on some machines (those who doesn't have the font installed).
Now i've turned it off and tested it on a pc that doesn't have that font installed and now it works there.

Isn't that the exact oppeside? And what does an embedded font in Flash do? For example if i use it on 1 line out of let's say 10 will it show the correct font for all 10 lines?

And how does it theoretically work? I have another site, i'd never embedded the font there and it works like a charm on EVERY pc/mac i've touched while they didn't have the font installed.. (it's a rare font). I even reinstalled this pc, when i launch the fla it says i haven't got some fonts installed, but when i watch the online swf it DOES show the font.

Dave, you will need necessary fonts when you open an FLA, for it's the Source file. You will not need fonts installed on any specific computer when you open/view a SWF, for it's the end product and stands on its own. Everything is embedded in the SWF, be it fonts, sounds, images etc.