Welcome to GraphicForumz.com!
FAQFAQ      ProfileProfile    Private MessagesPrivate Messages   Log inLog in

Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional

  
   Graphic Forums (Home) -> General Discussions RSS
Next:  Need help  
Author Message
Parma_Ed

External


Since: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 6



(Msg. 1) Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 7:10 pm
Post subject: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional
Archived from groups: macromedia>flash (more info?)
Hello all,

I am experiencing some very strange behavior with my static text in Flash Pro
8. First off, I'm having some reports from my client that on some of their
machines running IE6, none of the text shows up on the flash website I've
created. They see blank buttons everywhere. To make sure I properly embedded
the font I'm using, I created a local set of folders that held all the
necessary files for the website and transferred it to a secondary computer.
Then, I uninstalled the font I am using on the site from that computer and ran
the site locally. Everything showed up perfectly. So, the font is properly
embedded.

To be on the extra cautious side, I wanted to test if using a system font
would work. So, I went back to my .FLA and into my library, found the embedded
font, and changed the font to _sans (it was originally pointing at Comic Sans
MS). Then, in Flash, I tested the movie. Most of the text showed up just fine
in the new _sans font. But browsing the swf a bit more, I found that a good
portion of buttons showed no text at all...and this is in Flash, not a browser.

I tried several things to get text to show up on these buttons. First, I
assigned the font of the static text to just be _sans, and not use the embedded
version. It wouldn't show up. Then I thought maybe Flash was confused since I
changed an already established embedded font to point at a different font, and
proceeded to embed a second font that pointed at _sans. I assigned this new
embedded font to the static text of my button and tested the movie. The text
still wouldn't show. So, just to make sure I wasn't going crazy, I chose a
completely different font that was neither _sans nor an embedded font...(I
believe it was called Poornut). The text showed up fine when using this 3rd
font. Remember, this is all in Macromedia Flash...not in a web browser.

To make sure I wasn't extra, extra crazy, I chose one of the buttons I was
having problems with and completely deleted it from the stage and my library.
I then built a new button from scratch and assigned the static text on that
button to be the original embedded font that was changed to point at _sans
instead of Comic Sans MS. I ran the movie, and the text STILL won't show up.
Then I thought, maybe this is just a local problem with Flash, and proceeded to
upload the site and try it live. The text still didn't show.

I'm not sure what to do next. I am quite confused as to why static text on
some things still show up with the change in the embedded font, but not show up
with other things. Plus, everything shows up fine on my stage while I'm
working in Flash...it just doesn't show up correctly at run-time. Would any of
you out there happen to see where my problem lies? Any offered advice is
greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

 >> Stay informed about: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional 
Back to top
Login to vote
Parma_Ed

External


Since: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 6



(Msg. 2) Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 8:55 pm
Post subject: Re: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
I've made a little more progress...on one of the sections of the flash site,
anyways...

About half of my buttons that aren't showing up are comprised of text
only...no background. These particular buttons are on a masked layer. Now,
before I made my change to the embedded font from Comic Sans MS to _sans, these
buttons showed up just fine. However, now using the embedded font changed to
_sans, or when the text of these buttons is set to just _sans directly, they
don't want to be revealed when the mask moves into place. And I know my mask
is moving into place (I tested the animation with the "mask" layer set as a
normal layer). Does _sans have a problem being in a masked layer?

This does not explain my other missing text in other sections, however, as my
other buttons with text are not located on a masked layer. This is all quite
bizarre. Any thoughts out there?

 >> Stay informed about: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional 
Back to top
Login to vote
Tom Unger

External


Since: Jul 19, 2004
Posts: 89



(Msg. 3) Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 8:55 pm
Post subject: Re: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Parma_Ed;
You need to embed character outlines to use text with a timeline
mask--this is a very common question here. Of course _sans is a device font
option and character outlines are not included for device fonts by
design. -Tom Unger
 >> Stay informed about: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional 
Back to top
Login to vote
Parma_Ed

External


Since: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 6



(Msg. 4) Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 9:48 pm
Post subject: Re: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Tom,

Thank you very much. That makes perfect sense to me now. I know what to do
to make the missing text appear. Thank you.

