Dean's Director FAQ - TEXT
Another FAQ exists at
MediaMacros, which
is new and extensive.
Text
Question: How can I get my text to display exactly the same as
I move between Windows and Macintosh platforms?
Answer:
Text is not one of Director's strongest media types. There are
a few ways to deal with text in Director.
1. Use bitmap text (make your text into graphic files).
2. Embed the font(s).
3. Use a universal font that should be on all machines or will be mapped
to something very similar in look.
4. Use Flash to create the text as a vector text image.
5. Look into font mapping via the file "fontmap.txt".
Bitmap Text
The only way to guarantee that your text appears in exactly the same way
across platforms is to convert the text into an image format. A disadvantage
will be that the text will no longer be editable. The text will also take
up more memory as bitmap format, but will often load quicker, especially
large text members with the background transparent ink effect.
You can create your text in any graphics program and then import it into
Director. Or you can create the text as a Text member, and then click
Modify>Convert to Bitmap to change the text member into a bitmap graphic
member.
Embed Font
Director allows you to embed fonts you're using into the movie. You can
do this from the menu Insert>Media Element>Font. If the font shows
up in the list of insertable fonts, then it can be embedded. Once a font
has been embedded, it will be available when the Director movie plays.
Flash Text
SWF text will record the outline of the font, and will not be dependent
on the user having the font installed on their machine. Advantages include
clean scalability of the text and smaller file size than a similar text
image in bitmap format. Like bitmap text, Flash text cannot be edited. Another
disadvantage is that you will need a program that can export SWF vector
text.
Font Map
If the user does not have a font that you use in your Director project,
then the font will be substituted according to the list inside the file,
"fontmap.txt" in your Director application folder. You can modify this list
for your individual project. There are instructions within the file for
setting up your own font substitutions.