Why can't I mask dynamic text or
device fonts yell's the inspiring flash developer!
It makes no sense! I can mask static text, why not dynamic
text or device fonts?
Well Macromedia has a somewhat of an explanation
here, but I'm going to try and explain this the best I
can.
Basically you can only mask
device fonts by using an actual movie clip as a mask.
You must also embed your dynamic text into a movie as well.
You might not be used to this method as it's so convenient
to use the timeline mask and most of the work you probably
did in the past never required masking dynamic data loaded
into a text field or text area. It's becoming so easy to
generate external data in flash.
Here is an example of what we
will create. A simple dynamic textarea with some text inside
it with a mask applied to it:
[ an example
of what you will create ]
Here is How
The following steps will explain what this tutorial will be
trying to explain.
-
Create a new
flash document.
-
Create a new
layer and call it textarea.
- Draw a text area where
you're dynamic text will be stored with your text tool.
[grab
your text tool, click on the stage and draw your textarea]
- When your finished drawing
the text area, open your properties panel
and select "Dynamic Text" and "Multiline".
- Ok now we are going to
convert the dynamic textarea into a movieclip . So hit F8
on your keyboard and call the movieclip main_mc.
Also, you should embed your fonts. Click the Character
button. The Character Options dialog box will appear.
Check the option for Specify Ranges and select
Uppercase, Lowercase, and Numerals if your data may
contain numbers:
Masking
Dynamic Text and Device Fonts