However, now I have the problem of text not showing up in IE even though my
original font was embedded properly (as tested on a computer that did not have
the embedded font installed). I will try using the device font of _sans first
to see if that makes any difference. But if my original font was embedded
properly, I don't see why it's not working for them in IE. I will post whether
using the device font instead makes any difference

On top of that, my client is reporting that IE gets hung up on my loading
screens. The site is very sound-heavy and I'm loading in external .mp3 files.
In browsers like Firefox and Netscape, all is well. The section loads up and
the site continues on its way. In IE, it gets to the loading screen and shows
24% complete and just hangs... Curiouser and curiouser...
 >> Stay informed about: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional 
Back to top
Login to vote
Tom Unger

External


Since: Jul 19, 2004
Posts: 89



(Msg. 5) Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 9:48 pm
Post subject: Re: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Parma_Ed;
Not sure we are understanding one another... Device fonts should only be
used where you _do not_ want the font embedded. _sans as an example will
display as ariel on pc or helvetica on mac, or the closest sans serif font
(the character outlines are not embedded in the swf). You want your
character outlines to be embedded, so choose ariel or helvetica and elect to
embed the characters being used via the properties panel if the text needs
to be dynamic. If the text field is static, you need do nothing more than
choose a non-device font. -Tom Unger
 >> Stay informed about: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional 
Back to top
Login to vote
Parma_Ed

External


Since: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 6



(Msg. 6) Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 12:13 am
Post subject: Re: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Hey Tom,

No, I understand what you're saying. Originally, I did embed the non-system
font and used it on all of my static text. It worked great for me in both IE
and Firefox, both local and live. However, my clients weren't getting any text
at all and I have no idea why (they tried it on both IE and Firefox). I'm not
sure what the differences in our browsers are as they are the same versions.
Maybe they have special settings set up?

As an experiment, I'm going through and changing my static text from the
embedded font to a system font. I did one section of the site, made it live,
and asked the client to test and see if they could see text. They said they
could. So, for some reason their browsers aren't liking the original embedded
font I used. As I said in an earlier post, I know my original font embed
worked because I tested it on a computer that didn't have the font installed.
So, I don't know where the problem lies for the client.

The client has an important meeting in 2 weeks and needs to present what I've
made so far. So, until I can figure out what's going on with the client's
browsers, I'm opting to change the font over to a system font and do away with
the embedded font for the time being.

However, you said:

If the text field is static, you need do nothing more than choose a non-device
font.

Do you mean I don't need to embed a font for static text?
 >> Stay informed about: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional 
Back to top
Login to vote
Parma_Ed

External


Since: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 6



(Msg. 7) Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 12:18 am
Post subject: Re: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Oh yeah...one more thing.

As for the mask layer problem. I simply moved my text buttons that were using
_sans out of the mask. Now they just appear enstead of sliding into view...not
a big deal. I just want my clients to see the text for now. I'll get fancy
with revealing once I figure out what's going on with their browsers. Your
explanation for device fonts and masked layers was great. Thank you.
 >> Stay informed about: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional 
Back to top
Login to vote
Parma_Ed

External


Since: Apr 07, 2006
Posts: 6



(Msg. 8) Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 2:30 pm
Post subject: Re: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Ok...well, it looks like using the default system font worked...although I am a
bit limited as to animations/fades that can now be done with the text. It
still doesn't make much sense to me why using the embedded font works for
everyone else I've had test it except for my clients. But alas, now I have a
new problem which I must now put in a new post as it is not text related.
 >> Stay informed about: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional 
Back to top
Login to vote
jeff

External


Since: Jun 12, 2007
Posts: 1



(Msg. 9) Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 8:14 pm
Post subject: RE: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Perfect Alternative!

Break it Apart! Use Ctr+B to break up the text into pixels (you might need to do it twice.)

The downside is you can't edit the text afterwards, but you can always rewrite it and break it apart again.

From http://www.developmentnow.com/g/68_2006_4_0_0_733459/Disappearing-Text...-Flash-

Posted via DevelopmentNow.com Groups
http://www.developmentnow.com
 >> Stay informed about: Disappearing Text in Flash 8 Professional 
Back to top
Login to vote
Display posts from previous:   
   Graphic Forums (Home) -> General Discussions All times are: Pacific Time (US & Canada) (change)
Page 1 of 1

 
 You can post new topics in this forum
You can reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum



[ Contact us | Terms of Service/Privacy Policy ]